CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.4
The Standard
Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.
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 work out unfamiliar words and phrases while reading grade-level nonfiction. They use nearby clues, word parts, text features, and reference tools to confirm a meaning.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students infer a word’s meaning from context, word parts, examples, or definitions in the passage. They explain which clues support their meaning and check that it fits the topic.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may choose a familiar meaning that does not fit the passage. They may rely on one nearby word, ignore word parts, or confuse a topic term with its example.
How to Assess It
- Give students this sentence: “The desert tortoise is dormant during the coldest months, remaining inactive in its burrow.” Ask them to define “dormant” and underline two clues.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs context-clue cards and meaning cards to match, then have them highlight the words that support each match.
Ask students to explain in writing how an author helps readers understand one unfamiliar word in a short science passage.
Play vocabulary detective bingo, with students finding examples of definitions, synonyms, antonyms, word parts, and examples in informational texts.
Read a weather report and have students infer technical terms such as precipitation, humidity, and visibility before checking a weather glossary.
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Printable RI.5.4 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.4, 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
If students are struggling here, check these first.
What This Unlocks
Mastery here sets students up for these next.
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Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.4
Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.4
Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant...
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