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Two Stories Side by Side is a free printable Grade 1 English worksheet on comparing what happens to characters in two stories, aligned to Common Core standard RL.1.9. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 23 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Two Stories Side by Side

RL.1.9

NameDate

Read Text 1 and answer the question under it.

1.Read Text 1 and answer the question under it.

Text 1: Too Loud

The school band practised in the hall every Thursday. Sam played the drum. He liked it best when he could hit it hard. "Softer," said Mrs Otu. "The flutes cannot be heard." Sam did not want to play softly. But he tried it. This time he could hear the flutes too, winding above the drum like a bird. It sounded better than anything he had played before.

  1. 1. What did Mrs Otu ask Sam to do?
2.Now read Text 2 and answer these questions about BOTH texts.

Text 2: The Last Lap

Dee was fast. She won every race at sports day, and she knew it. In the relay, she ran the last lap. Her team was behind. Dee ran so hard that her chest burned, but the other runner crossed the line first. Dee sat on the grass. Her team came and sat with her. "You made up ten metres," said Ali. Dee had not thought about that. She had only thought about losing.

  1. 1. How is this story different from "One Glove"?
  2. 2. How is this story different from "Too Loud"?
  3. 3. How is Dee like Sam in "Too Loud"?

LessonPrint · RL.1.9 · Set 23 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Two Stories Side by Side

Set 23. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Play more softly.
  2. 2.1. This one is about Sam learning to play softly; that one is about Maya returning a glove. 2. Dee learns from her team; Sam learns from his teacher. 3. Both learned something they had not seen before.

More practice for RL.1.9

Compare what happens to two characters in different stories.

Teaching this next? Comparing What Happens to Characters is the 40-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 1 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RL.1.9 of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts.