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English lesson plan · 5th grade (Year 6 in England) · 45 minutes

Compare and contrast: how are they alike and different?

Reading Comprehension

CCSS RI.5.3CCSS RL.5.3CCSS RL.5.9England: Y5/6 Reading (comparing within and across texts)England: KS2 SATs Reading

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Compare and contrast: how are they alike and different?.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Choose the best summary of a short text

Leads to: the next skill in this area.

Materials: A short text or extract (one copy each), Highlighters, Question cards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 5 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Choose the best summary of a short text). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. In 2021, a small town opened a 'repair café'. Once a month, volunteers fix broken toasters, toys and bikes for free. In its first year, the café saved over two tonnes of items from being thrown away. Which is the best summary? (The café opened in Wales. / Repair cafés are better than shops. / Volunteers fix toasters. / A town's monthly repair café fixes broken items for free and has kept tonnes of things out of the rubbish.) → A town's monthly repair café fixes broken items for free and has kept tonnes of things out of the rubbish.Prompt: A summary is short and covers the WHOLE text, not just one part.
  2. When the class robot, Bolt, broke down the day before the science fair, Jai wanted to give up. Instead, his team stayed after school, found a loose wire, and rebuilt Bolt's arm. At the fair, Bolt sorted coloured blocks perfectly and the team won second prize. Which is the best summary of the story? (Bolt sorted coloured blocks. / Jai's team fixes their broken robot in time and does well at the science fair. / Jai wanted to give up. / There was a loose wire.) → Jai's team fixes their broken robot in time and does well at the science fair.Prompt: A summary is short and covers the WHOLE text, not just one part.
  3. Wind turbines turn moving air into electricity. The wind spins the blades, which turn a generator inside the tower. Wind power does not burn fuel, so it does not release smoke, but turbines only work when the wind blows. Which is the best summary? (Turbines have blades. / Wind turbines use spinning blades to make clean electricity, but only when it is windy. / Wind turbines are the best invention ever. / There is a generator in the tower.) → Wind turbines use spinning blades to make clean electricity, but only when it is windy.Prompt: A summary is short and covers the WHOLE text, not just one part.

Hook · 5 min

  • Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
  • Share the objective: Compare and contrast: how are they alike and different?. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 10 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Story A: Priya trained every morning before school and won the cross-country race. Story B: Tom rehearsed the piano every evening and played perfectly at the concert. How are Priya and Tom ALIKE?
  • Step 1: Comparing means finding what is the same; contrasting means finding what is different.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: Both worked hard and succeeded.
  • Answer: Both worked hard and succeeded.
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 10 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. Text A: Bats are mammals that fly at night and use echoes to find insects. Text B: Dolphins are mammals that live in the sea and use echoes to find fish. How are bats and dolphins ALIKE? (Both live in the sea. / Both are mammals that use echoes to find food. / Both eat insects. / Both fly at night.) → Both are mammals that use echoes to find food.Prompt: Read both texts and note what each says about the same topic.
  2. Which signal word or phrase shows a SIMILARITY? (unlike / whereas / similarly / on the other hand) → similarlyPrompt: Try the word in a sentence: 'Cats purr; ___, dogs bark.'

You do: independent practice · 10 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 5 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. Which signal word or phrase shows a SIMILARITY? (whereas / unlike / similarly / however) → similarlyPrompt: Try the word in a sentence: 'Cats purr; ___, dogs bark.'
  2. Text A: Bats are mammals that fly at night and use echoes to find insects. Text B: Dolphins are mammals that live in the sea and use echoes to find fish. How are bats and dolphins ALIKE? (Both live in the sea. / Both fly at night. / Both are mammals that use echoes to find food. / Both eat insects.) → Both are mammals that use echoes to find food.Prompt: Read both texts and note what each says about the same topic.

Watch out for

  • Answering from memory or opinion instead of evidence in the text.
  • Copying a long quote without explaining what it shows.

