Kentucky Reading and Writing RI.8.8
The Standard
Identify and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced.
Kentucky Academic Standards for Reading and Writing (2025) · Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students find the writer’s main position and the smaller claims used to support it. They check whether the reasons make sense, whether the evidence fits, and whether there is enough of it.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Given a short article, a student can name its main position and match each supporting claim with its evidence. They can explain why a detail is off topic, a sample is too small, or a conclusion does not follow from the facts.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may treat any fact as proof, even when it addresses a different issue. They may think one personal story proves a claim about everyone, or that a confident tone means the reasoning is sound.
How to Assess It
- Give students this exit ticket: “Schools should start later because teens need more sleep. In a survey, 9 of 12 students said they felt tired in first period. The cafeteria sells 300 lunches each day.” Ask them to cross out the irrelevant detail and explain whether the survey is enough to support a claim about all students.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs a printed editorial on school start times and colored sticky notes to mark its main position, supporting evidence, and one off-topic detail.
Ask, “Does a survey of 12 classmates justify a claim about every eighth grader?” Have students defend their answer in two sentences.
Run an evidence sort: teams place six printed facts under “supports,” “too little,” or “off topic” for a claim about later start times.
Show a mock sports drink ad that claims “better focus”; students decide whether the calorie count supports that claim.
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Printable RI.8.8 Worksheet
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Related Standards
- RI.6.8
Identify and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, distinguishing claims that are supported by reasons and evidence from unsupported claims.
- RI.7.8
Identify and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to suppor...
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