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Two Tales, One Pattern is a free printable Grade 3 English worksheet on comparing themes, settings and plots of related stories, aligned to Common Core standard RL.3.9. 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 11 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 Tales, One Pattern

RL.3.9

NameDate

Read Text 1 and answer the question under it.

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

Text 1: The Night the Lamp Went Out

Grace's father kept the lighthouse. On the worst night of the winter, the lamp went out. He was ill in bed. Grace was eleven. She carried the oil up ninety-seven steps in the dark, twice, because the can was too heavy to lift full. Her arms shook so much on the second trip that she had to sit down halfway. She trimmed the wick the way she had watched a hundred times. She struck the match on the fourth try. By the time the light swung out across the water, three ships had already turned back. Grace never knew whether she had been in time. She decided not to think about it.

  1. 1. How many steps did Grace climb?
2.Now read Text 2 and answer these questions about BOTH texts.

Text 2: The Wrong Bus

Halim was two stops past the school before he looked up. The bus was going the other way. He had got on at the same shelter, in the same rain, and never checked the number. His stomach dropped. He thought about crying and decided against it, because it would not help. He read the route map above the window. He worked out that the 41 came back the same way. He rang the bell, got off, crossed at the lights, and waited eleven minutes for the 41. He was twenty minutes late. Mrs Achebe asked what happened. "I got the wrong bus," said Halim, "and then I got the right one."

  1. 1. How is Halim's problem different from Grace's?
  2. 2. How is Halim like Grace in "The Night the Lamp Went Out"?
  3. 3. How is Grace's problem different from Halim's?

LessonPrint · RL.3.9 · Set 11 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Two Tales, One Pattern

Set 11. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Ninety-seven.
  2. 2.1. Halim caused his own problem by not checking; Grace's was caused by her father's illness. 2. Both work out what to do alone, without an adult stepping in. 3. Grace's is a job she chooses to finish; Halim's is a mistake he has to get out of.

More practice for RL.3.9

Compare two books from a series on theme, setting and plot.

Teaching this next? Comparing Stories by One Author is the 40-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 3 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RL.3.9 of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts.