Comet or Asteroid? Two Views of Tunguska

Have students fill the chart before they answer the written questions, since the chart holds most of the evidence. Read the poems aloud so students hear rhyme and rhythm.

Compare two articles on the 1908 Tunguska blast, one arguing for an asteroid and one for a comet. The directions on the page read: Two articles about the 1908 Tunguska explosion agree on the facts but not on the cause. Read Article 1. Then read Article 2 on page 2. An answer key is included.

Yes, both. We made it for 8th grade compare and contrast, and it works the same at home or at school. At home, a student can work through it alone and then go over it with you, which shows quickly what is solid and what needs another look. In class it works as independent practice, homework or a warm-up, and you can print one copy or a full set.

Both report the June 30, 1908 explosion that flattened trees across about 2,150 square kilometers and the missing crater. They disagree on whether the object was a stony asteroid or a comet.

They chart stanza form, rhyme pattern, rhythm and message about nature for each poem. Then they compare each speaker's view of people and nature, quoting both.

No. The page describes a film version imagined for the worksheet. Students chart what it keeps, changes or adds and leaves out, and judge whether it stays faithful.