Dual Story Sleuths Worksheet
RL.3.9 Paired Passage Compare & Contrast
Dual Story Sleuths: Competing Plans
Name:
Date: Score:
Text 1 of 2
The Secret Playhouse Sleuths
Setting: Backyard Playhouse Office
Active Reading Directions: Read Text 1 closely. As you read, use the right-hand annotation panel to record key story elements: the setting, the characters' main plot goal, Nancy's reaction, and Bean's response.
[1] In the sunlit corner of Bean’s backyard stood a weather-worn wooden playhouse. With the dust cleared away and calico curtains hung from string, it was officially the secret headquarters of the Pancake Court Crime Investigation Agency. Ivy carefully dusted off the wooden table with a rag. Bean pinned a cardboard sign to the door: PRIVATE DETECTIVES — CRIME SOLVERS FOR 50 CENTS.
[2] “We are going to solve real neighborhood crimes,” Bean proclaimed, pacing back and forth with hands planted on her hips. “We’ll catch whoever dug up Mrs. Noble’s prized marigolds, and we’ll figure out who sneaks through the hedge at twilight!”
[3] Ivy neatly arranged two glass specimen jars and three sharpened pencils on their investigative desk. “A proper detective agency must be organized,” Ivy noted calmly. “We should make evidence logs and inspect footprints before making any formal accusations.”
[4] Suddenly, Bean’s older sister, Nancy, kicked the wooden door ajar. She stood in the frame holding a carton of juice, an exasperated smirk across her face. “Detectives?” Nancy scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Are you two out of your minds? Nobody on Pancake Court has crimes, and nobody will ever pay two silly little girls fifty cents. You’re just playing baby games.”
[5] Bean crossed her arms and stared Nancy down: “We aren't babies, Nancy.” Bean pointed her pencil straight toward the street with steely focus. “When we capture the Pancake Court bandit, you’ll be begging us to take your cases.” Nancy laughed loudly and marched back toward the main house.
Text 1 Clue Tracker
1. Setting: Where are the girls?
2. Plot Goal: What is their ambition?
3. Nancy’s Claim: Why does she mock them?
My Margin Notes
Grade 3 ELA • Reading Literature (3.RL.9) Page 1 of 4 • Text 1
RL.3.9 Paired Passage Compare & Contrast
Dual Story Sleuths: Competing Plans
Name:
Date: Class:
Text 2 of 2
The Headline Hustle
Setting: Kitchen Table Newsroom
Active Reading Directions: Read Text 2 closely. Notice how the girls have started a completely different enterprise. Use the right-hand panel to track the new setting, the snack goal, and how Nancy creates an obstacle.
[1] Outside, light rain pattered gently against the glass panes as Ivy sat at the kitchen table, smoothing out a blank sheet of paper. Beside her sat a carton of colored markers, a six-inch plastic ruler, and a mini stapler. They had designated the kitchen table as the official pressroom for the very first edition of the Pancake Court Gazette.
[2] Bean leaned across the linoleum, tapping her knuckles against a red marker. “We need twenty dollars,” she said to Ivy. Bean smiled hungrily, picturing the grocery store display. “Twenty dollars buys eight cans of Low-Fat Bel Gioso cheese-in-a-can.” They had planned all week to fill crackers with mountain-high swirls of tangy cheese.
[3] Ivy used her ruler to draw neat vertical columns. “If we charge twenty-five cents per paper, we only need eighty sales,” Ivy reasoned. “We can write articles about Mr. Howard’s prize tomato plants and what happened to Macaroni the dog’s squeaky ball. True journalism informs the people.”
[4] Nancy walked past, grabbing an apple from the counter. She peered over their shoulders and let out a noisy, mocking laugh. “A neighborhood newspaper? Nobody is going to pay for crumpled paper full of silly kid gossip! People read real news on phones. Nobody will pay for your work, and you won’t earn a dime.”
