6.8Di - The student is expected to analyze characteristics and structural elements of informational text, including the controlling idea or thesis with supporting evidence.

• Students are expected to know that informational texts have distinguishing characteristics, such as the use of a controlling idea or thesis to guide the focus of the writing, and that these texts can be structured in various ways to serve specific purposes. Students in this grade should be familiar enough with these characteristics and structures to be able to examine the intent and effect of their use in texts.
• Informational texts are centered around a focused message that the author hopes to clearly communicate and explain to the audience. This controlling idea is often the point around which the rest of the writing is structured. Sometimes the message is implied but central to text overall or controls the direction of the information within the text. Since the goal in informational texts is to be as clear and straightforward as possible, the message will often be explicitly stated as a thesis statement and be included near the beginning of the text so the reader knows exactly through what lens the information will be presented.

6.6B - The student is expected to write responses that demonstrate understanding of texts, including comparing sources within and across genres.

• Students should communicate in writing their understanding of a text's purpose, key ideas, overall message, and impact on the reader. When students truly comprehend a text, they are able to make reasonable connections to other sources that address the same ideas in similar or different ways. These comparisons help students recognize the complexity of ideas and inform their own responses.

6.6C - The student is expected to use text evidence to support an appropriate response.

• Students are expected to use text evidence, or information taken directly from texts, to justify their responses. When responding to a text, students need to make sure that they are correctly interpreting the author's purpose and the text content. It is important that students understand that their responses must be based on actual ideas presented in a text and not on their personal opinions about the topic being discussed. To ensure this, students should link their own reasoning to the information contained in a text.
• A response is appropriate when it is logically connected to the topic in question and uses sufficient text evidence as justification. Students are expected to develop responses that are pertinent to the lesson or concept being taught and that follow the specific purpose of the task. For example, students may be asked to write an argumentative essay after reading two articles that present opposite views of a topic.