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.
Purpose
Teachers: multilingual learners often compare two things by grabbing whichever detail first catches their eye, which produces lopsided comparisons (three facts about A, one about B) and unsupported topics (a category that only exists on one side). This lesson builds two habits before any comparison language is written: (1) choose comparison topics the evidence supports on BOTH sides, and (2) gather at least one evidence line per category per case. This protects CP-02 and CP-03 from unsupported comparisons dressed up in strong connectors.
Grammar target
Given two short related texts, choose at least three topics the evidence supports on both sides, and record at least one piece of evidence per topic for each case in a side-by-side table.
Essential question
Which topics can we compare about these two gardens, and which topics can we not compare because the file tells us about only one garden?
Objective
Students can generate supported topics from paired evidence and populate a side-by-side table with balanced, cited evidence — no unsupported topics, no empty cells.
Where this lesson sits
Lesson 1 of 3 in the Compare arc. Teach the lessons in order across 3 class periods.
- CP-01 · Topics You Can Compare, With Evidence From Both Cases (this lesson)
- CP-02 · Saying What Is the Same and What Is Different
- CP-03 · Put It Together Without a Winner
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