Teaching Compare and Contrast

Tips for Creating a Compare and Contrast Anchor Chart

Understanding how to compare and contrast is crucial for students as it enhances their analytical skills. The anchor chart provides a clear visual definition with "compare" indicating similarities and "contrast" indicating differences. It also showcases different types of organizers like Venn diagrams, charts, and T-charts, which are useful tools for students to categorize and organize information. The chart further divides the concept into fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama, offering examples for each category.

By learning to compare and contrast different elements such as characters, settings, themes, and literary devices, students develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of the material they study.

Using Organizers to Teach Compare and Contrast

This blog post covers four types of organizers with a video lesson for students. In the video, I read an original story, and students complete the organizers based on the story. They then return to the video lesson to check their answers. The post also contains a handout with all the printable organizers needed to complete the lesson.

This handout includes 7 organizers that can be used with any novel to compare and contrast different characters, settings, plots, and fictional stories to their nonfictional counterpart.

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Innovative Ways to Teach Compare and Contrast

Using Animated Shorts

Engage your students with animated shorts to teach compare and contrast. This blog post explores how to use The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore to compare the animated film to The Wizard of Oz and the book to the video version of The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.

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Explore the animated shorts "Distracted" and "Dear Alice," which depict similar stories of two young girls seeking their parents' attention. In these shorts, the parents are portrayed as too engrossed in their cell phones to notice their daughters' needs. This post delves into the themes and messages of these animations, offering insights into using them to teach the concept of compare and contrast.

Teaching with Songs

Use songs to teach compare and contrast in a fun and engaging way. This blog post includes Youtube videos for students to compare and contrast, such asLet it Govs. Towards the Sun and When You Wish Upon a Star vs.Somewhere Out There.

Comparing Fictional Texts

This includes activities for comparing three distinct stories. The Secret Garden, a novel about an orphan girl named Mary Lennox who discovers a hidden garden; Ricky of the Tuft, a fairy tale about a prince overcoming his fears; and Beauty and the Beast, a tale of inner beauty and love's transformative power.

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Comparing Cinderella Stories

This teaching idea focuses on the vast array of Cinderella stories across cultures and time, such as The Rough Face Girl, Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China, Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters, and Cinder. The printable provided allows students to compare Ella Enchanted to any Cinderella story, prompting analysis of key elements like royal lineage, magical elements, and problem-solving structures.

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Comparing and Contrasting Witches

This fun activity involves comparing different witches from literature, a perfect pre-Halloween activity.

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Comparing Characters

This printable aids in comparing different characters in children's literature who have disabilities. It's a great addition to events like March's Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month or April's World Wish Day sponsored by the Make a Wish Foundation.

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Teaching Compare and Contrast with a Christmas Theme

Teaching Compare and Contrast with Christmas Stories

If you are looking for some Christmas stories to teach your students how to compare and contrast, check out The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree and Silver Packages: An Appalachian Christmas Story. These two stories are set in the Appalachian Mountains and have heartwarming and educational themes. They are suitable for students at a mid-third-grade reading level, but older students can also enjoy them.

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Christmas Compare and Contrast Writing Prompts

Are you looking for some new activities to add to your lesson plans? Check out these 10 Christmas compare and contrast writing prompts. Better yet, they come in both printable and Google slide versions. The paragraphs, as well as the responses, are short making these prompts great for morning review, an entry or exit activity, or learning center assignment.

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Comparing Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Tips for Creating a Compare and Contrast Anchor Chart

One of my most engaging Christmas activities involves students learning about the stories behind the creation of Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. This activity encourages students to read, compare, and contrast these iconic Christmas tales, creating a deeper understanding of their origins and significance.

Montgomery Ward was a department store that began in 1872. Every year for Christmas, the store bought and gave away coloring books for the children who visited Santa. In 1939, the store asked Robert L. May, an employee, to create a coloring book to help save money. This is when May created Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

The year after the song Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was a big Christmas hit, Walter “Jack” Rollins and Steve Nelson wrote Frosty the Snowman in hopes of another big hit. The song was sent to Gene Autry, who recorded it. Gene Autry’s song version peaked on the Billboard Pop Singles chart at number 7 in 1950.

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Check out Compare and Contrast Text Structure on TPT

Compare and Contrast Text Structure Essay Lessons, Passages, and Activities

Have you ever read through your students' compare and contrast essays and realized they don't understand how to write an effective essay? These step-by-step lessons will help your students learn the process. Students also practice this skill with a wide variety of fun and engaging activities including both fictional and nonfiction passages.

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