Debating Greatness

This advanced comparison worksheet helps students in Grades 5, 6, and 7 strengthen reading comprehension, critical thinking, and persuasive writing by analyzing two influential characters from informational-style passages: a determined explorer and an inventive engineer. Students examine each individual’s strengths, challenges, and accomplishments, then use evidence to evaluate who made the greater overall impact. The debate-style format encourages thoughtful reasoning, justification, and respectful comparison.

Learning Goals

• Comparing and Contrasting Achievements (Grades 5-7)
  Students analyze how different characters contribute to progress or discovery in unique ways.
• Evaluating Strengths and Challenges
  Learners assess both positive qualities and limitations using text-based evidence.
• Evidence-Based Argumentation
  Writing prompts require students to take a position and support it with details from the passages.
• Persuasive and Analytical Writing
  Students practice forming clear claims, backing them with reasons, and explaining impact.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created and Standards-Aligned
  Designed by educators to support literary analysis, argument writing, and critical reasoning standards.
• Debate Chart for Organized Thinking
  The structured organizer helps students compare evidence before writing.
• Promotes Higher-Order Thinking
  Moves beyond comparison into evaluation and judgment.
• Flexible Classroom and Homeschool Use
  Ideal for advanced literacy lessons, discussion-based activities, writing workshops, or assessment.

This printable worksheet helps students develop strong comparison and argumentation skills by weighing the impact of two accomplished individuals. By analyzing strengths, challenges, and outcomes, learners strengthen evidence-based reasoning, persuasive writing, and deeper literary understanding. Suitable for classroom and homeschool settings, this resource supports thoughtful debate, critical analysis, and confident written expression.

This worksheet is part of our Compare and Contrast collection.