CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.3
The Standard
Evaluate various explanations for actions or events and determine which explanation best accords with textual evidence, acknowledging where the text leaves matters uncertain.
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 compare different explanations for why an action happened or an event unfolded. They use source details to choose the best-supported explanation and point out what remains uncertain.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students identify each explanation and connect it to relevant details from the source. They defend the strongest explanation while clearly naming gaps, conflicts, or unanswered questions.
Common Misconceptions
- Students often choose the most familiar explanation rather than the one best supported by the source. They may count quotations instead of judging relevance, or treat missing evidence as proof that a claim is false.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Which of two explanations for the event is better supported? Cite two details, then name one point the source cannot settle.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give groups evidence cards to sort under competing explanations, then place unclear evidence in an “unresolved” column.
Ask students to write: Which explanation is strongest, what evidence supports it, and what remains uncertain?
Run an evidence ranking game where pairs score source details for relevance, reliability, and strength before choosing an explanation.
Compare two news reports explaining the same public event, then identify which claims have evidence and which rely on speculation.
Free download
Printable RH.11-12.3 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.3, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetLearning progression
Where This Standard Sits
See the whole path on the Reading: History/Social Studies progression map.
Before This Standard
If students are struggling here, check these first.
Keep exploring
Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.3
Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining ...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining ...
Turn this exact standard into a lesson
Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.