Comparing Characters Across Stories
Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories; identify similarities and differences between two texts on the same topic
What a learner can do afterwards
- Identify what two stories have in common (e.g. 'Both have a bear character')
- Compare information from two books about the same topic
- Discuss how characters' experiences are similar or different across stories
1 · Read
Sometimes two stories have characters that are alike. Read both stories first. Then think about what is the same.
One book has a brave mouse. Another book has a brave lion. Both characters are brave. But a mouse is small and a lion is big.
You can compare more than looks. Did both characters go on an adventure? Did they solve their problem the same way?
Words and ideas are not the same thing. One story can say hut and another can say tent, and both mean a place to live. Two stories can both use the word big and still mean very different sizes. Look at what the words mean, and at what each character really does.
You can only compare what both stories tell you. If one story says how old a girl is and the other story never says it, you cannot say who is older. It is fine to say a story does not tell you. Then you know what is missing.
Make two lists. One list for same. One list for different. This helps you see clearly.
Read both stories, then find what is the same and what is different.
2 · Watch
Take it off screen
Where it sits
Where this leads
22 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.