By Jules Rhee, MEd | Last updated 7/13/2026
The RACE writing strategy made simple! Step-by-step teaching tips, passages, and organizers to help students cite text evidence with confidence.
In 30 years of teaching special education and upper elementary ELA, RACES was easily the strategy that worked every time, with 3rd through 6th graders, across every ability level. Here’s exactly how I taught it.
WHAT IS THE RACE – RACES WRITING RESPONSE STRATEGY?
Students and teachers rely on the RACE – RACES written response strategy for a good reason. It’s a simple method for teaching students how to answer text-based questions.
RACE – RACES gives students a simple checklist for writing a strong answer to any passage, story, or text.
Many students aren’t sure how to begin when it’s time to write about what they’ve read. This easy-to-use method gives students confidence, and it works in every subject.
WHY SHOULD TEACHERS USE RACE/RACES?
Students often struggle to write complete answers on tests, quizzes, assignments, and high-stakes tests. RACE/RACES gives them a step-by-step formula that works across every subject and builds confidence fast.
All students benefit from direct writing instruction but reluctant writers need it most. They need to be shown exactly what to write and how to write it. Regular practice will help improve their skills.
RACE/RACES helps students organize their thinking before they write. As they follow the steps, they learn to add the important details, like citing evidence and extending their answers, and build the habit of writing clear, complete responses.
What do the letters in RACE – RACES mean?
First, decide whether you’ll teach RACE or RACES.
RACE:
R – Restate the question
A – Answer the question
C – Cite the text evidence
E – Explain and extend the evidence
RACES:
R – Restate the question
A – Answer the question
C – Cite the text evidence
E – Explain and extend the evidence
S – Summarize your answer
*Some teachers prefer RACER, ACE, or ACES instead – pick whichever best suits your students and curriculum.
Breaking Down Each Step of the RACE (or RACES) Method
Here’s what each letter means, and how to teach it well.
R – Restate the question
Restating the question becomes the topic sentence of the answer. R and A are often combined into one sentence, and neither needs to be a complete sentence on its own. Remember — there’s more than one right way to write it.
A – Answer the question
Students answer the question in their own words. Many students skip an important step here: going back to check the text. I always told my students to look back every time, even if they think they already know the answer.
Students also need to answer every part of the question. Missing a part is one of the most common ways kids lose points on tests.
C – Cite the text evidence
First, make sure students know what “cite” means. I always linked “cite” to the word “sight” and connected it to looking back at the reading and seeing the answer in the text with their own eyes. That connection helps it stick, especially if “cite” is a new word for them.
This is the step where students pull words and ideas straight from the text.
Older students can practice using quotation marks to show exact wording — teach this directly. Younger students can explain the text in their own words instead.
Sentence starters, also called sentence stems, help every student with this step, expecially strugglers.
Some examples are:
“The text states ___”
“The author explains ___”
Let students use whichever stems feel most natural to them. Need a printable set for your classroom? Check the end of this article for links.
E – Explain and extend the evidence
This step asks students to expand on their answer. In their own words, they explain what the evidence means, and add an example to make it clearer and easier to understand.
S – Summarize your answer (Optional)
This is your final step if you’re using RACES.
Think of it as a closing sentence in paragraph writing. It’s a restatement of the topic sentence that wraps up the response.
How do I teach the RACE/RACES strategy?
There are many right ways to teach this. You know your students best, so use these as a starting point and adjust as needed.
1. Choose the right text
The right text depends on your students — RACE/RACES works with almost any passage. Start with something simple: easy enough that students aren’t struggling to understand it, but with enough detail to work with. That keeps the focus on answering the question, not decoding the text. I’ve found the best starting point is a short passage on a topic kids actually find interesting.
Skip the prep! This print-and-go passage set includes everything you need – passages, graphic organizers, rubrics, and posters – all classroom-tested and ready to print!
Eventually, as students practice and improve their skills, you can challenge them with more complex texts.
2. Differentiate based on student needs
Differentiating is easy with RACE/RACES.
When you introduce it, pick passages that feel familiar, like a topic you’ve already covered or a text they’ve already read. The is especially helpful for struggling students and students in special education.
