Maryland ELA RI.5.1
The Standard
Cite multiple pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
Maryland College and Career Ready Standards for English Language Arts (2025)
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students identify facts an article states directly and make inferences from its details. They use at least two separate details to support an answer and explain the link.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can separate what the author says from what they conclude. They choose two relevant details, cite them by paragraph or short quote, and explain why both fit.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may call a guess an inference even when the text gives no clues. They may repeat one detail twice or choose details that mention the topic but do not support their answer.
How to Assess It
- Give students a short article about beaver dams. Ask, 'How might a dam help other animals?' Require two different details and an explanation of how each supports the answer.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs a printed article about beaver dams and two highlighters; mark stated facts in blue and clues for an inference in yellow.
Ask, 'How might a beaver dam change life for nearby animals?' Have partners defend their answers with two details from the article.
Play Evidence Match: place claim cards and detail cards from the article on desks; teams match each claim with two supporting details.
Print a local weather advisory; ask why outdoor recess might move indoors and have students cite two details from the advisory.
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Printable RI.5.1 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to RI.5.1, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
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Related Standards
- RL.7.1
Cite multiple pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
- RL.6.1
Cite multiple pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
- RI.7.1
The 7th Grade version of this standard.
- RL.8.1
Cite multiple pieces of textual evidence that most strongly support an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
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