Scholastic
Pilgrim and Wampanoag Daily Life for Grades 6–8
Two slide shows, viewed side-by-side, permit middle schoolers to compare and contrast the lives of the Pilgrims of the Plimoth colony and the Wampanoags. Four videos take learners on virtual field trips to the Plymouth plantation. And an...
Novelinks
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: Picture Book Strategy
Picture books aren't just for primary learners. Your scholars compare and contrast literary themes between the novel, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, and the children's book, The Dream Tree by Winfried Wolf through...
Curated OER
Healthy Food is Good Food!
Learners examine the difference between whole foods and junk foods. In this food lesson, students learn the definitions of whole food and junk food. They find the difference in tastes and textures of different foods by performing taste...
Curated OER
A Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On!
Students review characteristics of an earthquake. They explore information about earthquakes to determine the effects of an earthquake. They compare the earthquakes of 1906 and 1989.
Curated OER
Fractions: Jim and John
Elementary and secondary learners investigate various concepts related to the study of fractions. They use word problems during the introduction to parts of a fraction and proceed to some of the basic operations of using fractions. The...
Curated OER
Fraction City
Welcome to Fraction City! This is an incredibly interactive and fun way to teach properties of fractions, and reaches multiple learning styles. Scholars create "blocks" by folding strips of paper in various increments (thirds, fourths,...
Scholastic
The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
Practice sequencing events using Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's narrative poem about the famous revolutionary hero. Learners read Revere's own account of the event, and compare/contrast the two texts using a t-chart. Finally, they imagine...
Curated OER
Songs of America
Combine your lesson plan on patriotism with a lesson plan on comparing and contrasting. Focusing on The Star Spangled Banner, Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and The Old Folks at Home, this lesson plan prompts learners to compare and...
Poetry Society
Simile and Metaphor
Young poets use word cards to prompt a metaphor poem comparing to very dissimilar items.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Comparing Fuel Economy
Compute fuel economy and gas mileage. Why? So you can teach rates and ratios, of course! Middle schoolers calculate the rate of miles per gallon for various vehicles. They research each vehicle, its mileage per gallon, and cost per...
Academy of American Poets
On Marilyn Nelson's Poem “1905”
Marilyn Nelson's poem, "1905," asks young scholars to compare and contrast George Washington Carver and Albert Einstein. After studying images of the two scientists and listing their observations, class members listen to several readings...
ReadWriteThink
What is Poetry? Contrasting Poetry and Prose
Introduce middle schoolers to the different strategies used when reading prose versus poetry. Groups use a Venn diagram and a poetry analysis handout to compare the characteristics of an informational text and a poem on the same subject...
National Endowment for the Humanities
"Sí, se puede!": Chávez, Huerta, and the UFW
"Sí, se puede!" Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta believed organizing farm workers and changing their working conditions were possible. Scholars examine provisions of the Bracero Program, videos, and the United Farm Workers' (UFW) work....
ReadWriteThink
Captioning the Civil Rights Movement: Reading the Images, Writing the Words
Scholars boost their knowledge of the Civil Rights Movement with a lesson that challenges writers, readers, and historians to analyze primary sources and caption their observations. By way of reading, writing, discussion, independently,...
Curated OER
A Whole New World
Students work in small groups to investigate statistics regarding the solar system and participate in a 'scientific conference'. They explore available information about the extrasolar planet and assess the importance of this...
Mixing In Math
Mixing in Math: Growing Plants
Whether you have your class plant seeds or begin when sprouts are visible, math skills are used here to predict and track growth over time. Straw bar graphs show plant height on a given day while the graph as a whole shows changes over...
Curated OER
Comparing Fractions
Learners discuss the nature of fractions and compare fractions based on a similar whole to determine relative size.
Arizona Department of Education
Introduction to Integers
Welcome to the backward world of negative numbers. This introductory lesson plan teaches young mathematicians that negative numbers are simply the opposite of positive numbers as they use number lines to plot and compare single-digit...
Scholastic
Dear Miss Breed
This compelling plan based on the letters in the book Dear Miss Breed engages readers in learning what it was like for Japanese Americans following the attacks at Pearl Harbor. After reading the letters, young scholars will partake in...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
European Explorers
To compare how the Spanish, French, and English approached the exploration of North America, class groups examine primary source documents and become experts on one of four explorers: Francisco Coronado, Robert LaSalle, Samuel de...
Curated OER
1920s Variety Show
To better understand the cultural achievements of the Harlem Renaissance and become familiar with its major figures, class members examine a painting by Aaron Douglas and a poem by Langston Hughes and compare how the artists develop...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Exploring at the Nanoscale
Nano-nano! Nanotechnology can seem like it's from another planet! After learning about this tiny technology, collaborative groups experiment with how smaller particles affect chemical reactions. They do this by immersing a whole and a...
Curated OER
Smaller Than One
Sixth graders practice converting a fraction into a decimal and a percent. They explain relationships among rational numbers. They order and compare whole numbers, fractions (including mixed numbers), and decimals using a variety of...
Curated OER
Lesson 2 Ordering Numbers
Math wizards begin the lesson by comparing and ordering rational numbers. Using a number line, they discover the relationship between the numbers and practice ordering them in the correct way. They also review proper techniques for...