Common Core: 3rd Grade English Language Arts : Compare and Contrast Texts

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Common Core: 3rd Grade English Language Arts

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All Common Core: 3rd Grade English Language Arts Resources

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Example Questions

Example Question #72 : Reading

Text 1: Where to see African Animals

Animals that are from Africa are some of the most fascinating animals to see. If you’ve ever dreamed of seeing the animals that live in Africa, there are two ways to make this happen. The first is to visit a local zoo. Most zoos have an African section, which have many of the animals that you would find in Africa. The other, and probably the more exciting option, would be to take a trip to Africa and go on an African safari!

Visiting a Zoo

If you go to a zoo to see African animals, you can usually follow signs straight to the African section. There you will see an area that is modeled off of what an African habitat, or area where animals live, would look like. There will be tall trees for the giraffes and lots of grass and small plants for the elephants. The neat thing about seeing animals in a zoo is that you can see tons of different animals from all over the world.You can see Polar Bears found in Alaska or Kangaroos found in Australia, just to name a few!

African Safari

An African safari is a trip that is very popular in Africa. People sign up for tours and ride around Africa to see many African animals in their homes in the wild. During an African safari, the driver is also the tour guide. He, or she, will know many facts and details about the area and the animals. During the safari, you might go by giraffes eating from tall trees, elephants spraying water from their noses, and lions laying in the sun. 

 

Text 2: African Animals

Africa is home to many amazing and different animals! The weather in Africa is generally very warm, but depending on where in Africa you are, you will see different habits and animals. The top half of Africa, or the northern part, is mainly made up of deserts. The bottom half of Africa, or the southern part, is made up of plains and jungles. 

Desert

African deserts are home to animals that can live in very hot temperatures, with very little water. If you were to visit an African desert you might see animals such as camels, foxes, or sheep. Reptiles also live in African deserts. Reptiles that you might see include snakes or lizards. 

Plains

African plains are flat areas with a lot of grass. You might see some tall trees spread out, but the majority of this area is covered in grass. If you visit this area of Africa, you might run into some dangerous animals. The plains are where lions and chetahs call home. However, many other animal call the plaines their home. If you want to see elephants, giraffes, or zebras, the plains are where you will find them. 

Jungles

The jungles in Africa are rainforest. They are filled with tall trees, plants, and many animals. If you were in an African rainforest, you might see monkeys hanging from branches, or big snakes wrapped around trees. Also, bright colored parrots can be seeing flying from tree to tree. Much bigger animals, such as gorillas and jaguars also live within all of the trees of the rainforest. 

 

What is the main difference between the two texts? 

Possible Answers:

Text 1 talks about going to Africa and Text 2 does not

Text 2 talks about going to Africa and Text 1 does not

Text 1 talks about zoos and Text 2 does not

Text 2 talks about zoos and Text 1 does not

Correct answer:

Text 1 talks about zoos and Text 2 does not

Explanation:

The main idea of both passages is seeing African animals. Text 1 talks about seeing them in a zoo or seeing them in Africa. In contrast, Text 2 only talks about going to Africa and seeing the animals. 

The correct answer is "Text 1 talks about zoos and Text 2 does not". 

Example Question #322 : Common Core: 3rd Grade English Language Arts

Story 1: Prince Meanerman

Once upon a time, a mean prince ruled over a farming kingdom called Summersville. The prince was named Prince Sweeterman, but he was known throughout Summersville as Prince Meanerman. The people of Summersville were very poor farmers, as the prince kept most of the wealth and food for himself. The farmers worked day and night trying to grow enough food for themselves, but still, the Prince took more and more. The sight of the hard-working farmers cracked Prince Sweeterman up as he watched from his castle in joy as the farmers struggled day after day. The Prince was warned that he should not treat his people this way, but the warning went in one ear and out the other. He never changed his ways.

One, by one the farmers began to look for other kingdoms to take them in. Eventually, Prince Sweeterman was left with no workers and no kingdom to rule over. With no food to eat for himself, he grew very hungry and meaner and meaner each day. Prince Meanerman never did learn his lesson.

