Comparing and contrasting is a higher level thinking skill promoted in the Common Core Standards leading to the ability to comprehend and analyze texts through various topics and genre. This lesson on Comparing and Contrasting Stories will focus on finding similarities and differences in versions of stories that are by different authors from different points of view.

compare, contrast, character, version, point of view, 1^st person, 3^rd
person, literary elements, characters, setting, problem, goal, message, moral, events,
solution, plot, similarities, differences

In this lesson, students will compare and contrast characters, settings, plots, events, and/or message or moral from two different versions of a story. Students will:

• Identify the point of view in a story
• Appreciate multiple perspectives
• Explain the similarities and differences between two versions of a story

two 20 minute read-aloud sessions followed by one 30 minute session

The suggested texts were chosen because they present two different versions of the same story. One of the versions should be relatively unfamiliar to students.

Suggested texts:

Three Little Pigs

The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas and Helen Oxenbury, Margaret K. McElderry Books, 1993.

Three Little Pigs by Paul Galdone, Penguin Putnam Books, 1989.

Charts:

Literary Elements Chart.docx (includes Compare and Contrast Chart)

Additional text uggestions:

Three Little Pigs

The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka, Clarion Books, 1970.

The Three Pigs by David Wiesner, Clarion Books, 2001.

The Three Little Javelinas by Susan Lowell, Northland Publishing Company, 1992.

Ziggy Piggy by Frank Asch, Kids Can Press, 1998.

The Three Little Pigs by Steven Kellogg, Morrow Junior Books, 1997.

Cinderella

The Irish Cinderlad by Shirley Climo, Harper Stevens, 1996.

The Persian Cinderella by Shirley Climo, Harper Stevens, 1999.

Adelita by Tomie dePaola, G. P. Putnam and Sons, 2002.

Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe, Harper Collins, 1988.

Cinderella by Marcia Brown, Atheneum Books, 1954.

Princess Furball by Charlotte Huck, Greenwillow Books, 1989

Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China by Ai-Ling Louie, Philomel Books, 1982.

Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella by Paul Fleischman, Henry Holt and Company, 2007.

Cinderella.The Oryx Multicultural Folktale Series by Judy Sierra, Oryx Press, 1992.

Cinderella’s Dress by Nancy Willard, Blue Sky Press, 2003.

W: Students will explain how the literary elements are similar and different in
two different versions of a story.

H: Use picture books with colorful illustrations and engaging texts. Present
unfamiliar versions of familiar tales.

E: Show or collect pictures and information from different countries depicting the
dress, holidays, foods and customs in other cultures.

R: Encourage students to share what they are comparing and contrasting and give
evidence to support their choices.  

E: Role play a situation from two different points of view in the texts chosen.

T: Provide additional instruction and practice in comparing and contrasting versions of stories. Provide text materials in a student’s native language. Use puppets to help students reenact parts of the story. Use recorded books or partner reading to make text accessible.

O: Begin by modeling the process, move to guided practice with feedback, partner practice and then independent application.

Focus:
Compare and contrast literary elements in two different versions.

 

Prior to lesson:

Read each of the suggested books to the students on two separate read aloud days. After reading each book, talk with students to identify the literary elements and record these on chart paper. (see the sample Literary Elements Chart.)

 

Session 1:

Bring students together as a whole group. Today we are going to compare and contrast different versions of the same story. We will compare The Three Little Pigs and The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad
Pig. (show the two books). What difference do you see without even reading the books? (three wolves instead of three pigs – write this on a Literary Elements Chart) What seems to be the same? (three of one type of animal, both use pigs and wolves – add to chart)

 

Tell your partner what it means to compare and contrast. (compare – tell what is the same, contrast – tell what is different) Give thumbs up if your partner got it right, thumbs down if they did not. (formative assessment)

 

Briefly review the Literary Elements Chart from the previous session. First, let’s compare these two versions of the story. Look at the literary elements. What is the same in both versions? Identify and highlight the first two or three similarities on the group chart. Now work with your partner to find additional similarities. Pull students back together. Ask students to share and highlight their responses and evidence on the chart. (formative assessment)

 

Possible responses - both use pigs and wolves as main characters, both use groups of three, both build houses, in both stories house are destroyed, the problem is the same in both stories, there is a ‘bad guy’ or ‘villain’ in both stories, both stories end with ‘happily ever after’. *Students may think of additional similarities. Accept all supported similarities. 

 

Now, we will contrast the two versions. What will you look for in the literary elements chart? (formative
assessment)  What is one difference between the two versions? Identify and highlight one or two differences on the group chart. Now work with your partner to find additional differences. (formative assessment) Pull students back together. Ask students to share and highlight their responses on the chart. Call attention to transition words to help when stating a compare and contrast statement such as on the other hand, however, whereas.

 

Possible responses – pigs are good characters and the wolf is bad , wolves are good characters and the pig is bad, the wolves are all different colors while the pigs are the same colors, the materials used to construct the houses are different, there are four houses built in one book and three houses in the other, in the 3 little wolves the characters stop and say, “We’re doing something wrong.”, the pigs spend their extra time getting food while the wolves play games, the wolf was able to blow in some of the houses but the pig always needed stronger tools to destroy the houses, 2 of the pigs get eaten but all of the wolves live, the wolf as the  ‘bad guy’ gets eaten in the end of the story
whereas the pig as the ‘bad guy’ is befriended by the wolves.

 

321 Summarizer –

Three important features to compare and contrast in different versions of the same story.

Two differences between the two stories we worked on today.

One reason why it is important to compare and contrast different versions of the same story.

 

Extension Idea -What do you think is the most important contrast between these two versions of the story? 

 

Ongoing Sessions:

Continue comparing and contrasting other versions of this tale or begin a new tale

Session 2 - Partner Talk with Thumbs UP Thumbs DOWN, Partner Responses, 321 Summarizer

characters, compare, contrast, analyze text, similar, different, alike, character traits, literary elements, character, setting, plot, program, goal, message, moral, solution

Lois Glasstetter (Literacy Coach, Hatboro-Horsham School District), Mary Klinger (Literacy Coach/Reading Specialist, Lower Dauphin School District), Marge McMackin (Consultant, Pittsburgh School District)

November 07, 2012