Happy Thursday ya'll :) So with this new Common Core stuff coming down the pipes, I have been thinking about it non-stop. Every time I have an IEP meeting, I am now making sure my goals align with the CCSS standards (thank you Nicole Allison for your fabulous
cheat sheet!). I downloaded a free common core app (there is a tab link on the right side of the blog) that I use religiously. While searching through the standards, I noticed 2 little words frequently making appearances in the standards: Compare & Contrast! That can be a tricky thing to teach so I wanted to introduce this to my students in a way that they would really understand it. Kids love talking about themselves, so I figured I would do an activity all about them!
After really emphasizing the purpose of a venn diagram and that the outside circles mean "different" and the inside means "same," I paired up my students in the group. First they were instructed to do self portraits (which as an interesting task in itself! I don't know how many times I had to tell one student, "You are not The Hulk, you do not have a green face!":) Then I prompted them with questions to help guide them through the activity.
The kids had a blast with this activity and really got the concept of a venn diagram. I was also able to address other goals such as asking and answering WH questions, pragmatics, conversational speech, articulation, turn taking, etc.
How do you like to teach Compare & Contrast?
