Compare — Two Cases, Side by Side
Two cases. Topics you can compare. Evidence from both sides. No winner.
The Compare arc trains multilingual learners to hold two people, objects, events, or short text-evidence sets side by side and analyze what changes and what stays the same. Students first choose topics with information about both sides and collect one fact from each side from two related short texts, then investigate the two core comparison structures — both … and for a similarity and but for a difference (whereas, unlike, and comparatives stay optional Level 3–4 stretch) — and finally put both evidence sets together in a short comparative paragraph that keeps the one-topic-at-a-time pattern and compares without choosing a winner. Compare stops at balanced analysis — hedged claims (Qualify), taking a position with a counterclaim (Argue), and turning a case into a story (Narrate) are planned pathways, not published arcs.
Learning goal
Students can read two related short texts, choose topics the file answers for both cases, gather evidence from each case, and write a neutral 6–8 sentence comparative paragraph that uses at least two different comparison structures and does not deliver an unsupported judgment.
Who it is for
Intermediate ESL/ELD (grades 6–12). Best taught after Explain Causes, so students already read for meaning, reread as language detectives, and cite evidence by number before they hold two evidence sets side by side.
Progression
- CP-01 chooses topics the file answers for BOTH cases and collects evidence from each case for every topic chosen.
- CP-02 teaches two core structures — both … and for a similarity, but for a difference — through controlled → guided → free practice; whereas, unlike, and comparatives are optional Level 3–4 stretch.
- CP-03 organizes the comparison one topic at a time — the single core pattern — and closes with a summary that says what is the same and what is different, with no winner and no cause. Block organization is optional Level 3–4 stretch only: never required, never graded.
What is included
This arc is taught in full online: three student lesson pages with matching practice sets and the arc performance task. Members can download this arc's printable files from My Vault: 55 files in all—slide decks with teacher notes, student packets, teacher guides with answer keys, and the arc assessment or performance task where the arc has one. Each file opens through a short-lived, member-verified link. The same arc is also sold as an editable pack on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Lessons in this arc
- CP-01 · Topics You Can Compare, With Evidence From Both Cases — Students read a short paired case file about two school gardens (Lincoln High and Riverside Middle), draft candidate comparison topics, drop any topic the evidence cannot support on both sides, and complete a side-by-side evidence table with a fact in every cell.
- CP-02 · Saying What Is the Same and What Is Different — Students take supported topics from a short paired case file about two bus routes (Route 12 and Route 27) and move through controlled → guided → free practice with the two core structures — both … and for a similarity, but for a difference — checking each sentence against a sentence-shape and punctuation card.
- CP-03 · Put It Together Without a Winner — Students take a paired case file about two after-school programs (Homework Hub and Reading Studio) and write a neutral 6–8 sentence comparative paragraph one topic at a time that gives at least two facts from each side, uses accurate comparison language, and does not choose a winner.