CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.5
The Standard
Compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Reading Standards for Informational Text
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students identify how each informational text organizes its ideas, such as sequence, comparison, cause and effect, or problem and solution. They compare the structures and explain how each organization guides readers.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Given two texts on the same topic, students correctly name each overall structure. They use headings, transitions, or the arrangement of ideas as evidence for their comparison.
Common Misconceptions
- Students often compare topics or facts instead of organization. They may label a text from one signal word or mistake one section’s pattern for the overall structure.
How to Assess It
- Give students two short texts about floods, one chronological and one cause and effect. Ask them to name each structure, cite one clue from each, and explain one difference.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Cut two short articles into paragraphs, then have students reorder each, label its structure, and defend the order using transition cards.
After reading two texts, ask students to write: Which organization helps readers understand the topic better, and why?
Run a structure sort relay using passage cards labeled chronology, comparison, cause and effect, and problem and solution.
Compare a storm timeline with a storm safety guide, then discuss how each structure serves a different real-world purpose.
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Printable RI.5.5 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.5, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetLearning progression
Where This Standard Sits
See the whole path on the Reading: Informational Text progression map.
Before This Standard
If students are struggling here, check these first.
What This Unlocks
Mastery here sets students up for these next.
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Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.9
Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic.
- 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.RL.8.5
Compare and contrast the structure of two or more texts and analyze how the differing structure of each text contributes to its meaning and style.
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