PaginePaginepagineapp.comRead both texts. Compare how each develops its ideas.
"How are you?" the cashier asked, and I said, "Fine," the way everyone does, the way you hand over exact change without thinking.
But she looked at me — really looked — and said, "No, I mean it. You look like it’s been a day."
It had been a day. It had been a month. My mother was in the hospital, I had failed a calculus test and my car was making a noise I could not afford to diagnose. I hadn’t told anyone because no one had asked in a way that wanted the answer.
I told her about the hospital. Just that. She nodded, rang up my coffee and slid a chocolate bar across the counter. "On me," she said. It was a small thing. I have forgotten the calculus test. I have not forgotten her.
Stories are as old as language, but the novel — a long work of prose fiction focused on individual characters and everyday life — took its modern form in Europe during the 1700s.
Several changes made this possible. Literacy rates rose. Printing became cheaper. A growing middle class had leisure time and money for books, and lending libraries made novels affordable to borrow.
Early novels such as Robinson Crusoe and Pamela were often presented as true accounts or collections of letters, as if to persuade readers they were reading about real people. Over time, writers like Jane Austen developed techniques such as free indirect discourse, which blends a narrator’s voice with a character’s thoughts.
Critics worried that novels would corrupt young readers or waste their time — complaints similar to those made about many new media since.
| Small Talk | The Rise of the Novel | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre and purpose | ||
| Central idea or theme | ||
| How the author develops it | ||
| Key evidence or detail |
Worksheets › Grade 11 English › Integration of Knowledge & Ideas › Integration of Knowledge & Ideas
Free Grade 11 English worksheet (Common Core RL.11-12.9): compare "Small Talk" with "The Rise of the Novel" and analyze how each develops its ideas. Skill: Compare texts and evaluate arguments. Level: Grade 11 — also suits Year 12 (UK).
Yes — it is free to print for home or the classroom. Sign in with a free Pagine account, then use the Print button or save it as a PDF.
It is designed for Grade 11 (ages 16–17), but use it with any child who is ready.
Compare texts and evaluate arguments.
Pagine's free library has 20,000+ children's books you can read in the Pagine e-reader or the free Pagine app — sorted by age and grade, with free audiobooks too.
Integration of Knowledge & Ideas: Compare Texts: The Inheritance of Silence & The Declaration of Independence (Grade 11) · Integration of Knowledge & Ideas: Evaluate an Argument: Climate Feedback Loops (Grade 11) · Integration of Knowledge & Ideas: Compare Texts: The Portrait & Should College Be Free? (Grade 11) · Integration of Knowledge & Ideas: Evaluate an Argument: The Declaration of Independence (Grade 11)
All 5 integration of knowledge & ideas sheets → · Grade 11 English: all 10 skills → · All Common Core grades
Pair this grade 11 worksheet with a story. Pagine's free library has 20,000+ children's books — classic novels, drama, poetry and non-fiction, classics and free audiobooks — that you can read right in the Pagine e-reader on any phone, tablet or computer, with adjustable text size and night mode. No ads.
Browse free grade 11 books → · Grade 11 reading level · Free audiobooks · High school reading list
📱 Get the free Pagine app — log every book your child reads (scan the barcode or search), set reading goals, and watch streaks and badges grow. Download on the App Store · Get it on Google Play