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Common Core ELA6th GradeReading: Informational

RI.6.2: Find the Central Idea and Summarize Objectively

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.2 · Cluster: Key Ideas and Details.

All 41 6th Grade ELA Standards

The Official Wording

Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.

Common Core State Standards, Grade 6, Reading: Informational Text · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What RI.6.2 Means in Plain English

Sixth graders name the one idea a nonfiction text keeps building, show which details carry it and then summarize like a reporter. In a coyote article, “the neighbors were careless” is an opinion, while “pet food on porches drew coyotes into yards” belongs in the summary.

Fifth graders (RI.5.2) found two or more main ideas and summarized them. Sixth grade narrows to one central idea and adds a rule: the summary leaves the reader’s judgments out. Seventh grade (RI.7.2) asks for two or more central ideas traced across a whole text.

RI.6.2 I Can Statements

  • I can state the central idea of a nonfiction text in one sentence.
  • I can show which details build the central idea.
  • I can write a summary that keeps my own opinions out.

RI.6.2 Worked Example

Both answers below know what happened in Corwin, but only one of them reports it; the other hands down a verdict on the neighbors.

Read the Story
Coyotes usually keep their distance from people. In the wild they hunt mice and rabbits, mostly at dawn and dusk, and slip away at the first sign of a human.About ten years ago, that began to change in the town of Corwin. Residents left bowls of pet food on their porches and trash cans with loose lids at the curb, and a few people tossed scraps to coyotes on purpose.The coyotes learned that houses meant food. Soon they were trotting down sidewalks at noon, and one summer a coyote walked into an open garage and dragged out a bag of dog food while the family watched from the kitchen.The town council banned feeding wildlife and gave every household a trash can with a locking lid. Volunteers taught neighbors to shout, wave their arms and bang pots whenever a coyote came close. Within two years, daytime sightings had dropped by more than half.
A short passage written for this page.
Question: What is the central idea of the passage? Write a short summary that leaves out your own opinions.
Not Yet“The people of Corwin were lazy and careless, and they basically invited the coyotes in. They should have known better. Coyotes are dangerous pests, and the town should have gotten rid of every one.”Almost every sentence is a judgment the passage never makes. It says nothing about how the coyotes changed or how the town changed them back, and “dangerous pests” is not in the text at all.
Meets the Standard“Coyotes in Corwin lost their fear of people when easy food drew them into town, and taking the food away and scaring them off taught them to keep their distance again. Coyotes normally avoid people, but pet food on porches, open trash cans and scraps tossed on purpose drew them into neighborhoods. They learned that houses meant food and began walking the sidewalks in daylight. After the town banned feeding wildlife, handed out locking trash cans and taught neighbors to scare coyotes off, daytime sightings dropped by more than half.”The first sentence states the idea every paragraph builds. Each sentence after it matches a part of the text, in order, and none of them tells the reader what to think of Corwin’s residents.
Question Stems to Use
What idea does every paragraph help build?Which detail would the central idea fall apart without?Is this sentence from the text, or is it your reaction to it?Could someone who disagrees with you still accept your summary?Which words in your summary judge instead of report?

Common Mistakes with RI.6.2

Opinions in the summary

“Sadly, the selfish neighbors ruined everything.”

Try this: Have students underline every judging word in their summary, like sadly or greedy, and replace each one with a fact from the text.

A topic instead of a central idea

“The passage is about coyotes.”

Try this: Ask what the text says about coyotes, and keep asking until the answer explains a cause, a change or a result.

Retelling the most dramatic part

A summary that spends three sentences on the coyote in the garage and skips the pet food and the town’s new rules

Try this: Start with one summary sentence per paragraph, then combine them, so the dramatic paragraph gets no more space than the quiet ones.

Where RI.6.2 Fits

Comes BeforeRI.5.2Find two or more main ideas, show which details support each and summarize the text.
AlongsideRL.6.2Find a story’s theme and summarize the plot without opinions, the same discipline for fiction.RST.6-8.2Summarize a science text accurately, kept apart from prior knowledge and opinions.
Comes NextRI.7.2Trace two or more central ideas across a text and give an objective summary.

Practice RI.6.2

Quick Check

  1. What is the central idea of the coyote passage?
  2. Which detail shows how coyotes behave before people start feeding them?
  3. Should “The people of Corwin should have known better” go in an objective summary? Why or why not?

RI.6.2: Other Names

RI.6.2CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.2

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.