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Common Core ELA4th GradeReading: Informational

RI.4.9: Combine Information from Two Texts

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.9 · Cluster: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas.

All 43 4th Grade ELA Standards

The Official Wording

Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.

Common Core State Standards, Grade 4, Reading: Informational Text · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What RI.4.9 Means in Plain English

Fourth graders read two texts on one topic and put the facts together, so they can write or speak about it with real knowledge. One article on Komodo dragons explains the bite and another explains the venom and the tracking. Only together do they explain the hunt.

Third grade (RI.3.9) compared and contrasted the key points of two texts. Fourth grade goes past comparing: students combine what both texts say into one explanation. Fifth grade (RI.5.9) does the same with several texts at once.

RI.4.9 I Can Statements

  • I can find the facts two texts give about one topic.
  • I can combine facts from two texts into one explanation.
  • I can write or talk about a topic using both texts.

RI.4.9 Worked Example

Each text tells only part of how a Komodo dragon hunts, and the weak answer stops at the end of the first one.

Read the Story
Text 1, from a nature magazine: The Komodo dragon is the largest lizard alive. It can grow up to 3 meters (10 feet) long and lives on a few islands in Indonesia. A dragon hides beside a trail and waits. When a deer or a wild pig walks past, it lunges and bites. Often the animal breaks free and runs off.Text 2, from a zoo’s website: Glands in a Komodo dragon’s lower jaw release venom into its bite. The venom keeps blood from clotting, so a bitten animal keeps bleeding and grows weaker. The dragon flicks its forked tongue to pick up smells from the air, and it can follow the scent of a wounded animal a long way. Komodo dragons have been known to bring down animals as big as water buffalo.
A short passage written for this page.
Question: Using both texts, explain how a Komodo dragon can still get its meal after a bitten animal breaks free and runs away.
Not Yet“A Komodo dragon hides by a trail and bites animals when they walk by.”Everything here comes from Text 1, so the answer stops at the moment the animal runs off. It never explains how the dragon still gets its meal.
Meets the Standard“A Komodo dragon hides beside a trail and bites a deer or pig as it walks past (Text 1). Even if the animal breaks free, venom from glands in the dragon’s jaw keeps its blood from clotting, so it keeps bleeding and grows weaker (Text 2). The dragon follows the scent with its forked tongue (Text 2) until it reaches the weakened animal. That is how it can bring down prey as big as a water buffalo.”Neither text explains the whole hunt alone. The answer weaves the bite from Text 1 together with the venom and the tracking from Text 2 into one explanation, in order.
Question Stems to Use
What does Text 1 tell you about this topic?What does Text 2 add that Text 1 left out?How do the facts from both texts fit together?Can you explain the whole topic using both texts?Which text did that fact come from?

Common Mistakes with RI.4.9

Answering from one text

An answer built only on Text 1 that stops when the deer runs away

Try this: Require at least one fact from each text in every answer, with a label in parentheses showing where it came from.

Reporting the texts one after the other

“Text 1 says… Text 2 says…” with no link between the two halves

Try this: Have students put the facts from both texts in order of the hunt first, then write one explanation that follows that order.

Comparing instead of combining

“Both texts are about Komodo dragons, but Text 2 has more science.”

Try this: Point out that a comparison describes the texts, while combining explains the topic. Ask what the texts teach together.

Where RI.4.9 Fits

Comes BeforeRI.3.9Compare and contrast the most important points and key details in two texts on one topic.
AlongsideW.4.7Do a short research project that builds knowledge by looking into a topic from different angles.W.4.9Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection and research.
Comes NextRI.5.9Combine information from several texts on one topic to write or speak about it knowledgeably.

Practice RI.4.9

Quick Check

  1. How does a Komodo dragon catch its prey, according to Text 1?
  2. What does Text 2 add about what happens after the bite?
  3. Why do you need both texts to explain how a Komodo dragon gets an animal that escapes?

RI.4.9: Other Names

RI.4.9CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.9

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.