Comparing and contrasting is a higher level thinking skill promoted in the Common Core Standards leading to the ability to comprehend and analyze texts through various topics and genre. This particular lesson on Comparing and Contrasting Important Points will help students make comparisons between informational texts. This will require that students identify the important points in a text, determine the authors’ purposes and look for similarities and differences between texts.

compare, contrast, important points, main idea, key words, informational text, similarity, difference

Compare and Contrast Transitional Words – instead of, on one hand, on the other hand, on the contrary, have in common, similarly, yet, but, however, still, in contrast, in addition, both, in the same manner, although, whereas

In this lesson, students will compare and contrast important points based on important points in the content. Students will:

• Identify the main idea in a passage
• Consider the important points the author wants the reader to remember
• Explain the similarities and differences between two main ideas

3 sessions, 30 minutes each

The suggested texts were chosen because they featured two texts on the same topic. The texts brought out different aspects of getting ready for winter. Alternative texts could be chosen with the same criteria.

Suggested Texts:

Why Do Geese Fly South in Winter: A Book About Migration by Kathy Allen, Capstone, 2007.

Busy Animals: Learning About Animals in Autumn by Lisa Bullard, Picture Window Books, 2011.

 

Charts:

Compare and Contrast Charts.docx

Modeling, Explicit Instruction, Scaffolding, Active Engagement

W: Students will explain how the important points in two different texts are similar and different using  a     graphic organizer.

H: Engage students with lively group interaction. Choose texts that are geared to students’ interests and prior knowledge

E: Provide short non-fiction passages/advertisement/announcement and use these two questions to identify the important point in each passage.

     1) Who or what is the passage about?

     2) What is the important point the author is making?

Use texts that are easily understood by students and supported with graphics. Use topics that are of high interest to students

R: Encourage students to go back to the texts to locate evidence for each important point. Provide texts that present information on the same topic in different ways. Ask students to discuss the displayed texts from the gallery walk.

E: Complete a graphic organizer to show how the two texts are similar and different. Prepare a gallery walk displaying the texts that are compared and contrasted with the graphic organizer posted.

T: Provide additional instruction and practice in comparing and contrasting with appropriate text. Provide recorded text for those who may need this. Provide text materials in a student’s native language. If students have difficulty identifying the main idea, allow them to choose from given important points. Ask them to support their choice.

O: Begin by modeling the process, move to guided practice with feedback, partner practice and then independent application.

Focus: Compare and contrast important points in two texts.

Activator: Show the class two books about the same topic such as the books listed below. Talk about how the books are similar and different.

1. Do Tornadoes Really Twist?: Questions and Answers About Tornadoes and Hurricanes  by Melvin Berger, Gilda Berger and Barbara Higgins Bond
2. Tornado by Betsy Byars 

Session 1:

You will use these two questions to identify the important point in each passage. Post these two questions on chart paper.

Finding the Main Idea

1) Who or what is the passage about? 

2) What is the important point the author is making? 

 

Gather students in a whole group. Put the two passages below (from How Animals Eat by Pamela Hickman, Kids Can Press, 2001.) on chart paper, a smart board or transparency. Today we are going to learn about how to identify the main idea. We need to be able to do this so we can understand what we read. To find the main idea of a passage, we ask ourselves two important questions. Who or what is the passage about? What is the important point the author is making? (refer to chart) Follow along as I read the first passage.

 “Different animals may eat from the same plant. A rabbit may nibble the leaves of a plant. An insect may feed on the plant’s roots. A hummingbird may lap up nectar from the plant’s flower. A mouse may feed on the plant’s seeds” (from How Animals Eat by Pamela Hickman, Kids Can Press, 2001, p. 12).

Since this is not about a person, my question will be, “What is the passage about?” Let me go back and find the key words. I see the words animals, rabbit, insect, hummingbird, mouse (highlight each word as you read it).  So, I can say this passage is about animals. Next I want to know what the author is trying to tell me about animals. Let’s go back and look for key words or phrases. I see that rabbits nibble leaves, insects feed on roots, hummingbirds lap nectar, and a mouse feeds on seeds of the plant. (underline as you read) In all of these examples, an animal is eating a different part of the same plant. I think the author is telling me that different animals may eat from the same plant. That is how I can find the main idea of a passage.

 

Read the second passage with me.

“In nature, animals that eat the leftovers of another animal’s meal are called scavengers. They wait for another animal to make a kill, then they move in to eat up whatever is left. Turkey vultures are expert scavengers” (from How Animals Eat by Pamela Hickman and Pat Stephens, Kids Can Press, 2001, p. 22).

What are the two questions we need to ask in order to find the main idea? Turn to your partner and tell each other. (Ask students to share their answers.) (formative assessment)

Who or what is the passage about? Talk with your partner. Add the word ‘scavengers’ to the chart and ask students to highlight this in the passage. Now, we need to answer the second question. What is the important point the author is making about scavengers?  This is an Author and Me question because you have to put together your prior knowledge with clues from the text. When I think of leftovers, I think of a container of meatloaf in the refrigerator. Look back in the passage. What are “the leftovers”? (Students will identify leftovers as what is left “of another animal’s meal”, meat that was not eaten, roadkill). This is a different meaning than my leftovers in my refrigerator. What is the author is telling us about scavengers? (Scavengers eat what other animals don’t want instead of killing their own food.) (underline this on the passage and write this on the board/chart) (formative assessment). What do we call this statement? (main idea) Why is it important to find the main idea? (so we can understand what we read)

Ticket out the door: Tell someone how to find the main idea in a passage. (formative assessment)

Session 2:

Today we will compare and contrast the information on our main idea charts. Comparing and contrasting helps us to be better readers. We can understand the different kinds of information in texts and choose a text that fits our purpose for reading. Read the main idea charts from the previous session.

