Lesson 19 Part 1: Introduction CCLS

RI.6.9 Compare and contrast one author’s

Comparing and Contrasting Texts presentation of events with that of another
(e.g., a memoir written by and a biography on
the same person).

American Icons

If you’ve ever read two articles about a movie star, you often come away with two totally
different impressions. Even if two pieces of writing are about the same topic, they don’t
always present the same ideas. This can be because each author has a different purpose
for writing, a different point of view about the topic, or access to different information. For
example, an author writing a biography, or a true account of a person’s life, will have a
different perspective than the person writing his or her own autobiography that tells
about the same events from personal experience.

Read the following historic accounts. The first describes the 1969 moon landing from the
viewpoint of a woman who witnessed the event, and the second is part of a student’s
history report. Compare and contrast the details chosen by the authors.

I’ll never forget the day that Apollo 11 landed on the moon. It was July 20, 1969,
and I had just turned 12. Although it took place late on a Sunday night our time,
my parents let me stay up past my bedtime to join the millions of people watching
Neil Armstrong take the first step on the moon’s surface. I still recall how my
imagination raced. Would I be able to live on the moon one day? At that moment,
anything seemed possible.

At 10:56 PM Eastern Daylight Time on Sunday, July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong
became the first person to set foot on the surface of the moon. Astronaut Buzz
Aldrin followed Armstrong onto the lunar surface 20 minutes later. These historic
events were broadcast from the moon’s surface and watched by perhaps the largest
television audience ever—approximately half a billion people around the world.

Circle information that is the same or similar in both texts. Then underline details in
each text that do not appear in the other.

Both texts discuss the same event, but each author wrote for a different purpose. The first
reflects on her personal experience, while the second writes to inform readers. When
reading different texts on the same topic, think about factors that affect the writing.
Compare and contrast the authors’ purposes, resources, and points of view to help you
understand why each author chose to include certain details and leave out others.

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 Part 2: Modeled Instruction Lesson 19

Read the following short biography of Amelia Earhart. Then read and answer the question
that follows.
Genre: Biography

Born to Fly by Ann Randall

Amelia Earhart didn’t always dream of becoming an aviator. While she had seen airplanes
growing up, it wasn’t until her early twenties that she realized she was born to fly. When
Earhart was 20 years old, she and a friend attended a stunt-flying contest. Their fun ended,
however, when one of the planes came zooming toward them. In spite of the danger, Earhart
stood firm, displaying the same fearlessness that she would continue to show all her life. This
encounter proved to be a sign of things to come: just a few years later, Earhart found herself
flying inside an airplane.
On December 28, 1920, pilot Frank Hawks changed Earhart’s life by taking her on her first
plane ride. It was then that she knew she was meant to be in the air. Earhart attended her first
flying lesson just five days later, and by 1922, she was already setting records: She became
the first woman to fly to an altitude of 14,000 feet. Over the next 15 years, Earhart would
continue to make her mark on the record books time and time again, proving that flying was
truly in her blood.

How does the author’s purpose influence the focus of the text and the details presented?

The author wants to focus on the early part of Earhart’s life to explain her passion for flying. Which
facts has the author presented to show how Earhart’s experiences started her on the path to
becoming a famous and fearless aviator?

On the lines below, explain the author’s purpose and how facts from the text support it.

With a partner, discuss the author’s point of view about Amelia Earhart and how these feelings
are shown throughout the text. How might the author’s point of view toward Earhart have
affected her choice of details and her presentation of events?

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 Part 3: Guided Instruction Lesson 19

Read another biography of Amelia Earhart. Use the Close Reading and
the Hint to complete the activity.
Genre: Biography

Close Reading Earhart on Equality by Brian Vargas

Underline important As a famous female aviator, Amelia Earhart did much to

facts about Amelia advance equality for women. In 1928, she became the first
Earhart that the author woman to fly across the Atlantic, and she spent the rest of her
includes in this life fearlessly flying farther, faster. Earhart was first to fly many
biography. What do they
long, dangerous routes, and she encouraged other women to fly.
help you understand
about Earhart? Why She championed women in the sciences as a guest professor at
might the author have Purdue University. She said, “Women must try to do things as
chosen to include them? men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a
challenge to others.”

Hint Fill in the chart below based on the two biographies you read.
Both biographies Write facts that are different under the title of each biography. Write
contain some of the facts that are similar in the two biographies under Both.
same facts, but the
authors use them “Born to Fly” Both “Earhart on Equality”
differently. How does
this help convey
different messages
about Amelia Earhart?

Show Your Thinking

Using the chart above, compare and contrast the presentation of facts in the biographies.

With a partner, discuss why these two biographies about Earhart are different. Consider the
authors’ purposes for writing, their points of view, and the information they chose.

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 Part 4: Guided Practice Lesson 19

Read the following memoir and biography about Helen Keller. Use the Study Buddies and the
Close Readings to guide your reading.
Genre: Memoir

from The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

1 My teacher had been with me several weeks before I understood

that everything had a name. One day, while I was playing with
As I read, I’ll think my new doll, Miss Sullivan put my big rag doll into my lap
about how Helen Keller’s also, spelled “d-o-l-l” and tried to make me understand that
memory and emotions “d-o-l-l” applied to both. Earlier in the day we had had a tussle
influence her writing.
over the word “m-u-g.” Miss Sullivan had tried to impress it
I’ll put an asterisk (*)
next to text details that upon me that “m-u-g” is mug and that “w-a-t-e-r” is water, but
only she would know. I persisted in confounding the two.* In despair she had
dropped the subject for the time, only to renew it at the first
Close Reading opportunity. I became impatient at her repeated attempts*
Circle words and and, seizing the new doll, I dashed it upon the floor. I felt my
phrases in the title and teacher sweep the fragments to one side of the hearth, and
first two sentences that I had a sense of satisfaction that the cause of my discomfort
tell you who is writing
this memoir and what was removed.* She brought me my hat, and I knew I was going
she is describing. out into the warm sunshine.*

Underline words and 2 We walked down the path to the well-house. Some one was
phrases in the selection drawing water and my teacher placed my hand under the
that show Helen Keller’s spout. As the cool stream gushed over one hand she spelled
thoughts and feelings into the other the word water, first slowly, then rapidly. I stood
about the event she still, my whole attention fixed upon the motions of her fingers.
describes. What do you
think she wants the Suddenly I felt a misty consciousness as of something
reader to understand? forgotten—a thrill of returning thought; and somehow the
mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that
“w-a-t-e-r” meant the wonderful cool something that was
flowing over my hand. That living word awakened my soul,
gave it light, hope, joy, set it free!

