Comparing and contrasting is one of those skills that students develop as they learn more about the world, read more widely, and get curious about everything from outer space to animals in a coral reef. As students learn about more complex topics, a compare and contrast graphic organizer can help them make sense of information and make connections.
Yes, there’s always the Venn diagram, but comparing and contrasting goes beyond this graphic organizer. Challenge students to analyze compare-contrast essays and write their own using the compare and contrast graphic organizers in our printable bundle.
Learn more: Graphic Organizers 101: Why and How To Use Them
1. Cut-and-Paste Comparison
Use this compare and contrast graphic organizer to help students identify specific ways that two topics are different and the same. Students can write facts in each square and use the center space to write what is the same. Or they can cut out the squares and organize the information for a multi-sensory approach.
Use these compare and contrast essays to teach students this writing format.
2. Compare and Contrast Boxes
This is a great chart to start students on as they think about compare and contrast. As students learn about two topics, they write how the two are alike in the top row and ways they are different in the bottom columns. Start with the two-columned graphic organizer and advance to the organizer with three columns when students have mastered identifying differences.
3. Note-Taking Compare and Contrast Graphic Organizer
As students listen to discussion or lecture or read text, have them think about what they’re learning and how the information is either unique to one topic, or if it shares features with another topic. For example, reading about two types of weather and noting how they are different and the same. Using this graphic organizer, students can jot notes on two topics and note what similarities they notice in the center.
4. Compare and Contrast Essay Graphic Organizer
It’s one thing to analyze what they’re reading, and another to write using compare and contrast. Students can organize their ideas to write an essay or article using the compare and contrast format.
Use these compare and contrast essay topics to get students’ wheels turning.
5. Comparison Castle
Teach students another way to compare and contrast using a chart. Students identify what they are comparing (e.g., book genres, species of animals) and list what is unique about each in the columns. They can highlight what is similar between various topics.
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Want more reading comprehension strategies? Check out 14 Powerful Reading Comprehension Strategies To Teach Students.
Brenda Gray is a news writer for the Hold Tight Podcast. She writes about sports, education, and tech, with a focus on local stories that impact her community. Brenda has been writing for over 10 years and uses her skills to help inform the public about important issues. She also has a passion for playing the piano and enjoys spending time with her family when she's not working!