[5] “Watch us, Nancy,” Bean declared, pressing her palm against their headline draft. Bean lifted her chin in fierce defiance. “By Sunday afternoon, everyone will be reading our front page, and we’ll be eating our cheese-in-a-can while you watch!”
Text 2 Clue Tracker
1. Setting: Where are the girls?
2. Plot Goal: What snack do they want?
3. Nancy’s Claim: What does she mock?
My Margin Notes
Grade 3 ELA • Reading Literature (3.RL.9) Page 2 of 4 • Text 2
Graphic Organizer Pre-Question Synthesis
Step 1: Compare & Contrast Organizer
Standard: 3.RL.9 Venn Analysis
Directions: Before answering the test questions on the next page, organize how Text 1 and Text 2 are different and how they are alike. Write at least two key details in each section below.
Text 1 Only
Playhouse Sleuths
- • What is their primary setting?
- • What crime/mystery is their goal?
- • What price do they charge?
Both Texts
Shared Elements
- • Who are the main partners?
- • How do Bean & Ivy work together?
- • Who acts as the rude obstacle?
- • How does Bean refuse to quit?
Text 2 Only
Headline Hustle
- • What is their primary setting?
- • What specific snack goal do they have?
- • What business do they start?
Synthesis Check: Comparing Characters & Conflict
How does Nancy treat Ivy and Bean’s ideas in both stories, and how does Bean react?
Grade 3 ELA • Reading Literature (3.RL.9) Page 3 of 4 • Venn Organizer
Assessment Standards-Aligned Comprehension
Step 2: Compare & Contrast Questions
Standards: 3.RL.9 & 3.RL.1
Use your annotations from Text 1, Text 2, and the Venn diagram to answer the items below.
1 HOT TEXT MATRIX: Read each story element below. Decide whether it describes Text 1 Only, Text 2 Only, or Both Texts. Shade one box in each row.
3.RL.9
| Story Element / Detail | Text 1 Only | Text 2 Only | Both Texts |
|---|
| The girls start a project to earn money for a specific food snack. | | | |
| The primary setting is a secret office in the backyard playhouse. | | | |
| Bean acts as the bold leader while Ivy provides careful, practical ideas. | | | |
| Nancy mocks the girls and insists that nobody will pay for their work. | | | |
2 This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B.
3.RL.9 & 1
Part A: How does Ivy and Bean’s main plot goal in Text 1 contrast with their goal in Text 2?
A. In Text 1, they want to solve local crimes; in Text 2, they want to earn money to purchase cheese.
B. In Text 1, they build a clubhouse; in Text 2, they cook a meal for their neighborhood friends.
C. In Text 1, they plan to hide from Nancy; in Text 2, they invite Nancy to be their business partner.
D. In Text 1, they look for lost animals; in Text 2, they train Macaroni the dog to do tricks.
Part B (HOT TEXT): Which sentence from Text 2 provides explicit evidence of what the girls intend to buy with the money they earn? (Shade the box.)
[ “We need twenty dollars,” she said to Ivy. ]
[ “Twenty dollars buys eight cans of Low-Fat Bel Gioso cheese-in-a-can.” ]
[ Nancy walked past, grabbing an apple from the counter. ]
3 HOT TEXT: Select TWO sentences—one from Text 1 and one from Text 2—that show Bean boldly refuses to let Nancy discourage their ambitious plans.
3.RL.9
Directions: Shade the brackets around exactly one sentence from Text 1 and one sentence from Text 2.
From Text 1:
[ Ivy carefully dusted off the wooden table with a rag. ]
[ Bean crossed her arms and stared Nancy down: “We aren't babies, Nancy.” ]
From Text 2:
[ “Watch us, Nancy,” Bean declared, pressing her palm against their headline draft. ]
[ Ivy sat at the kitchen table, smoothing out a blank sheet of paper. ]
Grade 3 ELA • Reading Literature (3.RL.9) Page 4 of 4 • Aligned Assessment