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 Part 4: Guided Practice Lesson 19

Genre: Biography

A Remarkable Life by Mary Wilkes

1 For a year and a half after Helen Keller’s birth on June 27,
1880, she was a healthy, bright child. She started to talk at
six months old and walked at one. However, all of that
changed when, in February of 1882, she came down with a
I wonder why the high fever. Although she survived, her family soon discovered
author wanted to write that the illness had left her blind and deaf.
this biography of Helen
Keller. I’m going to look 2 Young Helen found ways to cope with her new situation,
for clues that help me such as developing a limited system of signs with a playmate.
understand her purpose By the time she was seven, though, she had also become wild
as I read.
and undisciplined. Desperate, her family finally contacted the
Close Reading Perkins Institute for the Blind, which recommended a recent
What event is described graduate, Anne Sullivan, to work with Helen. Of course, most
in Helen Keller’s memoir people know the story of how Sullivan helped Helen realize
on page 190? Box the that “w-a-t-e-r” meant the liquid running over her hand.
information about the
same event in this Helen learned thirty new words that first day and went on to
biography. quickly master finger signs, touch-lip reading, and Braille
reading and typing.
Underline at least
three important facts 3 Determined to complete college, Helen graduated with high
that the author of this honors from Radcliffe in 1904; she also wrote and published
biography includes that her autobiography, The Story of My Life, in 1903. She wrote ten
are not present in Helen other books and many articles in her lifetime. Her greatest
Keller’s memoir. How
does the inclusion of achievements, however, were her efforts to help others around
these facts help you the country and throughout the world. Many of her visits
understand that the prompted the creation of new resources for blind and deaf-
author’s purpose for blind individuals. Because she could relate to people’s
writing is different from difficulties, she worked with leaders to improve their
Helen’s?
situations. Everywhere she went, she spread a message of
strength and courage, a legacy that stands to this day.

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 Part 4: Guided Practice Lesson 19

Look at your marked-up text. Then use the Hints to help you answer
Hints the questions.

Think about the kinds of 1 How does Helen Keller’s purpose for writing her memoir differ from
facts provided by each that of the biographer who wrote about her life?
author. Why do they A Helen tries to inform people about the facts of her life, but the
include these facts? biographer wants people to know about Helen’s personality.
What do they each hope
B Helen tries to explain her childhood actions, while the
to achieve?
biographer writes to tell people about Helen’s wild childhood.
C Helen wants to reflect on her experiences, while the biographer
writes to inform people about events in Helen Keller’s life.
D Helen wants to entertain people by describing her point of
view, but the biographer wants to amaze people with facts.

What text did you draw 2 What event appears both in Helen Keller’s memoir and the
a box around in the biography of Helen Keller?
biography on page 191? A how she lost both her hearing and sight
B how she learned that things have names
C how she learned to touch-read people’s lips
D how she helped the blind all over the world

What do you learn from 3 Explain how the two accounts of Helen Keller’s life are different.
a memoir that you can’t Think about the event they both describe. What do you learn about
from a biography? How it in the memoir? What do you learn from the biography?
does learning about

many parts of a person’s
life in a biography help
you understand one
part?

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 Part 5: Common Core Practice Lesson 19

Read the two articles about the creation of Spider-Man. Then answer the questions that follow.

Stan Lee and Spider-Man

Genre: Text

by Simmi Patel

  1 Spider-Man is a popular comic book superhero who continues to delight his fans some 50 years after
his creation. In the autobiography Excelsior! The Amazing Life of Stan Lee, his creator, Stan Lee explains his
version of how Spider-Man came to life.
  2 Stan Lee had been working in the comic book business for over twenty years. He wanted to create a
hero who had a realistic life in addition to superpowers. Lee presented his idea to his boss and publisher,
Martin Goodman.
  3 “I told Martin I wanted to feature a hero who had just a touch of super strength but his main power
was that he could stick to walls and ceilings,” Lee says.1 Lee explained that his hero, Spider-Man, would also
be a normal teenager. Spider-Man would be raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben and have all the normal
problems of an adolescent. The hero would be worried about money, allergies, girls, and anything else that
Lee could think of.
  4 According to Lee, the creation of Spider-Man had sprung from his reading as a child. One of his
favorite magazines was called The Spider—Master of Men, and Lee loved that name. He remembers the
character wearing a slouch hat and a special spider ring. If The Spider hit someone, he would leave the
impression of a spider on his victim. Although Lee remembers The Spider vividly, he clarified that this
character never had superpowers like Spider-Man.
  5 According to Lee, Martin Goodman hated his idea. Goodman felt that a superhero couldn’t be a
teenager with personal problems. He said that Spider-Man seemed more like a comedy character than a
powerful superhero. Since most people don’t like spiders, Goodman thought that the name “Spider-Man”
was a terrible choice.
  6 But Lee couldn’t give up on his idea of Spider-Man. He gave artist Jack Kirby a plot line for Spider-
Man and asked him to illustrate it. As Lee tells it, “Jack started to draw, but when I saw that he was making
our main character, Peter Parker, a powerful-looking, handsome, self-confident typical hero type, I realized
that wasn’t the style I was looking for. So I took Jack off the project. He couldn’t care less because he had so
many other strips to draw at the time, and Spider-Man wasn’t exactly our top-of-the-line character.”2
  7 Lee reassigned the project to Steve Ditko, who used a more subtle and stylized style of drawing.
Ditko’s rendition was exactly what Lee had in mind. They finished the comic strip, and it was published in the
last issue of Amazing Fantasy in 1962. When sales figures of that publication came in, they showed that the
Spider-Man issue was a huge success. According to Lee, Goodman ran into Lee’s office to congratulate himself
1
Stan Lee and George Mair. Excelsior! The Amazing Life of Stan Lee (New York: Fireside, 2002) p. 126.
2
Lee and Mair, p. 127.

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 Part 5: Common Core Practice Lesson 19

and Lee on the new character. Lee says, “I can still hear his now-classic comment, ‘Stan, remember that
Spider-Man idea of yours that I liked so much? Why don’t we turn it into a series?”’3
  8 Spider-Man became one of the most successful comic book characters ever. When Spider-Man headed
up Marvel comic books’ line of heroes, sales increased from 7 million copies in 1961 to 13 million copies in 1962.4
  9 After Steve Ditko stopped drawing Spider-Man, artist John Romita took over. He slowly incorporated
his own style, and Peter became tall and handsome as he grew up. The characters gradually took on a new
look, and the Spider-Man comic strip continued to increase in popularity.
3
Lee and Mair, p. 128.
4
Lee and Mair, p. 132.

The Birth of Spider-Man

by Max Bruno

  1 What do you think of when you hear the name Spider-Man? A superhero who can cling to almost
anything? Devices that shoot spider webs? A “spider sense” to outwit enemies?
  2 Since his appearance in the early 1960s, Spider-Man has been different than other comic book
superheroes. Initially, he was a teenager who had to deal with loneliness, rejection, and other realistic
problems. Over the years, Peter Parker went to college, got married, taught high school, and became a
freelance photographer. By 2011, he had become a member of two superhero teams, the Avengers and the
Fantastic Four. But how did Spider-Man crawl into existence?
  3 In his autobiography, Excelsior! The Amazing Life of Stan Lee, Lee explains his version of the birth of
Spider-Man. Stan Lee had been working in the comic book business since 1939. Lee always wanted to be a
writer, and he began by writing comic book text filler. Later, he wrote features and became an editor before he
was 20. According to Lee, he had been trying to develop a superhero who also needed to deal with the normal
problems of daily life. He presented his idea to his boss, Martin Goodman. Lee maintains that Goodman
thought Spider-Man was a terrible idea.
  4 Lee claims he asked artist Jack Kirby to illustrate his plot line but later reassigned the job to artist
Steve Ditko. Lee liked Ditko’s stylized approach. The comic strip was published in 1962, and it became a huge
success.
  5 Others, however, have called Lee’s version of events into question. In the book Stan Lee and the Rise
and Fall of the American Comic Book, authors Jordan Raphael and Tom Spurgeon take a different viewpoint.
They claim that the original Spider-Man was the result of the work of several artists and writers. Stan Lee
wanted to create a spider superhero, but artist Jack Kirby also wanted to draw an insect superhero. Raphael
and Spurgeon explain, “Stan Lee expressed the desire to do a teenage superhero using the spider motif. Jack
Kirby had long wanted to do an insect-related superhero.” Kirby started to put together a slightly different
version of the tale. He rejected “some of the more fantastic Lee story elements,” instead adding “a kindly aunt
and uncle, and giving the superhero a secret origin revolving around a neighbor who happened to be a scientist.”1
1
Jordan Raphael and Tom Spurgeon, Stan Lee and the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book (Chicago Review Press, 2003), p. 93.

