• 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. Octopuses are clever problem-solvers. In aquariums they have unscrewed jar lids to reach food and escaped from their tanks. Scientists think their large brains and flexible arms help them explore and learn. Which is the best summary? (Octopuses are smart animals that can solve problems, helped by their large brains and flexible arms. / One octopus opened a jar. / Octopuses are scary. / Octopuses live in aquariums.) → Octopuses are smart animals that can solve problems, helped by their large brains and flexible arms.Prompt: A summary is short and covers the WHOLE text, not just one part.
2. Every morning, an old fox watched the farm from the hill. One winter, when the snow was deep, the farmer's daughter left scraps by the fence. The fox never touched the hens again, and each spring it brought its cubs to the hill to watch the farm. Which is the best summary of the story? (It snowed a lot one winter. / Foxes like to sit on hills. / A girl's kindness to a hungry fox in winter makes the fox leave the farm's hens alone. / The fox had cubs.) → A girl's kindness to a hungry fox in winter makes the fox leave the farm's hens alone.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? (Wind turbines are the best invention ever. / There is a generator in the tower. / Turbines have blades. / Wind turbines use spinning blades to make clean electricity, but only when it is windy.) → 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
• Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

1. 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? (Both play the piano. / Both won a race. / Both gave up. / Both worked hard and succeeded.) → Both worked hard and succeeded.Prompt: Read both texts and note what each says about the same topic.
2. Which signal word or phrase shows a DIFFERENCE? (similarly / on the other hand / in the same way / likewise) → on the other handPrompt: Try the word in a sentence: 'Cats purr; ___, dogs bark.'

• 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.

• 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? (in the same way / unlike / whereas / however) → in the same wayPrompt: Try the word in a sentence: 'Cats purr; ___, dogs bark.'
2. 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? (the food they eat / their eyes and ears / the number of toes / their skin and their legs) → their skin and their legsPrompt: Read both texts and note what each says about the same topic.

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