LearningTip #26:
Comparison Strategies
Support Reading,
Writing, and LearningBy Joyce Melton Pagés, Ed.D.
Middle School Instructional Specialist, President of KidBibs
The KidBibs Virtual Bookstore!
For the convenience of our readers, and in association with Amazon.com, KidBibs offers the following related resources for secure on-line purchase:Just Enough Carrots (Mathstart, Level 1) by Stuart J. Murphy
The Biggest Pest: Comparison (Frimble Family First Learning Adventures)
by Monica WeissAs: A Surfeit of Similes by Norton Jester
A Whale is Not a Fish and Other Animal Mix-Ups by Melvin Berger
As Silly As Bees Knees, As Busy As Bees: An Astounding Assortment of Similes
by Norton Jester
Comparison is the process of identifying how things are alike and different. Comparing requires children to think about the very specific attributes or characteristics of the thing that they're observing and studying. Comparing promotes vocabulary development, concept development, and higher level thinking. Further, comparing gives children a cognitive strategy to help them mentally organize the information they're learning. Finally, comparing is a strategy that supports learning in all subjects when two or more similar items in a category can be compared. Categories might include places, historical events, animal groups, planets, famous people, modes of transportation, systems of the body, diseases, types of clouds, etc.
A number of instructional strategies help children develop an understanding of what comparison is and use that concept of comparison to support learning, reading, and writing. These strategies can be used by parents in real world situations or by teachers in instructional situations. Further, some of the strategies can help children write reports, comprehend while they're reading, or study for tests. The following strategies provide students with varied experiences related to the concept of comparison.
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Experiences and Discussion. Teachers of young children often help promote comparison by showing them several related items. Children can handle the items, smell them, etc. The teacher can have them discuss how items are similar and how they're different. The teacher can promote comparison by using the children's describing words. For example, the teacher could have the children describe several rocks that s/he has provided. When the children use a word like "smooth," the teacher can share the opposite, "rough" while showing a rough rock. Other word combinations such as heavy-light, hard-soft, sharp-dull, etc. can be explored within the context of hands-on experiences. Children could even put the rocks in piles according to their own criteria--a pile of smooth rocks and a pile of rough rocks, for example. In this situation, the criterion used to form each pile shows how they're similar or the same. The different piles show the differences.
A good fall activity in North America is to have children compare several different kinds of squash. They can note colors, textures, seeds, shapes, etc. Having them draw the squash or mold it out of different colors of dough helps them identify and compare characteristics. Further, a chart could be constructed to show the comparisons.
| Squash | Color? | Seeds? | Shape/Size? |
| #1 | green | yes | large |
| #2 | yellow | yes | long |
| #3 |
With older children, have them formulate sentences from the information recorded on the rows of the chart. For example, they could say, "Squash #1 is a large, green squash with seeds." They can move toward generating sentences that describe the comparison by inserting words that signal comparison: "Squash #1 is a large, green squash with seeds while squash #2 is a long, yellow squash with seeds." In this sentence "while" signals the comparison. Further, composing sentences about chart information in this way can help children learn how to read and summarize the information in charts and tables.
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Children's Literature. Tradebooks can be used to teach children about comparison. The following children's books could be used for this purpose. They are linked to Amazon.com for your review and purchasing consideration on their secure server.
The following books introduce the concept of comparison:
Just Enough Carrots (Mathstart, Level 1) by Stuart J. Murphy
The Biggest Pest: Comparison (Frimble Family First Learning Adventures) by Monica Weiss
In addition, some children's books use comparison to explain information to children. The following book does this:
A Whale is Not a Fish and Other Animal Mix-Ups by Melvin Berger
Finally, literature is replete with examples of comparisons being established through the use of similes and metaphors. The following children's books are about similes:
As: A Surfeit of Similes by Norton Jester
As Silly As Bees Knees, As Busy As Bees: An Astounding Assortment of Similes by Norton Jester
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Venn Diagram. A Venn diagram consists of two overlapping concentric circles. One circle is labeled with one item to be compared, such as "insects." The other circle is labeled with the other item to be compared such as "spiders." Through observation, discussion, and perhaps reading, the children learn how insects and spiders are similar and different. The words that describe insects only are written in the outer part of the insect circle. The words that describe only spiders are written in the outer part of the spider circle. The words in the outer parts of the circles should focus on how insects and spiders are different. Words that describe how insects and spiders are similar/alike should be written in the "shared" overlapping area of the two circles. Venn diagrams provide a good, graphic way to help children conceptualize similarities and differences between items. This makes it an excellent strategy for promoting discussion in class and a good strategy for helping children learn comparisons when studying for tests.
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Data Chart. A data chart can be used to guide student silent reading or to assist students in conducting research. Giving them a copy of a data chart before they read helps the student focus his/her attention while reading. While s/he is reading, s/he can write down the information in the "boxes." The following data chart would help learners compare Canada, the United States, and Mexico in relation to the categories on the left side of the chart.
North America
| Canada | U.S.A. | Mexico | |
| Population |
|
||
| Primary Language |
|
||
| Climate |
|
||
| Agriculture |
|
||
| Manufacturing |
|
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Analogy Strategy. The analogy strategy uses comparison to help children learn new information. This strategy relates the new information to something that the students already understand. The following example shows how a child's experiences with an orange can help him/her learn about the layers of the earth. The teacher could even peel an orange while sharing this analogy to help children conceptualize the information.
The earth is a lot like an orange. The earth's crust is like the peel of an orange. The soil and rocks that make up the earth's crust cover the earth just like the peel covers the orange. The peel of an orange is quite thin. The crust of the earth, however, ranges from three miles thick under the deepest parts of the ocean to twenty-two miles thick under mountain peaks. Underneath the orange peel is the sweet juicy fruit that we like to eat. The earth's mantle is under the earth's crust. While the juicy sections of the orange are cool, the earth's mantle is a layer of very hot, sometimes molten rock. The juicy part of the orange is thick; the mantle is also a very thick part of the earth--about 1,800 miles thick. Finally, the orange usually has seeds in the middle of it. The middle of the orange is like the earth's core. The earth's core has two parts: an outer core made up of molten rock and a solid inner core. The core has a radius of 2,100 miles.
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Recognizing Text Patterns While Reading. Authors of informational writing use techniques to organize the information that they are explaining. The signal words that they use help the reader mentally organize the information. These signal words are used in textbooks, tradebooks, and test passages. Words that often signal a comparison pattern include: however, but, as well as, on the other hand, not only...but also, either....or, while, although, similarly, unless, and yet.
Teachers who help children recognize an author's writing signals and techniques are helping children read like writers. Children who read like writers typically have good comprehension.
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Class Comparison Summary. Use a class's Venn diagram or data chart to write a class summary together. Have the children generate the comparisons as you record the on an overhead transparency or chart paper (or notebook paper at home). Insert comparison signal words (as described in the previous section) to highlight the comparisons. After the comparison summary is finished, read the summary to the class. Ask them to identify the signal words that show comparison. Circle the signal words and encourage them to use the words while they're reading to help them understand what the author is saying. Encourage them to use the signal words while they're writing to help their readers understand what they're saying.
This article spells
out a number of ways that parents and teachers can help children compare things.
There are lots of things to compare in the real world and at school! Providing
children with opportunities to compare helps them learn the the information--instead
of memorizing it. In addition, it helps them learn how to mentally organize
information. Finally, it makes learning easier and more fun!
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