CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.5
The Standard
Analyze how a particular sentence, paragraph, chapter, or section fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the ideas.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Reading Standards for Informational Text
What This Standard Means
Students need to explain how one small part of an informational text works inside the whole piece. They should be able to point to a sentence, paragraph, chapter, heading, sidebar, or section and say what job it does, such as introducing a claim, adding evidence, showing a contrast, explaining a cause, or wrapping up an idea.
Mastery looks like more than naming the text structure. Students can connect the part to the author’s bigger purpose and idea development. Common trouble spots are vague answers like “it gives information,” confusing topic with main idea, and describing what a paragraph says without explaining why it is placed there.
Ways to Teach It
- Cut a short article into sections, have pairs reorder it, then label each section’s job in the text.
- Ask students to answer: Why did the author put this paragraph here instead of earlier or later?
- Give one paragraph from yesterday’s article and ask students to write its job in one sentence with evidence.
- Show a news article with headings and ask students how each section helps readers follow the issue.
Before This Standard
If students are struggling here, check these first.
Plan a Lesson for CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.5
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What This Unlocks
Mastery here sets students up for these next.
Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.5
Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relat...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.5
Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to an understanding of the topic.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.5
Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the theme, setting,...