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Common Core ELA4th GradeSpeaking & Listening

SL.4.3: Identify a Speaker’s Reasons and Evidence

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.3 · Cluster: Comprehension and Collaboration.

Pick a ListenerAll 43 4th Grade ELA Standards

The Official Wording

Identify the reasons and evidence a speaker provides to support particular points.

Common Core State Standards, Grade 4, Speaking & Listening · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What SL.4.3 Means in Plain English

Fourth graders listen to a speaker, whether a classmate, a guest or a video, and name each point the speaker makes along with what backs it up: a reason, the because, or evidence, such as a fact, a number or an example. They also notice a bare opinion.

Third graders (SL.3.3) asked and answered questions about a speaker’s information with detail. Fourth grade turns listening into sorting: what the speaker claims, and why anyone should believe it. Fifth grade (SL.5.3) adds summarizing the points and explaining how each claim is supported.

SL.4.3 I Can Statements

  • I can name each point a speaker makes.
  • I can tell a speaker’s reason apart from their evidence.
  • I can notice when a point has no support behind it.

SL.4.3 Worked Example

A classmate’s one-minute pitch to swap foam lunch trays for washable ones, and two listeners who report what held each point up.

Prompt

Wren’s talk to the class: “Our cafeteria should switch from foam trays to washable ones. First, it would cut our trash. Our class counted the bags on Tuesday, and foam trays filled four of the six bags. Second, foam just sits in the landfill, because it’s a kind of plastic and doesn’t rot like food does. And third, washable trays look nicer.” Which of Wren’s points has evidence, which has only a reason, and which has neither?

Not YetWren wants washable trays. She had good reasons, like trash and the landfill and they look nicer.The listener caught the topics but lumped everything together as “good reasons.” It never separates the counted bags (evidence) from the plastic explanation (a reason), and it treats “they look nicer” as if it were supported.
Meets the StandardHer trash point has evidence: our class count, where foam trays filled four of the six bags on Tuesday. Her landfill point has a reason but no evidence: foam is a kind of plastic, so it doesn’t rot. Her last point, that washable trays look nicer, has neither. It’s just her opinion. I’d ask her: do you know how long a foam tray lasts in a landfill?Each point is matched with its support and labeled: a count is evidence, a because-explanation is a reason. The listener also catches the bare opinion and asks the question whose answer would turn the reason into evidence.
Moves to Use
Listen for signal words: first, second and another reason mark a new point.After each point, listen for because (a reason) or a number, fact or example (evidence).Jot a two-column chart while listening: point on the left, support on the right.Flag any point with an empty right column. That is opinion, not support.

Common Mistakes with SL.4.3

Every sentence is a “reason”

A student lists the speaker’s points and calls them all reasons, including the claim itself

Try this: Have students ask “Why should I believe that?” after each point. The answer, if there is one, is the support.

Missing the unsupported point

“She had three good reasons,” when one of the three was just “they look nicer”

Try this: Play or read a short talk with one bare opinion planted in it, and have students hunt for it.

Judging the speaker, not the support

“Her talk was really good and she was confident,” with no point or detail named

Try this: Give listeners a two-column chart, point and support, to fill during the talk, and collect it before anyone gives an opinion.

Where SL.4.3 Fits

Comes BeforeSL.3.3Ask and answer questions about a speaker’s information, with detail.
AlongsideRI.4.8Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence, the same analysis applied to a written text.W.4.1Write opinion pieces backed by reasons and facts, the other side of the same skill.
Comes NextSL.5.3Summarize a speaker’s points and explain how reasons and evidence support each claim.

Practice SL.4.3

Random Name PickerFree ToolAfter a classmate’s talk, spin for a listener to name one point and say whether its support was a reason or evidence.Name a pointReason or evidence
Spin a Name

Quick Check

  1. Which of Wren’s points is backed by evidence, and what is the evidence?
  2. Why is “foam is a kind of plastic, so it doesn’t rot” a reason rather than evidence?
  3. Which point has no support at all?

SL.4.3: Other Names

SL.4.3CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.3

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.