Direct Instruction Lesson Plan Template

Grade Level/Subject: 3rd/

Central Focus: Compare and contrast
Reading Comprehension
Essential Standard/Common Core Objective: CCSS.ELALITERACY.RI.3.9
Date submitted:
Compare and contrast the most important points and key
Date taught: March 19, 2015
details presented in two texts on the same topic.
Daily Lesson Objective: Students will learn how to compare and contrast information from two
different texts using details and images. They will work independently in their workbooks and
should be able to answer 11 out of 11 questions correctly about the text to show an
understanding of the objective.
21st Century Skills:
Academic Language Demand: Compare/Contrast
Communication, Information
Students are comparing and contrasting two texts and
Literacy, Initiative and Selfimages to show their understanding of the text
Direction, Productivity and
Accountability,
Prior Knowledge: Know how to comprehend reading and answer questions about the text,
ROADS strategy
Activity

1. Focus and
Review

2. Statement of
Objective
for Student
3. Teacher Input

Description of Activities and Setting

I know you have been working on EOG prep and practicing
ROADS to help with comprehension (R - read the title and
questions first, O make a circle around clues in the text, A
answer the question in your head before reading the answers,
D dash out the wrong answer, S select the best answer).
We are going to focus on how to comprehend using compare
and contrast. Compare means to find things that are alike or
similar and contrast means to find the differences between
the items you are comparing and contrasting. We compare
and contrast to find things that are similar and different when
reading different texts or looking at pictures. I want you to
use ROADS to answer your worksheet at the end of this lesson
like you have been doing for reading comprehension.
Tell students, Today you will learn how to compare and
contrast text using details and images. As a class we will
practice comparing and contrasting using two different
images. Then you will independently read and answer 11 out
of 11 questions correctly on your worksheet to show an
understanding of the objective.
We are going to compare and contrast a dog and a cat. I am
going to show you two different pictures, one of a dog and the
other of a cat and read a little about them. Show them the
webpage from references and talk about the similarities and
differences between cats and dogs. On the board draw a

Time

5 min

1 min

10 min

4. Guided Practice

5. Independent
Practice

6. Assessment
Methods of
all
objectives/skills:
7. Closure

Venn diagram with one side representing dogs and the other
side representing cats. I noticed from looking at picture that
both dogs and cats have fur. You will write fur in the middle
of the Venn diagram using one of the colored dry erase
markers. I noticed from looking at the picture that they have
different eye colors. The dog has brown eyes and the cat has
blue eyes. You will write blue eyes in one color under cats
and brown eyes in another color under dogs. This shows
them how to compare and contrast using a picture.
Lets try to find a few similarities and differences for cats and
dogs as a class now. Turn and talk to your partner about 1
difference for a cat, 1 difference for a dog, and 1 thing that is
the same about them. As they turn and talk walk around and
help think of ideas for struggling students and listen to great
ideas! They will be using the facts they learned from the
webpage I showed them and from looking at the picture.
10 min
Bring the class back together and call on students to share
their ideas to fill in the class Venn diagram on cats and dogs.
A few examples of similarities could be they both have
whiskers and they both can be pets. A few differences could
be cats have a longer life expectancy, dogs need to be
walked, and cats still have their hunting instinct.
Now I want you to try comparing and contrasting on your
own. Read the two emails from pen pals in your Making
Connections workbook on pages 32 and 33. Then answer the
questions on your worksheet that compares and contrasts the
10-15
two texts and images. Once you are finished I want you to
min
read your independent books quietly. Have students go back
to their seats and then pass out the workbook and worksheet.
Walk around answering any questions the students may have.
Students will be assessed on their worksheet and will show an
understanding of the objective by answering 11 out of 11 questions
correctly. I am looking for understanding of the compare/contrast skill
between texts and images.
After everyone has finished bring the class back together and
5 min
ask a few questions about what they learned from this lesson.
Can someone tell me a key word for compare? (Similar,
alike)
Can someone tell me a key word for contrast? (Different,
dislike)
Why do we compare and contrast? (To figure out how things
are similar and different)
Raise your hand and share one similarity between the two
pen pals. (Both wear sunscreen, both wear a hat, both had

fun, both had sunny days, both cooked, both have email)
Raise your hand and share one difference between the two
pen pals. (Brad lives in the United States and Talisha lives in
Australia, Brad went to the mountains and Talisha went to the
beach, it is winter where Brad lives and it is summer where
Talisha lives)
After looking at the worksheet they completed I felt that they all
understood compare and contrast. The only issue was a few of them
didnt follow the directions on the worksheet. Some students didnt give
enough examples like the questions asked. Another thing I noticed is
some students compared and contrasted the wrong thing. When they
8. Assessment
were supposed to be comparing the two emails, they were comparing
Results of
the pictures on the front of the worksheet and vice versa. I feel like this
all
goes back to following directions and paying attention to what the
objectives/skills:
question is asking you. 10 students got all of the questions right on their
worksheets. Only 1 of the students really struggled with finding
examples of compare and contrast. The other 8 students did moderately
well and just didnt pay attention to the directions on the worksheet. As
I stated before, overall I feel they understood the concept of compare
and contrast.
Targeted Students
Student/Small Group
Modifications/Accommodations:
Modifications/Accommodations: When
Students that have a difficult time hearing
students turn and talk or sit with each other on
or seeing should be seated closer to the
the carpet, make sure they are not with students
front so they can see the Venn diagram and who will distract them or not get along. Make sure
website to compare cats and dogs.
that students are at tables where they get along
Students who have trouble paying attention so that they can focus on their work.
need to sit close to the front and in close
proximity to the teacher so she can make
sure they are focusing on learning.
Materials/Technology:
Making Connections: Reading Comprehension Skills and Strategies Book 3 (1 for each
student)
Practice the Skill worksheet (1 for each student)
Computer with internet (one for teacher)
Projection screen (one for teacher)
White board
Dry erase marker (3 different colors to show dog/cat/same for teacher)
Pencil (one for each student)
References:
Making Connections: Reading Comprehension Sills and Strategies Book 3 pages 32-35
http://www.diffen.com/difference/Cat_vs_Dog

Reflection on lesson: I thought the lesson went very well but there is always something to
work on! I got good feedback from my teacher and he gave me great advice on how to make my
lesson even better. I thought comparing and contrasting cats and dogs was a good idea to get
students interested in the lesson since they love talking about it. It was good to compare not
only the facts but pictures as well. Doing the Venn diagram as a class also helped students
understand how to compare and contrast and what was expected of them as well as what to look
for in their text. After reviewing the assessment next time I would go over the worksheet before
they started to make sure they understood what was expected of them. I would rather know
whether or not they understand it instead of focusing on them not following directions and not
giving enough examples.