South Dakota ELA 9-10.RL.2

9-10.RL.2 is a cluster heading. These are the individual standards under it.

• 9-10.RL.2.a

  Analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it is introduced, built, and refined by specific details.

• 9-10.RL.2.b

  Provide an objective summary of the text to support thematic analysis.

01

What Students Need to Do

Students state what a story suggests about an idea such as love or sacrifice. They show how details at the beginning, middle, and end shape that idea. They also summarize the plot without adding opinions.

02

What Mastery Looks Like

A student states a theme as a full idea, not a single word. They explain how early details set it up and how later details sharpen it. Their plot summary sticks to what happens.

03

Common Misconceptions

Students may name “love” as the theme without saying what the story suggests about love. They may cite only the ending and miss how earlier details prepare for it. They may add their opinions of characters to the summary.

04

How to Assess It

After reading “The Gift of the Magi,” ask students to write a two-sentence plot summary without opinions. Then have them state one theme and explain how Della’s coin counting and the final gift exchange develop it.

1. 01

   Sort cards showing Della counting coins, selling her hair, and the gift exchange; write how each moment shapes a theme.

2. 02

   Write: What does the final gift exchange add to the idea of love that Della’s early coin counting does not?

3. 03

   Play theme or topic: display “love” and “Love can require sacrifice”; partners choose the theme and support it with a story detail.

4. 04

   Show a jewelry-store ad with a price tag; students compare its message about love with Della and Jim’s gifts.

• 9-10.RI.2

  Determine a central idea of a text.

• 7.RL.2

  Determine a theme or central idea(s) of a text.

• 6.RL.2

  Determine a theme or central idea(s) of a text.

• 8.RL.2

  Determine a theme or central idea(s) of a text.