Description
What our Compare/Contrast Story Versions lesson plan includes
Lesson Objectives and Overview: Compare/Contrast Story Versions teaches students how to effectively compare and contrast stories from different authors or cultures. At the end of the lesson, students will be able to compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story by different authors or from different cultures. This lesson is for students in 2nd grade.
Classroom Procedure
Every lesson plan provides you with a classroom procedure page that outlines a step-by-step guide to follow. You do not have to follow the guide exactly. The guide helps you organize the lesson and details when to hand out worksheets. It also lists information in the orange box that you might find useful. You will find the lesson objectives, state standards, and number of class sessions the lesson should take to complete in this area. In addition, it describes the supplies you will need as well as what and how you need to prepare beforehand. The only supplies you will need are the handouts. To prepare for this lesson, you can pair students for the activity and copy the handouts.
Options for Lesson
Included with this lesson is an “Options for Lesson” section that lists a number of suggestions for activities to add to the lesson or substitutions for the ones already in the lesson. One optional addition to this lesson is to use additional fables or other stories for students to rewrite with changes. You can also have students write two versions of an original story and then exchange it with another student to compare/contrast. You could also have your students compare/contrast written story versions of stories that have been turned into movies. Finally, students can share personal events in their lives that could have two versions.
Teacher Notes
The teacher notes page includes a paragraph with additional guidelines and things to think about as you begin to plan your lesson. This page also includes lines that you can use to add your own notes as you’re preparing for this lesson.
COMPARE/CONTRAST STORY VERSIONS LESSON PLAN CONTENT PAGES
Same, but Different, Stories
The Compare/Contrast Story Versions lesson plan includes four pages of content. The lesson begins by asking students if they’ve ever heard the same story told by two different people. Your friends might also have two different versions of the same events. This can also happen with stories, myths, fables, or other texts.
The story of Cinderella is told a little differently at different places around the world. The lesson shows some of these differences. For example, in Ireland, Cinderella’s name is Ashley, but in Norway, it’s Katie. Even though different places have different versions of the story, some things are always the same. Cinderella is always poor, looking for love, and lives happily ever happen. The names, details, events, and characters might be different. A different author wrote each version. You can compare (find similarities) and contrast (find differences) while reading two or more versions of the same story.
Compare and Contrast a Story
When you compare, you’re trying to find things that are the same. When you contrast, you’re trying to find things that are different. The lesson includes two versions of The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing as an example for students to use to practice comparing and contrasting stories. After they read the stories, they will think about the things that are the same and are different. The lesson lists some of these similarities and differences.
COMPARE/CONTRAST STORY VERSIONS LESSON PLAN WORKSHEETS
The Compare/Contrast Story Versions lesson plan includes three worksheets: an activity worksheet, a practice worksheet, and a homework assignment. You can refer to the guide on the classroom procedure page to determine when to hand out each worksheet.
REWRITING FABLES ACTIVITY WORKSHEET
Students will work with a partner to complete the lesson activity. Each student will choose a fable (from the ones provided on the worksheet) to rewrite into a new version. They will then compare and contrast their partner’s new version with the original fable, and their partner will do the same with their new version.
Students can work alone or in groups for this activity, if you’d prefer.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST PRACTICE WORKSHEET
The practice worksheet asks students to read two versions of a fable and then compare and contrast them. They will also answer six specific questions about the stories to test their reading comprehension.
COMPARE/CONTRAST STORY VERSIONS HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
For the homework assignment, students will read two stories. While reading, they will underline the things that are the same and list the things that are different between the two versions.
Worksheet Answer Keys
This lesson plan includes answer keys for the practice worksheet and the homework assignment. If you choose to administer the lesson pages to your students via PDF, you will need to save a new file that omits these pages. Otherwise, you can simply print out the applicable pages and keep these as reference for yourself when grading assignments.
