Lesson plan



|Reading Lesson: Compare and Contrast Texts |Grade Level: 5 |

|Lesson Summary: This lesson teaches students how to compare and contrast two texts. Comparing and contrasting text requires great depth of knowledge. Students will|

|need to be able to identify various text elements, such as author’s purpose, theme, setting, and character development, in order to compare them in texts; |

|therefore comparing and contrasting texts should be taught toward the end of the year, when students have developed these skills in previous lessons. For the |

|pre-assessment, the teacher will have students compare and contrast a dry-erase marker and a highlighter and fill out a Venn diagram. S/he will then relate this |

|process to comparing and contrasting texts and use a PowerPoint presentation to lead a discussion on why comparing and contrasting is useful and what can be |

|compared and contrasted in texts. Then, the teacher will guide students in comparing and contrasting two texts. Students will have guided practice in comparing and|

|contrasting main ideas, authors’ purposes, organizational structures, characters, genres, settings, themes, and conflicts. For independent practice, on-level |

|learners will read two short stories and compare and contrast text elements in the two stories using a graphic organizer as a guide. Advanced learners will select |

|a short story and write a story that is similar to it in some ways and different from it in other ways. They will use the compare and contrast texts graphic |

|organizer to help them brainstorm. The teacher will review important concepts with struggling learners. Then, with teacher guidance, the students will read two |

|short stories and participate in a tactile compare and contrast activity involving a large Venn diagram and pre-cut word strips. |

|Lesson Understandings: |

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|The students will know… |

|How to connect information from a passage to another text. |

|How to find similarities and differences between two texts. |

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|The students will be able to… |

|Connect information from a passage to another text. |

|Find similarities and differences between two texts. |

|Learning Styles Targeted: |

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|Visual |

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|Auditory |

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|Kinesthetic/Tactile |

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|Pre-Assessment: Pair students up, and give each pair a dry-erase marker, a highlighter, and a Pre-Assessment worksheet*. Go over the directions with students, and|

|review what compare and contrast means and/or how to fill out a Venn diagram, if necessary. Then, allow the students to work with their partner to complete the |

|assignment. Walk around the classroom and note which students are having trouble with the assignment so that you will know which students will need extra guidance |

|for this lesson. Once students finish, project a copy of the Pre-Assessment worksheet under a document camera. Have each pair share an answer, and record correct |

|answers on your copy. If students answer incorrectly, explain to students why it was wrong. |

|Whole-Class Instruction |

|Materials Needed: Teaching Points PowerPoint*, 2 copies of the Graphic Organizer* per student (copied front to back), 1 copy of the Guided Practice Stories* per |

|student, 1 copy of the Graphic Organizer* to project, document camera, 1 copy of the Guided Practice Answer Key* for teacher reference, 1 copy of the Independent |

|Practice Stories*, 1 copy of the Independent Practice Answer Key* for teacher reference |

|Procedure: |

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|Tell students that now that they know how to identify different text elements, such as author’s purpose, setting, theme, and character development, they’re now |

|ready to compare and contrast texts. Explain to students that when they compared and contrasted the highlighter and dry-erase marker, they looked at different |

|parts of the highlighter and dry-erase marker. Point to the examples that you wrote on the projected copy and state the different parts. They may have compared |

|their sizes, their colors, their manufacturers, their tips, their caps, etc. In the same way, students will look at the different text elements and compare and |

|contrast those. |

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|Project slide 2 of the Teaching Points PowerPoint. Use the slide to help you explain to students why comparing and contrasting texts is useful. Then, project slide|

|3, and use the slide to show students that you can compare and contrast anything in the texts. Slides 4-6 show guided practice activities. Use them to teach |

|students how to compare and contrast texts. For example, you can project slide 4, read aloud the two texts to students, and then ask students the following guiding|

|questions (possible answers appear in italics): |

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|What is the main idea of Text 1? |

|A study shows that parents with children required to wear school uniforms spend more money. |

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|What is the main idea of Text 2? |

|Shop at Bay’s Outlet if you need school uniforms. |

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|How are the main ideas similar? |

|Both main ideas are about school uniforms. |

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|How are the main ideas different? |

|Text 1 is about a study that shows uniforms cost more, and Text 2 shows a store trying to persuade people to shop there. |

