CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.11-12.3
The Standard
Follow precisely a complex multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks; analyze the specific results based on explanations in the text.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Reading Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects 6—12
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students read a detailed procedure and carry it out in the correct order without skipping conditions, measurements, or safety steps. They use the text to explain the results they observe.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students complete each step in order and use the stated tools, units, settings, and safety rules. They connect their results to a specific explanation or condition in the text.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may skim, change the order, ignore units, or miss conditions such as timing and temperature. They may label unexpected data as wrong instead of using the text to explain it.
How to Assess It
- Give students a six-step paper helicopter procedure and have them complete one timed drop. Ask them to cite one instruction that helps explain their result.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Students build a paper helicopter from numbered directions, time three drops, and record how closely following each step affects the results.
Give students sample lab results and ask, "Which sentence in the procedure best explains the outcome, and why?"
Teams sequence mixed-up procedure cards, then earn points by spotting missing measurements, conditions, tools, or safety steps.
Students use a device setup guide, document each step, and explain why the device worked or failed using details from the guide.
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Printable RST.11-12.3 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.11-12.3, 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: Science & Technical Subjects progression map.
Before This Standard
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Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.6
Analyze the author's purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.3
Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.3
Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks.
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