South Dakota ELA 9-10.RI.8

9-10.RI.8 is a cluster heading. These are the individual standards under it.

• 9-10.RI.8.a

  Assess whether the reasoning is valid, and the evidence is relevant and sufficient.

• 9-10.RI.8.b

  Identify false statements and fallacious reasoning.

01

What Students Need to Do

Students identify an author’s main argument, specific claims, reasons, and evidence. They check whether the evidence supports each claim, whether there is enough of it, and whether any facts or reasoning are faulty.

02

What Mastery Looks Like

A student can point to a claim and show which facts the author uses to support it. They can explain why a survey of eight people is too small to support a claim about everyone, or why two events happening together do not prove cause.

03

Common Misconceptions

Students may treat one vivid story as proof of a broad claim. They may trust a source without checking whether its evidence fits the claim. They may also mistake an unsupported claim for a proven false statement.

04

How to Assess It

Give students this argument: “Five of eight students surveyed felt more alert after sleeping in. Therefore, every student learns more when school starts at 9.” Ask them to underline the claim, circle the evidence, and explain one problem with the reasoning.

1. 01

   Give pairs a printed opinion column and three highlighter colors to mark claims, reasons, and evidence, then draw lines showing what supports what.

2. 02

   Ask students to write whether higher attendance proves that later school start times raise grades, and name the missing evidence.

3. 03

   Give pairs six claim-and-evidence cards; have them sort the evidence into relevant, irrelevant, and too limited to support the claim.

4. 04

   Compare a phone plan ad’s “best value” claim with two plans’ posted prices, data caps, and fees.

• 9-10.RST.8

  Delineate (break down) and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid, and the evidence is relevant and suffi...

• 8.RI.8

  Delineate (break down) and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text

• 9-10.RH.8

  Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid, and the evidence is relevant and sufficient.

• 7.RI.8

  Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text.