CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.9
The Standard
Compare and contrast one author's presentation of events with that of another (e.g., a memoir written by and a biography on the same person).
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 read two informational accounts of the same person or event. They compare selected details, emphasis, sequence, tone, and viewpoint, then explain how those choices affect each account.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students can cite evidence from both texts and accurately name a similarity or difference in presentation. They explain how choices in detail, emphasis, sequence, tone, or viewpoint shape each account.
Common Misconceptions
- Students often compare the topics instead of examining how each author presents them. They may list details without explaining their effect, or assume a memoir is fully reliable while a biography is completely objective.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: After reading two short accounts of the same event, name one difference in emphasis and cite one detail from each text that proves it.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs printed memoir and biography excerpts, then have them sort details under shared, memoir only, or biography only.
Ask students to discuss: Which author makes the person seem more admirable, and which two language choices create that impression?
Play Comparison Relay: teams post evidence cards under detail, emphasis, sequence, tone, or viewpoint, then defend one placement.
Compare a school game recap written by a player with a newspaper report, noting what each writer includes, omits, and emphasizes.
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Printable RI.6.9 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.9, 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
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What This Unlocks
Mastery here sets students up for these next.
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Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.9
Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots of stories written by the same author about the same or similar characters (e.g., in books from a series).
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.6
Compare and contrast a firsthand and secondhand account of the same event or topic; describe the differences in focus and the information provided.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.6
Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their resp...
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