South Dakota ELA 2.RL.4
The Standard
Identify and explain how words and phrases create meaning or tone in stories, poems, songs or other texts that have literal and non-literal meanings including but not limited to emotions.
South Dakota English Language Arts Standards (2025)
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students find words and short phrases that shape how a story, poem, or song feels. They explain what a phrase means in context, including when it does not mean exactly what it says.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can explain that in “the wind whispered,” whispered makes the wind seem quiet and gentle, not able to talk. They can point to words in a short poem that make it feel cheerful, sad, or spooky.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think “my heart sank” means a heart moved downward. They may name a feeling without pointing to the words that suggest it.
How to Assess It
- Give students this sentence: “Mia’s heart sank when her kite tore.” Ask them to explain “heart sank,” say whether it happened literally, and name the feeling it gives the sentence.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs word cards reading whispered, howled, and blew; have them place each in “The wind ___” and describe how the sentence changes.
Read “The wind whispered at the window,” then ask students to write why whispered feels different from blew.
Play phrase match with cards such as “butterflies in my stomach” and “felt nervous”; students pair each phrase with its meaning.
Show two playground signs, “Please walk” and “Slow down, speedy feet!”; ask students which sounds playful and which words make it so.
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Printable 2.RL.4 Worksheet
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