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 Part 5: Common Core Practice Lesson 19

  6 The character of Spider-Man was eventually given to artist Steve Ditko. He worked from a story
summary and Kirby’s ideas, and eventually he created the drawings of Spider-Man and Peter Parker with
“bottle-thick glasses, slumped shoulders, and a homemade costume. Ditko was nearly as sharp as Kirby when
it came to shaping characters in ways that would make them effective on the page. The Spider-Man millions of
readers came to know and love got his youth and voice from Stan Lee and his human frailty from Steve
Ditko.”2 And the first cover drawing of Spider-Man was drawn by Jack Kirby.
  7 According to Raphael and Spurgeon, Lee often built on contributions from other artists. Comic book
publishers tried to produce as many books as possible in a short amount of time, and Lee encouraged
everyone to contribute ideas. As more writers and artists were hired, everyone shared ideas. Later, legal and
financial questions arose regarding who actually created which comic book character. But during the early
1960s, superhero comic books flourished through this collaborative process.
2
Raphael and Spurgeon, pp. 93–94.

Answer Form
1  A B C D
1 How does the author’s purpose for writing the first article, 2  A B C D Number
“Stan Lee and Spider-Man,” differ from the author’s 3  A B C D Correct 3
purpose for writing “The Birth of Spider-Man”?
A The first author explains Stan Lee’s version of the creation of Spider-Man. The second
explains that there are different versions of how Spider-Man was created.
B The first author wants readers to understand why Stan Lee is so popular. The second
wants readers to understand why Spider-Man is so popular.
C The first author wants readers to reflect on Stan Lee’s point of view. The second wants
readers to reflect on facts about Stan Lee’s career.
D The first author wants to describe Stan Lee’s vision of Spider-Man. The second wants to
describe Jack Kirby’s vision of Spider-Man.

2 What do you think both authors want the reader to understand about Martin Goodman and
the creation of the Spider-Man character?
A Martin Goodman headed the team who developed the Spider-Man concept.
B Martin Goodman respected Stan Lee’s decisions as a writer.
C Martin Goodman shaped the character to make him effective on the page.
D Martin Goodman didn’t deserve credit for the creation of Spider-Man.

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 Part 5: Common Core Practice Lesson 19

3 Which fact appears in both articles?

A Martin Goodman felt that the name “Spider-Man” was a terrible choice.
B Spider-Man was probably the result of several writers’ ideas.
C Steve Ditko created the art for the character of Spider-Man.
D Jack Kirby also wanted to create a superhero that looked like an insect.

4 Compare and contrast the way the two authors presented information about Spider-Man in
these articles. Describe similarities and differences in the authors’ purposes, their points of
view, and the facts they chose. Use evidence from the articles to support your response.

Self Check Go back and see what you can check off on the Self Check on page 177.
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 Lesson 19 (Student Book pages 187–196)

Comparing and Contrasting texts

Theme: American Icons

LeSSon oBJeCtIveS tAP StudentS’ PRIoR KnoWLedge

• Recognize the difference between facts and opinions. • Tell students they will be working on a lesson
comparing and contrasting different texts about the
• Compare and contrast texts by different authors
same topics and events. Remind students of the
about the same topic or event.
different purposes authors have for writing. (to
• Identify how an author’s purpose for writing inform, entertain, persuade)
influences the focus of the text and the details
• Ask students why it is important to determine the
presented.
author’s purpose while reading. (Depending on the
author’s purpose, he or she might present only some of
the LeARnIng PRogReSSIon the important details. Readers might not get the whole
• Grade 5: CCLS RI.5.9 requires students to integrate picture or all of the information.)
information from several texts on the same topic in • Have students think about the difference between
order to write or speak about the subject facts and opinions. (A fact is information that can be
knowledgeably. proved to be true. An opinion is what someone thinks,
• Grade 6: CCLS RI.6.9 builds on the Grade 5 feels, or believes.)
standard by having students compare and • Then have students think about the difference
contrast one author’s presentation of events with between first-person and third-person accounts. (A
that of another. Students compare and contrast first-person account, such as an autobiography, tells
texts on the same events, not simply the same about events from someone who was there to experience
subject. them. A third-person account, such as a biography,
• Grade 7: CCLS RI.7.9 requires students to analyze relates facts about events from someone who wasn’t
how two or more authors writing about the same there when they happened.)
topic shape their presentations of key information by • Explain to students that they should always pay
emphasizing different evidence or advancing attention to the author’s purpose for writing. It helps
different interpretations of facts. them not only better understand the text but also
interpret the information that is provided.
PReReQuISIte SKILLS
• Identify the central idea and topic of a text. Toolbox teacher-toolbox.com

• Compare and contrast different aspects of nonfiction Prerequisite

texts. Skills RI.6.9
• Identify an author’s point of view and purpose Ready Lessons ✓ ✓
for writing.
Tools for Instruction ✓✓
Interactive Tutorials ✓
CCLS Focus
RI.6.9 Compare and contrast one author’s presentation of events with that of another (e.g., a memoir written by and a biography on the
same person).
AddItIonAL StAndARdS: RL.6.11.a; RI.6.1, RI.6.2, RI.6.3, RI.6.4, RI.6.6, RI.6.7, RI.6.8; W.6.1, W.6.2, W.6.4, W.6.8; SL.6.1,
SL.6.2.a, SL.6.4; L.6.1, L.6.2.a, L.6.4.a, L.6.4.b, L.6.4.c, L.6.4.d, L.6.5.a (see page A31 for full text)

175
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 Part 1: Introduction Lesson 19

At A gLAnCe
Lesson 19 Part 1: Introduction
By reading two historical accounts of the same event, CCLS
RI.6.9 Compare and contrast one author’s
Comparing and Contrasting texts presentation of events with that of another

students practice comparing and contrasting texts. (e.g., a memoir written by and a biography on
the same person).

American Icons

SteP By SteP If you’ve ever read two articles about a movie star, you often come away with two totally
different impressions. Even if two pieces of writing are about the same topic, they don’t
• Remind students that authors have different always present the same ideas. This can be because each author has a different purpose
for writing, a different point of view about the topic, or access to different information. For
example, an author writing a biography, or a true account of a person’s life, will have a
purposes for writing. Writing can be entertaining, different perspective than the person writing his or her own autobiography that tells
about the same events from personal experience.
educational, persuasive, or personal. Explain that
Read the following historic accounts. The first describes the 1969 moon landing from the
two authors can write about the same event but with viewpoint of a woman who witnessed the event, and the second is part of a student’s
history report. Compare and contrast the details chosen by the authors.
a different purpose for writing.
I’ll never forget the day that Apollo 11 landed on the moon. It was July 20, 1969,

• Read the first paragraph and review the meanings of and I had just turned 12. Although it took place late on a Sunday night our time,
my parents let me stay up past my bedtime to join the millions of people watching
biography and autobiography. Have students compare Neil Armstrong take the first step on the moon’s surface. I still recall how my
imagination raced. Would I be able to live on the moon one day? At that moment,
and contrast the features of each. anything seemed possible.

