South Dakota ELA 9-10.RL.1

ELAGrades 9–10Reading Literature

The Standard

Cite strong, relevant and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly and inferentially.

South Dakota English Language Arts Standards (2025)

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students identify what a story says outright and what its details suggest. They make a claim, choose precise evidence, and explain how that evidence supports their reading.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student answers a literal question with an accurate detail from the text. They defend an inference with two well-chosen details and explain why each one matters.
Common Misconceptions: Students may treat a plausible guess as a fact, even when the text does not support it. They may also quote a long passage that mentions the topic but does not prove their claim.
How to Assess It: After reading 'The Gift of the Magi,' ask: What does Della sell, and what does her choice suggest about her feelings for Jim? Cite one detail that proves what she sold and two that support your inference, then explain each choice.

Lesson moves

Hand pairs sentence strips from 'The Gift of the Magi' and claim cards, then have them match each claim to two supporting details.
Ask students to write why Della cries over $1.87, using two lines from the story and explaining what each line shows.
Play Evidence Swap with claims about Della: teams replace weak quotes with stronger lines and explain why each swap improves the claim.
Write a two-sentence review of 'The Gift of the Magi' for a class book board, backing one character claim with two quoted details.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 9-10.RL.1, 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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