Compare and Contrast 3rd Grade Unit
Lessons
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Have students read Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary, and compare and contrast Beezus and Ramona using a Venn diagram or T-chart. This activity can be repeated with any two characters in a fiction book.
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Have students read Compare and Contrast reading passages and answer the compare and contrast questions at the end of passages. (Passages are available on the website.)
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Have students read a book and watch the corresponding movie. Students can then complete a Venn diagram or a T-chart comparing and contrasting the book and the movie. Examples of books and movies include:
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Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
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Babe, the Gallant Pig by Dick King-Smith
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Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
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Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
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Have students write a report comparing and contrasting two topics in nonfiction (preferably related to science and social studies content standards). For example:
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Ancient Greece and today
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Ancient China and today
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Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.
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George Washington and Abraham Lincoln
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Have students continue to write comparison essays on characters from independent reading books. Have students answer the writing prompt: Which character do you admire most and why?
- Fountas and Pinnell
- Q
- Lexile
- 840L
- Fountas and Pinnell
- N
- Lexile
- 520L
- Fountas and Pinnell
- N
- Lexile
- 650L
they work well.
We used two great books by Chris Van Allsburg (Jumanji and Zathura) to compare settings, plots, and themes. Students were very engaged while listening to the read alouds. They displayed great inferring skills and we had wonderful discussions. Definitely two great books to teach CCSS RL.3.9.
yes great idea! there are also movies to go along with them
That is a great idea!