• Have students read the two historical accounts. Then At 10:56 PM Eastern Daylight Time on Sunday, July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong
have them determine each author’s purpose for became the first person to set foot on the surface of the moon. Astronaut Buzz
Aldrin followed Armstrong onto the lunar surface 20 minutes later. These historic
writing. What is the same about the two accounts? events were broadcast from the moon’s surface and watched by perhaps the largest
television audience ever—approximately half a billion people around the world.
What is different?
Circle information that is the same or similar in both texts. then underline details in
• To help students compare and contrast the two each text that do not appear in the other.

accounts, have them circle information that is the Both texts discuss the same event, but each author wrote for a different purpose. The first
reflects on her personal experience, while the second writes to inform readers. When
same or similar between the two paragraphs. Then reading different texts on the same topic, think about factors that affect the writing.
Compare and contrast the authors’ purposes, resources, and points of view to help you
have them underline details that are in one account understand why each author chose to include certain details and leave out others.

but not the other. L19: Comparing and Contrasting Texts 187
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• Discuss with students the information they marked.

Then read the paragraph at the bottom of the page
and have students compare the details they circled
and underlined to the information in the paragraph.

genre Focus
Informational texts: memoir A memoir is slightly different from other
autobiographies in that it usually relates very personal
Explain to students that a memoir is a form of thoughts and feelings. It is more personal in nature.
autobiographical writing in which the writer shares An autobiography is written to keep the writer’s
details of his or her life with readers. Memoirs are memories alive, but a memoir is written to keep the
often informal or intimate in tone. writer’s feelings and emotions alive.
Remind students that an autobiography is an Point out that diaries can sometimes be a form of
informational text about the events in the author’s life. memoir. Cite the example of The Diary of a Young Girl
Autobiographies includes facts and details about the by Anne Frank. She wrote it as a personal diary, but it
person’s life. They are usually written by famous was later published as a personal memoir of an
people who have achieved great things, but they can important person during a significant time in history.
be written by anyone. Often, an autobiography will
focus on the reflections and important memories a Have students share examples of other memoirs and
person has about his or her life. autobiographies with which they are familiar.

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 Part 2: modeled Instruction Lesson 19

At A gLAnCe
Part 2: modeled Instruction Lesson 19
Students read a short biography of Amelia Earhart and
then determine how the author’s purpose influences the Read the following short biography of Amelia earhart. then read and answer the question
that follows.
focus of the text. Genre: Biography

Born to Fly by Ann Randall

SteP By SteP Amelia Earhart didn’t always dream of becoming an aviator. While she had seen airplanes
growing up, it wasn’t until her early twenties that she realized she was born to fly. When
Earhart was 20 years old, she and a friend attended a stunt-flying contest. Their fun ended,
• Remind students they just compared and contrasted however, when one of the planes came zooming toward them. In spite of the danger, Earhart
stood firm, displaying the same fearlessness that she would continue to show all her life. This
two texts about the same event—the moon landing. encounter proved to be a sign of things to come: just a few years later, Earhart found herself
Tell students that in this lesson they will read a short flying inside an airplane.
On December 28, 1920, pilot Frank Hawks changed Earhart’s life by taking her on her first
biography of Amelia Earhart. They will determine plane ride. It was then that she knew she was meant to be in the air. Earhart attended her first

the author’s purpose for writing and how that flying lesson just five days later, and by 1922, she was already setting records: She became
the first woman to fly to an altitude of 14,000 feet. Over the next 15 years, Earhart would
purpose influences the focus of the text. continue to make her mark on the record books time and time again, proving that flying was
truly in her blood.

• Read aloud the biography “Born to Fly.” Then read

how does the author’s purpose influence the focus of the text and the details presented?
the question “How does the author’s purpose The author wants to focus on the early part of Earhart’s life to explain her passion for flying. Which
influence the focus of the text and the details facts has the author presented to show how Earhart’s experiences started her on the path to
becoming a famous and fearless aviator?
presented?” on the lines below, explain the author’s purpose and how facts from the text support it.
See sample response.
• Tell students you will use a Think Aloud to
demonstrate a way of answering the question.
With a partner, discuss the author’s point of view about Amelia earhart and how these feelings
Think Aloud: This is a biography, not an are shown throughout the text. how might the author’s point of view toward earhart have
affected her choice of details and her presentation of events?
autobiography, so the author’s purpose for writing is
most likely to inform. She wants the reader to learn
more about Amelia Earhart and her life. This article is 188 L19: Comparing and Contrasting Texts
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about the early part of Earhart’s life. The author wants

to explain how and why Earhart learned to love flying.
• Have students circle or underline details that help
the reader understand how and why Amelia Earhart eLL Support: Contractions
learned to love flying.
• Explain to students that a contraction is two
Think Aloud: The second paragraph talks about how words that have been joined together and
Frank Hawks took her for her first flight and how she shortened. When the words are joined, letters are
took flying lessons five days later. This is important. It dropped. An apostrophe is added to take the place
shows that Earhart was immediately in love with flying of any dropped letters.
and wanted to learn how to do it herself.
• Work with students to identify the two words
• Have students respond to the prompt with other facts in a contraction. Point out the word didn’t in
from the text. Sample response: The author writes to paragraph 1. Explain that it is made up of the
inform readers about Earhart’s early career and how words did and not. Tell students that the letter o in
she decided she wanted to be a pilot. For example, not has been dropped, and an apostrophe has been
the text mentions her first flight with Frank Hawks put in its place.
and how she took flying lessons five days later.
• Next, point out the word wasn’t in paragraph 1
• Then have partners discuss the question at the and Earhart’s in paragraph 2. Have students
bottom of the page. Sample response: The author identify which word is a contraction (wasn’t) and
respects and admires Amelia Earhart. She includes tell what two words are in it (was and not). Point
positive language such as “fearless,” “born to fly,” and out that Earhart’s is a possessive noun that shows
“flying was truly in her blood.” The author included ownership. (L.6.1)
this language and the specific facts that she chose in
order to show readers Earhart’s greatness.

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 Part 3: guided Instruction Lesson 19

At A gLAnCe
Part 3: guided Instruction Lesson 19
Students read another biographical article about Amelia
Earhart. They then identify details to help them Read another biography of Amelia earhart. use the Close Reading and
the hint to complete the activity.
compare and contrast each text. Genre: Biography

Close Reading Earhart on Equality by Brian Vargas

SteP By SteP underline important

facts about Amelia
As a famous female aviator, Amelia Earhart did much to
advance equality for women. In 1928, she became the first
Earhart that the author woman to fly across the Atlantic, and she spent the rest of her
• Tell students they will read another biographical includes in this
biography. What do they
life fearlessly flying farther, faster. Earhart was first to fly many
long, dangerous routes, and she encouraged other women to fly.
article about Amelia Earhart. They should read for help you understand
about Earhart? Why She championed women in the sciences as a guest professor at
details that are similar to and different from the first might the author have Purdue University. She said, “Women must try to do things as
men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a
chosen to include them?
biography. challenge to others.”

