CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.2
The Standard
Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/experiments, or technical processes.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 6—12
What This Standard Means
Students need to explain a topic, event, procedure, experiment, or process clearly for a reader who was not there. They should organize ideas in a logical order, use accurate facts and terms, include useful details, and connect steps or ideas with clear transitions.
Mastery looks like writing that teaches, not just lists facts. Students explain causes, steps, conditions, or results with enough evidence and context. Common trouble spots are weak introductions, copying source language, skipping steps, using vague words like “stuff” or “things,” and ending without explaining why the information matters.
Ways to Teach It
- Give groups a simple lab procedure, have them perform it, then write a clear step-by-step explanation for an absent classmate.
- Ask students to explain how one historical event caused another, using the prompt: What happened, why, and what changed?
- Collect a five-sentence exit paragraph explaining today’s process, with one transition word and two accurate content terms underlined.
- Have students analyze a recipe, phone repair guide, or weather report, then identify how it teaches a process or explains information.
What This Unlocks
Mastery here sets students up for these next.
Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2
Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/experiments, or technical processes.
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