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Choose the best summary of a short text.
  • Use concrete materials: a short text or extract (one copy each).
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-5.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

eurekami

Compare and contrast: how are they alike and different?

Name

Date

Score/ 8

Should Our School Keep Bees?

Letter A: Yes to bees! Our school should put two beehives on the flat roof above the library. Bees pollinate fruit, vegetables and wildflowers, and in many places their numbers have fallen. A school hive would give local bees a safe home. It would also turn our roof into a living science lesson: we could study how a colony works, measure how much honey it makes, and plant bee-friendly flowers in the playground. Several schools near us already keep bees, and the beekeepers say pupils are never near the hives, because the roof is locked. Letter B: Not so fast. I agree that bees are important, but I do not think hives are right for our school yet. Some pupils and staff are allergic to bee stings, and even a locked roof is close to open windows. Hives also need an expert to check them every week, and no one at school has that training. Instead, we could help bees in safer ways: plant a wildflower strip by the fence, build a bug hotel, and invite a beekeeper to visit with an observation hive behind glass. If, after a year, we find a trained volunteer, we could think about hives again.

  1. Question 1

    Read "Should Our School Keep Bees?". What is the main DIFFERENCE between the two letters?

    • A. Letter B wants more hives than Letter A.
    • B. Both letters want the same thing.
    • C. Letter A dislikes bees; Letter B loves them.
    • D. Letter A wants hives now; Letter B prefers safer ways to help bees first.

  2. Question 2

    Read "Should Our School Keep Bees?". What do BOTH letters agree on?

    • A. The school should put hives on the roof now.
    • B. Bees are important and worth helping.
    • C. The library should move.
    • D. Bees are dangerous and should be avoided.

  1. Question 3

    Text A: Frogs have smooth, moist skin and long back legs for leaping. Text B: Toads have dry, bumpy skin and shorter legs for hopping and walking. How are frogs and toads DIFFERENT?

    • A. the food they eat
    • B. their skin and their legs
    • C. their eyes and ears
    • D. the number of toes

  2. Question 4

    Which signal word or phrase shows a SIMILARITY?

    • A. on the other hand
    • B. similarly
    • C. however
    • D. unlike

  3. Question 5

    Text A: Bats are mammals that fly at night and use echoes to find insects. Text B: Dolphins are mammals that live in the sea and use echoes to find fish. How are bats and dolphins ALIKE?

    • A. Both eat insects.
    • B. Both live in the sea.
    • C. Both fly at night.
    • D. Both are mammals that use echoes to find food.

  4. Question 6

    Text A: Crocodiles have long, narrow, V-shaped snouts. Text B: Alligators have wide, rounded, U-shaped snouts. How are the two animals DIFFERENT?

    • A. how many legs they have
    • B. the colour of their eggs
    • C. where they sleep
    • D. the shape of their snouts

  5. Question 7

    Story A: Priya trained every morning before school and won the cross-country race. Story B: Tom rehearsed the piano every evening and played perfectly at the concert. How are Priya and Tom ALIKE?

    • A. Both won a race.
    • B. Both play the piano.
    • C. Both worked hard and succeeded.
    • D. Both gave up.

  6. Question 8

    Text A: The Moon has no air, so it has no wind, clouds or rain. Text B: Earth has air, which brings wind, clouds and rain. What is the main DIFFERENCE between the Moon and Earth in these texts?

    • A. Earth has no clouds.
    • B. Both have rain.
    • C. The Moon is bigger than Earth.
    • D. Earth has air and weather; the Moon does not.

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Answer key: Compare and contrast: how are they alike and different?

  1. 1. D. Letter A wants hives now; Letter B prefers safer ways to help bees first.

  2. 2. B. Bees are important and worth helping.

  3. 3. B. their skin and their legs

  4. 4. B. similarly

  5. 5. D. Both are mammals that use echoes to find food.

  6. 6. D. the shape of their snouts

  7. 7. C. Both worked hard and succeeded.

  8. 8. D. Earth has air and weather; the Moon does not.