Day of the Dead: RACE Constructed Response Practice
A short RACE-format constructed response packet for high school students built around a text on Día de los Muertos. Students restate the prompt, answer it with two reasons, cite two pieces of evidence from the article, and explain how each one supports their claim. It works well as a single 45-minute class period or a homework assignment that builds argumentative writing and evidence-based reasoning.
Teacher Guide & Tips
- Introduce the RACE framework (Restate, Answer, Cite, Explain) before students read, and have them complete the Prompt Analysis checklist to unpack the question first.
- Discussion question: How do the ofrendas and the act of remembering work together to keep a loved one's memory alive, and which detail in the text best shows this?
- Scaffold for struggling readers: Provide a sentence frame such as "Day of the Dead helps people honor loved ones by ___, as shown when the text states ___." and let them highlight candidate quotes before drafting.
- Extension for advanced students: Ask them to evaluate whether the holiday's Indigenous origins change how the Day of the Dead should be interpreted, and to use a counterexample or comparison to strengthen their explanation.
- Estimated time: about 45 minutes for reading, planning, and drafting, plus 10 minutes for peer review of the Explain sentences.
Day of the Dead: RACE Constructed Response Practice
A short RACE-format constructed response packet for high school students built around a text on Día de los Muertos. Students restate the prompt, answer it with two reasons, cite two pieces of evidence from the article, and explain how each one supports their claim. It works well as a single 45-minute class period or a homework assignment that builds argumentative writing and evidence-based reasoning.
Teacher Guide & Tips
- Introduce the RACE framework (Restate, Answer, Cite, Explain) before students read, and have them complete the Prompt Analysis checklist to unpack the question first.
- Discussion question: How do the ofrendas and the act of remembering work together to keep a loved one's memory alive, and which detail in the text best shows this?
- Scaffold for struggling readers: Provide a sentence frame such as "Day of the Dead helps people honor loved ones by ___, as shown when the text states ___." and let them highlight candidate quotes before drafting.
- Extension for advanced students: Ask them to evaluate whether the holiday's Indigenous origins change how the Day of the Dead should be interpreted, and to use a counterexample or comparison to strengthen their explanation.
- Estimated time: about 45 minutes for reading, planning, and drafting, plus 10 minutes for peer review of the Explain sentences.