Comparing and Contrasting

The process of comparing and contrasting is used to identify how two or more things are alike and different. The process helps readers clarify concepts and makes the information memorable (Allen, 2004). As a reading strategy, the process calls upon readers to think more deeply about what they are reading in order to determine these likenesses and differences. Comparing and contrasting are skills that are required across the curriculum.

A note about terminology: We know that frequently the term comparing, by itself, can mean the process of determining both how things are alike and how they are different. And we use the word this way in this reading strategy. But often in this reading strategy, we also use the term comparing and contrasting; and when we do, we are limiting the meaning of comparing to refer only to finding similarities and contrasting to refer to finding differences. Especially for younger students, it seems easier to learn the strategy by using two words to represent the two parts of the process.

Comparing and contrasting is implied throughout the standards and is a prerequisite skill to meeting the intended learning expectations of the following standards:

Reading

5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text relate to each other and the whole.
6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.

Writing

7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.

Speaking and Listening

2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
3. Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.

Language

3. Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.

One way of introducing the concept of comparing and contrasting to students is to have them state the similarities and differences between familiar objects. For example, you might ask, "How is a spoon like a fork? How is it different?" or "How is a cat like a dog? How is it different?" Then discuss with students why comparing and contrasting is important. Guide the discussion to help students understand that they can see things more clearly in their mind and remember them better after they have identified similarities and differences.

Graphic organizers can provide an effective means for students to gather and organize information in order to compare two or more characters, events, texts, themes, or concepts (Allen, 2004). Generally, students begin to make these comparisons with elements of stories such as characters, settings, story events, and plot lines. More sophisticated comparisons might include comparing lessons or themes of stories, comparing common elements, themes, or perspectives in works by a single author, comparing different versions of a story, and comparing concepts presented in expository texts (Harvey & Goudvis, 2007).

	Miss Nelson	Miss Viola Swamp
Is kind	X
Doesn't like story hour		X
Expects students to behave	X	X

By its nature, the process of comparing and contrasting hones observational skills in any subject area. In the following lesson ideas that cross the curriculum, the students will also add to their vocabulary and get practice in writing about comparisons.

Mathematics
Have students, working in pairs, draw two or three geometric shapes and describe how they are alike and different. This can be fairly simple—comparing and contrasting, say, a circle and a square. Or it can be more challenging—for example, comparing two kinds of triangles.

Science
Let students compare two kinds of animals—including physical characteristics, habitat, and range. Make it Ohio-specific—just choosing animals from our state.

Or have students observe two plants, which they have grown from seed, to compare and contrast their growth. They can keep a journal of their findings and present them in a poster at the end of the project.

Social Studies
Most students love to see how things were in the "old" days. Find photos or newpaper stories about what the community looked like 50 or more years ago. If you can, include pictures of the school. Have students compare and contrast—through discussion, writing, drawing, and even creating simple maps—what things looked like then and now.

The Arts
For students who are auditorily attuned, you can have them compare two pieces of music—or even play two pieces of music—and write a "newspaper review" of the similarities and differences. Or mix in the arts by having students compare paintings or photographs; this could even involve a bit of research about the artists.

The possibilities are almost endless for integrating content areas.

The following list presents resources from the ORC Collection along with links to the records as well as direct links to the resources. Why go to the record rather than straight to the link? The records are time savers. In a short paragraph, they provide a peer-reviewed commentary about the resource so you can decide if you want to further pursue it. You will also find standards alignment and other pertinent information—plus a link to the resource.

Students can be taught suffixes in words describing objects (big, bigger, biggest or tall, taller, tallest).

You can also teach vocabulary words that signal that a comparison or contrast is about to be made in text. The following is a list of some of these terms. A more complete list can be found in The Reading Teacher's Book of Lists (Fry, Kress, & Fountoukidis, 2000).

Contrast	Compare
although	alike
instead of	same as
however	similar to
but not	compared with
different from	as well as

You can also post a class list and add to it as students discover other "clue" words.

Try the "solve the word mystery" game. Each day put a pair of words on the board, and ask the students to think about how they are alike and different. You might pair homophones such as dear and deer, in which case the answer would be that they sound alike but have different meanings. You could use synonyms such as buy and purchase. And be prepared for some off-the-wall answers when students see likenesses and differences that you didn't imagine.

Graphic organizers which have been introduced and practiced in whole-group or small-group settings can easily be used in a literacy center in order to provide additional independent or paired practice. Selections used should be either familiar or at the students' easy reading level.

A wide variety of literacy center activities can be accessed at the Florida Center for Reading Research website. Student center activities are arranged by grade bands K–1, 2–3, and 4–5 and then by component. The following is a list of center activities addressing comparing and contrasting at each grade band under the heading of "comprehension":

K–1
C.008: Narrative Text Structure
C.013: Hoop-A-Story Venn Diagram

2–3
C.002: Compare-A-Character
C.010: Compare-A-Story
C.021: Compare and Contrast

4–5
C.002: Character Connections
C.003: Check-A-Trait
C.010: Side-by-Side Stories

Modeling and initial instruction can easily be introduced in whole-group settings. Small-group instruction may be necessary in order to meet the needs of students who are still struggling with comparing and contrasting. Instructional levels of texts used in lessons can also be varied to meet the individual reading levels of all students.

Student's written work and completed graphic organizers provide excellent sources for assessing students' understandings of the comparing and contrasting process.