• Close Reading helps students identify details about hint Fill in the chart below based on the two biographies you read.
Both biographies Write facts that are different under the title of each biography. Write
Earhart’s life that this author chose to include. The contain some of the facts that are similar in the two biographies under Both.
same facts, but the
Hint will help students recognize the different ways authors use them “Born to Fly” Both “earhart on equality”
differently. How does • First airplane • Female aviator • First woman to fly
that authors can use facts and details. this help convey ride in 1920 • Fearless across the Atlantic
different messages
• Flying lessons • Set records • encouraged women to
about Amelia Earhart?
• Have students read the article and underline 5 days later
• Female
fly and be scientists
• Said women must try
important facts about Amelia Earhart, as directed by altitude record the same as things men

Close Reading.
Show your thinking
• Ask volunteers to share the facts they underlined. Using the chart above, compare and contrast the presentation of facts in the biographies.

Discuss why these facts are important and whether Responses will vary.

they are different from the facts used in “Born to

With a partner, discuss why these two biographies about Earhart are different. Consider the
Fly.” If necessary, ask, “What was Earhart the first to authors’ purposes for writing, their points of view, and the information they chose.

do?” L19: Comparing and Contrasting Texts 189

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• Have students fill in the chart with information from

both articles.
• Then have partners respond to the prompts in Show
Your Thinking. Sample response: Both name her as a tier 2 vocabulary: Championed
famous, fearless aviator who set records. The first • Direct students to the word championed. Remind
biography focuses on Earhart’s early life and what them that they can look for other words in the
motivated her to become a famous aviator. The text that have a similar meaning, or are
second was written to show her accomplishments on synonyms, to help them understand an unfamiliar
behalf of all women. word. Ask them to identify synonyms and other
context clues that help them understand the
AnSWeR AnALySIS meaning of championed. (“encouraged,” “challenge”)
Then have them define championed in their own
Refer to the annotations provided on the facsimile page words. (“supported”)
at right.
• Encourage students to use a thesaurus to identify
ERROR ALERT: Students who had difficulty synonyms of championed as it is used in this text.
completing the chart may not have understood (RI.6.4; L.6.4.a; L.6.4.c)
similarities between the two articles. Have them ask
themselves: “What do I learn about in the first
article that I then read about in the second article?”

178 L19: Comparing and Contrasting Texts

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 Part 4: guided Practice Lesson 19

At A gLAnCe
Part 4: guided Practice Lesson 19
Students read a memoir by Helen Keller twice. After the
first reading, you will ask three questions to check your Read the following memoir and biography about helen Keller. use the Study Buddies and the
Close Readings to guide your reading.
students’ comprehension of the passage. Genre: Memoir

from The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

SteP By SteP 1 My teacher had been with me several weeks before I understood
that everything had a name. One day, while I was playing with
As I read, I’ll think my new doll, Miss Sullivan put my big rag doll into my lap
• Have students read the memoir silently without about how Helen Keller’s also, spelled “d-o-l-l” and tried to make me understand that
memory and emotions
referring to the Study Buddy or Close Reading text. influence her writing.
“d-o-l-l” applied to both. Earlier in the day we had had a tussle
over the word “m-u-g.” Miss Sullivan had tried to impress it
I’ll put an asterisk (*)
next to text details that upon me that “m-u-g” is mug and that “w-a-t-e-r” is water, but
• Ask the following questions to ensure students’ only she would know. I persisted in confounding the two.* In despair she had
dropped the subject for the time, only to renew it at the first
comprehension of the text: Close Reading Clos
opportunity. I became impatient at her repeated attempts*
Wh
Circle words and and, seizing the new doll, I dashed it upon the floor. I felt my
in H
Why are many of the words in this passage spelled phrases in the title and
first two sentences that
teacher sweep the fragments to one side of the hearth, and
I had a sense of satisfaction that the cause of my discomfort
on p
info
tell you who is writing
out with letters? (Helen is showing that she was this memoir and what was removed.* She brought me my hat, and I knew I was going sam
biog
she is describing. out into the warm sunshine.*
learning everything had a name and those names are 2 We walked down the path to the well-house. Some one was und
underline words and
spelled with letters.) phrases in the selection drawing water and my teacher placed my hand under the thre
that
that show Helen Keller’s spout. As the cool stream gushed over one hand she spelled
biog
thoughts and feelings into the other the word water, first slowly, then rapidly. I stood
How does Helen feel after she breaks the doll? (She about the event she still, my whole attention fixed upon the motions of her fingers.
are
Kell
describes. What do you
feels good. She is happy that she has gotten rid of think she wants the Suddenly I felt a misty consciousness as of something
forgotten—a thrill of returning thought; and somehow the
doe
thes
reader to understand?
und
something that was bothering her and causing mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that
auth
“w-a-t-e-r” meant the wonderful cool something that was writ
her problems.) flowing over my hand. That living word awakened my soul, Hel
gave it light, hope, joy, set it free!
How does Helen finally learn the word water? (She
feels cool water rush over her hand as it is pumped from
a well.)
190 L19: Comparing and Contrasting Texts

• Ask students to reread the passage and look at the

©Curriculum Associates, LLC Copying is not permitted.

Study Buddy think aloud. What does the Study

Buddy help them think about?

tip: The Study Buddy asks students to identify tier 2 vocabulary: Confounding
details that reveal Helen’s emotions and how they • Point out the word confounding in paragraph 1.
influence her writing. This is the very nature of the Have students identify the part of speech (verb).
author’s purpose for writing. Students should Then encourage them to use context clues to
repeatedly practice this as they read memoirs. determine the meaning of this word. If students
• Have students answer the questions and follow the need to, they may also use a dictionary to find the
directions in the Close Reading. definition of the word as it is used in this context.
(“mixing up or confusing two things”)
tip: The Close Reading asks students to analyze • Have students give examples of other related
Helen’s purpose for writing. Be sure students are words that would make sense in this context.
familiar with the differences between biographies (confusing, mixing up) (RI.6.4; L.6.4.a; L.6.4.d)
(such as those about Amelia Earhart) and
autobiographies and their differing purposes.

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 Part 4: guided Practice Lesson 19

At A gLAnCe
Part 4: guided Practice Lesson 19
Students read another article about Helen Keller, this
one a biography. After the first reading, you will ask Genre: Biography

three questions to check your students’ comprehension A Remarkable Life by Mary Wilkes

