Comparing and Contrasting the Two Stories using a Double Bubble Map
Lesson 3 of 5
Objective: SWBAT compare and contrast our two stories using a double bubble map.
Today the students are going to be comparing and contrasting our two stories using a double bubble map. When we compare and contrast two different stories we are addressing standard RL1.9 - . I love using the double bubble map when comparing and contrasting. I've colored coded the map so students can see exactly which two points are different by matching up the colors of the bubbles. Sometimes young children have a hard time tracking information, so the color coding really helps them.
Comparing and contrasting is an important reading comprehension skill. When we have our students compare and contrast, we really are discussing the different approaches that the authors took with our two different 3 pigs stories. In order to compare and contrast today, our students also have to know the two stories well. As we discuss our two stories, students will answer questions about each story, talk about the different characters, settings, and events, and also discuss who is telling the story in each of our two stories. When are students do this today we are addressing standards RL1.1, RL1.3, and RL1.6.
For today's lesson you will need both books- "The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs" by Jon Scieszka, and "Where's the Big Bad Wolf?" by Eileen Christelow. (just in case you need to go back and reread something). You will also need either the Smartboard Three Pigs and Wolf Compare and Contrast or the Activboard Three Pigs Compare and Contrast lesson and your list of questions for both stories Questions to Ask For 3 Pigs Stories. You will also want to make enough copies of the double bubble maps for each of your students 3 Pigs Double Bubble.
I partnered my students and they decided who was Person 1 and who was Person 2. I told the partners where to sit, and we were ready to begin. I stated the objective and overview. I said, "Today we are going to compare and contrast our 3 Pigs Stories. We are going to use a double bubble to record our information. You will get the opportunity to talk with your partner about both sets of characters, the settings, and the events in each of the stories."
I brought up my Smartboard lesson but just kept it on the first slide for now. I said, "My first question to you is: What happened in each story after the straw house fell in? Person 1 will get to speak first and Person 2 will listen and respond. Person 2 may add something if they feel like they need to." I wanted the students to be able to tell me that in "The True Story..." the wolf ate the pig and in "Where's the Big.... " the cows and Doggedly came out to help the pigs.
After the partners had finished speaking, we had a class discussion. I said, "Who would like to share what you and your partner had talked about?" Once the first person had shared I said, "What do you think about what they just said? Do you agree or disagree? Does anyone need to add anything?"
After we had discussed as a class, I turned to the "True Story of the 3 Little Pigs" circle map. I said,"What color did we record this information on the circle map?" The students said, "Green". Then I turned to the "Where's the Big Bad Wolf" circle map. I said, "What color did we record this information on the circle map? " The students said, "Green". Then I said, "So what color of bubbles do you think we should record our information in?" Of course the students said "Green." Color coding our maps is an easy way to get students to work independently. I am hoping by the end of the year that my students can easily find their way around both the circle maps and double bubble map and be able to find and record information easily by looking at the color coding. You can see how we did this process by looking at the video here Discussing and Writing Our First Point - 3 Pigs.
At this stage of the school year I am trying to take a step back and have my students take more responsibility for their learning. I want to give them enough information that they understand what to do, but also step back enough where they don't feel as if they need me, every step of the way.
I said, "All right everyone, now it's your turn to do all the thinking and recording. Right now we are contrasting. What does contrasting mean again? That's right, we are stating how things are different. I will ask you the questions. You can talk about the answers with your partner, then we will have a class discussion. Finally you will record your answers on the double bubble map. Let's look closely at the double bubble map here on the Smartboard. We started with our green bubbles. Question 2 will be answered in the red bubbles, Question 3 in the light blue bubbles, Question 4 in the purple bubbles, Question 5 in the pink bubbles, and Question 6 in the aqua bubbles. Does every one understand how we are going to go around the double bubble map as we record our information?
Once students understood the process I started to ask my questions. Partners talked about what the answers to the questions were, we had a class discussion and then they recorded their information in their bubbles. If the students were way off on their answers I tried to ask them questions that might lead them to the correct answer. There were times when I had to go back and reread a portion of one of the books to help students back to the correct answer. This is certainly OK if the class is absolutely stuck. I want to emphasize how important text evidence is, so this is one way to reinforce that. Here are the rest of the questions that I asked:
- How did each of the houses of sticks get blown down in each story? ( The wolf sneezed in one and the wolf blew it down on purpose in the other)
- What happened after the house of sticks fell down in each story? ( The wolf ate the pig in one and the cows took the pigs back to their house and took care of them in the other)
- In each story did the pigs have any help keeping the wolf away? ( The pigs had no help in one and the cows and Doggedly helped the pigs in the other)
- What did the wolves say in jail in each of the stories? ( One wolf said he was framed, the other wolf said he promised to be good from then on.)
- Who is telling the story in each of the books? ( The wolf told the story in one book and Doggedly told the story in the other.
I have a video of my class doing our second contrasting point. You can see how we went through the process by watching the video here Discussing and Writing Our Second Point - 3 Pigs Day 3.
The next thing we had to do was to compare. I said, "Now we are going to compare. What does compare mean again? That's right, comparing means we explain how things are the same. Again, I am going to ask you the questions, you and your partner will talk about the answers, we will have a class discussion and then record them on the double bubble map. Let's look at our double bubble map here on the Smartboard. When we compare we write our information in the center bubbles. Do you see how the lines are connected to each of the outer circles? These inner bubbles are shared by both stories. You will begin to record on the top bubble, then we go to the middle bubble, then the bottom bubble. Does everyone understand how we will record our information?"
Just as I did with our contrasting points I asked my comparing questions. Partners were allowed to discuss the answers, we had a class discussion and then they recorded their information. Here are the comparing questions I asked:
- How did each of the wolves feel in each story? ( Both wolves were sick)
- What happened to wolves at the end of each story? ( Both wolves went to jail)
Today I wanted to do a simple exit ticket out the door. I gave each student a post it note. I said, " I want you to write on your post it note 1 way that these stories were the same and 1 way these stories were different. You can post it on our door when your are finished writing."