lesson
Updated 1 month ago · 7 views
Every 90 minutes, a giant column of boiling water shoots over 100 feet into the sky at Yellowstone National Park.
If someone asks you who saw it, you can answer in one word — but if they ask why or how it happens, you need a full explanation backed by facts.
The 3-Step Answer Recipe
A complete answer to a why or how question needs three parts: your claim (the direct answer), the text evidence (exact facts or quotes), and your reasoning (connecting how the facts make the event happen).
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How do we put this recipe to work on a real science passage?
Worked Example: A Natural Phenomenon
Read this short passage about geysers:
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Question: How does underground water turn into an erupting geyser?
Let's build a strong three-sentence answer using our recipe.
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Notice how the answer didn't just stop at 'because of steam' — it explained the whole chain of events from heat to pressure to eruption.