South Dakota ELA 11-12.RST.10

ELAGrades 11–12Reading: Science/Technical Subjects

The Standard

By the end of grade 12 read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 11-12 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

South Dakota English Language Arts Standards (2025) · Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students read challenging science or technical texts on their own, including unfamiliar terms and dense explanations. They identify the main idea, follow the supporting details, and use figures and headings to check their understanding.
What Mastery Looks Like: Given a new text, students explain a process or finding in their own words and point to details that support it. They use a graph or diagram to clarify what the text says.
Common Misconceptions: Students may treat a hypothesis as a proven result or use the everyday meaning of a technical word. They may skip a graph's caption or mistake one example for the text's main point.
How to Assess It: Give students a one-page excerpt from NOAA's 'What Is Ocean Acidification?' Ask: 'What happens when seawater absorbs extra carbon dioxide? Explain it in your own words and cite two details from the text.'

Lesson moves

After reading NOAA's ocean acidification page, students arrange cards showing carbon dioxide entering seawater, rising acidity, fewer carbonate ions, and harder shell-building.
Ask, 'Which sentence best explains why shell-building gets harder, and how would you say it in everyday words?'
Post two claims, 'Extra carbon dioxide makes seawater more acidic' and 'Acidification makes shell-building easier'; students find lines that support or correct each.
Show the headline 'Rising acidity threatens oyster farms'; students use NOAA's article to explain the risk to a seafood buyer.

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