CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.5
The Standard
Analyze the structure of the relationships among concepts in a text, including relationships among key terms (e.g., force, friction, reaction force, energy).
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 track how a science or technical text connects ideas, not just define vocabulary. They should notice cause and effect, part to whole, sequence, comparison, and how key terms depend on each other to build meaning.
Mastery looks like a student explaining how terms work together in the text, using evidence from headings, diagrams, transitions, and sentences. Students often get stuck by treating terms as separate flashcard words, missing signal words, or copying definitions without explaining the relationship.
Ways to Teach It
- Give students a short physics passage and have them build a concept map linking force, friction, energy, and reaction force with labeled arrows.
- Ask students to write: Which two key terms in this section depend on each other, and how do you know from the text?
- Use a five-question exit ticket where students match term pairs to relationships like causes, reduces, produces, or transfers.
- Have students analyze a bicycle braking diagram and explain how friction, force, motion, and energy relate in the labels.
Plan a Lesson for CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.5
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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.RI.5.3
Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on sp...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.3
Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, and ideas in a text (e.g., how ideas influence individuals or events, or how individuals influence ideas o...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.3
Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories).