South Dakota ELA 9-10.RI.8.b

ELAGrades 9–10Reading Informational Text

The Standard

9-10.RI.8: Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text.

Identify false statements and fallacious reasoning.

South Dakota English Language Arts Standards (2025)

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students check whether a writer's factual claims match the evidence. They also spot conclusions that do not follow from the evidence, even when the facts themselves are true.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can point to a false claim, show the evidence that disproves it, and explain the error. They can also explain why one person's experience does not prove something is true for everyone.
Common Misconceptions: Students may call an opinion false simply because they disagree with it. They may also accept a conclusion because its supporting facts are true, without checking whether those facts are enough.
How to Assess It: Give this exit ticket: A survey of 100 students found that 20 like the new lunch menu. A student says, 'No one likes it. My friend hates it, so everyone does.' Ask students to identify the false statement and explain the reasoning error.

Lesson moves

Give pairs a printed ad and two highlighters; mark checkable claims in yellow and leaps in reasoning in blue, then verify one claim.
Post 'One athlete cheated, so the whole team cheats' and ask students to write why the conclusion does not follow.
Give groups claim cards and fact cards; have them sort claims into false statement, faulty reasoning, or both, then explain one choice.
Show a product ad claiming 'Nine out of ten customers approve' and ask students what survey details they need before trusting it.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 9-10.RI.8.b, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

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