of the text. from The Story of My Life by Helen Keller 1 For a year and a half after Helen Keller’s birth on June 27,
1880, she was a healthy, bright child. She started to talk at
1 My teacher had been with me several weeks before I understood six months old and walked at one. However, all of that
that everything had a name. One day, while I was playing with
SteP By SteP
changed when, in February of 1882, she came down with a
my new doll, Miss Sullivan put my big rag doll into my lap I wonder why the high fever. Although she survived, her family soon discovered
also, spelled “d-o-l-l” and tried to make me understand that author wanted to write that the illness had left her blind and deaf.
this biography of Helen
• Have students read the biography silently without
“d-o-l-l” applied to both. Earlier in the day we had had a tussle
over the word “m-u-g.” Miss Sullivan had tried to impress it
Keller. I’m going to look 2 Young Helen found ways to cope with her new situation,
for clues that help me such as developing a limited system of signs with a playmate.
referring to the Study Buddy or Close Reading text.
upon me that “m-u-g” is mug and that “w-a-t-e-r” is water, but understand her purpose By the time she was seven, though, she had also become wild
I persisted in confounding the two.* In despair she had as I read.
and undisciplined. Desperate, her family finally contacted the
dropped the subject for the time, only to renew it at the first
• Ask the following
Close Reading questions to ensure students’ Close Reading Perkins Institute for the Blind, which recommended a recent
opportunity. I became impatient at her repeated attempts*
What event is described graduate, Anne Sullivan, to work with Helen. Of course, most
Circle words and
comprehension of the text:
phrases in the title and
and, seizing the new doll, I dashed it upon the floor. I felt my
teacher sweep the fragments to one side of the hearth, and
in Helen Keller’s memoir
on page 190? Box the
people know the story of how Sullivan helped Helen realize
first two sentences that that “w-a-t-e-r” meant the liquid running over her hand.
I had a sense of satisfaction that the cause of my discomfort information about the
Who istell
the
this
you who is writing
memoirsubject
and what of this article? Did he or she write
was removed.* She brought me my hat, and I knew I was going same event in this
biography.
Helen learned thirty new words that first day and went on to
quickly master finger signs, touch-lip reading, and Braille
she is describing. out into the warm sunshine.*
it? (The subject is Helen 2
Keller. She did not write this
We walked down the path to the well-house. Some one was underline at least
reading and typing.
underline words and 3 Determined to complete college, Helen graduated with high
passage;phrases
it is aselection
in the biographydrawing
by Mary Wilkes.)
water and my teacher placed my hand under the three important facts
that the author of this honors from Radcliffe in 1904; she also wrote and published
that show Helen Keller’s spout. As the cool stream gushed over one hand she spelled
biography includes that her autobiography, The Story of My Life, in 1903. She wrote ten
thoughts and feelings into the other the word water, first slowly, then rapidly. I stood
How does this article begin? (The biography begins
about the event she still, my whole attention fixed upon the motions of her fingers.
are not present in Helen
Keller’s memoir. How
other books and many articles in her lifetime. Her greatest
describes. What do you achievements, however, were her efforts to help others around
with Helen’s birth in 1880.)
think she wants the Suddenly I felt a misty consciousness as of something
forgotten—a thrill of returning thought; and somehow the
does the inclusion of
these facts help you the country and throughout the world. Many of her visits
reader to understand?
understand that the prompted the creation of new resources for blind and deaf-
mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that
author’s purpose for
What kinds of details does the author include in this
“w-a-t-e-r” meant the wonderful cool something that was writing is different from
blind individuals. Because she could relate to people’s
difficulties, she worked with leaders to improve their
flowing over my hand. That living word awakened my soul, Helen’s?
article? What are some examples? (The author
gave it light, hope, joy, set it free!
situations. Everywhere she went, she spread a message of
strength and courage, a legacy that stands to this day.
includes many facts and details about Helen’s life.
Examples include her time learning from Anne Sullivan
and what she accomplished after graduating from
Radcliffe in 1904.) L19: Comparing and Contrasting Texts
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191

• Ask students to reread the biography and look at the

Study Buddy think aloud. What does the Study
Buddy help them think about?
eLL Support: Prefixes
tip: The Study Buddy helps students look for clues • Explain to students that many English words have
that point to the author’s purpose for writing. This prefixes. A prefix is a group of letters that is added
will be different from the memoir. Students should to the beginning of a word to change the word’s
recognize and understand that both texts are about meaning.
the same topic, but they have different purposes.
• Direct students to the word undisciplined on this
• Have students answer the questions and follow the page. Write the word on the board and circle the
directions in the Close Reading. prefix. (un-) Then point out the base word.
(discipline)
tip: The Close Reading guides students to look for • Encourage students to read the sentence aloud
similarities and differences. Encourage students to
and try to determine the meaning of the word and
think about how details that are unique to this text
prefix. Then have students think of or find other
reveal the author’s purpose for writing. This will
words with prefixes. (L.6.4.b)
help them better understand what they read.
• Finally, have students answer the questions on page
192. Use the Answer Analysis to discuss correct and
incorrect responses.

180 L19: Comparing and Contrasting Texts

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 Part 4: guided Practice Lesson 19

SteP By SteP
Part 4: guided Practice Lesson 19
• Have students read questions 1–3, using the Hints to
help them answer those questions. Look at your marked-up text. then use the hints to help you answer
the questions.
hints
Think about the kinds of 1 How does Helen Keller’s purpose for writing her memoir differ from

tip: Question 3 requires students to compare and facts provided by each

author. Why do they
that of the biographer who wrote about her life?
A Helen tries to inform people about the facts of her life, but the
contrast the articles about Helen Keller. Students include these facts?
What do they each hope
biographer wants people to know about Helen’s personality.
B Helen tries to explain her childhood actions, while the
should have already identified much of this to achieve?
biographer writes to tell people about Helen’s wild childhood.
C
information as they read those texts. Remind Helen wants to reflect on her experiences, while the biographer
writes to inform people about events in Helen Keller’s life.

students to pay attention to the authors’ purposes. d Helen wants to entertain people by describing her point of
view, but the biographer wants to amaze people with facts.

What text did you draw 2 What event appears both in Helen Keller’s memoir and the
• Discuss with students the Answer Analysis below. a box around in the biography of Helen Keller?
biography on page 191? A how she lost both her hearing and sight
B how she learned that things have names
AnSWeR AnALySIS C how she learned to touch-read people’s lips
d how she helped the blind all over the world
1 The correct choice is C. The memoir includes more What do you learn from 3 Explain how the two accounts of Helen Keller’s life are different.

personal feelings and reflections on her life. The a memoir that you can’t
from a biography? How
Think about the event they both describe. What do you learn about
it in the memoir? What do you learn from the biography?
biography includes more facts and is intended to does learning about
many parts of a person’s
See sample response.

inform. Choice A is incorrect because Helen doesn’t life in a biography help

you understand one
want simply to inform people about her life. She part?

wants to share some personal experiences. Choice B

is incorrect because Helen doesn’t attempt to
explain her actions, and the biographer never calls
Helen’s childhood “wild.” Choice D is incorrect
because neither text is written to entertain.
2 The correct choice is B. Both articles mention the 192 L19: Comparing and Contrasting Texts
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event when Helen realized that “w-a-t-e-r” meant

cool liquid, or water. Choices A, C, and D are
incorrect because those events are not mentioned in
both texts—only in the biography. Integrating Standards
3 Sample response: Both texts tell about how Sullivan Use these questions to further students’
helped Helen learn about the names for things. The understanding of the two texts.
memoir describes the events in detail, along with
1 What can you infer from the memoir about
Helen’s thoughts and feelings. The biography gives
Helen’s attempts to learn that everything has a
less detail about the event itself, but it describes
name? (RI.6.1)
other important events in her life in a factual way.
Helen says she “persisted in confounding” different
ReteAChIng words. She also describes her impatience and
discomfort. I can infer that this was a very difficult
Use a chart to organize details from the texts to answer process for her, and she was easily frustrated while
Question 3. Draw the chart below, and have students she was trying to learn. Once she learns that
fill in the boxes. Sample responses are provided. “w-a-t-e-r” means water, she says the realization
“awakened my soul … set it free.”
The Story of Both “A Remarkable
My Life Life” 2 How does the biography introduce the event
• lots of detail • Anne Sullivan • not much detail when Helen learns that words name things?
• includes helped Helen • describes other (RI.6.3)
thoughts and learn about events The event is quickly referenced as something “most
feelings the names of people know.” It is used as an example of the
things. obstacles Helen had to overcome.

