Virginia SOL 9.RI.3.A
The Standard
Compare the perspectives and viewpoints of two or more authors regarding their treatment of the same or similar topics, including the details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts as well as the impact of each author’s qualifications.
Virginia Standards of Learning for English · Integration of Concepts
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students compare how multiple writers present the same issue. They examine each writer’s viewpoint, chosen details, points of emphasis, and relevant experience or expertise.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students can state each writer’s perspective and support the comparison with specific details from both texts. They can explain how background, training, or experience shapes credibility and treatment of the topic.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may treat perspective as simply the topic or opinion. They may list different details without explaining why each writer emphasizes them, or assume credentials automatically make every claim reliable.
How to Assess It
- Give students two short articles and author bios. Ask them to name one perspective difference, cite one emphasized detail, and explain how one qualification affects credibility.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs printed articles and author bios, then have them color-code claims, emphasized details, and evidence of expertise.
Ask students to write: How does each writer shape the reader’s view through selected details and personal qualifications?
Run a card sort where students match claims, details, and author credentials to the correct article, then defend each match.
Compare health advice from a registered dietitian and a social media influencer, focusing on evidence, emphasis, and relevant qualifications.
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Printable 9.RI.3.A Worksheet
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Related Standards
- 4.RI.3.B
Compare and contrast multiple accounts of the same event or topic and describe the differences in focus and the information provided.
- 8.RI.3.B
Compare and contrast how two or more authors present conflicting information on the same topic by assessing where the texts disagree in reasoning and evidence.
- 7.RI.3.B
Compare and contrast how two or more authors writing about the same topic shape their presentations or viewpoints of key information by emphasizing different fa...
- 10.RI.3.A
Evaluate how different authors write about the same topic and shape their presentations or viewpoints of key information using facts, opinions, and reasoning.
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