Kentucky Reading and Writing RI.3.2
The Standard
Identify implicit and cite explicit information from an informational text to determine the central idea of a text.
Kentucky Academic Standards for Reading and Writing (2025) · Key Ideas and Details
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students read a nonfiction passage and figure out its central idea. They use a fact stated in the text and something they can figure out from clues to support their answer.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can state an idea that fits the whole passage, not just one detail. They point to a supporting fact and explain an unstated idea using clues from the text.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may name the topic, such as bees, instead of saying what the text teaches about bees. They may choose one interesting fact as the central idea or make a guess without using clues.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Read, 'Bees carry pollen between flowers, helping plants grow fruit and seeds.' Write the central idea, copy one stated detail, and explain one idea the text suggests without saying it directly.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs a bee article and two sticky-note colors; students label stated facts and inferred ideas, then write the central idea.
After a rain garden article, ask: 'What is the author teaching us? Which sentence and clue helped you decide?'
Play Fact or Figure Out using cards about animal camouflage; students sort stated facts and inferred ideas before writing the central idea.
Read a school notice about a lunch schedule change; students underline its reason and infer what they must do differently.
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Printable RI.3.2 Worksheet
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Related Standards
- RI.2.2
Identify implicit and explicit information from an informational text to determine the central idea of a text.
- RI.4.2
Analyze how the central ideas are reflected in a text, and cite relevant implicit and explicit evidence from the text.
- RI.5.2
Analyze how the central ideas are reflected in a text, and cite relevant implicit and explicit evidence to support thinking.
- RI.1.2
With prompting and support, recognize key details from an informational text to demonstrate understanding of the central idea of a text.
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