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...

Teenagers face many temptations, and just saying "No!" can be very difficult. Here's a lesson that provides some help. Learners use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast excerpts from The Odyssey, Tennyson's "The Lotus-Eaters," and the...

How does one's experience reading a poem's text differ from listening to its audio version? Delve into the insightful question with the poem, If by Rudyard Kipling, as pupils compare and contrast their experience using a note-taking...

Scholars continue reading the Greek myth "Pyramus and Thisbe," analyzing why it was written into Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Next, they complete a Venn diagram to compare the two texts.

That's all, folks! Scholars work with their group members to create conclusions for their To Kill A Mockingbird reader's theater scripts. They use a criteria list to help guide their conclusion writing and discuss how the conclusions...

Using a Venn diagram, class members generate similarities and differences between narratives and summaries. Next, pupils co-create an anchor chart to capture their thinking about how an author zooms in on a particular part of a story. 

Anecdotes, analogies, testimonies, statistics. The most powerful arguments rely on multiple types of evidence. Scholars explore the topic as they read contrasting evidence about the benefits of video games. They complete Venn diagrams to...

The proof is in the reading. Scholars read an article, "Attached to Technology and Paying the Price," and answer text-dependent questions. Next, they complete a Venn diagram to contrast two authors' use of evidence on the topic of screen...

When it comes to comparing texts, it's apples to oranges. As part two of the mid-unit assessment, learners compare and contrast two texts about the Internet and brain health. While reading, scholars use a Venn diagram to compare two...

Apples to oranges, Dasani to Aquafina. Using a Venn diagram, scholars contrast two authors' use of evidence on the topic of bottled water. Additionally, they continue reading Charles Fishman's The Big Thirst and answering text-dependent...

Water is life! Using the informative resource, scholars first read two informational articles about water management in agriculture. Then, they use a Venn diagram to contrast the different types of evidence authors use to support a...

Let's compare and contrast! Scholars use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the experience of reading a poem and listening to its audio version. Next, they complete graphic organizers, comparing two different genres: a poem and a...

Think big! Scholars complete an end of unit assessment using their notes and graphic organizers along with the texts Big Thinkers: Was Steve Jobs This Generation’s Thomas Edison? and Steve Jobs. To complete the assessment, they answer...

Learners complete the third instructional activity in a row where they determine the gist of text and use quotes as textual evidence. They use details from Dr. James Naismith, Inventor of Basketball to explain how the development of...

Letters ... a lost art or good resource? Scholars add letter writing to their informational text chart and describe the features of a letter. They then look at page 38 in Promises to Keep and complete a Perspectives Venn...

Compare and contrast two characters from the book Miss Nelson is Missing. Using a Venn Diagram, have pupils compare and contrast personal characteristics between Miss Nelson and Miss Swamp. Individuals can then share their responses with...

Fourth graders visit an outdoor area and compare/contrast two different leaves using Venn diagrams. They create tree leaf rubbings from their leaves and examine their vein structures or needle patterns.

Graphing and sorting are such important skills for young learners to understand. Here, they will be given quarters to examine, they must come up with a sorting rule by which they will use to sort the quarters. They will sort their...

Students read folktales from around the world comparing two of them using a computer generated Venn diagram. They create a game based on a folktale and use software to create a listening library of folktales.

Fifth graders are engaged in sorting and classifying geometric shapes of various colors and sizes. They discuss the properties of these shapes and illustrate a range of classifications using Venn diagrams.

Students examine the book Smoky Night. In this cultural lesson, students read the text and discuss why it's important to get along with others. Students complete a Venn diagram to compare and contrast themselves with a peer.

Read the story Gingerbread Baby and use these various activities to connect to grammar, art, and point of view. In one activity, learners create character masks. They practice writing verbs on the back of the masks to tell what each...

Cozy up and listen to a recording of The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and The Three Little Javelinas. Then, lead your class in a compare and contrast of the two stories by creating a Venn diagram.

To better understand how the author Kevin Henkes uses the theme of friendship throughout his books, learners engage in several compare and contrast activities. The class reads several Henkes titles and discusses the similarities in...