Comparing and Contrasting Nonfiction Texts
A Grade 5 ELA worksheet focusing on identifying similarities and differences in nonfiction texts, using various question types.
Includes
Standards
Topics
Comparing and Contrasting Nonfiction Texts
Name:
Date:
Score:
Read the passages carefully and answer the questions that follow. Pay close attention to how the information in the passages is similar and different.
Passage 1: Dolphins
Dolphins are marine mammals known for their intelligence and playful behavior. They live in oceans worldwide and are carnivores, mainly eating fish and squid. Dolphins use echolocation to navigate and hunt, sending out sound waves and listening for echoes. They are social animals, living in groups called pods, and communicate through a variety of clicks and whistles. Dolphins breathe air through a blowhole on top of their heads and can hold their breath for several minutes.
Passage 2: Whales
Whales are also marine mammals, and they are the largest animals on Earth. Like dolphins, they live in all oceans and breathe air through a blowhole. Whales are divided into two main groups: baleen whales and toothed whales. Baleen whales filter feed on tiny organisms like krill, while toothed whales, like the orca, hunt larger prey such as seals and fish. Whales are generally solitary or live in small groups, though some species migrate in larger pods. They communicate using complex songs and vocalizations.
1. What is one similarity between dolphins and whales?
They both eat only fish.
They are both marine mammals.
They both use echolocation to hunt.
They both live in small, solitary groups.
2. What is one difference in how dolphins and whales typically live?
Dolphins are larger than whales.
Whales communicate with clicks and whistles.
Dolphins live in large pods, while whales are often solitary.
Whales have blowholes, but dolphins do not.
3. Both dolphins and whales are carnivores that primarily eat fish and squid.
True
False
4. Whales are generally larger than dolphins.
True
False
5. Both dolphins and whales are classified as mammals.
6. Dolphins communicate using clicks and whistles, while whales use complex .
7. Describe one way dolphins and whales are similar in how they breathe.
8. Use the Venn diagram below to compare and contrast dolphins and whales. Write characteristics unique to dolphins in the left circle, unique to whales in the right circle, and shared characteristics in the overlapping section.