CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.7
The Standard
Explain how specific images (e.g., a diagram showing how a machine works) contribute to and clarify a text.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Reading Standards for Informational Text
What This Standard Means
Students need to use pictures, diagrams, charts, captions, and labels to better understand an informational text. They should not just name what they see. They need to explain how the image helps the reader learn something that the words alone may not fully show.
Mastery looks like a student saying, “The diagram shows the parts of the bee, so I can understand what the text means by thorax.” Students often get stuck describing the image without connecting it to the text, or they skip labels and captions that carry key information.
Ways to Teach It
- Give pairs a short animal article with a labeled diagram, then have them match three facts from the text to parts of the image.
- Ask students to write: How does this picture help you understand one sentence or paragraph in the text?
- Show one page from an informational book and ask students to point to one image feature and explain what it teaches.
- Bring in a simple toy or classroom tool manual, then compare the written directions with the picture that shows how it works.
Plan a Lesson for CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.7
Generate a complete lesson plan aligned to this standard, with objectives, activities, and materials. Free, no account needed.
Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.7
Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, an...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.7
Explain how specific aspects of a text's illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a charact...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.1.7
Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.7
Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.