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Two Texts on One Topic is a free printable Grade 2 English worksheet on comparing the most important points of two texts, aligned to Common Core standard RI.2.9. 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 2 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 Texts on One Topic

RI.2.9

NameDate

Read Text 1 and answer the question under it.

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

Text 1: Volcanoes

A volcano is an opening in the Earth's crust where hot rock reaches the surface. Deep underground, rock is so hot that it melts. Melted rock is called magma. Magma is lighter than the solid rock around it, so it rises. When magma reaches the surface it is called lava. Lava can pour out slowly in rivers, or it can burst out in an explosion, depending on how thick it is. As lava cools it hardens into new rock. Layer after layer, this new rock builds the mountain we call a volcano.

  1. 1. What is the main topic of this text?
2.Now read Text 2 and answer these questions about BOTH texts.

Text 2: Earthquakes

The Earth's crust is not one piece. It is broken into huge slabs called plates, and the plates are always moving — about as fast as your fingernails grow. Where two plates meet, they can catch on each other. Pressure builds up for years while they are stuck. When they finally slip, all that stored energy is released at once. The ground shakes. That shaking is an earthquake. Most earthquakes are too small to feel. A few are strong enough to bring down buildings, which is why new buildings in some places are made to sway.

  1. 1. How is a volcano different from an earthquake?
  2. 2. How is a volcano like an earthquake?
  3. 3. How is an earthquake like a volcano?

LessonPrint · RI.2.9 · Set 2 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Two Texts on One Topic

Set 2. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Volcanoes, and how melted rock builds them.
  2. 2.1. A volcano builds new rock at the surface; an earthquake shakes the ground that is already there. 2. Both happen because of movement and heat inside the Earth. 3. Both are caused by what the Earth's crust is doing, and both can be dangerous.

More practice for RI.2.9

Compare the main points two texts make about the same topic.

Teaching this next? Comparing Two Texts on a Topic is the 40-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 2 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RI.2.9 of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts.