Daily Read / Reading Across Texts & Evidence
Reading Across Texts & Evidence · Compare details, distinguish evidence from a claim, and explain what remains uncertain
Two Notices, One Rumour: Which Information Should You Trust?
Compare two fictional event notices and a rumour to practise finding the latest information, spotting unsupported claims, and writing an evidence-based conclusion.
Device/browser voice. Pronunciation and availability vary.
Notice A: the original poster
This story uses an invented community workshop and invented notices. It is a reading exercise, not an advertisement for a real event. On Monday, a poster in the neighbourhood reads: 'Saturday Paper Art Workshop — 2:00 p.m., Hall A. Admission is free. Register by Friday at 5:00 p.m. Bring a pencil.'
Maya writes the time and place in her notebook. The poster gives five useful details: the day, the starting time, the hall, the cost and the registration deadline. It does not promise that the details can never change. Maya plans to check for updates before leaving home.[1]
Notice B: the organiser's update
On Thursday at 11:00 a.m., the workshop organiser publishes a new notice: 'UPDATE — The Saturday Paper Art Workshop will start at 3:00 p.m. in Hall B. Admission remains free and registration still closes Friday at 5:00 p.m. Pencils will be provided. Please use the latest organiser notice for changes.'
The second notice changes the starting time, hall and pencil instructions, but not the day, price or registration deadline. A reader who combines Monday's time with Thursday's hall would create a third plan that neither notice actually gives. Comparing source details means keeping each version together before marking what changed.[1]
One closed door, one quick message
On Saturday at 2:00 p.m., another student, Sam, sees the door to Hall A locked. Sam posts: 'The whole workshop is cancelled! I saw the locked door.' Sam may be reporting a real observation, but the conclusion is much larger than the evidence. A locked Hall A does not prove that a workshop scheduled for Hall B at 3:00 p.m. is cancelled.
Maya reads Sam's message and the organiser's Thursday update. She asks: 'What would I need to check before telling someone the workshop has been cancelled?' An organiser's current confirmation or a newer official notice would be relevant. Sam's observation alone cannot answer the cancellation question.[2]
What changed and what did not?
Maya draws two columns headed 'Monday poster' and 'Thursday update'. She copies the exact wording of the time, room, materials, price and deadline. She circles the differences: 2:00 becomes 3:00; Hall A becomes Hall B; bring a pencil becomes pencils provided. She underlines the unchanged parts: Saturday, free admission and Friday at 5:00 p.m. registration.
Next Maya labels each statement. 'The updated notice says 3:00 p.m.' is an explicit detail. 'Sam probably read the old poster' is a plausible inference but is not stated by either notice. 'The event is cancelled' is an unsupported claim based only on the locked door. A good reader does not turn 'possibly' into 'certainly'.[1]
An evidence-based message
Maya writes: 'The latest organiser notice I have seen changes the workshop to Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in Hall B. It says registration still ends on Friday at 5:00 p.m. Sam saw Hall A locked, but that does not prove a cancellation. I will check for a more recent organiser update before I go.'
Her message names which source is newest, separates observation from conclusion, and states what she has not verified. The habit transfers beyond events: when two readings disagree, compare their exact claims, dates and purposes; then explain what is supported, what has changed and what remains unknown.[2]
Fast lesson
Use these checks before you answer the practice questions.
First copy every version's date, time and source. Do not make a hybrid of old and new details.
An update rarely rewrites every fact. Mark both the changes and the repeated details.
Seeing a door locked is an observation; a possible explanation is an inference; a cancellation statement requires its own evidence.
Use 'the latest notice I have seen says...' rather than promising a future event cannot change.
Common mistakes
Why this fails: The organiser explicitly published a later version with changed time and hall.
Why this fails: Sam may have accurately seen a locked door but incorrectly concluded a cancellation.
Why this fails: Several details are identical in both notices, including the deadline and free admission.
Word Lab
Use the meaning, hear the word, then try it in your own sentence.
notice
nouna written or posted message containing information
The notice gives a start time.
organiser
nouna person or group arranging an event
The organiser published a later message.
original
adjectivefirst or earlier rather than revised
The original poster named Hall A.
update
nounnew information that revises or adds to an earlier message
The Thursday update changed the room.
deadline
nounthe latest time when something must be done
The sign-up deadline did not change.
admission
nounpermission to enter, sometimes with a price
Admission to the fictional workshop is free.
rumour
nouna story or claim passed along without sufficient verification
The cancellation rumour lacked confirmation.
observation
nounsomething seen, heard or measured
Sam's observation was a locked door.
claim
nouna statement that someone says is true
The claim of cancellation needed checking.
evidence
nouninformation that supports or tests a claim
The updated notice was evidence of a new time.
inference
nouna conclusion reasoned from clues but not stated directly
An inference is not the same as a confirmed fact.
verify
verbcheck whether something is accurate
Verify the schedule with the organiser.
Check your understanding
Choose an answer, explain your choice, and then check. Hints and retries are welcome.
Try the questions here. Public practice does not save a learning record.
Support · Locate the detail
Support · Locate the detail practice
Return to the actual words before answering.
1. What time did Monday's poster give?
2. What time did the Thursday update give?
3. What was Monday's hall?
4. What was Thursday's hall?
5. When does registration close in both notices?
6. Does Thursday's notice say admission costs money?
7. What did Sam actually see?
Apply · Compare and explain
Apply · Compare and explain practice
Identify a difference and decide what each sentence proves.
8. List the three changes in Thursday's notice.
9. Why would 'Hall B at 2:00 p.m.' be a faulty summary?
10. Is 'The updated notice says Hall B' a fact from the text or an inference?
11. Does a locked Hall A prove Hall B is closed?
12. What happened to the instruction to bring a pencil?
13. Which source directly supports the 3:00 p.m. starting time?
Reason · Draw a careful conclusion
Reason · Draw a careful conclusion practice
Defend an answer and mark uncertainty honestly.
14. A friend says, 'Sam's message must be right because Sam was there.' What is missing?
15. Write one sentence that states what the latest notice says without promising the event is guaranteed.
16. Could Sam have read the Monday poster? How certain is this?
17. Why is 'everything in Monday's poster was wrong' an overstatement?
18. When a website and an old screenshot give different dates, what should a careful reader check?
Practice answer key
- 1. 2:00 p.m.
The original notice says 2:00 p.m. - 2. 3:00 p.m.
The updated notice says 3:00 p.m. - 3. Hall A
Hall A appears on the first poster. - 4. Hall B
The revised notice explicitly names Hall B. - 5. Friday at 5:00 p.m.
The deadline is unchanged in the two versions. - 6. No. It says admission remains free.
Free admission appears in both notices. - 7. The door to Hall A was locked.
The sight of one locked door is Sam's observation; the cancellation is an additional claim. - 8. Time, hall and pencil instructions.
The day, price and deadline did not change. - 9. It combines Thursday's hall with Monday's outdated time.
No notice states that mixed schedule. - 10. An explicit fact from the text.
Hall B is printed in Thursday's notice. - 11. No.
The rooms differ; the observation does not directly address Hall B. - 12. It changed to 'Pencils will be provided.'
The materials instruction was revised in the later notice. - 13. The organiser's Thursday update.
The casual message about Hall A does not give a new official start time. - 14. Direct evidence that the workshop itself was cancelled.
Sam was at Hall A at 2:00, not necessarily at the updated hall and time. - 15. The latest organiser notice I have seen schedules the workshop for Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in Hall B.
The qualifier 'latest ... I have seen' allows for the possibility of a later change. - 16. Yes, it is possible, but the text does not confirm it.
The older notice named Sam's observed hall and time; motive and cause remain unknown. - 17. The day, free admission and registration deadline did not change.
A new version can revise some fields without invalidating all earlier information. - 18. Check which is newer and whether the organiser has issued another update.
Source, timestamp and current confirmation matter more than a convenient screenshot.
Related skills
Put it in your own words
This draft is not saved when you leave or refresh the page.
Check your own explanation
This is self-review, not automatic marking.
Compare with a model response
The newest organiser notice I have seen is the Thursday update. It schedules the paper art workshop for Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in Hall B. Admission remains free. Registration still closes Friday at 5:00 p.m. The organiser now says pencils will be provided. Sam saw Hall A locked, but that alone does not prove the workshop was cancelled. I would check for a still newer organiser announcement before setting off.
Sources and revision notes
Source check: 2026-10-17. Grade guidance is an editorial suggestion, not a standardised reading score.
- Reading Rockets — Compare, Contrast, Comprehend (instructional approach only)
- Reading Rockets — Instruction in Reading Comprehension for Primary-Grade Students (instructional approach only)
What changed in this edition?
The notices, event, people and messages are original fictional teaching material, not sourced real-world claims. The linked readings support the use of explicit compare-and-contrast instruction, not the invented event details.