Story 2: The Kingdom of Cherry Blossoms

Once upon a time, Prince David and Princess Caroline were fortunate enough to rule over a beautiful kingdom. All over the kingdom, great big cherry blossom trees bloomed year-around, which is how the kingdom received its name. The Prince and Princess were not your average rulers. They were very kind and shared their wealth with all the townspeople. Instead of living in a castle, they lived in a regular home just like everyone else. The parties that they hosted were not just for the wealthy, but for everyone in town. Many days were spent with everyone laughing and dancing under the beautiful pink blooms of the cherry blossom trees.

How are Prince Sweeterman and Prince David different?

Possible Answers:

Prince Sweeterman is sweet and Prince David is mean.

Prince Sweeterman is a real prince and Prince David is just pretending to be a prince.

Prince David is kind and generous, whereas Prince Sweeterman is mean and greedy.

Prince David is selfish and harsh and Prince Sweeterman is generous and kind.

Correct answer:

Prince David is kind and generous, whereas Prince Sweeterman is mean and greedy.

Explanation:

Prince David is described in Story 2. We are told that Prince David is very kind and shares his wealth with all the people of his kingdom. This means he is generous. In Story 1, Prince Sweeterman is described as “a mean prince”. He also keeps all the money and food of the kingdom for himself, which makes him greedy. The correct answer is “Prince David is kind and generous, whereas Prince Sweeterman is mean and greedy.”.

Example Question #3 : Integration Of Knowledge And Ideas

Story 1: Prince Meanerman

Once upon a time, a mean prince ruled over a farming kingdom called Summersville. The prince was named Prince Sweeterman, but he was known throughout Summersville as Prince Meanerman. The people of Summersville were very poor farmers, as the prince kept most of the wealth and food for himself. The farmers worked day and night trying to grow enough food for themselves, but still, the Prince took more and more. The sight of the hard-working farmers cracked Prince Sweeterman up as he watched from his castle in joy as the farmers struggled day after day. The Prince was warned that he should not treat his people this way, but the warning went in one ear and out the other. He never changed his ways.

One, by one the farmers began to look for other kingdoms to take them in. Eventually, Prince Sweeterman was left with no workers and no kingdom to rule over. With no food to eat for himself, he grew very hungry and meaner and meaner each day. Prince Meanerman never did learn his lesson.

Story 2: The Kingdom of Cherry Blossoms

Once upon a time, Prince David and Princess Caroline were fortunate enough to rule over a beautiful kingdom. All over the kingdom, great big cherry blossom trees bloomed year-around, which is how the kingdom received its name. The Prince and Princess were not your average rulers. They were very kind and shared their wealth with all the townspeople. Instead of living in a castle, they lived in a regular home just like everyone else. The parties that they hosted were not just for the wealthy, but for everyone in town. Many days were spent with everyone laughing and dancing under the beautiful pink blooms of the cherry blossom trees.

Given the choices below, what is something that Prince Sweeterman and Prince David have in common?

Possible Answers:

They are both kind princes.

They are both rulers of farming kingdoms.

They are both mean princes.

They are both rulers of kingdoms.

Correct answer:

They are both rulers of kingdoms.

Explanation:

Prince Sweeterman and Prince David are both rulers of kingdoms. Only Prince Sweeterman is mean and a ruler of a farming kingdom. And only Prince David is described as being kind.

Example Question #4 : Integration Of Knowledge And Ideas

Story 1: Prince Meanerman

Once upon a time, a mean prince ruled over a farming kingdom called Summersville. The prince was named Prince Sweeterman, but he was known throughout Summersville as Prince Meanerman. The people of Summersville were very poor farmers, as the prince kept most of the wealth and food for himself. The farmers worked day and night trying to grow enough food for themselves, but still, the Prince took more and more. The sight of the hard-working farmers cracked Prince Sweeterman up as he watched from his castle in joy as the farmers struggled day after day. The Prince was warned that he should not treat his people this way, but the warning went in one ear and out the other. He never changed his ways.

