Nancy Fetzer's Literacy Connections
Expository Paragraph
Upper elementary and middle school writers learn how to craft an expository paragraph by following the six steps detailed in a 48-page instructional guide. Learners learn how to write six different types of informational paragraphs: to...
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast Photograph Art
Take a trip down Pearblossom Highway with this lesson about comparing and contrasting. Using David Hockney's Pearblossom Hwy and another image of the same highway (photograph or other image), learners compare and contrast the two...
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast Art
Practice the skill of compare and contrast. First, show learners the different pairs of artwork in the project packet (included). Then, each learner chooses one of the pairs and finds the similarities and differences between the...
EngageNY
Getting the Gist and Determining Word Meaning: Paragraphs 12–14 of Steve Jobs’ Commencement Address (and connecting to Chapter 8)
Groups use a Venn diagram to compare the theme of love and loss in Steve Jobs' 2005 commencement address to Stanford University students and Christopher Paul Curtis' Bud, Not Buddy.
Curated OER
Comparing-Contrasting With Cookies
Students compare and contrast cookies. In this compare and contrast lesson, students complete a graphic organizer and identify the similarities and differences in Girl Scout Cookies. Students write an analysis.
Curated OER
Venn Diagram for Compare/Contrast
Use this lesson to focus on a compare and contrast writing structure in your middle school language arts class. Here, young writers compare and contrast two texts using graphic organizers. They use a double bubble format for their...
Curated OER
Use Details from Text to Identify Cause and Effect, Draw Conclusions, Compare and Contrast
Third graders discuss research topics and write a paragraph on one of the provided questions. They focus on including key words from charts that the class has been compiling. They underline supporting details within the text they write....
Curated OER
Comparing Themes
Compare and contrast the themes of two works by J.R.R. Tolkien. High schoolers read The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, Then they write an essay that compares the themes found in each novel.
EngageNY
Paragraph Writing, Part II
Come up with a list of requirements for this expository essay on Esperanza's character in Esperanza Rising as a class and use the list to guide class writing. Here, learners will complete the first paragraph, discuss their notes for the...
EngageNY
Paragraph Writing, Part 1: How Esperanza Responds on the Train (Revisiting Chapter 5: "Las Guayabas/Guavas")
When your class members have completed the novel Esperanza Rising, they will be ready to write an expository essay on how Esperanza responds to events and what this says about her character. Set your pupils up for success by starting out...
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast Information from Multiple Sources - Wolong's Pandas
Students compare and contrast information on the declining population of pandas by looking at 3 different sources: one handout and two videos. Students generate ideas for why pandas are declining and fill out a compare/contrast chart of...
EngageNY
Presentation of Events: Comparing Two Authors
Give a little clue! Readers learn how context clues can help them determine the meaning of words by viewing a Context Clues Resource sheet then completing a Context Clues
practice sheet. They then compare events presented by two...
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast Cultures
Using informational text to make cross cultural comparisons is a great way to build a global understanding and comparative analysis skills. With several handy worksheets and a Venn diagram the class will read to make cross textual...
EngageNY
The Painted Essay: The Introductory Paragraph
Mimic the model for the perfect essay. Scholars work in groups to analyze a model painted essay The Electric Motor. They compare the structure of the model essay to the painted essay template they created in the previous activity. The...
Curated OER
Lesson 1: Using Compare and Contrast Key Words
Third graders compare and contrast two things. For this comparing lesson, 3rd graders see vocabulary words used when comparing or contrasting two items. They read the story Alligators and Crocodiles by Trudi Strain Trueit and write a...
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast Fairy Tales
Second graders read and compare two versions of Cinderella. In this compare and contrast lesson, 2nd graders use a Venn Diagram to record comparisons between Cinder Edna and Cinderella. Students write a paragraph using those similarities...
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast
Students learn about similarities and differences between different types of weather patterns. In this weather lesson, students read Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and Weather. Students create a word search puzzle, complete a Venn...
Curated OER
The Last Word: Using Critical Thinking and Analysis to Reach a Decision
Want to explore the process of writing a persuasive essay and tie it in with the upcoming elections? Class members use Venn diagrams and the hamburger model of persuasive writing to write a five-paragraph essay on elections and...
EngageNY
End-Of-Unit 2 Assessment: On-Demand Analytical Essay About How Esperanza Changes Over Time
Close the unit on Esperanza Rising with an in-class analytic essay on how Esperanza changes over the course of the novel. Writers can use any of their notes and work from the unit as well as their drafts of the first two paragraphs of...
Curated OER
Yummy Venn Diagrams
Develop a list of topic sentences using a Venn diagram. The class compares Ritz cracker to Oreo cookies, create a list of possible topic sentences, then composes an expository paragraph comparing the two food items.
Curated OER
Geography of Canada
All about Canada! Learners explore the geography and providences of Canada by watching videos, studying maps and conducting internet research. By the end of this lesson, your class should be able to locate major areas and compare and...
Curated OER
Picturing America: Images and Words of Hope from Romare Bearden and Langston Hughes
A carefully crafted three-day instructional activity integrates poetry and visual art. By analyzing and comparing Langston Hughes' poem "Mother and Son" and Romare Bearden's collage "The Dove," readers explore the theme of hope. The...
Curated OER
Tell It to the Judge - Persuasive Essay
Students write a persuasive essay that compares and contrasts a classic fairy tales with a fractured one. They use the writing process to complete and publish the essay.
Curated OER
Using a Venn Diagram to Compare / Contrast: Double Bubble
Create a "Double Bubble" to organize information in a Venn diagram-like graphic organizer. There are a few options included to differentiate this assignment, but unfortunately, there are no topics for selection. Provide your emerging...