Comparing and Contrasting Tool for Reading

Do you have your students completing lessons identifying similarities and differences using two reading passages in your classes? According to Robert Marzano, a leader in education research, “Asking students to independently identify similarities and differences enhances students’ understanding of and ability to use knowledge” (15). Having students compare and contrast topics takes critical thinking skills and can be challenging. Within my Teacher Building Team (TBT), we were instructed to use a comparing and contrasting tool, “Describe First, Compare Second” from the book Tools for Classroom Instruction that Works. This book has 50 tools for ready-to-use techniques using Marzano’s book Classroom Instruction that Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. “Describe First, Compare Second” was a new tool I used with a familiar strategy, Marzano’s strategy for identifying similarities and differences.

What is “Describe First, Compare Second”?

It is a graphic organizer that is designed for students to identify the similarities and differences of a text. It teaches students to “describe each item thoroughly” (187) before comparing and contrasting, according to the book Tools for Classroom Instruction that Works. It is organized in three columns; the first column is labeled ‘the first text’, the second text is labeled ‘describe these items’, and the third column is ‘the second text’. In the middle column, you can place items you want students to compare and contrast. For example, if you want students to compare elements of a short story, you would list the parts of the topics you want students to cover. In the outside columns, students will write down their answers from both texts.

What Are the Benefits of Using a Comparing and Contrasting Tool?

Students will have to use their critical thinking skills to describe the two types of texts. They will have to know the text and explain in their words the similarities and differences. In the book, Tools for Classroom Instruction that Works, it states, “The key to its success lies in its insistence on having students describe individual items before actually comparing them” (187). At my TBT, the repeated message was to teach students to compare and contrast even when the statement says to compare. If students remember this comparing and contrasting tool, especially during testing, they will be able to describe the text explicitly and then compare it to another text.

How I Used It Within My Classes

I used this tool in my career exploration and reading lab classes. My career exploration classes had been working on the Common Core Standard Reading Informational Text 8.3 “Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories)”. The students had to compare two texts on test preparation, and the results were very good. One text was from a study skill packet that was titled, “Educated Guessing Strategies” and the second text was an article, “Test Anxiety Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments”. This is how I taught the lesson:

1. I gave the students text one, and they read it quietly by themselves.
2. Students performed a think, pair, share explaining their favorite educated guess strategy.
3. We discussed the strategies as a whole class.
4. I distributed the second text, and students were instructed to annotate the article.
5. Students performed a think, pair, share, and described how they avoid test anxiety.
6. Students had to write one paragraph making connections and distinctions between the ideas of the informational texts.
7. I distributed the “Describe First, Compare Second” worksheet with questions asking about the strategies used and how to avoid test anxiety. The backside of the worksheet asked how the texts are different and how they are alike.
8. Students rewrote their paragraphs comparing the two texts using the summarizing tool.

Students completed the assignment and fully answered the questions. They also rewrote the paragraph, which I used Marzano’s summarization strategy rubric to score, to show growth in using the “Describe First, Compare Second” tool. All students except for two scored 80% and higher.

Would I Use It Again?

Reflecting on the assignment, I wish I would have made bullets on the “Describe First, Compare Second” worksheet. Although I told the students to give details and textual evidence, students wrote large, short phrases. They also wrote more details from the article versus the “Educated Guessing Strategies.” I believe they wrote more information from the article because it was written in a familiar form, while the “Educated Guessing Strategies” was written in bullet points and did not have paragraphs. Would I use it again? Yes, I believe it is a great comparing and contrasting tool to have students describe a text. However, the next time I use the tool, I will place bullet points and tell them to cite three pieces of textual evidence in each column. I believe I will get a better quality of work. Overall, the “Describe First, Compare Second” can be used in any subject where you will have students identify similarities and differences. It makes students think critically about two texts and have them produce work that is more specific.

What are your thoughts about the “Describe First, Compare Second” comparing and contrasting tool? Have you used it in your classes? Are you open to using it to see results? Let me know in the comment section below.

Works Cited

Marzano, Robert J, Debra Pickering, and Jane E. Pollock. Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. Alexandria, Va: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2001.

Silver, Harvey F., et al. Tools for Classroom Instruction That Works: Ready-to-Use Techniques for Increasing Student Achievement. Silver Strong & Associates/Thoughtful Education Press, 2018.