Lessons & Units :: Compare and Contrast 4th Grade Unit

Lesson 3: Compare and Contrast Editorials

Lesson Plan

Learning Goal
Compare and contrast two editorials.
Duration
Approximately 50 minutes
Necessary Materials
Provided: "Editorial A: Children Under 12 Banned from Skateboarding," "Editorial B: Letter to the Editor," Independent Practice Passages, Independent Practice Worksheet (optional)
Not Provided: chart paper, markers, lined paper (optional)
 

  • Teacher Modeling

    will explain the purpose of editorials (to give the author a chance to express his/her opinion publicly). I will read aloud "Children Under 12 Banned From Skateboarding" and "Letter to the Editor." (Editorials are provided in Books and Passages.) I will model how to compare and contrast facts and opinions in the two articles. I will highlight facts that are the same in the articles and opinions that are different. I will create a list of similarities and differences.

  • Think Check

    Ask: How did I compare and contrast two editorials? Students should respond that you found facts that were the same in the editorials and identified opinions that were different.

  • Guided Practice

    will each write a paragraph on our opinion about a topic relevant to our class. (For example, if students have music class once a month. but gym class once a week, they can write their opinion of how often they think they should have music versus gym.) The teacher will chose two opposing editorials and read them aloud to the class. We will compare and contrast the facts and opinions from the two editorials by making a list of similarities and differences and then organizing them into a Venn diagram.

  • Independent Practice

    will read two new editorials. You will compare and contrast the editorials by discussing the similarities and differences. (Student Independent Practice is provided below in Teacher and Student Materials.) You may compare and contrast the editorials by creating a list of similarities and differences, using a Venn diagram, or by writing a compare and contrast essay.

Build Student Vocabulary collide

Tier 2 Word: collide
Contextualize the word as it is used in the story The author says that if they did collide, the children would be protected by helmets and knee and shoulder pads.
Explain the meaning student-friendly definition) To collide is to come into contact with violent impact. If the skateboarders collide, it means that they bang into each other.
Students repeat the word Say the word collide with me: collide
Teacher gives examples of the word in other contexts The cars collided when one of them passed the red light. I wasn’t paying attention in the supermarket, and my shopping cart collided with another cart as I came around the corner of the aisle. If two people have very different ideas, their viewpoints collide. The views of the art teacher and the gym teacher collided about the after-school club schedule.
Students provide examples Think of two things that might collide. Start by saying: “Two things that could collide are __________ and _____________.”
Students repeat the word again. What word are we talking about? collide
Additional Vocabulary Words fumble, obese

Build Student Background Knowledge

After reading “Letter to the Editor,” explain to students that skateboarding is a newer sport, one invented when Californians decided to try to surf in the streets. The first skateboarders took wooden boards or box crates and added roller-skate wheels to the bottom. People thought skateboarding would be just a fad, but it now has a spot in the "X Games," a competitive festival for "extreme" sports. Now that skateboarding competitions have become common, people are trying to decide whether or not skateboarding should be a sport in the Olympics.

Texts & Materials

Standards Alignment

(To see all of the ReadWorks lessons aligned to your standards, click here.)

User Comments

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