Free printable
Restated Quote Diagnostic and One Word Zoom Cards
A teacher sheet that matches a paragraph that only restates its quote to one of four gaps, with a margin comment for each, plus cut-apart One Word Zoom cards for students.
For teachers · 2 pages · PDF
Download free PDFFree to copy for classroom use. No sign-up needed.
How to use it: When Students Just Restate the Quote, Ask a Smaller Question
What's on the sheet
Read the sentence after the quote. Find the matching row, write its code in pencil for yourself, and give the student only that row’s question.
| Code | What the paragraph looks like | Likely gap | Margin comment to write |
|---|---|---|---|
| U | The event comes out wrong, or a metaphor is read as literal. | They did not understand the quote. | “Say only what happens. Who acts, and what never happens? Stop before you explain.” |
| C | The claim could fit any chapter. The next sentence repeats the claim. | The claim is too vague to need this line. | “This claim fits almost any page. Rewrite it so this line is the only evidence that works.” |
| E | The quote already names the feeling. The next sentence repeats those words. | The evidence already contains the reasoning. | “The narrator already said it. Find a line that only shows an action. You write the sentence the book left out.” |
| M | The paraphrase is right and the claim is narrow, but the next sentence is “this shows” plus the same line. | They do not know what analysis looks like. | “Circle one word. Write the picture it creates, then what that picture suggests. Leave out ‘this quote shows.’” |
Ask in order, and stop at the first miss
- Say: what does the line say happens?
- Mean: what does it mean?
- Matter: why does it matter to the claim?
Say, Mean, Matter comes from Kelly Gallagher's Deeper Reading. If they cannot say what happens, do not ask why it matters.
Comments that come back as the same quote
- “Explain more.”
- “Analyze more.”
- “This quote shows…” (as a stem, before they can make the move)
- “What is the deeper meaning?” and “So what?” asked first
Four steps before anyone drafts
- Talk it first. Books open, pencils down. One partner says what the character does. The other repeats it without looking.
- One Word Zoom. Each student writes one word from the line on a card. Not a word that only repeats the claim.
- Observation, then so what. Out loud: “I notice ___.” Then “That suggests ___, because ___.” The second sentence may not reuse the quote.
- Rehearse with a partner. About 45 seconds each. The listener taps the table on hearing the quote again in new words. Then they draft, with the card on the desk.
One Word Zoom cards
Cut along the dashed lines. The card comes before the draft: no card, no draft. The sentence after the quote has to match the card.
My one word:
The picture it creates:
What that picture suggests:
My one word:
The picture it creates:
What that picture suggests:
My one word:
The picture it creates:
What that picture suggests:
My one word:
The picture it creates:
What that picture suggests:
My one word:
The picture it creates:
What that picture suggests:
My one word:
The picture it creates:
What that picture suggests: