South Dakota ELA 9-10.RL.10.a

ELAGrades 9–10Reading Literature

The Standard

9-10.RL.10: By the end of the year, independently read and comprehend literary texts representing a variety of genres, cultures, and perspectives that exhibit complexity appropriate for at least grade 9 and 10.

Demonstrate proficiency in reading and comprehending grade-appropriate texts.

South Dakota English Language Arts Standards (2025)

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Read a grade-level story on their own and follow what happens. Use details from the text to explain characters’ choices and ideas the author leaves unstated.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can summarize an unfamiliar story accurately, including its central conflict and ending. They can explain a character’s choice with a relevant detail from the text.
Common Misconceptions: Students may list events without identifying the central conflict. They may guess why a character acts a certain way without checking whether the story supports their answer.
How to Assess It: After students read “The Lottery,” ask them to summarize the ending in two sentences. Then ask why the villagers go through with the lottery and require one supporting detail.

Lesson moves

Give pairs six event cards from “The Lottery” to put in order, then have them mark where the mood shifts.
Ask, “What clues suggest the lottery is not a celebration?” Have partners find two details before they discuss.
Give teams claim cards about the villagers and have them race to find a supporting line for each claim.
Bring a printed school handbook rule and ask students to compare why people follow it with why the villagers keep the lottery.

Free download

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

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

Keep exploring

Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.