Lesson 1 - Compare & Contrast Cookies

Eastern Connecticut State University Lesson Plan Format

 Second Grade - Ashford School

Content Standards:

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy - 2.9  Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g. Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures. 

Prior Knowledge/Connections:

• Students in this class have previously read variations of The Gingerbread Man as read alouds.  These books include The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School by Laura Murray, The Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett, The Gingerbread Girl by Lisa Campbell Ernst, The Gingerbread Girl Goes Animal Crackers by Lisa Campbell Ernst, The Gingerbread Bear by Robert Dennis, and The Stinky Cheese Man by Jon Scieszka.  They also read The Gingerbread Man  1976 Little Golden Book illustrated by Elfrieda.
• Students have had experience comparing and contrasting texts using Venn diagrams.

 

 Student Learning Objective(s):

• Students will locate and mark at least four similarities and four differences between two gingerbread man tales of their choice.  Students will then represent their findings in a Venn diagram.

 Vocabulary:

• Compare
• Contrast

 

Essential Question:

How does comparing two texts help to improve comprehension?

Assessment:

Students will complete a Venn diagram comparing two versions of The Gingerbread Man.

 

Materials/Resources:

-  Venn diagram worksheets
-  Variations of The Gingerbread Man text
-  Completed sample Venn diagram

-  The Gingerbread Man Little Golden Book
-  The Stinky Cheese Man by Jon Scieszka
-  Ticket to Leave
-  Two different colored Post-It notes
 

Learning Activities-

Initiation:

• Tell students that they will be discussing similarities and differences today in class.  Ask the students if they share any similarities with their best friends.  Allow students to share.  Ask students if there are any differences among themselves and their friends.  Discuss how an acknowledgement of similarities and differences can improve a relationship.  Explain to the students that these relationships do not only exist with people, but that they also exist in books.  

Lesson Procedures:

• Explain to the students that they will be comparing and contrasting two stories together as a class:  The Gingerbread Man and The Stinky Cheese Man.
• Reread The Gingerbread Man to the class.  Tell the students that you will now read The Stinky Cheese Man aloud.  Explain that as you read, you would like the students to stop you and make note of any similarities or differences with The Gingerbread Man.  When the students come up with a similarity, stick a green sticky note on that segment of the text.  If the students come up with a difference, mark the segment of text with a pink sticky note.
• After completing the reading of both texts, complete a Venn diagram together as a class.  Record similarities and differences between the texts using the sticky notes as a guide.
• Explain to the students that they will now be comparing and contrasting two different versions of The Gingerbread Man using the same technique that was modeled and done as a whole class.
• Break the students into groups of two or three to complete their Venn diagram.  Give each group of students two colors of sticky notes and two books.  Tell the students to begin rereading the stories and identifying similarities and differences.
• Walk around the classroom and monitor the students.  Assist where needed.

  

Closure:

• Ask students to share common themes throughout the books.  After sharing, ask the students if there was anything that all of the books had in common.  Question if the students have seen similar themes in books they have read in another class or for pleasure.
• Give students a ticket to leave before moving on to their next lesson.  On the ticket to leave, have students write down one thing they learned about either of the texts they read by completing the compare and contrast activity. 

 

Intervention:

• Ask students to focus on literal similarities and differences.  Were the main characters the same color?  Were they chased by similar animals?  Who caught the gingerbread person?

 

Enrichment:

• Ask students to focus on more inferential similarities and differences.  Why do you think the gingerbread person was running?  Were the gingerbread people in either of the stories doing the right thing?  What do you think the people would do with the gingerbread people if they were caught?  Was it morally okay for either of the gingerbread people to run away?