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Lights Out: Two Accounts of One Night

Read a firsthand diary page and a secondhand news article about the same blackout, then compare their focus and details.

Grade 4ELAInteractive · Printable

Aligned toRI.4.6

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What’s included

Single worksheet
Auto-graded online
1 Common Core standard
Printable answer key
10 questions
Classroom-ready

Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 4
Subject: ELA
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students tell a firsthand account from a secondhand account of the same event.
Students compare the focus and the information given in two accounts of one event.

How to use

Read both accounts together and talk about who was at the event. Students then answer the questions on their own or in pairs, and share how the two accounts differ.

Curriculum

Common Core standard covered

RI.4.6

Compare a firsthand and a secondhand account of the same event or topic, noting differences in focus and in the information given.

Preview

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Name Date

Lights Out: Two Accounts of One Night

Compare a firsthand and a secondhand account of the same event.

Read the two accounts

Both texts tell about the same night at Fairview Elementary School. Read Text A and then Text B.

Text A: Priya's Diary Page

1Thursday night was Family Reading Night at my school. I sat on the gym floor with my little brother, Eli, while our librarian, Mrs. Kim, read a funny story about a goat. Eli giggled at every silly voice she made, and I giggled right along with him.

2Suddenly, thunder boomed so loudly that the floor seemed to shake, and every light went out. It was so dark that I could not see my own hands. Eli squeezed my hand tight. My heart thumped, and I heard people whispering all around us.

3Then I saw a small glow bobbing across the room. It was Mr. Okafor, our custodian, carrying a lantern. He placed lanterns in a circle on the floor, and the soft yellow light made the gym feel like a campsite. Lightning flickered in the high windows, and shadows danced on the wall.

4Mrs. Kim finished the story by lantern light. Eli leaned on my shoulder and laughed at the goat's voice. When the lights buzzed back on, everybody groaned. I was almost sad it was over, because the dark gym had felt so cozy.

Text B: "Storm Darkens Reading Night" (Fairview Weekly)

1A thunderstorm knocked out the power at Fairview Elementary School on Thursday evening. About sixty families were in the gym for Family Reading Night when the lights went out at about 7:15 p.m.

2According to the electric company, a tree branch fell onto a power line during the storm. That cut off electricity to several streets near the school. Crews worked in the rain to fix the line. Power came back at about 9:00 p.m.

3Principal Alvarez said that no one was hurt and that families stayed calm. She said the custodian, Mr. Okafor, brought lanterns from the storage room and set them out across the gym. Librarian Mrs. Kim then finished reading the story by lantern light.

4The school plans to hold Family Reading Night again next month. Principal Alvarez also said the school will keep extra lanterns in the gym in case another storm comes.

5Rosa Bell, who was not at the school that night, wrote this story after talking with Principal Alvarez and with the electric company.

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