One, by one the farmers began to look for other kingdoms to take them in. Eventually, Prince Sweeterman was left with no workers and no kingdom to rule over. With no food to eat for himself, he grew very hungry and meaner and meaner each day. Prince Meanerman never did learn his lesson.

Story 2: The Kingdom of Cherry Blossoms

Once upon a time, Prince David and Princess Caroline were fortunate enough to rule over a beautiful kingdom. All over the kingdom, great big cherry blossom trees bloomed year-around, which is how the kingdom received its name. The Prince and Princess were not your average rulers. They were very kind and shared their wealth with all the townspeople. Instead of living in a castle, they lived in a regular home just like everyone else. The parties that they hosted were not just for the wealthy, but for everyone in town. Many days were spent with everyone laughing and dancing under the beautiful pink blooms of the cherry blossom trees.

What is different about the people living in the different kingdoms?

Possible Answers:

The people of Summersville were wealthy, whereas the people of Cherry Blossom were poor.

The people of Summersville were poor, whereas the people of Cherry Blossom were not poor.

The people of Summersville had a nice prince and princess ruling over them, whereas the people of Cherry Blossom had a mean prince ruling over them.

The people of Summersville were happy, whereas the people of Cherry Blossom were sad.

Correct answer:

The people of Summersville were poor, whereas the people of Cherry Blossom were not poor.

Explanation:

The people of Summersville were very poor, hard-working farmers. The people of Cherry Blossom were wealthier because the prince and princess shared the wealth. The correct answer is, “The people of Summersville were poor, whereas the people of Cherry Blossom were not poor.”

Example Question #331 : Common Core: 3rd Grade English Language Arts

Story 1: Prince Meanerman

Once upon a time, a mean prince ruled over a farming kingdom called Summersville. The prince was named Prince Sweeterman, but he was known throughout Summersville as Prince Meanerman. The people of Summersville were very poor farmers, as the prince kept most of the wealth and food for himself. The farmers worked day and night trying to grow enough food for themselves, but still, the Prince took more and more. The sight of the hard-working farmers cracked Prince Sweeterman up as he watched from his castle in joy as the farmers struggled day after day. The Prince was warned that he should not treat his people this way, but the warning went in one ear and out the other. He never changed his ways.

One, by one the farmers began to look for other kingdoms to take them in. Eventually, Prince Sweeterman was left with no workers and no kingdom to rule over. With no food to eat for himself, he grew very hungry and meaner and meaner each day. Prince Meanerman never did learn his lesson.

Story 2: The Kingdom of Cherry Blossoms

Once upon a time, Prince David and Princess Caroline were fortunate enough to rule over a beautiful kingdom. All over the kingdom, great big cherry blossom trees bloomed year-around, which is how the kingdom received its name. The Prince and Princess were not your average rulers. They were very kind and shared their wealth with all the townspeople. Instead of living in a castle, they lived in a regular home just like everyone else. The parties that they hosted were not just for the wealthy, but for everyone in town. Many days were spent with everyone laughing and dancing under the beautiful pink blooms of the cherry blossom trees.

In which kingdom would you expect to find an angry, hard-working farmer?

Possible Answers:

Both kingdoms

Neither kingdom

Cherry Blossom

Summersville

Correct answer:

Summersville

Explanation:

If we compare the passages, we see that the people of Summersville are known to be hardworking farmers. Because we are told that the prince takes all of the food and wealth for himself, we can assume that the people are angry.

Example Question #2 : Compare And Contrast Texts

Text 1: The History of Soccer

In the late 1800s, there was a man named Arthur, who lived in London. Arthur had a lot of friends, and they all enjoyed spending time together. Arthur and his friends would occasionally get bored. There was not always a lot to do back then.

One day, their boredom led to them trying a new game. They put a ball on the ground and started kicking it. Arthur was having so much fun! The only problem was the game was complete chaos. Everyone was playing their own version of the game. “We need to create rules!” Arthur said.

The group of friends began creating a list of guidelines for their new game. Each member of the group thought of something different. One friend decided you could not use your hands. Another friend suggested that kicking the ball in the net would count as a goal. Arthur, himself, thought the winning team would be decided by who had scored the most goals.

