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Common Core ELA1st GradeReading: Informational

RI.1.8: Find the Reasons That Support an Author’s Point

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.8 · Cluster: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas.

All 41 1st Grade ELA Standards

The Official Wording

Identify the reasons an author gives to support points in a text.

Common Core State Standards, Grade 1, Reading: Informational Text · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What RI.1.8 Means in Plain English

First graders find what an author wants readers to think or do and the reasons given for it, without the teacher pointing the way. A text on picking up litter gives three: it hurts animals, rain washes it into rivers and clean parks are nicer to play in.

In kindergarten (RI.K.8) the teacher’s prompting leads children to the reasons. In 1st grade they find them alone and tell a reason apart from the point itself. In 2nd grade (RI.2.8) they explain how each reason supports the specific point it goes with.

RI.1.8 I Can Statements

  • I can tell what the author wants me to think or do.
  • I can find the reasons the author gives.
  • I can tell a reason apart from the author’s point.

RI.1.8 Worked Example

A five-line text that makes one point about litter and backs it up, one question about the author’s reasons, and two answers.

Read the Story
If you see litter at the park, ask a grown-up to help you pick it up and put it in a bin.Litter can hurt animals. A duck can get its neck stuck in a plastic ring, and a squirrel may chew on a wrapper.Litter does not stay where it lands. Rain washes it down the street and into rivers, where fish live.A clean park is a better place to play. Nobody wants to sit in the grass next to an old juice box.So the next time you spot litter, you know what to do!
A short passage written for this page.
Question: Why does the author think you should pick up litter? Find every reason in the text.
Not Yet“Because litter is bad.”The child agrees with the author, which is a start. But “bad” is not one of the reasons. It skips how the text says litter is bad: the animals, the rivers and the park.
Meets the Standard“Litter can hurt animals, like a duck stuck in a plastic ring. Rain washes it into rivers where fish live. And a clean park is better to play in.”Three reasons, each from a different sentence, and each answers why. The duck is an example that backs up the first reason, not a fourth reason, and the child treats it that way.
Question Stems to Use
What does the author want us to do?Why does the author think so?What is one reason the author gives? Is there another?Is that a reason, or an example of a reason?Which sentence tells you that?

Common Mistakes with RI.1.8

Giving a feeling instead of a reason

“Because litter is bad.”

Try this: Ask “Bad how? What does the text say litter does?” and send the child back to find the sentence that answers it.

Counting an example as a new reason

“One, it hurts animals. Two, ducks get stuck. Three, squirrels chew wrappers.”

Try this: Draw each reason as a box and tuck its examples inside it, so children see the duck belongs to the animals reason.

Repeating the point as a reason

“You should pick up litter because you should keep the park clean.”

Try this: Put the point on a sentence strip at the top, then ask for reasons that add something the strip does not say.

Where RI.1.8 Fits

Comes BeforeRI.K.8Identify the reasons an author gives, with the teacher’s prompting and support.
AlongsideW.1.1Write an opinion and give a reason for it, the same structure from the writer’s side.RI.1.3Describe how two ideas in a text connect, like litter and the river it ends up in.
Comes NextRI.2.8Describe how the reasons support the specific points an author makes.

Practice RI.1.8

Quick Check

  1. What does the author want you to do?
  2. How can litter end up in a river?
  3. Is “a duck can get its neck stuck in a plastic ring” a reason or an example?

RI.1.8: Other Names

RI.1.8CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.8

Common Core State Standards © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. Official wording from the Common Core State Standards PDFs at corestandards.org, last checked October 14, 2026. The explanation, I can statements, example, mistakes and practice on this page are EMStudio’s own, written beside the official wording. They are not part of the standard.