Home›Lesson Plans›English Language Arts›Reading: Informational Text · Grade 3

Compare & Contrast: How Things Are Alike and Different

Students sort details about two similar things into a Venn diagram — learning to see not just the obvious differences, but the surprising ways things overlap.

Grade 3Compare & Contrast45 minutes1 class periodReading WorkshopExplicit teaching4 StandardsCommon Core
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Compare two things (how they are alike).
  • ✓Contrast two things (how they differ).
  • ✓Sort details into a Venn diagram.
  • ✓Use signal words (both, but, however, unlike).
Essential Question

Frogs and toads look almost the same — so how are they different, and what do they share? Comparing carefully shows you both.

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Sort the Details · Interactive

Sort the Details

Project this and sort each detail about frogs and toads into “Only Frogs,” “Both,” or “Only Toads.” Tap a detail, then tap its zone — the tool checks your sort.

🐸 Sort each detail — alike or different?Try it
Only Frogs
Both
Only Toads
Tap a detail, then tap the zone where it belongs.
The Lesson · Reading Workshop (Mini-Lesson · Practice · Share)

45 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Connect — Alike or Different?

5 min

Frogs and toads — same or not?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Show frog and toad pictures.
  • Ask how they’re alike and different.
  • Set the goal: compare and contrast.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Compare the two animals.
  • Name one likeness and one difference.
  • Predict what a Venn diagram does.
2

Teach — Model the Venn

10 min

Teacher sorts details into a Venn.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Draw two overlapping circles.
  • Sort a few details: only, both, only.
  • Use signal words (both, but, unlike).

🎒 Student Actions

  • Watch the sorting.
  • See what “both” means.
  • Say a compare and a contrast sentence.
3

Active Engagement — Sort Together

12 min

Class uses Sort the Details.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Sort each detail into a zone.
  • Have students justify each placement.
  • Add signal words as you go.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Sort details into zones.
  • Explain each choice.
  • Use signal words.
4

Independent Practice — Your Turn

13 min

Students compare a new pair.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Give two similar topics to compare.
  • Ask for a Venn with 2–3 details each.
  • Write one compare + one contrast sentence.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Fill in a Venn diagram.
  • List likenesses and differences.
  • Write compare/contrast sentences.
5

Share — Share the Overlap

5 min

Students share a surprising “both.”

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Invite a surprising similarity.
  • Compare Venn diagrams.
  • Hand out the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Share a “both” detail.
  • Explain a difference.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.

CCSS
RI.3.9

Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic.

CCSS
RL.3.9

Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots of stories.

CCSS
RI.4.6

Compare and contrast a firsthand and secondhand account of the same event or topic.

CCSS
W.3.2

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas clearly.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Real objects or pictures to sort first.
  • Signal-word cards (both, but, unlike).
  • Sentence frame: “Both ___. But ___.”

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Compare two very different things first.
  • Provide a pre-drawn Venn diagram.
  • Give details on cards to place.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Compare two texts on the same topic.
  • Add a third circle for a third subject.
  • Write a full compare-and-contrast paragraph.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Projector / board
  • 📓Reading notebooks
  • 💻Sort the Details
  • 🖼️Picture pairs
  • ⭕Venn-diagram organizers
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

comparetell how things are alikecontrasttell how things are differentVenn diagramcircles that show likenesses/differencessimilaralike in some waydifferentnot the samebothshared by the twosignal worda word that shows comparisondetaila small fact
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
What does it mean to compare two things?
To tell how they are alike (their similarities).
QUESTION 2
Where do details that BOTH frogs and toads share go on a Venn diagram?
In the middle, where the two circles overlap.
QUESTION 3
Write one sentence that contrasts frogs and toads.
Sample: “Frogs have smooth, wet skin, but toads have dry, bumpy skin.”

Going deeper? Compare two texts.

Give students two short articles on the same animal and have them Venn-sort the facts each one includes. A printable Venn organizer is in the ELA library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Compare & ContrastFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Compare & ContrastQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Compare & ContrastPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: both, compare, contrast, detail, different, signal word, similar, Venn diagram
  1. tell how things are alike
  2. tell how things are different
  3. a small fact
  4. a word that shows comparison
  5. not the same
  6. alike in some way
  7. circles that show likenesses/differences
  8. shared by the two

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. What does it mean to compare two things?
  2. Where do details that BOTH frogs and toads share go on a Venn diagram?
  3. Write one sentence that contrasts frogs and toads.
Answer key — Part A: 1) compare · 2) contrast · 3) detail · 4) signal word · 5) different · 6) similar · 7) Venn diagram · 8) both
Part B: 1) To tell how they are alike (their similarities). 2) In the middle, where the two circles overlap. 3) Sample: “Frogs have smooth, wet skin, but toads have dry, bumpy skin.”