You can’t place Teacher Text inside an Open Answer box, but there’s a simple workaround to keep your question visible while students write their responses.

When you create an Open Answer question, anything entered in the Starter Text field disappears as soon as students start typing. That makes it difficult for students to refer back to the question — especially for multi-step prompts or longer responses.

To keep your question visible, use Teacher Text instead.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Add a Teacher Text element and type your full question or prompt there.

2. Place the Teacher Text directly above your Open Answer box.

3. (Optional) Use the Starter Text field for a quick note like “Type your answer here.”

This layout keeps your question or prompt on the screen while students work, so they can reference it easily as they write.

Tip: Avoid using Teacher Notes for this purpose — those are only visible to you and best suited for rubrics, scoring guides, or answer keys.