CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.1

ELAGrades 11–12Key Ideas and Details

The Standard

Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies 6—12

Teacher's field guide

What This Standard Means

What Students Need to Do

Students examine primary and secondary sources, make an interpretation, and support it with exact details from the text. They explain how those details contribute to the source's overall meaning.

What Mastery Looks Like

Students make a clear claim about a historical source and choose precise details that directly support it. They explain how those details connect to the source's broader argument, purpose, or message.

Common Misconceptions

Students may select quotes that mention the topic but do not prove the claim. They may also treat one detail as the whole message or ignore the source's context, purpose, and point of view.

How to Assess It

Give students a short historical speech and ask: “What is the speaker's main argument? Cite two details and explain how each supports your answer.”

Lesson moves

Ways to Teach It

  1. Give pairs a printed primary source to annotate with three colors for claims, supporting details, and links to the source's main message.

  2. Ask students to write: “Which detail best reveals the author's purpose, and how does it shape your understanding of the full source?”

  3. Play Evidence Match by having teams pair claim cards with quotation cards, then defend each match in one sentence.

  4. Compare a current news report with an official statement, identifying which details support each source's account of the same event.

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Printable RH.11-12.1 Worksheet

Preview of the CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.1 printable worksheet

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.1, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

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Learning progression

Where This Standard Sits

See the whole path on the Reading: History/Social Studies progression map.

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