CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.10
The Standard
By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in the grades 9—10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies 6—12
What This Standard Means
Students need to read grade-level history and social studies texts without heavy teacher support. They should handle textbooks, primary sources, court opinions, speeches, maps with captions, and scholarly articles. They need to track claims, evidence, chronology, cause and effect, and vocabulary tied to the topic.
Mastery looks like students explaining the main idea, using evidence, and noticing point of view or purpose after one or two readings. They can manage dense sentences and unfamiliar terms with context and notes. Students often get stuck on long sentences, old-fashioned wording, background knowledge gaps, and confusing dates or names.
Ways to Teach It
- Give pairs a short primary source and have them annotate claims, evidence, unknown terms, and one question in different colors.
- Ask students to write: What does this author want readers to believe, and which two details show that purpose?
- Use a five-minute exit ticket with one main idea, one evidence quote, and one confusing phrase from today’s reading.
- Bring in a current news article on the same issue and have students compare its language and purpose with the historical text.
Plan a Lesson for CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.10
Generate a complete lesson plan aligned to this standard, with objectives, activities, and materials. Free, no account needed.
What This Unlocks
Mastery here sets students up for these next.
Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.10
By the end of grade 8, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in the grades 6—8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.10
By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 9—10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffold...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.10
By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 9—10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.