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Introduction to the Online
Compare/Contrast Activities
 Help
Lee Decide and What
Should Maria Do?
are an online activities for students in grades four and above,
particularly those who may be struggling with reading and
writing in content areas such as social studies and science.
The purpose of the activities is to help them develop skills
in comparing and contrasting.
 Go
to the Online Activities
Goals
of the Activities | Background Information
| Directions
Goals
of the Activities
In
these activities, students will learn:
- How
people compare and contrast to make judgements, decisions,
and choices
- How
using a grid (graphic table) can assist in organizing and
evaluating information that is being compared and contrasted
- How
using cues can help determine what elements (attributes)
are being compared
Background
Information
People
make comparisons all the time. Your child probably has lots
of informal experience with comparing things, such as deciding
on buying new clothes when he or she has only a limited amount
of money to spend. However, students need to learn how to
detect and evaluate similarities and differences they find
in their reading. They also need to learn how to present comparisons
clearly in writing.
When
you talk with your child about making comparisons, you probably
assume the need to identify both similarities and differences.
However, in this activity, we have chosen to use the term
compare/contrast as it is used in schools and curriculum standards.
In this case, compare refers to finding similarities, while
contrast refers to finding differences.
Compare/contrast
texts can be written in a variety of ways. As a result, there
is no single rule for reading and understanding such texts.
In addition, some school textbooks may not be written very
well. This activity presents your child with some strategies
to help understand the meaning of compare/contrast texts.
Visit our teacher section for more information on comparing
and contrasting.
Directions
The
tutorials present different students talking about their plans
for the summer. In the first tutorial, Lee is trying to decide
what job to choose by comparing the plans of his friends.
In the second, Maria has to decide between going to the Grand
Canyon or the beach for her summer trip. The students plan
to compare/contrast to make their decisions. They apply the
relevant strategies for comparing and contrasting. Your child
will follow the steps the students take. He or she will actually
participate in the process.
The
activities are self-directing and self-paced. Essentially
all that students need to do is launch an activity and follow
the cues.
You
can help your child in several ways:
- By
watching and participating in the activities, either separately
or with your child
- By
discussing the activities afterward with your child
- By
asking your child about the strategies used to make comparisons
in the activities
- By
helping your child use the strategies presented to make
personal choices
- By
talking about any strategies you might use to make comparisons
Feel
free to take advantage of all the information we have provided
for teachers. Many of the ideas, strategies, and teaching
suggestions can easily be implemented in the home, especially
those that help students with homework.
Go
to the Online Activities
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