One of the important skills for young readings is to compare and contrast the stories they are reading. For the 2nd grade Common Core State Standard, students need to compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story. Today I’m sharing 3 comparing and contrasting lesson plan ideas that will engage 2nd grade students.

But before we get into those ideas, let’s talk about a fun introduction, or attention getter, you can do with your students.

 

Comparing and Contrasting Lesson Plan

 

Place out two stuffed animals or display two similar pictures and have students say all the things that are the same about them. Record these in a Venn Diagram. Also mention that when you are looking for things that are the same, you are comparing. 

Then have students say the things that are different about them. Record what they say in the Venn Diagram. Make sure to mention that when you look for things that are different, it is called contrasting. Then mention to students that you will be doing that with stories that you will be reading.

Now let’s get into the different compare and contrast reading activities you can do.

 

Compare and Contrast Lesson Plans

 

Book Compared to Other Versions of the Book

This is the one that matches the standard the best. When you read through the standard it even gives you an example of using Cinderella stories by different authors or from different cultures. 

I love to do this with the story of the three little pigs. There are so many fun versions that you can share with students and easily turn into a compare and contrast reading lesson.

First start by reading a traditional version of the three little pigs stories. If you don’t own a version, don’t worry. There are plenty of versions you can use for free on getepic.com. Just search for “three little pigs” and lots of versions will come up. Read through the story with your students. Tell them to pay attention to details because you will read another version of the three little pigs together and compare and contrast them.

Then display a Venn Diagram and give students a worksheet with that Venn Diagram as well. I have a comparing and contrasting worksheet I use with my 2nd grade students. It has large enough circles for students to actually write in. You can use it with any stories because students write the titles on the lines above the circles. I give each student one of these and display it using our projector.

Then I read to students The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas. As we read, I tell students to raise their hand when they see something the same as the traditional story and raise their hand if they notice something different than the traditional story. We take a moment to write down those thoughts on our worksheet. Find the worksheet we use here.

It’s so fun to see how many things students come up with. They catch onto comparing and contrasting really fast when teaching it this way.

You can take it one step further by reading another version of the three little pigs and having students compare and contrast some more. Another fun version that students love is The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka. This one is available on getepic.com as an audio book.

There are lots of fun versions of original fairy tales you can do for these comparing and contrasting lesson plans ideas. You can do different versions of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, The Emperor’s New Clothes, and so many more.

Find the worksheets I use with my students here.

 

Book Compared to Scientific Explanations

For this compare and contrast lesson plan, you need to find legends and folktales that explain why things happen in the world. Then you are going to compare it to the scientific explanation of why that actually happens.

Let me share with you one example of what you can do.

You can do this with the scientific concept of why it rains. First read a folktale or legend about why it rains. I like the story Frog Brings Rain by Patricia Hruby Powell. This is a retelling of a Navajo folktale. This tells a story of a fire coming towards a village and First Man and First Woman ask different animals to help them put out the fire, but these animals keep coming up with excuses for why they shouldn’t help. FInally they ask the frog, and he puts out the fire by bringing rain. 

Read this story with your students and remind them to pay attention to details because you are going to compare and contrast why it rains scientifically.

After that, read a nonfiction text that explains why it rains. I like the book What Makes it Rain by Patrick Perish. You can find this book on getepic.com.

As you read it, have a Venn Diagram drawn up on the whiteboard and hand out my comparing and contrasting worksheet for students. As you read, have students raise their hand when they find things similar and find things different. Record their answers in the Venn Diagram and have them write these on their worksheet as well.

Remember, you can do this with any folktale and scientific explanation. Find the worksheets I use with my worksheets here.

 

Book Compared to Movie

This is probably my students favorite out of all the comparing and contrasting lesson plan ideas I have shared in this post.

With this, you read your students a book that has a movie for the story as well. Then you fill out the comparing and contrasting worksheet together.

This is a fun one to do around halloween time. I read to my students The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin. I tell them to pay attention to details because we will watch the movie and compare and contrast.

There is a movie of this book on Netflixs. I like to watch it with my students on Halloween as a fun activity. Afterwards we fill out the worksheet of things that are the same and things that are different. The movie is only 40 minutes long so it’s nice that it doesn’t take up a bunch of class time. This movie is also rated G. Read about more extension activities you can do with this book here in this blog post: 6 of the Best Halloween Read Alouds for 2nd Grade

You can do this with a lot of read alouds or novels you read with your students. Matilda by Roald Dahl and The One and Only Ivan by Katerine Applegate are both stories that my students love, plus there are movies of them.

I hope this post has given you lots of ideas of compare and contrast reading activities you can do with your 2nd grade students. As you practice this more or more as a class, students will become more independent with this reading strategy. You can assess students’ knowledge by reading two stories and have them fill out a compare and contrast worksheet by themselves. It’s great to see what students come up with by themselves.

The worksheets I have shared with you are only one of the comprehension reading strategies worksheets I use with my students. I have worksheets that match each 2nd grade Common Core State Standard perfectly for reading literature. There are worksheets to help students practice important comprehension skills like using questioning, illustrations, point of view, story structure, and so much more. Find these worksheets here.

Even though it has been so fun sharing these comparing and contrasting lesson plan ideas, I love to help 1st and 2nd grade teachers get their students to math fact fluency. To do this, I have a free resource for you! Get your copy of my free worksheet for teachers: The 7 Steps to Ensure Math Fact Fluency

Download your copy here.