CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.2
The Standard
Analyze the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or issue under study.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Speaking and Listening Standards
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students find the main idea in information presented through speech, images, charts, numbers, or video. They identify supporting details and explain how those details make the topic clearer.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students accurately state the main idea and select relevant evidence from visuals, numbers, audio, or text. They explain how specific details add context, examples, or evidence to the topic.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may treat every fact as equally important or choose a striking detail as the main idea. They may summarize each source without explaining how its details improve understanding. They may also ignore information shown in charts, images, or audio cues.
How to Assess It
- Show a short infographic about screen time. Ask students to name its main idea, cite two supporting details, and explain how one detail clarifies the issue.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give groups an infographic, a one-minute audio clip, and a paragraph; students sort note cards into main ideas, details, and connections.
Ask students to write: Which detail changed or sharpened your understanding of the issue, and why?
Play Detail Detective by showing one media source and having teams match evidence cards to the main idea they best support.
Compare a weather forecast map with a spoken forecast, then explain what each format helps viewers understand about upcoming conditions.
Free download
Printable SL.7.2 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.2, 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 Speaking & Listening progression map.
Before This Standard
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What This Unlocks
Mastery here sets students up for these next.
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Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.7
Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topi...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.3.2
Determine the main ideas and supporting details of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, ...
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