Compare and Contrast Anchor Chart – Set of 4

Clue words, question stems and sentence frames for comparing and contrasting, built around a worked two-circle example about two children in room 39, with a complete chart and fill-in versions of the same design.

Year groups: Years 2–4
File type: PDF
Preparation: Print ready

Updated Apr 01, 2022

Subject: Reading, English
Topic: Compare, Contrast
Resource types: Anchor Charts, Teacher Tools
Preparation: Print ready

From the author

About this resource

This resource is a set of 4 anchor charts for compare and contrast. The first anchor chart is complete. The following 3 charts are fill in the blank. These charts work well displayed on a bulletin board or inserted into students' interactive reading notebooks.

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

Recognise the signal words that mark a comparison and those that mark a contrast
Answer a comparison question in a full sentence using a supplied frame such as "___ and ___ are similar in that they ___"
Read a two-circle diagram, telling the shared middle from the two outer sides
Restate a comparison question in their own words, working from the five stems on the chart

Teaching tips

Display the complete version first and keep the blanked version back; asking students to supply SIMILAR, ALIKE and DIFFERENT themselves turns the same chart into a check on the vocabulary
The sentence frames work as a scaffold for spoken answers as much as written ones — take one frame a day and have the class fill it about two things in the room
The worked example uses two children in the same class, so it transfers directly: swap in two of your own students, two characters or two books and the diagram still works
Shrink the charts to fit a reading notebook if you want each student to carry the clue words rather than looking up at a wall display
The clue word panels are the piece worth copying onto the board during a lesson, since students reach for them while writing rather than while listening

Skills covered

Recognising comparison signal words — students learn to spot like, both, same, also and have in common as markers of similarity, and but, yet, although, unlike and whereas as markers of difference.
Reading a two-circle diagram — the worked example puts brother against sister and basketball against soccer on the outsides, with room 39, the bus, a dog and pizza in the shared middle.
Answering with a sentence frame — six openings, from "Both ___ and ___" to "In comparing ___ and ___ we see that ___", give students a way into a full written answer.
Interpreting the question — five stems on the chart show the different ways a comparison question can be worded, including "How can you tell ___ and ___ apart?"

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

How do the four pages differ from one another?

The first is the complete chart, with SIMILAR or ALIKE and DIFFERENT printed in the heading. The second is the same chart with those words blanked out for students to fill in. The remaining two are the sentence frame page, which carries six openings for written comparisons.

What example does the chart use?

Two children in the same class. One has a sister, is a girl with red hair and likes to play basketball; the other has a brother, is a boy with brown hair and likes to play soccer. The overlap between them holds "in room 39", "ride the bus", "have a dog" and "like pizza".

What sentence frames are offered?

Six: "Both ___ and ___ ___", "___ has ___ but ___ has ___", "When we ___ we are ___ however when we ___ we are ___", "___ and ___ are similar in that they ___", "Neither ___ nor ___ ___", and "In comparing ___ and ___ we see that ___". The range runs from a simple opener to a formal one, so the same page suits several writing levels.