CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.6
The Standard
Analyze the author's purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text, defining the question the author seeks to address.
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 read a science or technical text and figure out why the author included certain parts. They should name the question the author is trying to answer, then connect that question to the explanation, procedure, or experiment described in the text.
Mastery looks like a student saying, “The author is trying to find out whether fertilizer changes plant growth, so the procedure shows how the test was controlled.” Students often get stuck by summarizing steps instead of explaining purpose. They may also miss the main research question when the text uses dense terms or gives background first.
Ways to Teach It
- Give students a short lab report and have them highlight the research question, procedure steps, and purpose of each section in different colors.
- Ask students to write: What problem or question made the author include this explanation, procedure, or experiment?
- Use an exit ticket with one paragraph from a technical text and ask students to identify the author’s question in one sentence.
- Have students compare a recipe, a phone repair guide, and a science experiment to explain how purpose changes the way steps are written.
Plan a Lesson for CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.6
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What This Unlocks
Mastery here sets students up for these next.
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.6.6
Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and explain how it is conveyed in the text.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.6
Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe.