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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Example Questions
Example Question #81 : Reading
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 a major difference between how the game of soccer started versus how racing was started?
A group of women was responsible for starting the game of soccer, whereas a group of men was responsible for starting racing.
Soccer was started in America, whereas racing was started in a different country.
The game of soccer was started by a group of people, whereas racing was started by just one person. A group of women was responsible for starting the game of soccer, whereas a group of men was responsible for starting racing.
Soccer started in the 1800s, whereas racing started in the 1900s.
Soccer was started in America, whereas racing was started in a different country.
In text 1, we learn that soccer was started in London (a country in Europe) by a man named Arthur and his friends. This information helps us to eliminate answer choice, “A group of women were responsible for starting the game of soccer, whereas a group of men were responsible for starting racing.” and “Soccer was started in America, whereas racing was started in a different country.” It is true that soccer was started by a group of people; however, so was racing. Text 2 tells us that William and a group of other people started organizing races. This means that neither sport was started by just one person. We are told that soccer was started in the 1800s and racing was started in the 1900s, so this is our correct answer.
All Common Core: 3rd Grade English Language Arts Resources
