How can you tell they’ve got it: Explaining Events & Ideas?

If they’ve got it, you’ll see things like: Explain a historical event described in an informational text by identifying both what happened and the causes leading to it, using specific details from the text; Describe the steps in a procedure or process presented in an informational text, explaining why each step is necessary based on information in the text; Identify cause-and-effect relationships between ideas or events in an informational passage and explain them using evidence from the text. Or just try it together: After reading a non-fiction article that explains how something works — like how volcanoes form — can your child write down the main steps or causes in their own words, citing the specific evidence the author used?

English Reading Comprehension Ages 9–10

Explaining Events & Ideas

Your child can explain what happened in a fact text and why. They use details to show the causes, effects and steps in a process.

In curriculum terms

Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in an informational text, including what happened and why, by citing specific textual evidence about causes, effects, and steps in a process

Ages are typical, not deadlines — follow your child’s pace. How to help at home →

How to tell they’ve got it

Tick these off as you see them — no test required.

Explain a historical event described in an informational text by identifying both what happened and the causes leading to it, using specific details from the text
Describe the steps in a procedure or process presented in an informational text, explaining why each step is necessary based on information in the text
Identify cause-and-effect relationships between ideas or events in an informational passage and explain them using evidence from the text

🖨 Print this page to keep the checklist — it prints beautifully.

Try this together

After reading a non-fiction article that explains how something works — like how volcanoes form — can your child write down the main steps or causes in their own words, citing the specific evidence the author used?

Where this sits on the map

Stuck here? Check the skills it builds on first. Confident? Here’s what it unlocks.

Builds on

Connecting Ideas in Textsages 8–9Explaining events/procedures/causes builds on describing connections in informational text; the step up is from identifying connections to explaining what happened and why

Explaining Events & Ideasthis skill · ages 9–10

Unlocks

Nothing on the map depends on this yet.

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

Where this fits in the official school curriculum — our best automated guess, not yet checked by a person.

Show candidate curriculum codes · 1 ACARA · 1 NSW · 3 VIC

Australian Curriculum v9 candidate

AC9E4LA04low confidenceYear 4 · Language

identify how text connectives including temporal and conditional words, and topic word associations are used to sequence and connect ideas

NSW syllabus codes & stages only

EN2-UARL-01low confidenceEnglish K-10 · Stage 2

Victorian Curriculum 2.0 codes & levels only

VC2E6LY06medium confidenceEnglish · Level 6 · Literacy strand

VC2E6LY08low confidenceEnglish · Level 6 · Literacy strand

VC2E4LY09low confidenceEnglish · Level 4 · Literacy strand

These are candidate alignments generated by semantic matching — machine-suggested and unreviewed (v0.1), not official or verified mappings. For official curriculum content see australiancurriculum.edu.au, curriculum.nsw.edu.au and f10.vcaa.vic.edu.au. Don’t rely on them for registration or compliance purposes.

Nearby on the map

Combining information from textsages 9–10 Cultural Allusions and Word Meaningages 9–10 Finding Theme and Summarisingages 9–11 Firsthand and Secondhand Accountsages 9–10

All Reading Comprehension skills →