Combining information from texts
Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably, combining and comparing what each source contributes
What a learner can do afterwards
- Read two informational texts on the same topic and identify information that appears in both, information unique to each, and any contradictions between them
- Combine key details from two sources into a coherent summary or short report that draws on both texts
- Explain how reading a second text on the same topic added to, confirmed, or challenged understanding gained from the first text
1 · Read
You have connected ideas within one text. Now compare two texts about the same topic. Start with your question, then find relevant details in each text. One text may explain something the other leaves out. Combining their details can help you answer more fully.
A shared fact appears in both texts, even if the words differ. A unique fact appears in only one of these texts. Add the two 'only' groups to count unique facts. Add those groups and the shared group once to count all different facts. Here, 2 + 1 = 3 unique facts and 2 + 1 + 3 = 6 different facts. Reading only Text A misses the one fact only Text B gives.
Join details only when they concern the same thing. A guide names the blue entrance. A map puts it beside the playground. Together, visitors enter on the playground side. For an order question, join lists at a shared step. For a why question, connect a stated cause with its result. For two conditions, find a detail that meets both and check its support in each text. If neither text answers your question, report what is missing.
A second text can repeat a fact, add a detail or give a conflicting claim. Different wording may express the same fact. Different details need not conflict: opening and closing times describe different events. Check that claims concern the same subject, event and time. If they cannot both be true, report the disagreement rather than guessing which is right. Agreement alone does not prove a claim is true.
For a report, choose details from both texts that answer your question. Explain their connection in your own words and track their sources. Imagine a museum notice says the class visits on Friday. A trip letter says pupils bring lunch for that visit. A combined sentence is: 'For Friday's museum visit, pupils need to bring lunch.' Check that each part has support. Do not present an added guess as information from the texts.
Compare shared, added and conflicting details. Join supported ideas, count shared facts once, and use relevant details from both texts.
This lesson, practice material and flashcards were written for this dataset.
These classroom readings and flashcards were written for this dataset.
More to read
Two notices about a school club
Imagine two notices about an art club. The classroom notice says it meets on Tuesdays and pupils bring a pencil. The office notice says it meets on Tuesdays in Room 6.
When and where does the club meet? Tuesday appears in both notices. Room 6 appears only in the office notice. Together, the notices answer: Tuesdays in Room 6.
The pencil detail helps someone prepare, but it does not answer the meeting-place question. Choose details for the question you are answering.
Now imagine the office notice says Wednesday instead. Check whether both notices describe the same week's meeting. If they do, report the disagreement and ask the school which notice is current.
Follow a detail back to its text
For a report about a class visit, label your notes with their sources, such as 'Trip letter' and 'Museum guide'. Keep each useful detail beside its label.
Suppose the letter says the coach leaves school at eight. The guide gives the museum's opening time as nine. Those times describe different events, so they need not conflict.
If both texts give the coach's departure time, compare the claims. Matching times are shared information. Different departure times for the same trip need checking.
Write from the details that answer your report question. Check each sentence against its source. Keep the labels so you can explain where your information came from.
2 · Watch
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Where it sits
Learn first
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Where this leads
24 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.