Virginia SOL 4.RI
SOL Standard (Knowledge and Skills Cluster)
The student will use textual evidence to demonstrate comprehension and build knowledge from grade-level complex informational texts read.
Virginia Standards of Learning for English
Cluster contents
Knowledge and Skills in This Standard
4.RI is a Standards of Learning standard. These are the knowledge and skills expectations under it.
- 4.RI.1
Key Ideas and Confirming Details
- 4.RI.1.A
Summarize the main idea of multi-paragraph texts and the specific paragraphs within them, explaining how key details support the main ideas.
- 4.RI.1.B
Summarize events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in historical, scientific, or technical texts, including what happened and why.
- 4.RI.1.C
Distinguish between fact and opinion and explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support opinions within texts.
- 4.RI.2
Craft and Style
- 4.RI.2.A
Explain how authors select an organizational pattern (e.g., cause/effect, comparison/contrast, problem/solution) using transitional words and phrases to support...
- 4.RI.2.B
Apply knowledge of text features and search tools in multiple print and digital sources to locate and categorize information efficiently and gain meaning.
- 4.RI.2.C
Explain the author’s purpose for writing, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe based on the connections between particular sentences ...
- 4.RI.3
Integration of Concepts
- 4.RI.3.A
Use prior (experience) and background (content) knowledge as context for new learning.
- 4.RI.3.B
Compare and contrast multiple accounts of the same event or topic and describe the differences in focus and the information provided.
- 4.RI.3.C
Describe the relationships between a series of historical events, scientific concepts, or steps in technical procedures using words that pertain to comparison, ...
Teacher's field guide
What This Cluster Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students read grade-level nonfiction and use specific text evidence to explain what it says. They summarize main ideas, events, procedures, and concepts, then explain how details and relationships support meaning. They also examine facts, opinions, purpose, structure, text features, and differences between sources.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students give concise summaries that include the main idea, key details, and clear relationships among events or ideas. They cite relevant evidence, identify facts and supported opinions, explain text structure and purpose, and compare sources accurately.
Common Misconceptions
- Students often choose an interesting detail as the main idea or copy whole sentences as a summary. They may treat opinions as facts, name a text structure from one transition word, or compare sources without citing evidence.
How to Assess It
- Give students a three-paragraph article containing a clear cause and effect relationship. Ask them to state the main idea, cite two supporting details, summarize the article, and explain its structure.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give groups paragraph strips from an article to arrange, then label the main idea, supporting details, and cause and effect links.
Ask students to write: Which sentence best shows the author’s purpose, and what connection does it have to another paragraph?
Play Evidence Match by having teams pair claim cards with supporting sentence cards from a shared nonfiction passage.
Compare two reports about a school event, then list differences in focus, facts included, and opinions supported by evidence.
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Printable 4.RI Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 4.RI, 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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