CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.9
The Standard
Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Reading Standards for Informational Text
What This Standard Means
Students need to read two nonfiction texts about the same topic and notice what each one says matters most. They should name the main points, pull key details, and explain what is the same and different across the texts.
Mastery looks like a student saying, “Both texts say bees help plants grow, but one focuses on pollination and the other focuses on threats to bees,” then backing it with details. Students often get stuck retelling both texts, comparing tiny facts, or choosing details that are interesting but not important.
Ways to Teach It
- Give pairs two short articles on volcanoes and have them fill a Same, Text A Only, Text B Only chart with key details.
- Ask students to write: What did both authors want you to understand, and what did only one author include?
- Have students read two short paragraphs on sharks and underline one shared main point and circle one different key detail.
- Compare two zoo signs about the same animal and discuss how each sign chooses different facts for visitors.
Plan a Lesson for CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.9
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Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.5
Compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or m...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.1.9
Identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.9
Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.9
Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic.