Skip to main content
Common Core ELA5th GradeSpeaking & Listening

SL.5.3: Summarize a Speaker’s Points and Evidence

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.5.3 · Cluster: Comprehension and Collaboration.

Choose a ListenerAll 43 5th Grade ELA Standards

The Official Wording

Summarize the points a speaker makes and explain how each claim is supported by reasons and evidence.

Common Core State Standards, Grade 5, Speaking & Listening · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What SL.5.3 Means in Plain English

Fifth graders listen to a speaker, often a classmate giving a persuasive talk, then name each point the speaker made and the reason or evidence behind it. When a claim like “gardens are fun” arrives with nothing to back it, they notice and say so.

Fourth graders (SL.4.3) identify the reasons and evidence a speaker gives. Fifth grade adds the summary and the matching, which support goes with which claim. Sixth grade (SL.6.3) traces the speaker’s whole argument and sorts the supported claims from the ones left hanging.

SL.5.3 I Can Statements

  • I can list the main points a speaker makes, in order.
  • I can tell which reason or evidence supports each claim.
  • I can notice when a speaker gives a claim no support.

SL.5.3 Worked Example

One persuasive talk, two summaries of it, and only one of them pairs each claim with what holds it up.

Prompt

Dev’s one-minute talk: “We should start a school garden. It would save the cafeteria money, because whatever lettuce we grow, they don’t have to buy. Kids would eat more vegetables, too. Mrs. Park’s class grew carrots last spring, and every single carrot got eaten. And gardens are fun.” Summarize Dev’s points and explain what supports each one.

Not YetDev thinks we should have a garden because it would be good and fun. He had really good reasons and I agree with him.It names the topic and Dev’s side, then judges the talk instead of summarizing it. Not one point is named, and nothing says what backed it up.
Meets the StandardDev made three points for a school garden. First, it would save money, and his reason was that any lettuce we grow is lettuce the cafeteria doesn’t have to buy. Second, kids would eat more vegetables, and his evidence was Mrs. Park’s class, where every carrot they grew got eaten. Third, he said gardens are fun, but he didn’t give a reason or any evidence for that one.Each claim comes in Dev’s order and is paired with its support, a reason for the first and evidence for the second. The listener also catches that the third claim stands alone.
Moves to Use
Listen for signal words like first, too and another reason to count the points.Name each claim in a few words, in the speaker’s order.Pair every claim with its support: “His reason was…” or “His evidence was…”Say so when a claim has nothing behind it.

Common Mistakes with SL.5.3

Agreeing instead of summarizing

“I agree, gardens are great.”

Try this: Separate the two jobs: summarize the speaker first with “Dev said… because…”, and share your own opinion only after that.

Running claims and support together

“He said it saves money and kids eat vegetables and it’s fun because of the carrots.”

Try this: Give listeners a two-column note sheet, claims on the left and support on the right, and have them fill it in during the talk.

Treating every claim as proven

The summary lists “gardens are fun” right beside the carrot evidence

Try this: Ask after each summary “Which claim had the least behind it?” so students check every row of their notes again.

Where SL.5.3 Fits

Comes BeforeSL.4.3Identify the reasons and evidence a speaker gives for particular points.
AlongsideRI.5.8Match an author’s reasons and evidence to each point, the same move with a text.SL.5.4Present an opinion with facts and details, the kind of talk students will be summarizing.
Comes NextSL.6.3Trace a speaker’s argument and tell supported claims from unsupported ones.

Practice SL.5.3

Random Name PickerFree ToolAfter a classmate’s persuasive talk, spin for a listener to summarize one claim and the reason or evidence behind it.After a talkOne claim each
Spin a Name

Quick Check

  1. How many claims did Dev make, and what were they?
  2. What evidence did Dev give that kids would eat more vegetables?
  3. Which of Dev’s claims has no support?

SL.5.3: Other Names

SL.5.3CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.5.3

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.