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Common Core ELA3rd GradeReading: Informational

RI.3.6: Tell Your Point of View from the Author’s

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.6 · Cluster: Craft and Structure.

All 42 3rd Grade ELA Standards

The Official Wording

Distinguish their own point of view from that of the author of a text.

Common Core State Standards, Grade 3, Reading: Informational Text · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What RI.3.6 Means in Plain English

Third graders read a nonfiction text that leans one way, find what the author thinks, and then say what they think, keeping the two apart. An author may want every city to dim its lights for birds. A student can agree, disagree or agree only partly.

Second graders (RI.2.6) named the author’s purpose: to answer, explain or describe. Third grade adds the reader’s own view, set beside the author’s. Fourth grade (RI.4.6) compares a firsthand and a secondhand account of the same event.

RI.3.6 I Can Statements

  • I can tell what the author thinks about a topic.
  • I can find the words that show the author’s view.
  • I can explain how my view is the same or different.

RI.3.6 Worked Example

The author’s view sits in the last two sentences, and the weak answer blends it with the student’s own until neither is clear.

Read the Story
Every spring and fall, millions of birds fly over our cities at night on their long trips between summer and winter homes. Many of them use the stars to help find their way.Bright lights in tall buildings can pull these birds off course. Confused birds may circle the lights until they are worn out, or crash into the glass windows.Some cities, including New York and Philadelphia, ask building owners to switch off extra lights during the busiest weeks for birds.Every city should do the same. A few dark windows are a small price to pay for millions of birds.
A short passage written for this page.
Question: What does the author think cities should do? What do you think? Explain how your view is the same as or different from the author’s.
Not Yet“Lights are bad for birds and every city should turn them off.”It repeats the author’s view as if it were the student’s own and never says which is which. “Lights are bad” also stretches the text, which is about bright building lights at night.
Meets the Standard“The author thinks every city should turn off extra building lights when the birds are flying, because the text says ‘Every city should do the same.’ I partly agree. Office buildings that are empty at night could go dark. But I think streetlights should stay on so people can walk home safely, and the author doesn’t talk about that.”The author’s view and the student’s view sit in separate sentences, the author’s is backed by the text’s own words, and the student gives a reason of their own.
Question Stems to Use
What does the author want you to think or do?Which words show the author’s opinion? Look for words like should.Do you agree, disagree or partly agree? Why?How is your view different from the author’s?What might someone who disagrees with the author say?

Common Mistakes with RI.3.6

Echoing the author

“I think every city should do the same,” copied from the last paragraph

Try this: Require two sentence starters, “The author thinks…” and “I think…”, and accept an answer only when each has its own reason.

Missing the opinion words

“The author is just telling facts about birds.”

Try this: Have students hunt for opinion signals such as should, best and a small price to pay, and highlight them before answering.

Disagreeing with the facts

“I don’t think birds use the stars.”

Try this: Separate the facts from the author’s opinion first. Students can disagree with what the author wants done, not with what scientists have shown.

Where RI.3.6 Fits

Comes BeforeRI.2.6Name the author’s main purpose: what the text answers, explains or describes.
AlongsideRL.3.6Tell their own point of view apart from the narrator’s or a character’s in a story.W.3.1Write an opinion piece that states a point of view and supports it with reasons.
Comes NextRI.4.6Compare a firsthand and a secondhand account of the same event, noting differences in focus and information.

Practice RI.3.6

Quick Check

  1. What does the author think every city should do?
  2. Which sentence shows the author’s opinion most clearly?
  3. According to the passage, how can bright lights harm birds?

RI.3.6: Other Names

RI.3.6CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.6

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.