The UNWRAP strategy is a step-by-step active reading technique designed to help children break down reading passages, maintain focus, and find text evidence to support their answers. It turns reading comprehension into an interactive process:

How UNWRAP Works

• U – Underline the title: Have your child underline the title to focus on the main topic and make a quick prediction about what the passage will be about.

• N – Number the paragraphs: Numbering each paragraph helps your child organize the passage and makes it easy to track down specific information later.

• W – Walk through the questions: Have your child preview the questions before reading the full text. This gives them a clear purpose and tells them what key information to look out for.

• R – Read the text: Your child reads the passage carefully. For harder texts, they can read it twice—once for general understanding and a second time to highlight main ideas or take brief notes.

• A – Answer the questions: Your child works through the questions, eliminating obviously incorrect choices as they go.

• P – Prove the answers: Before writing down a final answer, your child finds the exact sentence in the passage that supports their choice, underlines it, and writes the paragraph number next to the question.

How to Support This at Home

Ask your child, "Which paragraph proves your answer?" Requiring them to point directly to the text evidence prevents guessing and builds strong critical thinking skills.

The RACE strategy is a step-by-step writing framework that helps children answer open-ended comprehension questions thoroughly by structuring their thoughts and using text evidence.

The RACE Steps

• R – Restate the question: Have your child rephrase the prompt into a statement so their written response starts with a clear focus.

• A – Answer the question: Your child gives a direct, complete answer to all parts of the question using their own words.

• C – Cite evidence from the text: Your child provides specific details or a direct quote from the passage to support their answer (e.g., "In paragraph 2, the text states...").

• E – Explain the evidence: Your child explains how or why that text detail proves their answer (e.g., "This shows that the character was...").

How to Support This at Home Check that your child doesn't stop after just answering the prompt. The most frequently skipped steps are C and E—remind them to always point back to the story for proof and explain why that proof supports their answer.