Virginia SOL 6.RI.1.C
The Standard
Trace the argument and specific claims in texts, distinguishing claims that are supported by evidence and reasons, from claims that are not.
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 the author’s main position and the smaller claims used to build it. They connect each claim to relevant reasons and evidence, then flag claims that lack support.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students can make a claim map showing the main argument, smaller claims, reasons, and evidence. They can explain why specific evidence supports a claim and identify gaps in the author’s support.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may treat any detail as evidence, even when it does not support the claim. They may confuse the author’s claim with their own opinion. They may also assume a claim is supported simply because a reason follows it.
How to Assess It
- Give students a short paragraph with three claims. Ask them to label each claim supported or unsupported, then copy the reason or evidence for each supported claim.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give groups sentence strips with claims, reasons, and evidence, then have them sort and connect matching strips with yarn.
Ask, “Which claim is best supported, and why?” Students write a response using one quoted detail from the text.
Play Evidence Detective, where pairs earn points by matching claims to relevant evidence and rejecting unrelated details.
Analyze a product advertisement and list its claims, supporting proof, and claims that rely only on catchy language.
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Related Standards
- 12.RI.1.C
Analyze the argument and specific claims in texts, examining whether the reasoning is valid, the evidence is relevant, and whether there are any false premises ...
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Trace the argument and specific claims in texts and assess whether all the evidence presented is relevant and whether irrelevant evidence was introduced.
- 10.RI.1.C
Evaluate the argument and specific claims in texts, examining whether the reasoning is valid, the evidence is relevant, and whether there are any false or unsup...
- 8.RI.1.C
Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning and evidence are relevant and sufficient to support the claims.
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