CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.9
The Standard
Compare and contrast texts in different forms or genres (e.g., stories and poems; historical novels and fantasy stories) in terms of their approaches to similar themes and topics.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Reading Standards for Literature
What This Standard Means
Students need to compare two literary texts that share a theme or topic but use different forms or genres. They should notice how a poem, story, play, myth, historical novel, or fantasy piece shapes the reader’s view in different ways.
Mastery looks like naming a shared theme, citing evidence from both texts, and explaining how form or genre changes the message. Students often get stuck retelling both texts instead of comparing them. They may also name a topic, like friendship, but miss the theme, like loyalty can require sacrifice.
Ways to Teach It
- Give students a poem and a short story about courage, then have them sort evidence cards into same approach and different approach columns.
- Ask students to write: How does the genre change what we learn about the same theme in these two texts?
- Use an exit ticket with two short excerpts and ask students to name one shared theme and one difference in approach.
- Compare a movie trailer and a book excerpt on survival, then discuss how each format builds tension and shapes the message.
Plan a Lesson for CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.9
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Related Standards
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Compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or m...
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- 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.4.9
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