South Dakota ELA 7.RI.5
The Standard
Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the specific sentences and paragraphs, as well as larger components (e.g. section, chapter, or scene), contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas.
South Dakota English Language Arts Standards (2025)
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students track how an informational text moves from one idea to the next. They explain what a sentence, paragraph, and section each add to the main idea, not just what each says.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can point to a sentence that states a claim, a paragraph that gives evidence, and a later section that shows a consequence. They explain how that order builds the main idea.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may name a pattern, such as cause and effect, without showing how parts of the text work. They may treat headings as decoration or assume every paragraph starts a new topic. Some summarize a section instead of explaining why the author placed it there.
How to Assess It
- After reading a two-section article about local water use, ask: “Choose one sentence, one paragraph, and one section. Explain what each adds to the main idea.”
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Hand out paragraph strips and section headings from a two-section article on storm safety; students rebuild it and highlight a sentence that links ideas.
Ask pairs, “What would readers miss if the storm safety article’s last section came first?” Require one cited sentence.
Play Structure Match: pairs place problem, evidence, and action cards beside matching sentences, paragraphs, or sections, then explain one choice.
Use a sample field trip notice; students explain how its schedule section, trip-details paragraph, and deadline sentence help families plan.
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Printable 7.RI.5 Worksheet
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Related Standards
- 8.RI.5
Analyze the structural elements of a text, including the role of specific sentences, paragraphs, and text features in developing and refining a key concept.
- 2.RL.5
Evaluate the structure of texts, including sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text and how they connect to the overall meaning.
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