CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.1

ELA7th GradeKey Ideas and Details

The Standard

Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.

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

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students read primary and secondary historical sources, make a claim or inference, and find specific details that support it. They explain how each quotation or paraphrased detail proves their point.
What Mastery Looks Like: Students make a clear claim about a historical source and support it with a precise quotation or paraphrased detail. They identify where the evidence appears and explain the connection to their claim.
Common Misconceptions: Students may copy a sentence without explaining how it supports their claim. They may choose evidence that is related to the topic but does not prove the point. Some confuse a firsthand account with a later interpretation.
How to Assess It: Give students a short diary excerpt and ask: “What does the writer believe about the event? Cite one detail and explain how it supports your answer.”

Lesson moves

Give pairs printed source excerpts to cut apart, then match claims with the strongest supporting details.
Ask students to write which detail best reveals an author’s viewpoint and explain their choice in two sentences.
Play Evidence Relay, where teams race to locate and label the strongest evidence for each posted claim.
Compare a news report with an eyewitness post about the same event, then identify evidence that supports each account’s main idea.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.1, 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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