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Common Core ELA5th GradeReading: Literature

RL.5.9: Compare Stories in the Same Genre

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.9 · Cluster: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas.

All 43 5th Grade ELA Standards

The Official Wording

Compare and contrast stories in the same genre (e.g., mysteries and adventure stories) on their approaches to similar themes and topics.

Common Core State Standards, Grade 5, Reading: Literature · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What RL.5.9 Means in Plain English

Fifth graders read two stories of the same kind, like two mysteries or two adventures, and compare how each handles a shared theme. Two adventure heroes can both be brave, but one story may say courage means facing danger alone while the other says it is shared.

In 4th grade (RL.4.9) students compared themes and patterns like the quest across stories and myths from different cultures. Fifth grade holds the genre steady. In 6th grade (RL.6.9) the genres differ, such as a poem and a historical novel on one theme.

RL.5.9 I Can Statements

  • I can name the genre two stories share and how I know.
  • I can find a theme or topic that two stories have in common.
  • I can explain how each story treats that theme differently.

RL.5.9 Worked Example

Two adventure excerpts, both about courage. The question asks how each one defines it.

Read the Story
From “The Ice Bridge”: Kai tested the ice with one boot. It groaned. “Stay,” he told the dogs, in a voice as calm as his father’s.He crossed alone, step by step, and only shook when he reached the other side.From “Lantern Cave”: Marisol’s lantern died at the fork in the tunnel. “Hold hands,” she told the twins, though her own hand was the one shaking.They sang the counting song together all the way out, louder at every turn.
A short passage written for this page.
Question: Both stories are adventures about courage. How does each one show courage differently?
Not Yet“Both stories are about being brave in a scary place.”It finds what the stories share and stops. Nothing says how each one treats courage, and the sentence could describe almost any adventure.
Meets the Standard“Both heroes are scared and act anyway, but the stories define courage differently. Kai is brave alone: ‘He crossed alone’ and ‘only shook when he reached the other side.’ Marisol is brave for others: she tells the twins to hold hands ‘though her own hand was the one shaking,’ and they sing their way out together. One story says courage is quiet and solo, the other says it is shared.”It names the shared theme, quotes how each story handles it, and states the difference in one clear closing sentence.
Question Stems to Use
What theme or topic do both stories share?What makes both of these adventure stories?How does each main character face the danger?What does each story seem to say about courage?Which story’s message do you agree with more, and why?

Common Mistakes with RL.5.9

Comparing settings instead of themes

“One is on ice and one is in a cave.”

Try this: Ask what each story says about the shared topic, and require the topic word, like courage, in every comparison sentence.

Stopping at the similarity

“Both stories are about being brave.”

Try this: Give the frame “Both stories show…, but one shows it as… while the other shows it as…” and require both halves.

Mixing up the two texts

Quoting Marisol’s line as if Kai said it

Try this: Color-code the two stories and their evidence on the organizer, one highlighter per story, before any writing starts.

Where RL.5.9 Fits

Comes BeforeRL.4.9Compare themes, topics and patterns like the quest in stories and myths from different cultures.
AlongsideRL.5.2Find each story’s theme before comparing the two.RL.5.3Compare characters, settings or events inside one story.
Comes NextRL.6.9Compare texts in different genres, like a poem and a historical novel, on similar themes.

Practice RL.5.9

Quick Check

  1. What is the danger in each story?
  2. Who faces the danger alone, and who faces it with others?
  3. What makes both stories adventure stories?

RL.5.9: Other Names

RL.5.9CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.9

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.