CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.5
The Standard
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.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Reading Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects 6—12
What This Standard Means
Students need to notice how a science or technical text is built. They should identify headings, sections, diagrams, steps, cause and effect parts, problem and solution parts, or compare and contrast parts. Then they explain why the author arranged it that way.
Mastery looks like students saying how each section helps the reader understand the topic, not just naming the text structure. They often get stuck by summarizing each section instead of explaining its job. They may also miss how captions, charts, and sidebars support the main text.
Ways to Teach It
- Give students a printed lab article and sticky notes to label each section with its purpose, such as background, method, evidence, or conclusion.
- Ask students to write: Which section could not be removed, and how would the reader’s understanding change without it?
- Use an exit ticket with one paragraph and headings, asking students to name the structure and explain one section’s job.
- Have students compare a recipe, assembly manual, or game rule sheet to a science text and identify how organization helps users act.
Plan a Lesson for CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.5
Generate a complete lesson plan aligned to this standard, with objectives, activities, and materials. Free, no account needed.
Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.5
Analyze how a text uses structure to emphasize key points or advance an explanation or analysis
- 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.RI.7.5
Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.5
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.