Arthur and his friends were very happy with the game. Only one thing was missing! They needed a name for the game. They decided to call it football! Over 100 years later, the game has grown in popularity. Today, in America, we call the game soccer.

Text 2: Adley Joins the Soccer Team

The day started off like any other day. Adley woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast, and began running to school. Her mother joked that it was like “pulling teeth” to get Adley out of bed in the morning, but today was different. Her dad had pulled strings to get her on the soccer team- a year earlier than most girls were allowed to start playing at her school. Today was the first day of practice, and she couldn’t wait! Today was not going to be like any other day.

All-day she was distracted. She couldn’t focus on what the teachers were teaching in class. She just kept thinking about soccer practice after school, and her nerves were growing bigger and bigger. By the time practice was about to start, Adley was so nervous she kept dropping her cleats. She began to wonder if she really should join the team.

Suddenly, Adley heard a whisper, “Put the cleats on, that’s all you need to do”. She looked around but saw no one close to her that could have spoken to her. All of the other girls were already on the soccer field stretching before practice began. She did as she heard, and put the cleats on. Before she ran onto the field to join the other girls, she noticed a golden glow around her soccer cleats. She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, but she was too embarrassed to ask anyone else if they saw the glow too.

During practice, Adley ran faster than she’s ever run before, and she scored 4 goals during the 1-hour practice. Her teammates huddled around her after each goal and praised her talents. After each goal that she scored, she looked down and saw the golden glow around her cleats- she figured they must be magic! As long as Adley was wearing her cleats, her confidence grew and her nerves disappeared.

Given the choices below, how can the texts be described?

Possible Answers:

Text 1 and Text 2 are both nonfiction.

Text 1 is nonfiction and Text 2 is fiction.

Text 1 and Text 2 are both fiction.

Text 1 is fiction and Text 2 is nonfiction.

Correct answer:

Text 1 is nonfiction and Text 2 is fiction.

Explanation:

Stories that describe imaginary events and people, or things that aren’t real, are called fiction. In contrast, nonfiction is based on facts, real events, and real people, such as biography or history. Text 1 is writing based on the history of soccer, so it is nonfiction. However, Text 2 is fiction because it’s about magical cleats, which is an imaginary thing. The correct answer is, “Text 1 is nonfiction, and Text 2 is fiction.”

Example Question #3 : Compare And Contrast Texts

Text 1: The History of Soccer

In the late 1800s, there was a man named Arthur, who lived in London. Arthur had a lot of friends, and they all enjoyed spending time together. Arthur and his friends would occasionally get bored. There was not always a lot to do back then.

One day, their boredom led to them trying a new game. They put a ball on the ground and started kicking it. Arthur was having so much fun! The only problem was the game was complete chaos. Everyone was playing their own version of the game. “We need to create rules!” Arthur said.

The group of friends began creating a list of guidelines for their new game. Each member of the group thought of something different. One friend decided you could not use your hands. Another friend suggested that kicking the ball in the net would count as a goal. Arthur, himself, thought the winning team would be decided by who had scored the most goals.

Arthur and his friends were very happy with the game. Only one thing was missing! They needed a name for the game. They decided to call it football! Over 100 years later, the game has grown in popularity. Today, in America, we call the game soccer.

Text 2: Adley Joins the Soccer Team

The day started off like any other day. Adley woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast, and began running to school. Her mother joked that it was like “pulling teeth” to get Adley out of bed in the morning, but today was different. Her dad had pulled strings to get her on the soccer team- a year earlier than most girls were allowed to start playing at her school. Today was the first day of practice, and she couldn’t wait! Today was not going to be like any other day.

All-day she was distracted. She couldn’t focus on what the teachers were teaching in class. She just kept thinking about soccer practice after school, and her nerves were growing bigger and bigger. By the time practice was about to start, Adley was so nervous she kept dropping her cleats. She began to wonder if she really should join the team.

Suddenly, Adley heard a whisper, “Put the cleats on, that’s all you need to do”. She looked around but saw no one close to her that could have spoken to her. All of the other girls were already on the soccer field stretching before practice began. She did as she heard, and put the cleats on. Before she ran onto the field to join the other girls, she noticed a golden glow around her soccer cleats. She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, but she was too embarrassed to ask anyone else if they saw the glow too.

