Students write an essay comparing and contrasting their school experiences. Through guided practice, they create an outline of their elementary school experience and middle school experience. Using their outlines, students synthesize...

This site provides a guideline for writing a comparative essay for the AP World History Test. It also provides practice exercises and samples.

Learners determine their perspective on women's empowerment and then compare it to how it is seen in Syria. They watch four documentary clips, discuss what they've seen, and answer two short essay questions. Excellent resource links and...

Practice listening and writing skills with this resource. This is a test created by the New York State Testing Program. Learners listen to a passage called "Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa" twice and write responses to the selection. They...

Consider the factors and outcomes of societal changes that occurred during the Japanese Feudal period. Critical thinkers use what they know to answer three short essay questions. This helpful worksheet is a great tool for building...

Students complete a T-Chart about a therapy dog and write a paragraph using the compare and contrast organizational structure. In this compare and contrast lesson plan, students discuss therapy dogs and complete a Morris...

Although Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X both work for equal rights, social change, and political empowerment, their approaches were radically different. To better understand these contrasts, class members compare King's "I...

Fifth graders compare the life and times of Roger Williams and Martin Luther King Jr. For this life comparison lesson plan, 5th graders explore the key events that happened in each of their lives and fill out worksheets, write essays,...

Compare and contrast how transportation has changed throughout the years. This image-driven slide show depicts a variety of advances in transportation. Covered wagons, coaches, trolley cars, boats, and bikes are shown as they were in the...

To demonstrate their ability to craft an analysis of informational text, class members read excerpts from James Madison's "The Federalist No. 10," from George Washington's Farewell Address, and from Thomas Jefferson's First Inaugural...

How does Hamlet's state of mind change over the course of Shakespeare's most famous revenge tragedy? After a close reading of Hamlet's soliloquies in Act III, scene 1 and Act IV, scene iv, class members engage in a Paideia/Socratic...

Great minds think alike. Scholars read two texts and compare how the authors develop the same central idea. Readers analyze "Women" by Alice Walker and "Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King Jr. They discuss word use and new...

Students compare two pieces of literature. In this literary comparisons lesson, students read 2 books that they personally select and then compare and contrast the literary elements of each in a comparative essay.

If you plan to utilize the ABC miniseries, "The Path to 9/11" in your classroom, consider incorporating media literacy and research skills. After (or while) learners view the series, they discuss ways information can differ from source...

Students brainstorm ideas for a teacher selected writing topic. They demonstrate seven steps for writing an academic essay. They jot down words or phrases using different colored pens. They write a thesis statement and create an outline...

You and your high school class can examine the idea of artistic movements with this lesson. Explore various websites, compare/contrast paintings, after which the assignments are to complete a chart, and write an essay.

Coldhearted snob or warm and caring? A series of activities prepares scholars to evaluate the main character in Jane Austen's Emma. To begin, class members compare the gender expectations for women in Regency England and those of today....

The California missions were built with the hope of converting the local Native Americans to Catholicism, but exactly how different were their beliefs to begin with? Through analysis of a series of primary source documents,...

There is a reason why an Oscar is given each year for the Best Adaptation Screenplay. Adaptations are the focus of an exercise that asks class members to compare a work of literature with a least one adaptation of the work into a...

Can animals sense an earthquake before the ground starts to shake? Read two short passages that feature stories about animals that acted strangely just before an earthquake. Learners then answer a few reading comprehension questions...

Is it crazy to fall in love with your own work, or is that the purest love of all? Compare two renditions of the classic Greek myth Pygmalion and Galatea with a literary analysis exercise. After students compare the similarities and...

I know exactly how you feel. That may be a statement between Henrietta Lacks and John Moore. Scholars read John Moore's story and compare his story of cell use to that of Henrietta. Learners record in a vocabulary journal, analyze...

Students read two books and complete a compare and contrast of the two books. In this compare and contrast lesson, students read two books in the same genre and write an essay comparing and contrasting them.

Pupils read The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien and write a comparison of the two books. In this Tolkien novel analysis lesson, students read the novels and select characters, plot, theme, or other element to...