CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.1
The Standard
Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Reading Standards for Literature
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students answer questions about a story using the author’s exact words as evidence. They also use quoted details to support conclusions the author leaves unstated.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student selects a brief, relevant passage, copies it exactly, and uses quotation marks. The student explains how the passage supports a direct answer or a reasonable inference.
Common Misconceptions
- Students often copy too much, change words inside quotation marks, or choose a detail that does not support their answer. They may treat a guess as an inference or repeat the quote without explaining it.
How to Assess It
- Give students a one-page story. Ask, “What did Maya do after the contest, and how did she feel? Support each answer with an exact quote, then explain your inference.”
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Print story excerpts and evidence strips. Students match each question to a quote, then underline the words that prove the answer.
Discuss: Which line best shows why the character left, and what does that line help us infer?
Play Evidence Relay: Teams race to find, copy, and explain the strongest quote for each story question.
Read a short review and identify the exact words supporting the reviewer’s opinion before deciding whether the opinion is fair.
Free download
Printable RL.5.1 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.1, 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: Literature progression map.
Before This Standard
If students are struggling here, check these first.
What This Unlocks
Mastery here sets students up for these next.
Keep exploring
Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.1
The 5th Grade version of this standard.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.1
Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to suppo...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.1
Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
Turn this exact standard into a lesson
Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.