Objectives:
- Understand the skill/importance of identifying similarities and differences.
- Identify teaching techniques for identifying similarities and differences.
- Apply the knowledge of identifying similarities and differences into a lesson plan.
Introduction to Similarities and Differences
Directions: watch the following video and reflect on how is the teacher using probing questions to elicit student response.
What is the Thinking Skill of identifying similarities and differences?
Identifying similarities and differences is a step up from describing and defining. In particular, after students give objects labels, they can learn the motions of comparison. Teachers can emphasize the succession of description to comparison through the introduction of specific vocabulary. Identifying alikeness is an important skill because it allows students to understand the unique value of an object or event. Furthermore, students can go on to understand an object or event within a broader context.
Lesson Plan Activity
Directions: below utilize the following examples of student activities to build your own lesson plan for the skill of identifying similarities and differences.
Background on the Lesson Plan:
Below are a series of student activities focused on friendships and relationships. Specifically, the lesson plan will guide students in exploring how relationships can be unifying and dividing. |
Essential Question:
How may your relationships change? |
Engage:
In a class discussion students will discuss how relationships may or may not change. How might your intelligent behaviors create relationships between the days of the week and your activities and feelings on those days |
Explore:
Choose one weekend and one weekday and using a T-chart compare and contrast the activities you would do on each day. How might your intelligent behaviors help you with your activities on those days? Are your intelligent behaviors’ the same on the weekend and weekday? Why or why not? |
Explain:
Post two pictures of objects that have similarities and differences. Brainstorm on a piece of paper similarities and differences between the two photos. Describe |
Elaborate:
Using a T-chart, compare and contrast pictures displaying good and bad relationships. As you reflect on the pictures on your chart what are some of the conclusions you might draw about friendship? What are some intelligent behaviors that friends in good relationships might display? |
Evaluate:
Choose a person you have a relationship with and write about that relationship for five days. Did your relationship change? Explain why or why not. Explain how it changed and the similarities and differences between the changes. |