PaginePaginepagineapp.comRead both texts. Compare how each develops its ideas.
For her history project, Lucia had to interview someone who had lived through a major event. She chose her neighbor, Mr. Tanaka, because he was old and seemed to have nothing better to do.
She expected him to talk about a war or a flood. Instead, when she asked about the hardest time of his life, he talked about learning English at forty-five after his family moved here.
"I was an engineer," he said. "At home, people asked my opinion. Here, the cashier spoke slowly to me, like a child." He laughed, but his hands tightened on his teacup. "So I read the newspaper every morning with a dictionary. One word at a time. It took three years before I dreamed in English."
Lucia stopped writing. She thought about her own mother, who still apologized for her accent at parent–teacher conferences. That night, for the first time, she asked her mother what her life had been like before.
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth. The beeping metal sphere, about the size of a beach ball, alarmed many Americans, who feared falling behind their Cold War rival in science and technology.
The United States responded by creating NASA in 1958 and investing heavily in science education. The Soviets achieved another first in 1961, when Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space.
That same year, President John F. Kennedy challenged the nation to land a person on the Moon before the end of the decade. On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the lunar surface.
The Space Race produced technologies used today, from satellite communications to advances in computing, and it eventually gave way to cooperation, including the International Space Station.
| The Interview | The Space Race | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre and purpose | ||
| Central idea or theme | ||
| How the author develops it | ||
| Key evidence or detail |
Worksheets › Grade 8 English › Integration of Knowledge & Ideas › Integration of Knowledge & Ideas
Free Grade 8 English worksheet (Common Core RL.8.9): compare "The Interview" with "The Space Race" and analyze how each develops its ideas. Skill: Compare texts and evaluate arguments. Level: Grade 8 — also suits Year 9 (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 8 (ages 13–14), 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: Evaluate an Argument: The Harlem Renaissance (Grade 8) · Integration of Knowledge & Ideas: Compare Texts: The Last Lighthouse & How Vaccines Train the Immune System (Grade 8) · Integration of Knowledge & Ideas: Evaluate an Argument: The Space Race (Grade 8) · Integration of Knowledge & Ideas: Compare Texts: Fog & Earth’s Tectonic Plates (Grade 8)
All 5 integration of knowledge & ideas sheets → · Grade 8 English: all 10 skills → · All Common Core grades
Pair this grade 8 worksheet with a story. Pagine's free library has 20,000+ children's books — chapter books, classics 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 8 books → · Grade 8 reading level · Free audiobooks · Middle 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