Grade 6 – 8
SAMPLE Common Core State Standards Questions
for Literacy in History / Social Studies
Key Ideas and Details
RH.6-8.1 – Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
• What conclusion(s) can the reader draw from ___ (a primary/secondary source)? Use evidence from the text to support your
conclusion(s).
• What details does the author provide to support the idea that ___ (e.g., all men are created equal, culture influences
decisions made, geography impacts the economy of an area)?
• Why was ___ (e.g., Abraham Lincoln) able to ___ (e.g., win the war)? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.
• What characteristics does ___ (a historical figure) demonstrate? Include examples from the text to support your answer.
• How did ___ (a historical figure) change ___ (e.g., the world, history, the outcome of an event)? Use text evidence to support
your answer.
• Determine why the 1920’s is considered a misinterpreted and transitional era. Include specific textual evidence in your
response.
• Analyze the governmental structure of the United States and support your analysis by citing specific textual evidence from
primary sources such as the preamble and First Amendment of the U.S, Constitution as well as secondary sources such as
Linda R. Monk’s Words We Live By: Annotated Guide to the Constitution. (CCSS Appendix B)
RH.6-8.2 – Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of
the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
• What are the central ideas of___(primary/secondary source)?
• Summarize, accurately, the information in ___ (primary/secondary source). Support may be “right there” and/or ‘an inference;
however, both kinds of support must come from the text, not the student’s own personal experience or prior knowledge.
• Teacher provides a list of significant and insignificant details from the text. Which of these details are key details that should
be included in a summary of the text?
RH.6-8.3 – Identify key steps in a text’s description of a process related to history/social studies (e.g., how a bill becomes
law, how interest rates are raised or lowered).
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According to ___ (text), what are the key steps in ___ (e.g., how a bill becomes a law, raising or lowering interest rates).
Dist. 186 Literacy Department; September 2013
Grade 6-8, CCSS sample questions for Literacy in History/Social Studies
Craft and Structure
RH.6-8.4 – Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to
domains related to history/social studies.
• What does the word _____ (e.g., liberalism) mean in paragraph 2? (Context Clues)
• Which words help the reader understand the meaning of ____ (e.g., latitude) in paragraph 5? (north, south)
• Based on the information in the text, explain the meaning of the words ___ (e.g., latitude and longitude)?
• What is the meaning of the phrase ___ (e.g., the birth of a new nation, checks and balances)?
RH.6-8.5 – Describe how a text presents information (e.g., sequentially, comparatively, causally).
• Which text structure is used in the text/section/paragraph(s) X?
• How does the author organize and present information to draw the reader in and/or develop the concept?
• Describe how the author uses a ___ (e.g., comparative) text structure to explain ___ (e.g., the branches of government).
• Describe how Russell Freedman in his book Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott integrates and
presents information both sequentially and causally to explain how the civil rights movement began. (CCSS Appendix B)
RH.6-8.6 – Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or
avoidance of particular facts).
• What is the author’s point of view on_____? Use specific examples from the text to support your analysis.
• What points does the author include or exclude to support his point of view?
• Identify some of the strong words the author includes in this passage. What can we conclude about his point of view from
these words?
• Explain how the author of The Great Fire uses aspects of the text (e.g., loaded language and the inclusion of particular facts)
to reveal his purpose, presenting Chicago as a city that was “ready to burn.” (CCSS Appendix B)
• What is the author’s purpose in this text? Use specific examples from both texts in your analysis.
• Is the author successful in achieving his/her purpose? Why or why not? Use specific examples from the text to support your
analysis.
Dist. 186 Literacy Department; September 2013
Grade 6-8, CCSS sample questions for Literacy in History/Social Studies
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
RH.6-8.7 – Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in
print and digital texts.
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What conclusions can the reader draw from the text (primary/secondary source)? What evidence in the text supports these
conclusions?
What information is presented in both the ___ (chart) and the ___ (article)? How does the presentation of the information in
each source impact the reader differently?
What graph/chart/photograph/map/video could the author include to support the reader’s understanding of ___ (concept in
text)?
RH.6-8.8 – Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text.
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Cite places in the text where the author provides an opinion / fact / reasoned judgment.
Is the reasoning behind the author’s specific claims sound? Use specific examples from the text to support your answer.
Which author is most effective in providing sound reasoning to support his claim? Support your answer by citing specific
examples from the texts.
How does the author support his claim? (fact, opinion or reasoned judgment)? Cite places in the text to support your answer.
RH.6-8.9 – Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the same topic.
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How does the depiction of ___ (an event) in ___ (primary source) differ from the depiction of ___ (the same event) in ___
(secondary source)? How does this difference impact the reader’s understanding of ___ (the event)?
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
RH.6-8.10 – By the end of grade 8, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in the grades 6–8 text complexity
band independently and proficiently.
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Students will need lots of practice reading grade level texts and complex texts independently.
Dist. 186 Literacy Department; September 2013
Grade 6-8, CCSS sample questions for Literacy in History/Social Studies