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Reteach
4  USE A VENN DIAGRAM
Students can use a Venn diagram to record comparisons and contrasts.
5  PROVIDE PRACTICE
  • Ask students to compare and contrast two characters in a story or two characters from the selection.
1  DEFINE THE TERMS
Explain that when you compare and contrast, you tell how two things are alike and different. Point out that in some contexts, questions asking students to compare may be asking students to describe both similarities and differences.
2  GIVE AN EXAMPLE
Provide a simple example, such as comparing a dog and a chameleon.
  • Alike: Both are animals; both have four legs and a tail;
    both can be pets.
  • Different: One is a mammal, the other is a reptile; one
    has fur, the other does not.
3  DISCUSS CLUE WORDS
Students should look for clue words that signal comparisons and contrasts as they read. List some examples on the board:
Compare  Contrast
like unlike
alike on the other hand
similarly however
Compare and Contrast
Noticing, understanding, and making comparisons and contrasts can clarify for students what they read. Use this routine to teach comparing and contrasting.
Lukens, Rebecca J. A Critical Handbook of Children's Literature. Pearson Education, 2003, p. 286.
Rebecca J. Lukens,
A Critical Handbook of Children's Literature
"Comparisons are one means of making concepts clear to the reader, and some writers
use comparisons simply and effectively."
FOCUS ON RESEARCH
Research on Compare and Contrast