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|If students are having trouble answering a question, allow them to pair and share. Then, call on a student to share the answer that s/he and his/her partner came |

|up with. Slides 5-6 show the same texts as slide 4 but ask students to compare other text elements. The texts do not have to be read aloud again. Simply ask |

|guiding questions similar to the guiding questions for slide 4 to help the students compare and contrast the authors’ purposes and the texts’ organizational |

|patterns. |

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|Project slide 7, and read aloud the paragraph to students. Then, have students show you a thumbs-up if they think Text 1 is more useful and a thumbs-down if they |

|think Text 1 is not more useful. If necessary, go back to the previous slide so that students can see the two texts. Students should show you a thumbs-up sign. |

|Choose a student to explain why Text 1 is more useful to Selena. The student should say that the first text helps her argument by saying that buying uniforms is |

|more expensive, and the second article is not helpful to her argument because it talks about how cheap it is to buy uniforms at Bay’s Outlet. Discuss how comparing|

|and contrasting the two texts helped them figure out which source is better to use. Explain that when the students research, they should compare and contrast the |

|sources to find the best ones. |

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|Break students up into groups of 4 or 5. Hand each student a copy of the Graphic Organizer and a copy of the Guided Practice Stories. Read the stories aloud to the|

|class. |

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|Project a copy of the Graphic Organizer using the document camera. Explain to students that you are going to assign each group a different text element and that |

|you want them to work together to compare and contrast the stories for that text element. Tell them to find as many similarities and differences for that text |

|element as possible in the time allotted. Then, show the students how to fill out the graphic organizer by doing an example with the class. Refer to the Guided |

|Practice Answer Key to help you. *Note: Answers may vary. The answer key contains some possible responses. |

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|Use your knowledge of which text elements the students are familiar with to assign each group a different text element. However, do not assign a group the text |

|element that you demonstrated for the class. Suggested text elements are characters, genres, settings, themes, conflicts, and author’s purpose. Then, allow |

|students about 5-10 minutes to fulfill the assignment. |

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|Once students are finished, have each group present their findings to the class. One member of the group should project his/her graphic organizer using the |

|document camera so that the class can have a visual. Have students take notes on their own graphic organizer as each group presents. |

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|After all groups have presented their findings, tell students that both stories are fables written by Aesop. Then, ask students the following questions: |

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|Did comparing and contrasting the two stories help you learn more about the author and/or genre? |

|What did you learn about the author and/or genre? |

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|Make sure students see that comparing and contrasting texts can help them learn more about an author, a culture, a genre, etc. |

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|For additional practice, have students compare and contrast the Independent Practice stories. Have students record their findings on the other side of their |

|Graphic Organizer sheet if there’s room. Refer to the Independent Practice Answer Key if necessary. *Note: Answers may vary. The answer key contains some possible |

|responses. If there’s not room, give each student another Graphic Organizer. You can either assign students 4-8 certain text elements to compare and contrast or |

|allow students to choose which text elements to compare and contrast. |

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|Advanced Learner |

|Materials Needed: 1 sheet of notebook paper per student, 1 Graphic Organizer* per student, 1 copy per student of a familiar short story that students have read |

|Procedure: |

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|Have students select a short story from the lesson or a short story that they have read. Then, ask students to write a story that is similar to that story in some |

|ways and different from that story in other ways. Suggest to students that they might write a story with a similar main idea but with different characters, or they|

|might write a story with similar conflicts but with different settings. |

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|Have students fill out the Graphic Organizer to help them brainstorm. This graphic organizer will need to be turned in along with the story. If students still have|

|room on the back of their graphic organizer from the guided practice activity, students may fill out the rest of that copy instead. |

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|Note: For additional student practice with comparing and contrasting texts, you can have students compare and contrast a story that another advanced learner wrote |

|with the short story that the advanced learner chose. Use the graphic organizers that advanced learners filled in as answer keys. |

|Struggling Learner |

|Materials Needed: butcher paper, marker, 1 copy of the Independent Practice Stories* per student, 1 set of pre-cut and shuffled Venn Diagram Strips*, tape, 1 copy |

|of the Venn Diagram Answers* for teacher reference |

|Procedure: |

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|On a large sheet of butcher paper, draw a Venn diagram that is large enough to fit the Venn Diagram Strips. Label the circle on the left with “Turk Crowned World’s|

|Tallest Man.” Label the circle on the right with “Temira’s Diary Entry.” |

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|Then, gather a small group of struggling learners around the Venn diagram that you drew, which can be placed either on a large table or on the floor. Ask students|

|what they see on the butcher paper, and then ask them what the Venn diagram is used for. Make sure students understand that text differences are placed in the |

|outside bubbles, and text similarities are placed in the shared bubble. Discuss with the students the meaning of compare and contrast, the usefulness of comparing |

|and contrasting two texts, and the text elements that can be compared and contrasted. Then, tell students that they are about two read two short texts and that you|

|are going to help them compare and contrast them. |

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|Give each student a copy of the Independent Practice Stories. Read aloud the stories to the students. Then, state that you now want the students to compare and |

|contrast the two stories. Place the Venn diagram strips in a stack face down on the butcher paper. Have students take turns drawing from the stack. When a student |

|picks a strip, s/he needs to determine where on the Venn diagram the strip belongs and then explain his/her choice. For an additional challenge, also have students|

|identify which text element is being compared or contrasted. Tell students that if they disagree with a student’s answer, they need to raise their hand and explain|

|why they disagree. Intervene and guide the students when necessary. Once you and all students are in agreement, the student can tape the sentence strip to the Venn|

|diagram. |

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|Note: The completed Venn diagram would make a great display for the classroom. |

*see supplemental resources

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