We’ve been breaking down the reading standards, and in this post we’re going to look at the first informational text standard. Most of your students probably have more experience with reading literature, since the majority of them probably choose fiction books for their independent reading. That’s why we’re starting with the easiest of the informational text standards, asking and answering questions in informational texts.
Breaking Down the Standard
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The first thing we need to do is to break down the standard at the different grade levels. It is really helpful to know what your students are expected to do in the grade level before yours and the grade level after yours. This allows you to differentiate your lessons and meet the needs of all your students.
First Grade
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.1 -Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
Important Skills to Teach:
- What a question is
- The difference between a statement and a question
- How to write a question to learn something from an informational text
- How to look back into the text to find the answer to a question
I Can Statements:
- I can ask questions about an informational text.
- I can use details from a text to answer questions about it.
Download a week of 1st grade lesson plans to teach this standard.
Download a digital slideshow to assign for distance learning or as a center activity.
Second Grade
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.1 – Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
Important Skills to Teach:
- What words we use to ask questions
- How to ask important questions to learn about a topic in an informational text
- How to use text evidence to answer questions
I Can Statements:
- I can use a variety of question words to ask questions about an informational text.
- I can use details from a text to answer questions about it.
Download a week of 2nd grade lesson plans to teach this standard.
Download a digital slideshow to assign for distance learning or as a center activity.
Third Grade
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.1 – Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
Important Skills to Teach:
- How to ask a question that can be answered in an informational text
- How to read an informational text to find the answers to specific questions
- How to use text evidence to support your answer to a question
I Can Statements:
- I can ask questions about an informational text.
- I can read an informational text to find the answers to questions.
- I can use text evidence to support my answers.
Download a week of 3rd grade lesson plans to teach this standard.
Download a digital slideshow to assign for distance learning or as a center activity.
Fourth Grade
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.1 – Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
Important Skills to Teach:
- How to make inferences from an informational text
- How to use details and examples from an informational text to support your answer to a question
I Can Statements:
- I can ask questions about an informational text.
- I can use details and examples from a text to support my answer to a question.
- I can make inferences to answer questions about an informational text.
Download a week of 4th grade lesson plans to teach this standard.
Download a digital slideshow to assign for distance learning or as a center activity.
Fifth Grade
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.1 – Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
Important Skills to Teach
- How to use evidence from the text, including direct quotes, to support your answer to a question
- How to make inferences to answer a question and use quotes from the text to support it
I Can Statements:
- I can make inferences about an informational text by using my background knowledge and text evidence.
- I can quote directly from a text to support my answers to questions.
Download a week of lesson plans to teach this standard.
Download a digital slideshow to assign for distance learning or as a center activity.
Suggested Books
It can sometimes be more challenging for find information texts to use for your mini lessons than it is to find fiction picture books. During their independent reading time, your students should also be reading informational texts so they can practice and apply the strategies. That’s one of the reasons I like to switch back and forth between the literature standards and the informational standards every few weeks. It gives your students a chance to read a wide variety of books.
Just about any short informational book will work to teach this standard. You just want to pick a topic your students are interested in but don’t know a lot about so they can think of some good questions. These are some of my favorites.
National Geographic Readers: Polar Bears
National Geographic Readers: Wolves
National Geographic Readers: Wolverines
Rain Forests (Magic Tree House Research Guide)
What is the Declaration of Independence?
Tips for Teaching Asking and Answering Questions in Informational Texts
- Use partner work. Have the students choose informational texts and write questions about them. They should read the book and look for the answers to their questions. Then, have them trade books with a partner, and the partner can try to answer their questions, too. After both students have read the book and answered the questions, they can compare their answers.
- Use post-its. Have your students write questions before they start reading an informational book. As they read, they should use post-its to mark where they found the answers to their questions.
- Do a research project. Have each of your students choose a topic to research. It could be related to a science or social studies unit you’re doing, like insects, animals, or states. Give your students questions to answer about their specific topic. Then, have them use informational texts to find the answers to your questions.
Other Helpful Resources
If you have students who are struggling with this standard, strategy groups and one-on-one conferences are a great way to differentiate and help all your students master it. These assessments will show you which students have mastered the standards and which students need extra practice.
1st Grade Common Core Literature Standard Assessments
1st Grade Common Core Informational Texts Standard Assessments
2nd Grade Common Core Literature Standard Assessments
2nd Grade Common Core Informational Texts Standard Assessments
3rd Grade Common Core Literature Standard Assessments
3rd Grade Common Core Informational Texts Standard Assessments
4th Grade Common Core Literature Standard Assessments
4th Grade Common Core Informational Texts Standard Assessments
5th Grade Common Core Literature Standard Assessments
5th Grade Common Core Informational Texts Standard Assessments
Get all the lesson plans you need to teach every Common Core Reading Standard for your grade level.
1st Grade Common Core Standards Bundle
2nd Grade Common Core Standards Bundle
3rd Grade Common Core Standards Bundle
4th Grade Common Core Standards Bundle
5th Grade Common Core Standards Bundle
For more tips on teaching the reading standards, join the Rock the Reading Workshop Facebook Group.
What Do You Think?
What are your best tips for teaching asking and answering questions in informational texts?
Let us know in the comments.
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