Virginia SOL 3.RI.1.C
The Standard
Identify and explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support specific points in texts.
Virginia Standards of Learning for English · Key Ideas and Confirming Details
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students identify a point the author wants readers to accept. They locate reasons and facts that support it, then explain how those details strengthen the point.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students state a specific point in their own words. They identify a matching reason or fact and explain how it makes the point more convincing.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may choose any fact from the text, even when it does not connect to the author’s point. They may also confuse a reason with evidence or repeat the point instead of explaining the connection.
How to Assess It
- Give students a short paragraph and ask: “What point is the author making? Underline one supporting reason and circle one piece of evidence.”
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs sentence strips with points, reasons, and facts, then have them sort and match each supporting detail to the correct point.
Ask students to write: “Which detail best supports the author’s point, and how does it help prove that point?”
Play Evidence Match by reading a point aloud while teams hold up the reason or fact card that supports it best.
Compare two snack advertisements and list the reasons and facts each one uses to convince buyers.
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Related Standards
- 5.RI.1.C
Describe how an author uses reasons, evidence, and opinions to support points in a text, by identifying (and accurately quoting) which reasons and evidence supp...
- 6.RI.1.C
Trace the argument and specific claims in texts, distinguishing claims that are supported by evidence and reasons, from claims that are not.
- 10.W.1.B.ii
Support well-defined points of view effectively with relevant evidence and clear reasoning in ways that logically advance the claim(s).
- 4.RI.1.C
Distinguish between fact and opinion and explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support opinions within texts.
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