During practice, Adley ran faster than she’s ever run before, and she scored 4 goals during the 1-hour practice. Her teammates huddled around her after each goal and praised her talents. After each goal that she scored, she looked down and saw the golden glow around her cleats- she figured they must be magic! As long as Adley was wearing her cleats, her confidence grew and her nerves disappeared.

If we were going to add the following sentence to one of the texts, which text would we add it to?

The first game of soccer played in American was in the 1860s.

Possible Answers:

Both texts

Text 2

Neither text

Text 1

Correct answer:

Text 1

Explanation:

The sentence in question is a fact about soccer. It’s based on something that is true. Text 1 is a nonfiction text because it is about true events, the history of soccer. Whereas Text 2 is about something imaginary, magical cleats. Therefore, the correct answer is “Text 1”.

Example Question #3 : Compare And Contrast Texts

Text 1: The History of Soccer

In the late 1800s, there was a man named Arthur, who lived in London. Arthur had a lot of friends, and they all enjoyed spending time together. Arthur and his friends would occasionally get bored. There was not always a lot to do back then.

One day, their boredom led to them trying a new game. They put a ball on the ground and started kicking it. Arthur was having so much fun! The only problem was the game was complete chaos. Everyone was playing their own version of the game. “We need to create rules!” Arthur said.

The group of friends began creating a list of guidelines for their new game. Each member of the group thought of something different. One friend decided you could not use your hands. Another friend suggested that kicking the ball in the net would count as a goal. Arthur, himself, thought the winning team would be decided by who had scored the most goals.

Arthur and his friends were very happy with the game. Only one thing was missing! They needed a name for the game. They decided to call it football! Over 100 years later, the game has grown in popularity. Today, in America, we call the game soccer.

Text 2: Adley Joins the Soccer Team

The day started off like any other day. Adley woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast, and began running to school. Her mother joked that it was like “pulling teeth” to get Adley out of bed in the morning, but today was different. Her dad had pulled strings to get her on the soccer team- a year earlier than most girls were allowed to start playing at her school. Today was the first day of practice, and she couldn’t wait! Today was not going to be like any other day.

All-day she was distracted. She couldn’t focus on what the teachers were teaching in class. She just kept thinking about soccer practice after school, and her nerves were growing bigger and bigger. By the time practice was about to start, Adley was so nervous she kept dropping her cleats. She began to wonder if she really should join the team.

Suddenly, Adley heard a whisper, “Put the cleats on, that’s all you need to do”. She looked around but saw no one close to her that could have spoken to her. All of the other girls were already on the soccer field stretching before practice began. She did as she heard, and put the cleats on. Before she ran onto the field to join the other girls, she noticed a golden glow around her soccer cleats. She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, but she was too embarrassed to ask anyone else if they saw the glow too.

During practice, Adley ran faster than she’s ever run before, and she scored 4 goals during the 1-hour practice. Her teammates huddled around her after each goal and praised her talents. After each goal that she scored, she looked down and saw the golden glow around her cleats- she figured they must be magic! As long as Adley was wearing her cleats, her confidence grew and her nerves disappeared.

If we were going to add the following sentence to one of the texts, which texts would we add it to?

An early version of a soccer ball was made out of a pig’s bladder.

Possible Answers:

Neither text

Text 2

Both text

Text 1

Correct answer:

Text 1

Explanation:

The sentence in question is a fact about soccer. It’s based on something that is true. Text 1 is a nonfiction text because it is about true events, the history of soccer. Whereas Text 2 is about something imaginary, magical cleats. Therefore, the correct answer is “Text 1”.

Example Question #9 : Integration Of Knowledge And Ideas

Text 1: The History of Soccer

In the late 1800s, there was a man named Arthur, who lived in London. Arthur had a lot of friends, and they all enjoyed spending time together. Arthur and his friends would occasionally get bored. There was not always a lot to do back then.

