To deepen comprehension of a text, students should progress from simply identifying the words in a piece of writing to understanding the ideas those words and phrases represent. Students should make inferences, draw conclusions, and build associations to construct meaning from the text. Once students reach this level of understanding, they can engage with and form responses to these ideas.

As students become more proficient readers, the texts they engage with and draw meaning from should become more complex in structure, language, and/or content. Within and across grade levels, students are expected to be exposed to challenging texts that allow them the opportunity to practice and master new skills.

As students engage with texts of increasing complexity, they must understand how to assess their own comprehension. Students also need to know how to use strategies to address and overcome specific challenges they have in understanding the text. For example, students in this grade should know to ask questions about the specific parts of the text they find unclear. Instead of asking a teacher, “Can you explain what’s happening?” the student could use academic vocabulary and details from the text to ask themselves, “Why was the main character so likeable before the conflict but now seems more like the villain? I don’t understand what changed.” As students develop self-awareness about how they think, they are better prepared to become more independent learners.