About This Worksheet
This Grade 7 reading worksheet helps students compare how two authors use evidence to discuss ocean plastic pollution. The first text relies heavily on numbers, research findings, and examples from marine life. The second uses a vivid beach scene and urgent language to push readers toward action. For example, one author cites millions of tons of plastic and seabird studies, while the other describes turtles mistaking plastic for jellyfish.
Learning Goals
The main goal is to help students understand that authors can support similar concerns with different types of evidence. Students should already know how to identify facts, examples, and opinions in informational writing. This activity moves them toward comparing statistical evidence with descriptive and emotional evidence. It supports CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.8 and CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.9, which focus on evaluating evidence and comparing how texts develop the same topic.
Student Tasks
On this worksheet, students will read two texts about plastic pollution in the ocean. They will compare the kinds of evidence used by each author and decide how those choices affect the message. Students must explain which details are factual, which are descriptive, and which are meant to create urgency. Their answers should use examples from both passages rather than discussing only one.
Common Challenges
Some students may think emotional language is not evidence at all, while others may treat every dramatic statement as proof. Explain that descriptive examples can help readers understand a problem, but they are strongest when supported by reliable facts. Students may also overlook how numbers and research build trust. A useful prompt is, “What does this detail make the reader know, and what does it make the reader feel?”
Teaching Suggestions
A teacher can create two columns labeled “facts and numbers” and “images and emotion.” Students can sort details from both texts before writing their comparison. At home, a parent can ask which passage seems more scientific and which feels more urgent. This helps children see that both texts address the same issue but persuade readers in different ways.
Worksheet Features
The page pairs a research-focused article with a call-to-action passage. Both texts discuss ocean plastic, but their evidence and tone are noticeably different. The comparison questions encourage students to examine author choices instead of simply repeating the topic. The worksheet works well for environmental reading, media literacy, argument study, or written response practice.