Finding Similarities and

Differences
Third Grade Reading

by Caitlin Hardeman April 17, 2018

Good readers analyze texts by looking at similarities and differences. Use this lesson to teach your students to
compare and contrast the story elements of two fiction texts.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to compare and contrast the story elements in two fiction texts.

Materials and preparation Key terms

Class set of the Venn Diagram Graphic story elements

Organizer worksheet compare
Teacher copy of the Compare Similar Stories contrast
worksheet
Class set of the Comparing Two Fiction Texts
worksheet
Two picture books in a series by the same
author, such as Those Darn Squirrels by Adam
Rubin and Those Darn Squirrels Fly South by
Adam Rubin

Attachments

Venn Diagram Graphic Organizer (PDF)

Compare Similar Stories (PDF)
Comparing Two Fiction Texts (PDF)

Introduction (3 minutes)

Ask students to think about what it means to compare and contrast two things. Allow students to discuss
and share answers.
Accept answers and clarify that when we compare and contrast, we look at what is the same and
different about two things. Share that we do this in our everyday lives as we look at weather, people,
food, cars, and situations. Explain that good readers do this as they read.
Read aloud the student objective with the class.
EL

Beginning:

Allow students to use their home language (L1) or their new language (L2) when discussing what it
means to compare and contrast two things.
Contrast two things that are familiar to ELs to model the academic language used in comparing and
contrasting.

Intermediate: Ask a student to summarize the meaning of compare and contrast after the teacher provides an
explanation.

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Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling (15 minutes)

Explain to the class that today’s lesson will be about the story elements in two fiction texts, and how they
are similar and different. Review that story elements are the different parts that make up a fiction
story, such as the characters, setting, problem, events, and solution.
Display a copy of the Venn Diagram Graphic Organizer worksheet. Explain that this is a common graphic
organizer that we use to compare and contrast two things. When we compare we are looking for the
similarities, or the things the two texts have in common. When we contrast we are looking at the
differences between the two texts.
Go over key words that we use when we compare things, such as both, same, similar, similarities, also,
alike. Share key words to use when we contrast things, such as different, differ, differences, but, unlike.
Model filling out the Venn Diagram Graphic Organizer worksheet with information about the story
elements of two stories using only the texts from the Compare Similar Stories worksheet. Focus on the
characters, setting, and events. Underline the information in the text, and rephrase it on the graphic
organizer. Point out that this graphic organizer does not require complete sentences.
EL

Beginning: Have students discuss examples of comparing and contrasting. Allow them to talk to a partner in
their L1 or L2.

Intermediate:

Provide a student-friendly definition with images for each of the story elements.
Write the key words on the board for student reference throughout the lesson.

Guided Practice (20 minutes)

Distribute a copy of the Venn Diagram Graphic Organizer worksheet to each student and share the titles
of the two books that will be used in today’s lesson.
Invite students to a common space in the classroom and display the two picture books that you will be
reading aloud, such as Those Darn Squirrels by Adam Rubin and Those Darn Squirrels Fly South by Adam
Rubin, so students can see the covers.
Read aloud the first book and point out information about the characters, setting, and important events
that you will want to remember while reading the second book. Then, read aloud the second book and
stop periodically to guide students in filling out the Venn Diagram Graphic Organizer worksheet.
Continue with the read aloud and completion of the Venn Diagram Graphic Organizer worksheet, but
allow the class to take the lead in the discussion and determination of important information to include.
Show students how to discuss the similarities and differences of the two texts in a discussion format by
using the keywords for comparing and contrasting. For example, "A similarity in the texts is that they are
both about the squirrels. However, the setting is different in the texts because ____."
EL

Beginning: Provide a partially completed graphic organizer for students, as well as a word bank of words and
phrases that they can use to complete the rest of it.

Intermediate: Give students sentence frames to use as they discuss important information, such as "This is
important because ____."

Independent working time (15 minutes)

Distribute a copy of the Comparing Two Fiction Texts worksheet. Instruct students to read the texts
independently and complete the Venn diagram in which they will compare and contrast the characters,
setting, and events.
EL

Beginning: Allow students to complete the work in a small, teacher-led group. Offer support by reading aloud

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the text and answering any student questions.

Intermediate: Have students read aloud the texts to a partner.

Related books and/or media

Find interactive books for each child’s level.

Differentiation

Support:

Support struggling readers by allowing them to read aloud the texts in the independent work section in
partnerships.
Provide a word bank for students to access and place items on the Venn diagram graphic organizers.
Display the following sentence stems:
Both texts _____.
A similarity in the texts is _____.
A difference between the two texts is _____.
The texts are different because _____.
Have students color code the text and the graphic organizer to see how the types of information are
connected.

Enrichment: Challenge advanced students to find two texts from the same author to compare and contrast.
Have them read the texts in partners and complete a Venn diagram. Instruct them to focus on comparing and
contrasting the characters, setting, events, and theme in the two stories.

Assessment (5 minutes)

Put students into A-B partnerships to go over the Venn diagram from the Comparing Two Fiction Texts
worksheet. Instruct them to go over what they wrote in the Venn diagram, putting a checkmark next to
items that match between them and discussing any discrepancies they find.
Collect the independent work from students to serve as a formative assessment.
EL

Beginning: Pair students with a sympathetic partner, or one who speaks the same L1, if possible.

Intermediate: Provide the following sentence frames for discussion, "A similarity is ____." and "A difference is
___."

