Name: Hannah Broder

Lesson # 1 of _1_ Title of Unit and Lesson: Comparing/Contrasting

Duration of Lesson: 30 Grade Level(s): 1 Subject(s): Literacy/ELA
[Plan 3-5 consecutive literacy lessons. Lesson plans should be detailed enough that a substitute teacher could implement them. Each lesson plan should be no more than
4 pages. Provide citations for all materials you did not create. List citations by lesson number at the end of Planning Commentary.)

Central Focus of Unit: The central focus should support students in developing an essential literacy strategy and the requisite skills
for comprehending or composing text in meaningful contexts. The content focus addresses what you want your students to learn
about the topic (content knowledge). All your lesson plans should address this central focus. Consider: What do you want your 
students to learn? What are the important understandings and core concepts you want students to develop?
Essential Literacy Strategy Focus: Recall key details from two texts and verbally distinguish similarities and
differences. Also, to successfully complete a Venn Diagram and individual worksheet comparing and
contrasting the two texts.

Related Skills (skills that support the use of the strategy): Listening skills to show comprehension of the key
points in the text in order to differentiate what is similar and what is different. Interpreting the Venn Diagram
to complete a worksheet comparing the two stories.

Content Focus: Listening to two different stories by different authors and with different characters but
understanding and comprehending there are similarities between them.

Standards: List CCSS and/or relevant state-adopted content area standards. Include the number and text of each standard that is
being addressed. If only a portion of a standard is being addressed, then strike though the portions that are not relevant.

CCSS ELA R.1.9 - Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in stories.

CCSS ELA R.1.7 - Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.

Instructional Learning Objectives: Objectives are what  Assessments: How will students demonstrate their learning? List
students will be able to do as a result of this lesson. These  the formal/informal assessments used to monitor student learning
objectives will directly support and align to the Central Focus.  of each objective.
They should also align with standards, instructional activities, 
and assessments.  Write objectives using clear, measureable 
terminology. 
Students will verbally compare and contrast the After reading two stories, students will be prompted to
components of two stories. share out what is the same and what is different
between the characters, setting, plot etc. in the story.

Informal assessment: pair-share and share out to class.

Students will orally complete an anchor chart Venn Students will be called on to share out loud details
Diagram about the two stories. from the story to fill out a Venn Diagram as a class

Informal assessment: kid-formulated ideas presented

to place on the Venn Diagram
Students will formulate and write their own compare Students will complete their worksheets.
and contrast ideas and draw a picture about the stories.
Informal assessment: completion of the sentences

Language Function and Demands: Consider the importance of speaking/listening/reading and/or writing as a part of all learning. Make sure you provide
students with opportunities to practice using the language function in ways that support the essential strategy.
Language Function: Identify at least one language function Additional Language Demands: Identify additional language
essential for students to develop and practice the literacy strategy demands required to achieve the objectives. Address vocabulary
within your central focus. This language function should be or key phrases. Also, address syntax or discourse.
derived from the objectives.
Speaking Compare
Identifying similarities in text Contrast
Identifying differences in text Similarities
Organizing thoughts into Venn Diagram Differences
Characters
Setting
Plot

“The stories are different because…”

“The stories are the same because…”

Resources and Materials: List all resources and materials necessary to complete this lesson. Submit key instructional materials (no
more than 5 additional pages per lesson plan).
The Gingerbread Man by Parragon Books
The Runaway Tortilla by Eric Kimmel
Anchor chart
Markers
Worksheet with sentence starters
Pencils
Crayons

Student Prior Knowledge: Describe the knowledge, skills, personal/cultural assets your students already have related to the
instructional learning objectives, language expectations, and activities of this lesson. What do they know? What can they do? What
are they still learning to do? Make clear connections to their skills and knowledge.
Students have learned how to verbally identify the characters, settings and plot of a story. They know how to
respond to teacher prompts about the story during a class reading. The students have had one lesson on
comparing and contrasting two stories. They have worked with Venn Diagrams, however, have not used a
Venn Diagram to compare and contrast two stories.

Instructional Strategies and Learning Tasks to Support Student Learning: Describe lesson procedure in sequential and detailed steps. Design instructional 
strategies, learning tasks, and assessments that will support student learning and language use. Consider how your teaching is supported by research and theory.

Introduction/Anticipatory Set: How will you introduce the lesson to students? How will you build on their prior learning or knowledge?
Transition from Previous Activity: How We will all be sitting on the carpet and I will ask if anyone can give me an example of
will you transition students from the prior a character in a story. I will do the same review process for setting and plot so the
activity/learning to this lesson? How will students are prepped for the following lesson.
you incorporate or build on students’ prior
knowledge? (Review.)
Hook/Purpose for Learning: What The students LOVE the story of the Gingerbread Man. So I will ask
experiences/backgrounds and/or interests them… “what is one of our favorite stories to read in class?” Once they
do students bring that could be used to
excite students to the activity? How will you
have guessed the prompted story, I will then go on to tell them that “I
set learning expectations for your students? have found ANOTHER story that is kind of similar to The Gingerbread
(Introduce) Man and we are going to read it today and see which what is the same
and what is different!”

