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Common Core ELA1st GradeReading: Informational

RI.1.9: Compare Two Texts on the Same Topic

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.9 · Cluster: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas.

All 41 1st Grade ELA Standards

The Official Wording

Identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).

Common Core State Standards, Grade 1, Reading: Informational Text · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What RI.1.9 Means in Plain English

First graders read two nonfiction texts on one topic and say how they are alike and how they differ. Two panda texts both say pandas eat bamboo, but one has a photo of a grown panda and the other a drawing of a newborn cub.

In kindergarten (RI.K.9) the teacher prompts the comparison. In 1st grade children make it on their own, looking at what each text shows, what it describes and any steps it gives. In 2nd grade (RI.2.9) they compare the most important points the two texts make.

RI.1.9 I Can Statements

  • I can tell how two texts on one topic are alike.
  • I can tell how two texts on one topic are different.
  • I can compare the pictures and the facts in both texts.

RI.1.9 Worked Example

Two short texts about pandas, one with a photo and one with a drawing, an alike-and-different question, and two answers.

Read the Story
Text 1, Giant Pandas: Giant pandas live in cool, rainy forests in the mountains of China.Text 1: A panda eats bamboo for about half the day. Photo: a black-and-white panda sitting up and chewing a bamboo stalk.Text 2, A Panda Is Born: A newborn panda cub is pink, with almost no fur. It is about as small as a stick of butter.Text 2: The cub drinks its mother’s milk. Later it will eat bamboo, just like its mother. Drawing: a big panda holding a tiny pink cub in one paw.
A short passage written for this page.
Question: Both texts are about pandas. How are they alike? How are they different?
Not Yet“Text 1 has a photo and Text 2 has a drawing.”A real difference, and the child looked closely at the pictures. But it answers only half the question: nothing about what the texts share, and nothing about how what they describe differs.
Meets the Standard“Both texts say pandas eat bamboo. But Text 1 is about grown pandas and has a photo, and Text 2 is about a tiny pink baby and has a drawing.”One likeness and two differences, one in what each text describes and one in its pictures, all taken from the texts.
Question Stems to Use
What do both texts tell us?What does one text tell that the other does not?How are the pictures different?Which text would you read to learn about baby pandas? Why?Is that the same in both, or only in one?

Common Mistakes with RI.1.9

Naming only the topic as the likeness

“They’re both about pandas.”

Try this: Agree, then ask “What does each text say pandas eat?” so the likeness comes from a fact both texts give.

Comparing only the pictures

“One is a photo, one is a drawing,” and nothing about what the words say

Try this: Cover the pictures and ask what each text tells about pandas, then compare those facts before uncovering the pictures again.

Mixing up which text said what

“Text 1 says the baby is pink.”

Try this: Label sticky notes 1 and 2 and have children flag each fact with its text’s number before they compare anything.

Where RI.1.9 Fits

Comes BeforeRI.K.9Identify basic likenesses and differences between two texts on one topic, with prompting.
AlongsideRL.1.9Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in two stories.RI.1.6Tell information in the pictures apart from information in the words, one place two texts can differ.
Comes NextRI.2.9Compare and contrast the most important points two texts on the same topic present.

Practice RI.1.9

Quick Check

  1. What do both texts say pandas eat?
  2. How big is a newborn panda cub?
  3. How are the pictures in the two texts different?

RI.1.9: Other Names

RI.1.9CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.9

Common Core State Standards © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. Official wording from the Common Core State Standards PDFs at corestandards.org, last checked October 14, 2026. The explanation, I can statements, example, mistakes and practice on this page are EMStudio’s own, written beside the official wording. They are not part of the standard.