South Dakota ELA 7.RI.2.b

ELA7th GradeReading Informational Text

The Standard

Provide an objective summary of the text.

South Dakota English Language Arts Standards (2025)

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students identify the main point and key details in an informational text. They put those ideas into a short summary in their own words, without opinions or minor details.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can summarize an article so a classmate understands its main point without reading it. The summary includes the most useful details and does not say whether the student agrees.
Common Misconceptions: Students may retell every event or fact in order instead of choosing the main point. They may also add a reaction, such as calling a change helpful, when the text does not make that claim.
How to Assess It: Read this text: “The town library now opens before school. Students can borrow books or use computers. About 40 students visit each morning.” Write a two-sentence summary with no opinion.

Lesson moves

Give pairs a printed article and sticky notes; have them mark the main point and two key details before writing a summary.
Show students a park announcement and ask, “Does calling the park a wonderful improvement belong in a summary?” Have them explain why.
Give groups sentence strips with key facts, minor details, and opinions from one article; have them choose what belongs in a summary.
Print a local bus schedule change notice and have students write a neutral two-sentence update for riders who missed it.

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A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 7.RI.2.b, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

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