Focused Instruction (Modeling): How will you present/teach the content and skills to your students?
Toward the beginning of the day, I will complete a read-aloud with the book The Gingerbread Man. To set up
the lesson that will occur later in the day I will tell the students,
“I am going to read you a wonderful story right now and I want you to have your listening ears turned alllllll
the way up! While I am reading, pay close attention to the characters, the setting and what is happening in the
story. The reason is because later today, I am going to read you another story and we are going to compare and
contrast the two stories. Compare means, what is the SAME. Contrast means, what is DIFFERENT.”

When I say the words ‘compare’ or ‘same’ I will hold my hands palm-up and move them toward each other as
a symbol for them to remember. When I say the words ‘contrast’ or ‘different’ I will hold my hands palm up
and move one hand up and one down to visually represent that term. The students have learned these hand
motions previously however, the words ‘compare’ and ‘contrast’ are new to them.

While I am reading this story, I will give small hints or vocal “stresses” when some similarities or differences
occur throughout. In the beginning of the story, I will model my thinking for the first character. For example,
“Okay, great! I can see that the first pig has a RED scarf and…….Okay, I am going to remember that for later
up in my brain”

Later in the afternoon, I will continue the lesson by reading the second story, The Runaway Tortilla, to the class
as a read-aloud. Before beginning, I will prompt the class to remember specific details from the first story and
to keep those in their brains when we read the second story. I will also remind them of the hand signals for
COMPARE and CONTRAST.

Differentiating/Scaffolds – Refer to Context for Learning. How will you further support students who need more instruction beyond what you just provided? How 
will you differentiate instruction for specific groups or individuals? (IEPs/504 plans/English Learners/Struggling Readers/Underperforming Students/Gifted Students)
- Hand signals will help provide a visual for the new terms for any students who have trouble
remembering the definitions of “compare” and “contrast”
- Students who have a hard time sitting still during story time will be toward the front of the carpet near
me so I can make sure they are on task.
- One student will have her stuffed animal dog in his lap so his hands can keep busy and he can focus on
the story.

Guided Instruction/Practice: How will you provide student opportunities to practice what you taught in a supportive and
collaborative learning environment?

Once both stories have been read aloud to the class we will begin the pair-share portion of the lesson. I will
bring both stories out and place them on the easel so they can clearly see the book covers.

I will have already prepared a large Venn Diagram on an Anchor Chart with the two book titles on each portion
of the diagram. There will be an array of colored markers for me to use as well to represent colors in the story
that may be similar or different.

I will then instruct the class to try and think of some ways the stories are the different (using the hand motions
as well). I will ask the students to share their idea with a friend next to them. Once they have shared, I will
have students raise their hands and share their ideas out loud. When they mention a correct difference, I will
open the story books to the correct pages to display the contrast visually. Each time a child mentions a
difference, I will write it clearly on the anchor chart.

Following the completion of the differences, the children will then pair-share and share out some similarities
and I will proceed to write them on the anchor chart.

Differentiating/Scaffolds – Refer to Context for Learning. How will you further support students who need more instruction beyond what you just provided? How 
will you differentiate instruction for specific groups or individuals? (IEPs/504 plans/English Learners/Struggling Readers/Underperforming Students/Gifted Students)
- During pair-share, I will give adequate wait time for the ELL’s to think of their answer with a partner.
- Two students who have trouble during group work will be toward the front of the carpet next to me so
that I can assure they are on task.

Independent Practice: How will you provide students opportunities to master what you taught them?

For the final portion of the lesson, I will have students fill out a worksheet where they will draw a picture from
one of the stories and write two sentences. There will be two sentence frames for them to complete followed
by a blank sentence if the child chooses to write a final sentence on their own (see attached worksheet).

Differentiating/Scaffolds – Refer to Context for Learning. How will you further support students who need more instruction beyond what you just provided? How 
will you differentiate instruction for specific groups or individuals? (IEPs/504 plans/English Learners/Struggling Readers/Underperforming Students/Gifted Students)
- I will place the Venn Diagram at the front of the classroom for the children to easily refer to during
their writing portion.
- One ELL will have her Aide next to her to assist with the writing portion.

Closure: How will you bring closure to this activity/lesson? How will you transition students to the next activity?
At the end of the lesson, I will have a few students share out their sentences and show their drawings to the
class. I will close by saying…

“We have learned that although two books may have different authors, setting and characters, there can still be
parts that are the same! This is what makes reading so exciting because there are thousands of stories out there
that may have come from one single idea!”