L19: Comparing and Contrasting Texts 181

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 Part 5: Common Core Practice Lesson 19

Part 5: Common Core Practice Lesson 19 Part 5: Common Core Practice Lesson 19

Read the two articles about the creation of Spider-Man. Then answer the questions that follow. and Lee on the new character. Lee says, “I can still hear his now-classic comment, ‘Stan, remember that
Spider-Man idea of yours that I liked so much? Why don’t we turn it into a series?”’3

Stan Lee and Spider-Man

Genre: Text 8 Spider-Man became one of the most successful comic book characters ever. When Spider-Man headed
up Marvel comic books’ line of heroes, sales increased from 7 million copies in 1961 to 13 million copies in 1962.4
by Simmi Patel 9 After Steve Ditko stopped drawing Spider-Man, artist John Romita took over. He slowly incorporated
his own style, and Peter became tall and handsome as he grew up. The characters gradually took on a new
1 Spider-Man is a popular comic book superhero who continues to delight his fans some 50 years after look, and the Spider-Man comic strip continued to increase in popularity.
his creation. In the autobiography Excelsior! The Amazing Life of Stan Lee, his creator, Stan Lee explains his 3
Lee and Mair, p. 128.
version of how Spider-Man came to life.
4
Lee and Mair, p. 132.
2 Stan Lee had been working in the comic book business for over twenty years. He wanted to create a
hero who had a realistic life in addition to superpowers. Lee presented his idea to his boss and publisher,
Martin Goodman.
3 “I told Martin I wanted to feature a hero who had just a touch of super strength but his main power
The Birth of Spider-Man
was that he could stick to walls and ceilings,” Lee says.1 Lee explained that his hero, Spider-Man, would also by Max Bruno
be a normal teenager. Spider-Man would be raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben and have all the normal
problems of an adolescent. The hero would be worried about money, allergies, girls, and anything else that 1 What do you think of when you hear the name Spider-Man? A superhero who can cling to almost
Lee could think of. anything? Devices that shoot spider webs? A “spider sense” to outwit enemies?
4 According to Lee, the creation of Spider-Man had sprung from his reading as a child. One of his 2 Since his appearance in the early 1960s, Spider-Man has been different than other comic book
favorite magazines was called The Spider—Master of Men, and Lee loved that name. He remembers the superheroes. Initially, he was a teenager who had to deal with loneliness, rejection, and other realistic
character wearing a slouch hat and a special spider ring. If The Spider hit someone, he would leave the problems. Over the years, Peter Parker went to college, got married, taught high school, and became a
impression of a spider on his victim. Although Lee remembers The Spider vividly, he clarified that this freelance photographer. By 2011, he had become a member of two superhero teams, the Avengers and the
character never had superpowers like Spider-Man. Fantastic Four. But how did Spider-Man crawl into existence?
5 According to Lee, Martin Goodman hated his idea. Goodman felt that a superhero couldn’t be a 3 In his autobiography, Excelsior! The Amazing Life of Stan Lee, Lee explains his version of the birth of
teenager with personal problems. He said that Spider-Man seemed more like a comedy character than a Spider-Man. Stan Lee had been working in the comic book business since 1939. Lee always wanted to be a
powerful superhero. Since most people don’t like spiders, Goodman thought that the name “Spider-Man” writer, and he began by writing comic book text filler. Later, he wrote features and became an editor before he
was a terrible choice. was 20. According to Lee, he had been trying to develop a superhero who also needed to deal with the normal
problems of daily life. He presented his idea to his boss, Martin Goodman. Lee maintains that Goodman
6 But Lee couldn’t give up on his idea of Spider-Man. He gave artist Jack Kirby a plot line for Spider-
thought Spider-Man was a terrible idea.
Man and asked him to illustrate it. As Lee tells it, “Jack started to draw, but when I saw that he was making
our main character, Peter Parker, a powerful-looking, handsome, self-confident typical hero type, I realized 4 Lee claims he asked artist Jack Kirby to illustrate his plot line but later reassigned the job to artist
that wasn’t the style I was looking for. So I took Jack off the project. He couldn’t care less because he had so Steve Ditko. Lee liked Ditko’s stylized approach. The comic strip was published in 1962, and it became a huge
many other strips to draw at the time, and Spider-Man wasn’t exactly our top-of-the-line character.”2 success.
7 Lee reassigned the project to Steve Ditko, who used a more subtle and stylized style of drawing. 5 Others, however, have called Lee’s version of events into question. In the book Stan Lee and the Rise
Ditko’s rendition was exactly what Lee had in mind. They finished the comic strip, and it was published in the and Fall of the American Comic Book, authors Jordan Raphael and Tom Spurgeon take a different viewpoint.
last issue of Amazing Fantasy in 1962. When sales figures of that publication came in, they showed that the They claim that the original Spider-Man was the result of the work of several artists and writers. Stan Lee
Spider-Man issue was a huge success. According to Lee, Goodman ran into Lee’s office to congratulate himself wanted to create a spider superhero, but artist Jack Kirby also wanted to draw an insect superhero. Raphael
and Spurgeon explain, “Stan Lee expressed the desire to do a teenage superhero using the spider motif. Jack
1
Stan Lee and George Mair. Excelsior! The Amazing Life of Stan Lee (New York: Fireside, 2002) p. 126.
Kirby had long wanted to do an insect-related superhero.” Kirby started to put together a slightly different
2
Lee and Mair, p. 127. version of the tale. He rejected “some of the more fantastic Lee story elements,” instead adding “a kindly aunt
and uncle, and giving the superhero a secret origin revolving around a neighbor who happened to be a scientist.”1
1
Jordan Raphael and Tom Spurgeon, Stan Lee and the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book (Chicago Review Press, 2003), p. 93.

L19: Comparing and Contrasting Texts 193 194 L19: Comparing and Contrasting Texts
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At A gLAnCe AnSWeR AnALySIS

Students independently read two longer passages and 1 Choice A is correct. The first article focuses on Stan
answer questions in a format that provides test practice. Lee and his involvement in the creation of Spider-
Man. The author includes Lee’s point of view about
SteP By SteP the events. The second article includes other points
of view and different versions of the same events.
• Tell students to use what they have learned about Choice B is incorrect because neither article focuses
analyzing the author’s purpose and how it affects the on the popularity of Stan Lee or Spider-Man; they
focus of a text to read the passages on pages 193–195. are about the history of the character. Choice C is
• Remind students to underline or circle important not the best choice because the second article does
points. not include many details about Lee’s career. Choice
D is incorrect because the second article includes
• Tell students to answer the questions on pages 195 more points of view than Jack Kirby’s.
and 196. For questions 1–3, they should fill in the
correct circle on the Answer Form.
• When students have finished, use the Answer theme Connection
Analysis to discuss correct responses and the reasons •<See
HowG6L5_inserts.doc
do all the texts inforthis
textlesson
to be relate
placedtohere.>
the
for them. Have students fill in the Number Correct theme of American icons?
on the Answer Form.
• What is one fact or idea you learned about
American icons from each article in this lesson?

