CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.9

ELA8th GradeIntegration of Knowledge and Ideas

The Standard

Analyze a case in which two or more texts provide conflicting information on the same topic and identify where the texts disagree on matters of fact or interpretation.

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Reading Standards for Informational Text

What This Standard Means

Students need to compare two or more nonfiction texts about the same topic and spot where they do not match. They should separate factual conflicts, like dates, numbers, causes, or events, from interpretation conflicts, like what an author thinks the evidence means.

Mastery looks like citing both texts, naming the exact disagreement, and explaining whether the conflict is about fact or interpretation. Students often get stuck by saying the texts are just “different,” copying quotes without explaining them, or treating an author’s opinion as a fact.

Ways to Teach It

  • Give pairs two short articles on the same event and have them highlight matching facts in one color and conflicts in another.
  • Ask students to write: Where do these authors disagree, and is the disagreement about evidence or meaning?
  • Use an exit ticket with two brief claims from different texts and ask students to label the conflict as fact or interpretation.
  • Compare two news reports on the same local issue and list what a reader would need to verify before deciding whom to trust.

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Related Standards

Standard text verified against corestandards.org on July 10, 2026.

Page updated July 10, 2026.

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