Review and closing (2 minutes)

Call on nonvolunteers to share the process that good readers use to compare and contrast. Ask, "How do
good readers effectively compare and contrast when reading two texts?"
Prompt students to think about why it is important for readers to be able to compare and contrast two
different fiction texts. Review the key words we use for comparing and contrasting.
EL

Beginning: Have students talk to a partner in L1 or L2 before sharing with the whole group.

Intermediate:

Provide a sentence frame for the discussion, such as: "Good readers compare and contrast when reading
two texts by ____."
Ask students to summarize the main purpose of the lesson in their own words.

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 Compare 2 different stories (or characters) to see how they are similar or different.
Venn Diagram:

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Name: Date:

• Compare Similar Stories •

When you compare two fiction texts, pay attention to the characters, setting, and plot.
What do the stories have in common? What is different about the stories?

Directions: Read the texts below and answer the questions that follow.

TEXT 1 TEXT 2

E lias was assigned a big project in his social studies

class. He did not want to complete it. He knew it
was a lot of work. He thought the project would be
boring. Elias had two weeks until the due date.
Elias could have gone home and started the project. In-
stead, he put it off. He went skateboarding with his friends
at the park, and he played video games with his brother.
When his mom suggested he clean his room, Elias happily
cleaned. He chose to do anything other than the project.
Elias suddenly panicked as he remembered the due date.
The project was due tomorrow! He hadn’t even started.
He was too afraid to tell his mom. She would not be happy
about this. Immediately, Elias wished that he had been
more responsible.
A nita and the alarm clock were not friends. Each
morning she groaned as the alarm clock buzzed.
Her morning routine included hitting the snooze
button four or five times. Then her dad would come in and
announce that she was running out of time and she needed
to get up immediately. It was the same thing every day.
“If you don’t get moving right now, you’re going to miss
the bus,” dad stated. “Then I’m going to have to drive you
to school. I’ll miss my morning meeting at work.” The
stern look on his face told Anita that he was not playing
around.
Anita dragged herself out of bed and went through the
motions of getting ready for school. As she grabbed her
breakfast and backpack, she heard the roar of the school
bus as it passed her house.
She had officially missed the bus.

1. How is Elias different from Anita?

2. How is Elias’s problem similar to Anita’s problem?

3. Part A: What lesson does Anita learn in Text 2?

Part B: How is this the same as the lesson Elias learned in Text 1?

4. How are the settings in Text 1 and Text 2 the same?

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Name: Date:

• Comparing Two Fiction Texts •

When you compare two fiction texts, pay attention to the characters, setting, and plot.
What do the stories have in common? What is different about the stories?

Directions: Read the texts below and answer the questions that follow.

TEXT 1 TEXT 2

T oday was the Valentine’s Party at school. Marcela

had decorated her box so she could store her
candy and cards in it. When she got home from
school, her sister Janet was waiting anxiously. Janet stayed
home from school because she was sick. She missed her
class party. She couldn’t wait to hear about Marcela’s
party. She hoped she would share some candy, too.
Marcela walked right past her sister. She had no plan to
give her any of the candy that she had earned herself. If
Janet wanted candy, she would have to use her allowance
money. Then she could buy some for herself.
“Get out of my way,” Marcela said to Janet. She went
straight to the kitchen table to dump out her box. She
loved going through the candy and reading the cards.
This was the best part! Janet watched as Marcela smiled
and talked about the Valentine’s Party. Marcela put her
arm out so her sister could not touch any of the candy.
Just then, their mother walked into the kitchen. She
noticed that Marcela was being rude. She noticed that
Janet’s feelings were hurt.
“Marcela,” their mother said. “ You need to think about
sharing with Janet. She was home sick today and didn’t
get to go to her class party. How would you feel if that
were you?”
J ason was the star soccer player for his team, and
games were every Thursday after school. Today was
game day and he was eager to continue his scoring
streak. Playing forward meant that he had many
opportunities to control the ball. He scored in every
game of the season so far. The only problem was that he
never let anyone else get a chance to shine.
“Pass! Jason! I’m ready,” shouted Marco as he ran down
the field. None of the other team’s players were near him.
He wanted to score a goal, but Jason wouldn’t pass the
ball. Marco grew frustrated as he ran and yelled. Why
didn’t Jason want him to have the ball?
Jason kept the ball close to his feet as he ran past his
opponents. He heard Marco yelling, but he ignored him.
Jason was so close to scoring a goal, and he loved the
feeling when he scored.
The referee blew her whistle and announced that it was
halftime. The players ran to the team benches where they
would drink water and take a rest as they gathered as a
team to listen to their coach.
“Gosh, Jason,” whispered Marco. “Don’t be such a ball
hog. It’s not fun being on a team with you.”
“Listen guys,” Coach Terry said. “I need you to pass the
ball. Soccer is a team sport. If you can’t be a team player,
you can’t be on this team. In order to win this game, we
have to play together. That means paying attention to who
is open and passing the ball.”
Jason hung his head as he realized that Marco and
Coach Terry were right. He needed to change his style as
a soccer player and be a better sport. When he got back in
the game, he would pass the ball to his teammates. It was
time to give them a chance to know how great it feels to
score a goal.

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Name: Date:

Comparing Two Fiction Texts

When you compare two fiction texts, pay attention to the characters, setting, and plot.
What do the stories have in common? What is different about the stories?

TEXT 1 TEXT 2
Characters Characters

Characters

Setting Setting
Setting

Events
Events Events

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