Name: Kim Russo Date: 4/8/14

Cooperating Teacher: Rebecca Burns

Grade Level: 6A Language Arts

Science Fiction Day 4: Understanding a Compare & Contrast Essay
Essential Questions
1. How does compare and contrast help students analyze text?
2. How does compare and contrast help students understand a literary genre?

Common Core State Standards
1. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative
discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on
grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their
own clearly.
2. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.9 Compare and contrast texts in different forms or
genres (e.g., stories and poems; historical novels and fantasy stories) in terms of
their approaches to similar themes and topics.
3. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined
experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and
well-structured event sequences.
4. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.2 Interpret information presented in diverse media
and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to
a topic, text, or issue under study.

Student Objectives
1. Students will be able to identify the critical components of a compare and contrast
essay
2. Students will understand how to write a compare and contrast essay
3. Students will be able to create their own science fiction story boards

Materials
1. 2 samples of a compare and contrast essay
2. Compare and Contrast Essay Outline
3. Science Fiction Story Graphic Organizer
4. Science Fiction thought starters
5. Compare and Contrast Essay Graphic Organizer
6. Highlighters
Prior Knowledge:
Students will have read a few science fiction stories. They will have looked at
similarities and differences among The Fun They Had and Sandcastles.

Instructional Plan
1. Motivational Beginning: The students will arrive in the classroom and complete
the Do Now activity written on the board, take out their homework from the night
before, and copy their homework. While the teacher is checking homework, she
will ask the students to share their homework responses with their group
members. (5 minutes)
1. Body of Lesson:
a. The teacher will first go over the Venn Diagram with the students (5 min)
b. The teacher will first have students share out some of the things they
wrote down for homework in terms of what they already know about
compare and contrast essays. (2 min)
c. The teacher will then hand out an example of a compare and contrast
essay to the students. She will explain that in groups they are to read the
essay and to jot down on chart paper all the things they notice about the
essay in terms of structure and content, listing things they think should be
included in an essay. (8 min)
d. She will have the students walk around and see what others noticed within
the essay. She will have students share out what they noticed. (5 min)
e. She will then explain that much like the argument essay, she will take
them through a compare and contrast essay. She will ask students what
they noticed specifically in the introduction, listing out some of the things
they noticed. The teacher will then highlight and label the components
that should be included in an introduction of a compare and contrast essay.
She will do the same for the body paragraphs and the conclusion. She will
highlight the essay in different colors so that students can visually see
what should be included. She will advise that students should be doing the
same. (10 min)
f. She will then pass out the compare and contrast outline and take the
students through this, highlighting/pointing out the necessary components
that should be included, having students reference the essay they have in
front of them. (5 min)
g. She will then pass out another essay for students. She will instruct them to
have the essay and outline sitting next to each other. They are to highlight
and label what should be included, what is being compared and contrasted.
She will go over this with the students, asking students about the specific
elements they highlighted (10 min)
h. She will then explain to students that they are going to switch gears. She
will explain that over the past few days they have read a few short stories
and now they are going to come up with an outline of their own science
fiction story. She will pass out a graphic organizer that will outline what
they have to think about: setting, characters, general plot, problem. She
will let then know that they have 15 minutes to create their outline. They
are to remember to include the elements of science fiction as they are
creating it. The teacher will provide cards with characters, times, places
etc. if the students get stuck. (15 min)
i. The students will then share the stories with each other and some with the
class. The students will vote among those in their group who had the best
story; those students will get tickets. (5 min)
2. Closure: The teacher will call the students attention back to the front of the
room. She will let students know that they are to fill out the C&C graphic
organizer using The Fun They Had and Sandcastles, with textual evidence (5
minutes)

Assessment
1. The students will be formally assessed based on the completion of their previous
nights homework
2. The students will be informally assessed based on their active and on-task
participation during todays class.

Homework
1. Complete the C&C graphic organizer for The Fun They Had and Sandcastles