CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.2b
The Standard
Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples related to the topic.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students add accurate information that explains and supports an informational topic. They select useful facts, definitions, specific details, quotations, and examples that clearly relate to the topic.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students choose accurate, relevant information and use it to explain a topic clearly. They combine facts, definitions, examples, details, or quotations in an organized paragraph.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may list facts without explaining how they connect to the topic. They may include opinions, vague statements, unrelated examples, or quotations with no source or context.
How to Assess It
- Give students the topic “How bees help plants.” Ask them to write three connected sentences using one fact, one definition, and one example.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs fact, definition, example, and quotation cards about volcanoes to sort, then use three cards to build a paragraph.
Ask students to write which detail best explains why leaves change color, then justify their choice in one sentence.
Play Detail Detective by having teams remove the unrelated sentence from each short informational paragraph and explain why it does not fit.
Examine a museum label or zoo sign, then identify how its facts, definitions, and examples help visitors understand the subject.
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Printable W.4.2b Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.2b, 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
Before This Standard
If students are struggling here, check these first.
What This Unlocks
Mastery here sets students up for these next.
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Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.2b
Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.2b
Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.2b
Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
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