3. Use different types of reading materials
RACE/RACES works with any type of text, so use the variety your students need. Once they’re comfortable with the strategy, try mixing things up:
- Different text lengths
- Different genres – fiction, nonfiction, persuasion, expository, etc.
- Different complexity levels
- Different question types
- Paired passages
4. Teach important words and terms
Explain key terms out loud as you model the strategy, and keep using them daily — words like cite, extend, evidence, and text. Students pick up vocabulary faster when they hear it often and naturally. (We all know how well kids “understand” the word text!)
More Tips for Teaching RACE/RACES
You’ve introduced the steps, now here’s how to make them stick.
5. Use color-coding to highlight
Color-code each step as you model it — highlight or underline the text in a different color for R, A, C, E, and S. Keep modeling and thinking aloud for as long as your students need it.
6. Use visuals for easy reference
Hang visual reminders in your classroom and point students back to them often. Posters work well on the wall; anchor charts work well built together as a class or in small groups.
Bookmarks are handy too. Tape one inside a notebook or on a desk. Give students an extra copy to keep at home
7. Think about pacing and review
Teach one step a day, or two. The right pace depends on your students’ age and ability. Model and practice often. Start as a whole group, then gradually let students work on their own.
A Quick Recap of RACE – RACES:
- Explain important terms and steps as you think aloud.
- Model the steps while the class watches.
- Encourage students to contribute their own ideas. Students can read passages and develop answers to text-based questions as a large group, small group, and with partners.
- Transition students to independence after they understand what’s expected of them.
- Use important terms daily as you teach, so students hear important words used naturally and frequently.
Keep coming back to RACE/RACES throughout the year to keep the skill sharp. It won’t make every response perfect, but repeated practice makes the habit stick.
Shop this Article
RACE – RACES Strategy Bundle:
This RACE – RACES complete writing bundle includes everything you need to teach the RACE (and RACES) writing strategy in one place, organized, easy to use, and classroom-tested.
This bundle includes:
- High-interest reading passages
- Sample responses
- Lesson plans
- Rubrics
- Graphic organizers
- Posters
- Sentence stems
- Bulletin board sets
This was definitely my best strategy when teaching special education and upper elementary ELA. I used it successfully with 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th graders across a wide range of abilities – and it worked every time.
RACE – RACES Passages:
This RACE – RACES writing strategy passage set helps students write well-organized responses, build text-dependent analysis skills, and cite evidence from the reading passages. Follow the simple lessons to help students respond to a passage and text-dependent question. Students feel confident having a strategy for essay writing responses.
This set includes passages, sample responses, graphic organizers, rubrics, posters, and bookmarks.
Sentence Starters – Writing Stems:
If you need sentence starters that are ready to be printed and hung in your classroom, check out the Sentence Starters sets at my Teachers Pay Teachers store. There are two different styles for you to look over.
These sentence starters are also known as writing stems, sentence stems, and constructed response starters.
RACE – RACES Bulletin Board sets – with starter lesson:
This is a simple lesson and bulletin board set to teach your students the RACE or RACES strategy for writing. Follow the simple lesson to help students respond to a passage and open-ended text-dependent question.
Choose from two colored sets. First is the bright bulletin board and lesson set.
Or choose the Boho neutral-colored set.
Want to boost reading comprehension and citing text evidence skills?
Your students can successfully cite text evidence when responding to reading comprehension questions.
Step-by-step on how to teach your students to cite text evidence in their reading.
How to Teach Compare and Contrast Essays.
Help students write high-quality responses and prepare for tests with Sentence Starters.
If you use a PLOT DIAGRAM, this article shows you How to Use the Plot Diagram for Teaching.
About the Author
Written by Jules Rhee, MEd, and a 30-year teaching veteran; published 6/24/2021; Last updated 7/13/2026.
Jules is the creator of Caffeine Queen Teacher (CQT) – Visual Math Organizers + Graph Paper Support. She’s a veteran teacher with over 30 years of classroom experience (SPED, upper elementary, and middle school) and a Master’s in Education (MEd). Jules shares practical, classroom-tested ideas and creates step-by-step resources that help students stay organized, confident, and successful – especially with multiplication and long division.
Read more about Jules here: About Page | Browse resources here: TpT Store