182 L19: Comparing and Contrasting Texts

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 Part 5: Common Core Practice Lesson 19

Part 5: Common Core Practice Lesson 19 Part 5: Common Core Practice Lesson 19

6 The character of Spider-Man was eventually given to artist Steve Ditko. He worked from a story
summary and Kirby’s ideas, and eventually he created the drawings of Spider-Man and Peter Parker with 3 Which fact appears in both articles?
“bottle-thick glasses, slumped shoulders, and a homemade costume. Ditko was nearly as sharp as Kirby when A Martin Goodman felt that the name “Spider-Man” was a terrible choice.
it came to shaping characters in ways that would make them effective on the page. The Spider-Man millions of
readers came to know and love got his youth and voice from Stan Lee and his human frailty from Steve B Spider-Man was probably the result of several writers’ ideas.
Ditko.”2 And the first cover drawing of Spider-Man was drawn by Jack Kirby. C Steve Ditko created the art for the character of Spider-Man.
7 According to Raphael and Spurgeon, Lee often built on contributions from other artists. Comic book D Jack Kirby also wanted to create a superhero that looked like an insect.
publishers tried to produce as many books as possible in a short amount of time, and Lee encouraged
everyone to contribute ideas. As more writers and artists were hired, everyone shared ideas. Later, legal and
financial questions arose regarding who actually created which comic book character. But during the early
1960s, superhero comic books flourished through this collaborative process.
2
Raphael and Spurgeon, pp. 93–94. 4 Compare and contrast the way the two authors presented information about Spider-Man in
these articles. Describe similarities and differences in the authors’ purposes, their points of
view, and the facts they chose. Use evidence from the articles to support your response.
Answer Form
See sample response.
1 A B C D
1 How does the author’s purpose for writing the first article, 2 A B C D number
“Stan Lee and Spider-Man,” differ from the author’s 3 A B C D Correct 3
purpose for writing “The Birth of Spider-Man”?
A The first author explains Stan Lee’s version of the creation of Spider-Man. The second
explains that there are different versions of how Spider-Man was created.
B The first author wants readers to understand why Stan Lee is so popular. The second
wants readers to understand why Spider-Man is so popular.
C The first author wants readers to reflect on Stan Lee’s point of view. The second wants
readers to reflect on facts about Stan Lee’s career.
D The first author wants to describe Stan Lee’s vision of Spider-Man. The second wants to
describe Jack Kirby’s vision of Spider-Man.

2 What do you think both authors want the reader to understand about Martin Goodman and
the creation of the Spider-Man character?
A Martin Goodman headed the team who developed the Spider-Man concept.

B Martin Goodman respected Stan Lee’s decisions as a writer.

C Martin Goodman shaped the character to make him effective on the page.

D Martin Goodman didn’t deserve credit for the creation of Spider-Man.

Self Check Go back and see what you can check off on the Self Check on page 177.
L19: Comparing and Contrasting Texts 195 196 L19: Comparing and Contrasting Texts
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2 Choice D is correct. The first article says that 4 Sample response: Both articles tell about the
Goodman hated Lee’s idea and felt that “a superhero creation of the comic book character Spider-Man.
couldn’t be a teenager with personal problems.” The The first article explains Stan Lee’s version of how
second article also says that Goodman thought he came to create the character. The author quotes
Spider-Man was “a terrible idea.” Choices A, B, and from Lee’s own memoir to describe how ideas about
C are incorrect because none of them are supported the character came to him over time. The second
by evidence in the texts. Martin Goodman was Stan article claims that the Spider-Man character was the
Lee’s boss, but there are no details in either text to result of the collaboration of many artists, as much
suggest he developed the character or respected Lee from Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko as from Stan Lee.
as a writer. Some information in the second article contradicts
3 Choice C is correct. This fact appears in what Lee wrote in his memoir. The second author
Paragraph 7 of the first article and in Paragraphs 4 writes that Spider-Man “got his youth and voice
and 6 of the second article. Choice A is not correct from Stan Lee [but] his human frailty from Steve
because Goodman hated the entire idea of Spider- Ditko.” The author describing Lee’s memoir
Man, not just the name. Choices B and D are facts suggests that Lee himself was the key force behind
that appear only in the second article. creating the popular hero.

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 Part 5: Common Core Practice Lesson 19

Integrating Standards
Use these questions and tasks as opportunities to 3 What is the second author’s point of view? How is
interact with “Stan Lee and Spider-Man” and “The it conveyed in the article? (RI.6.6)
Birth of Spider-Man.” The second author’s point of view is that Spider-Man
1 What is the central idea of both articles? How are was created by several different people. He disputes
they different from each other? (RI.6.2) Stan Lee’s version of events and introduces evidence
The central idea of the first article is that Stan Lee to support his own view. He says, “Lee often built on
was the driving force behind the creation of Spider- contributions from other artists” and “Lee
Man. The central idea of the second article is that the encouraged everyone to contribute ideas.”
creation of Spider-Man was a joint effort by several 4 Write a summary of the two articles and how they
people. These ideas are different because the authors differ from each other. How do the purposes for
had different purposes for writing. writing affect the texts? (RI.6.2; W.6.2)
2 What does the phrase “just a touch” mean in Summaries will vary.
Paragraph 3 of the first article? (RI.6.4; L.6.5a) 5 Discuss in small groups: Think about creativity
The phrase “just a touch” means just a small amount and the creation of new ideas. Are new ideas
of something. Stan Lee says that he wanted to create a usually from one person, or are they the result of
superhero with just a small amount of super strength several people’s thinking? (SL.6.1)
to make him more relatable and human. His main Discussions will vary. Remind students to use details
superpower would be the ability to stick to walls and from the text to support their ideas. They should also
ceilings. paraphrase other students’ perspectives.

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 Additional Activities Lesson 19

Writing Activities
Write an Argument (W.6.1)
• Have students think about the characteristics of memoirs and autobiographies. Do authors have a bias to
present themselves in a certain way? How might this style of writing influence the facts and details the
author chooses to include? Can they be believed?
• Ask students to write an argument either for or against the validity of memoirs. Students can take either side
of the issue, but they should support their claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
Nonrestrictive Elements (L.6.2.a; W.6.4)
• Explain to students that nonrestrictive elements are words, phrases, or dependent clauses that provide
additional, but not essential, information to a sentence. These elements are usually set off with commas.
• Direct students to paragraph 3 of “The Birth of Spider-Man.” Point out that the title of Stan Lee’s
autobiography is set off with commas. This sentence would be fine without this title, but it provides
additional information for the reader.
• Have students find other examples of nonrestrictive elements in this lesson’s articles. Then have students
write two or three sentences with nonrestrictive elements set off by commas.

Listening activity (SL.6.4) media activity (RI.6.7)

Listen Closely/Present Claims and Findings Be Creative/Read a Graphic Novel
• Have small groups of students reread the articles • Direct students to several appropriate graphic
about Spider-Man. Then have them orally present novels featuring the character of Spider-Man. If
the claims from each text. They should sequence possible, provide different versions of the same
their ideas logically and use relevant facts and event, such as Spider-Man’s origin.
details to support the claims.
• Students should read the graphic novels and
• Students must listen closely to the oral arguments. compare and contrast how they each portray the
They should be able to summarize what they hear same event. Have them pay attention to the art,
and explain how these claims are a result of the dialogue, and tone of each piece.
authors’ purpose for writing.
research activity (W.6.8; SL.6.4)
discussion activity (RI.6.8; SL.6.1) Research and Present/Research Amelia Earhart
Talk in a Group/Evaluate Arguments
• Ask students to research more about the life of
• Ask students to compare and contrast the Amelia Earhart. What important events in her life
information presented in two articles about the were not mentioned in either of this lesson’s
same topic from this lesson. articles? What else did she do that was interesting
or significant?
• Have students evaluate the claims made in each.
Which are based in fact? Which are based in • Remind students to assess the credibility of each
personal experience? Students should be able to source they choose and quote or paraphrase
identify claims that are supported by evidence. their conclusions.
• Appoint one member of each group to take notes. • Students should present their findings orally to the
Allow 10 to 15 minutes for discussion, and then class. Have them create a bibliography or
have each group share its results with the class. references list that includes all their sources.

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