CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.8
The Standard
Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Reading Standards for Informational Text
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students identify a point the author makes. They locate the reasons, facts, examples, or quotations used to back it, then explain the connection.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Given a short article, students can state one point and select the reasons and evidence tied to it. They can explain the link in their own words.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may name a detail without explaining how it supports the author’s point. They may confuse a reason with evidence or choose an interesting fact that is unrelated.
How to Assess It
- Give students a short paragraph with one clear point and two supporting details. Ask, “What point does the author make, and how does each detail support it?”
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Print sentence strips from a paragraph, then have students sort the point, reasons, and evidence and connect related strips with yarn.
Ask students to write: “The author’s point is ___, and the evidence supports it because ___.”
Play an evidence match game where teams pair author points with supporting details and explain each match for a point.
Examine a product advertisement and discuss whether its facts and examples actually support the claims being made.
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Printable RI.4.8 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.8, 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: Informational Text progression map.
Before This Standard
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What This Unlocks
Mastery here sets students up for these next.
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