Common Core ELA8th GradeReading: Informational

RI.8.9: When Two Texts Disagree on the Facts

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.9 · Cluster: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas.

The Official Wording

Analyze a case in which two or more texts provide conflicting information on the same topic and identify where the texts disagree on matters of fact or interpretation.

Common Core State Standards, Grade 8, Reading: Informational Text · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What RI.8.9 Means in Plain English

Eighth graders read texts on one topic that cannot both be right and pinpoint each disagreement: is it about what happened, or about what it means? Two accounts of the Great Chicago Fire agree on where it began but clash over the famous cow and over the fire’s lesson.

Seventh grade (RI.7.9) compared how authors shape the same information through emphasis and interpretation. Eighth grade hunts for outright conflict and sorts it by type. Ninth and tenth grade (RI.9-10.9) turn to seminal U.S. documents, like the Gettysburg Address, and the themes they share.

RI.8.9 I Can Statements

I can find where two texts on one topic agree and disagree.
I can tell a disagreement about facts from one about interpretation.
I can decide which text supports its version of the facts better.

RI.8.9 Worked Example

The two texts share their setting, and the weak answer misses the one fact they fight over.

Read the Story

Text 1, from an old school history book: On the night of October 8, 1871, Catherine O’Leary’s cow kicked over a lantern in her barn on DeKoven Street. Driven by a strong wind, the flames swept across Chicago for more than a day and killed about 300 people.Text 1: The disaster taught the city a hard lesson about the danger of one family’s carelessness.Text 2, from a city history museum’s website: The fire did begin in or near the O’Leary barn, but no one has ever proved how. A newspaper reporter later admitted he had made up the story of the cow, and in 1997 the city council officially cleared Mrs. O’Leary.Text 2: The real danger was the city itself. After an unusually dry summer, Chicago’s wooden houses, wooden sidewalks and crowded lumberyards were ready to burn.

A short passage written for this page.

Question: Where do the two texts agree, and where do they disagree? For each disagreement, is it about a matter of fact or a matter of interpretation?

Not Yet“Text 1 says the cow started the fire, and Text 2 talks more about the weather and the buildings. They just focus on different things.”It treats an outright conflict as a difference in focus. Text 2 says the cow story was invented, so the texts disagree on a fact, and the answer never reaches the disagreement about the fire’s lesson.

Meets the Standard“Both texts agree the fire began at or near the O’Leary barn. They disagree on a fact: Text 1 says the cow kicked over a lantern, but Text 2 says no one has proved how the fire started and a reporter admitted making up the cow. They also disagree on interpretation: Text 1 calls the fire a lesson about one family’s carelessness, while Text 2 blames a dry summer and a city built of wood. On the fact, Text 2 is better supported, since it points to the reporter’s admission and the 1997 vote.”It separates agreement from disagreement, sorts each disagreement as fact or interpretation, and judges which text holds up using evidence the texts themselves give.

Question Stems to Use

What do both texts say? Start with where they agree.Where does one text say something the other says is false?Is this disagreement about what happened or about what it means?What evidence does each text give for its version?Which text would you trust on this point, and why?

Common Mistakes with RI.8.9

Calling a conflict a difference in focus

“Text 2 just focuses more on the buildings.”

Try this: Have students look for sentences that cannot both be true, and treat those first as the real disagreements before discussing emphasis.

Lumping fact and interpretation together

“They disagree about the fire.”

Try this: Sort every disagreement into two columns, what happened and what it means, before writing a word about either text.

Trusting the source with the official label

“Text 1 is from a school book, so it must be right.”

Try this: Ask what evidence each text gives for the disputed point, and trust the one that shows how it knows, not the one that sounds official.

Where RI.8.9 Fits

Comes BeforeRI.7.9Analyze how two authors on the same topic emphasize different evidence or interpret facts differently.

AlongsideRH.6-8.9Analyze the relationship between a primary and a secondary source on the same topic.W.8.8Assess the credibility and accuracy of each source while gathering information.

Comes NextRI.9-10.9Analyze seminal U.S. documents and how they address related themes and concepts.

Practice RI.8.9

Quick Check

What do both texts agree on?
That the fire began at or near the O’Leary barn.
Which disagreement is about a matter of fact?
How the fire started. Text 1 says the cow kicked over a lantern, and Text 2 says no one proved the cause and a reporter invented the cow story.
Which disagreement is about interpretation?
What the fire teaches. Text 1 blames one family’s carelessness, and Text 2 blames a dry summer and a city built of wood.

RI.8.9: Other Names

RI.8.9CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.9