Now we want to compare and contrast the main ideas of these two passages. Think about when we compared and contrasted characters in a story. What do we want to know? How do we do it? (What is similar? What is different?) What kind of graphic organizer helps us to compare and contrast? Draw/display this graphic organizer on the board. (e.g., T-chart)

 One way the two passages are similar is that they are both about animals. Let’s find evidence to support this. The first passage talks about animals, rabbits, insects, hummingbirds, and mice. (point this out in the passage) The second passage was about animals such as the turkey vulture that are scavengers. (point this out in passage). Let’s write animals in the ‘similar’ column and add the evidence here. (add to the T-chart) Talk with a partner to find another way the two passages are alike. (both passages are about eating) (add to T-chart). Discuss students’ responses and post on chart. Accept any answers that are supported.

Now let’s look at the differences between the two passages. Use Think-Pair-Share to find differences between the two passages. (Ask each student to think of one difference on their own. Then, students should share their ideas with a partner. Ask the partners to choose the best of their ideas and write the difference and the evidence on a T-chart. Post all of the T-charts on the board or where all students can see them. Now, take a gallery walk to read all of the differences. Discuss the ideas presented with the entire group.

Summarizer

Write or record a note to mom or dad about what you learned today about how and why we compare and contrast two passages.

 Session 3:

Read the book Busy Animals by Lisa Bullard with the class. Complete a main idea chart for this book following the steps in Session 1

Finding the Main Idea

                               1) Who or what is the passage about? (animals)

                              2) What is the important point the author is making?  (Animals get ready for winter in many ways.)

Read the following passages from Why Do Geese Fly South In Winter? by Kathy Allen.

 “What Are These Animals Doing?

Marching over the bare ground, caribou move to the evergreen forests. Monarch butterflies flutter by on their long trip to Mexico. Canada geese soar high over your home, honking all the way. What are all these animals doing? They’re migrating. “ (p. 4)

“Why do Geese Fly South in Winter?

Migrating animals travel between two habitats. Some animals move when the weather gets bad. They go to places where it’s warmer. Many birds, like geese, move to the warm south in winter. In spring, they migrate back. “ (p. 7)

 “What do You Think?

Every winter, snowbirds “migrate” from cold northern states to the warmer southern states. Then in the spring they go back to their homes in the north. But these snowbirds aren’t birds. They’re people. Maybe your grandparents are snowbirds. Do you think their migration is the same as animal migration?” (p. 21)

Complete a main idea chart for Passage 2.

Finding the Main Idea

                                1) Who or what is the passage about? (migration)

                                2) What is the important point the author is making?  (Some animals and people      migrate to warmer places for winter.)

Provide a compare and contrast for students. Ask students to work with each other to determine how the passages are similar and different. Students must include evidence from text to support their ideas. (formative assessment)

Possible responses:

Similar	Different
Both stories are about getting ready for winter. Evidence: “During fall, animals get ready for winter’s cold” (p. 4 Busy Animals). “Many birds like geese, move to the warm south in winter” (p. 7, Why Do Geese…).	Busy Animals tells about many ways animals prepare for winter but Why Do Geese… tells only about migration. Evidence: Tells about migration (p. 14) AND growing thicker fur (p. 4), eating extra foods for body fats (p. 6), gathering food (p. 8), huddling together (p. 10), building lodges (p. 12) and hibernating (p. 18). The title says “A Book About Migration” (Why do Geese…, cover)
Both books tell about several different animals. Evidence: Rabbits (p. 4), deer (p 4), frogs (p. 6), squirrels (p. 8), bees (p. 10), beavers (p. 12), birds (p. 14), butterflies (p. 16), turtles (p. 18) (Busy Animals) Monarch butterflies, Canada geese (p. 4), people (p. 21) (Why Do Geese…)	Busy Animals tells about more animals than Why Do Geese… Evidence: Rabbits (p. 4), deer (p 4), frogs (p. 6), squirrels (p. 8), bees (p. 10), beavers (p. 12), birds (p. 14), butterflies (p. 16), turtles (p. 18) (Busy Animals) Monarch butterflies, Canada geese (p. 4), people (p. 21) (Why Do Geese…)

Summarizer: How does comparing and contrasting texts help you be a better reader? (I can be a better reader because I can choose the text that matches my purpose for reading.)

Distributed and noted throughout lesson

Session 1:  Turn and Talk, Partner Responses, Ticket Out the Door, Interactive Responses

Session 2:  Group Responses, Partner Responses, Turn and Talk, Think-Pair-Share, Note to Parents, Gallery Walk

Session 3:  Group Responses, Partner Responses, Compare and Contrast Chart, Exit Slip

 

Compare, contrast, informational text, understand text, similar, different, alike, important points, main idea, key words, migration, hibernation, animals

Lois Glasstetter, Literacy Coach, Hatboro Horsham School District; Mary Klinger, Literacy Coach/Reading Specialist, Lower Dauphin School District; Marge McMackin, Consultant, Pittsburgh School District

November 07, 2012