One day, their boredom led to them trying a new game. They put a ball on the ground and started kicking it. Arthur was having so much fun! The only problem was the game was complete chaos. Everyone was playing their own version of the game. “We need to create rules!” Arthur said.

The group of friends began creating a list of guidelines for their new game. Each member of the group thought of something different. One friend decided you could not use your hands. Another friend suggested that kicking the ball in the net would count as a goal. Arthur, himself, thought the winning team would be decided by who had scored the most goals.

Arthur and his friends were very happy with the game. Only one thing was missing! They needed a name for the game. They decided to call it football! Over 100 years later, the game has grown in popularity. Today, in America, we call the game Soccer!

Text 2: The History of Racing

There once lived a businessman from Washington, D.C. named William. In 1935, William decided to move south to Daytona Beach, Florida. Daytona Beach had become well known over the last 10 years for people racing cars, so William set up a car repair shop.

Racing in Daytona Beach continued to grow. William and several others started having organized races on the beach. Cars would begin the race driving south for two miles on the pavement. At the end of the 2 miles, they would return 2 miles north on the sandy beach along the Atlantic Ocean.

This oval racetrack format became very popular. The number of spectators increased each race, so William and his fellow drivers decided to start a formal annual event. Today, the annual event is called the Daytona 500 and is one of the largest races in the world. William’s family still organizes the race to this day.

Given the choices below, what is the main difference between the two texts?

Possible Answers:

Text 1 is nonfiction and Text 2 is fiction.

Text 1 is fiction and Text 2 if nonfiction.

Text 1 is more detailed than Text 2.

Text 1 is about soccer, while Text 2 is about racing.

Correct answer:

Text 1 is about soccer, while Text 2 is about racing.

Explanation:

Both of these texts are nonfiction pieces because they both discuss true, real-life things: the history of soccer and the history of racing. However, Text 1 is about soccer, and Text 2 is about racing.

Example Question #4 : Compare And Contrast Texts

Text 1: The History of Soccer

In the late 1800s, there was a man named Arthur, who lived in London. Arthur had a lot of friends, and they all enjoyed spending time together. Arthur and his friends would occasionally get bored. There was not always a lot to do back then.

One day, their boredom led to them trying a new game. They put a ball on the ground and started kicking it. Arthur was having so much fun! The only problem was the game was complete chaos. Everyone was playing their own version of the game. “We need to create rules!” Arthur said.

The group of friends began creating a list of guidelines for their new game. Each member of the group thought of something different. One friend decided you could not use your hands. Another friend suggested that kicking the ball in the net would count as a goal. Arthur, himself, thought the winning team would be decided by who had scored the most goals.

Arthur and his friends were very happy with the game. Only one thing was missing! They needed a name for the game. They decided to call it football! Over 100 years later, the game has grown in popularity. Today, in America, we call the game Soccer!

Text 2: The History of Racing

There once lived a businessman from Washington, D.C. named William. In 1935, William decided to move south to Daytona Beach, Florida. Daytona Beach had become well known over the last 10 years for people racing cars, so William set up a car repair shop.

Racing in Daytona Beach continued to grow. William and several others started having organized races on the beach. Cars would begin the race driving south for two miles on the pavement. At the end of the 2 miles, they would return 2 miles north on the sandy beach along the Atlantic Ocean.

This oval racetrack format became very popular. The number of spectators increased each race, so William and his fellow drivers decided to start a formal annual event. Today, the annual event is called the Daytona 500 and is one of the largest races in the world. William’s family still organizes the race to this day.

Given the choices below, what do both texts have in common?

Possible Answers:

They are both written by the same author.

They are both fiction stories.

The texts have nothing in common.

They are both about how a sporting event got started.

Correct answer:

They are both about how a sporting event got started.

Explanation:

Text 1 is about how the game of soccer started, it is titled “The History of Soccer”. Text 2 is about how racing got started, it is titled “The History of Racing”. Both soccer and racing are sporting events. Thus, the correct answer is “They are both about how a sporting event got started.”

All Common Core: 3rd Grade English Language Arts Resources

1 Diagnostic Test 77 Practice Tests Question of the Day Flashcards Learn by Concept
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