Common Core Reading Standards
LiteracyTA provides reading skills that Common Core educators use to teach Common Core Reading Standards.
The Common Core literacy standards are the what. The skills below and the related eCoach discussions are the how. In the table below, you will find next to each Common Core reading standard practical skills, classroom resources, rich conversations and teaching ideas that move all students toward achieving Common Core standards!
Key Ideas and Details
R1

Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; and cite specific evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
Identifying Evidence
Locate evidence or supporting details in a text that support authors' claims.

Introducing Sources
Use these writing templates to practice introducing sources.

Making Inferences
Draw conclusions about ideas in a text that are not directly stated.

Marking a Text
Identify and isolate essential ideas in a text.

Socratic Seminar
Engage in a structured academic discussion that focuses on a text that has been read.

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Three Group Socratic Seminar
Work in teams of three to discuss a text and share ideas with all members in a Socratic circle.

WH Organizer
Answer six questions that help provide basic information about a person, an event, or an idea.

Writing in the Margins
Think about the text and write ideas in the margin.

R2

Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
Expanding Summary
Write about the main ideas in a text, adding more information with each new summary.

Investigative Reading
Pause while reading to explore and examine ideas in a text.

Read 1, Speak 2, Write 3
Read a paragraph or two, discuss the text, and write down main ideas.

Sequence/Process Organizer
Summarize how events, individuals, or ideas develop over time or summarize steps in a process.

Source Summary
Summarize an author's argument/main ideas, key supporting details, text structure, and purpose.

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Summarizing Main Ideas
Identify the main ideas in a paragraph(s) and synthesize them into a few concise sentences.

Visual Summary
Draw illustrations that represent the main ideas in a text.

Writing in the Margins
Think about the text and write ideas in the margin.

R3

Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
Analyzing Text Structure
Analyze how sentences and paragraphs are structured to communicate an idea.

Cause and Effect Organizer
Keep track of cause and effect relationships in a text.

Compare and Contrast Organizer
Keep track of ideas that are being compared and contrasted in a text.

Investigative Reading
Pause while reading to explore and examine ideas in a text.

Problem and Solution Organizer
Keep track of problems and solutions in a text.

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Sequence/Process Organizer
Summarize how events, individuals, or ideas develop over time or summarize steps in a process.

Visual Summary
Draw illustrations that represent the main ideas in a text.

Craft and Structure
R4

Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
Analyzing Diction and Tone
Examine the words an author uses in a text to identify his/her tone.

Analyzing Rhetorical Devices
Analyze rhetorical devices in a written or spoken text.

Critical Concepts
Record concepts that are essential to the message of a text.

Evaluating Rhetorical Devices
Evaluate the rhetorical decisions (devices) a speaker/writer makes in a text.

Understanding Vocabulary in Context
Use context clues to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words in a text.

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Writing about Rhetorical Devices
Effectively write about rhetorical and literary devices with our IDEA Method.

Writing in the Margins
Think about the text and write ideas in the margin.

R5

Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and large portions of the text relate to each other and the whole.
Analyzing Text Structure
Analyze how sentences and paragraphs are structured to communicate an idea.

Investigative Reading
Pause while reading to explore and examine ideas in a text.

Sequence/Process Organizer
Summarize how events, individuals, or ideas develop over time or summarize steps in a process.

Visual Summary
Draw illustrations that represent the main ideas in a text.

Analyzing a Speech
Engage in rhetorical analysis in order to identify various elements of speech.

Analyzing Author's Point of View
Read deeply to understand how personal experience and beliefs influence an author's point of view.

Analyzing Author's Purpose
Read deeply to understand how context, experience, and topic of a text reveals an author's purpose and point of view.

Analyzing Diction and Tone
Examine the words an author uses in a text to identify his/her tone.

Argument Map
Engage in rhetorical analysis in order to identify various elements of an argument.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
R7

Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
Analyzing Advertisements
Analyze advertisement to better understand persuasive techniques.

Analyzing Data
Analyze and interpret data in informational texts.

Analyzing Visuals
Analyze visuals in a text to better understand content and author's purpose.

Evaluating Sources
Use this handout to evaluate the credibility of print and online sources.

R8

Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
Analyzing a Speech
Engage in rhetorical analysis in order to identify various elements of speech.

Analyzing Evidence
Identify evidence in a text and analyze how it is used.

Analyzing Rhetorical Devices
Analyze rhetorical devices in a written or spoken text.

Argument Map
Engage in rhetorical analysis in order to identify various elements of an argument.

Argument Poster
Visually represent the main ideas or central argument in a text.

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Evaluating Evidence
Evaluate the effectiveness of a speaker/writer's evidence or supporting details.

Evaluating Rhetorical Devices
Evaluate the rhetorical decisions (devices) a speaker/writer makes in a text.

Identifying Evidence
Locate evidence or supporting details in a text that support authors' claims.

Marking a Text
Identify and isolate essential ideas in a text.

Synthesizing Claims
Synthesize claims in a text in order to understand an author's central claim.
