Academic Moves for College and Career Readiness, Grades 6-12. Jim Burke

      Rubric for Argument

      Planning Page: Argue

      Argue: provide reasons or evidence in order to support or oppose something; persuade another by reason or evidence; contend or maintain that something is true

      3 Compare/Contrast identify similarities or differences between items

       delineate • differentiate • distinguish

       The Main Idea

      The ability to compare and contrast works effectively has always been a staple of academic argument. Initially, most students learn to compare and contrast in the style of a Venn diagram (see the preceding chapter on argument), isolating similarities and differences in two ideas, texts, or objects. But a sophisticated comparison requires more nuance; it demands that we organize and look for subtleties in differences and qualify similarities. As a result, strong compare/contrast exercises can prompt very deep thinking and lively discussion.

      Underlying Skills:

       Recognize similarities and differences. Sometimes, similarities and differences are obvious to students (how one school dress code differs from another), but content-specific comparisons may require discussion and practice (how does the process of passing a law differ in the United States and United Kingdom?).

       Organize. Is it better to present one side and then the other or to examine each point through multiple lenses? What about how to organize similarities or difference into categories and groups? Students need guidance and practice in organizational decisions.

       Transition smoothly. A balanced compare/contrast paper or presentation requires the careful use of transitional words and phrases.

      Compare/Contrast: identify similarities or differences between two or more items in order to understand how they are alike, equal, or analogous to each other

       Core Connections

       Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take (R9)

       Compare and contrast the structure of two or more texts and analyze how the differing structure of each text contributes to its meaning and style (RL5)

       Compare and contrast a written story, drama, or poem to its audio, filmed, staged, or multimedia version, analyzing the effects of techniques unique to each medium (RL7)

       Analyze displays of pictorial data to compare patterns of similarities (NGSS, MS-LS4–3)

      Before: Preparing Students to Compare and Contrast

      It’s not unusual for instructions to compare, contrast, differentiate, or distinguish to appear in writing-on-demand prompts as well as instructions across all disciplines. Because students will encounter these words frequently in a variety of tasks, it’s important that they be able to identify exactly what they’re being asked to do.

       Before you teach students to compare and contrast texts, issues, situations, or works, try these four things:

       Model: Have students find similarities and differences in a work, issue, or process and write them on two different colors of sticky notes; then put these on the board. Give everyone a few minutes to read through both sets of notes. Then, have students work in small groups to organize and draw conclusions from all they’ve read. When groups are done, invite them to write their conclusions as a single sentence on the board. Discuss these as a class.

       Define Expectations: Make it clear to students whether they will be evaluated on the structure of the comparison, the content of the comparison, or both. In some formal settings, students are expected to name the points in the introductory paragraph. Be clear about your expectations for how the comparison is introduced and developed.

       Build Content Knowledge: Quite often, a comparison and contrast task can raise as many questions as it answers. Gather these questions from your class and use them to build content knowledge about an event or text before students write a second draft. Encourage research as necessary.

       Practice Mental Moves: In small groups or pairs, have students practice with a sample task, making the mental moves and answering the questions listed in the Mental Moves feature in the sidebar. Post these moves on the wall and keep circling back to them so that students internalize them and can transfer them to new learning situations.

      Obstacles to the Moves

      When teaching students to compare and contrast, watch out for these areas of difficulty:

       Shallow Differences. Texts can be different in many ways, not all of which matter—make sure comparisons are not just correct but relevant.

       Weak Transitions. Because organization matters so much in comparison and contrast tasks, weak transitions can confuse the reader and rob the product of its power and clarity.

      Mental Moves

      Compare and Contrast

      1 Identify the TaskAm I being asked to compare, contrast, or both?

      2 Gather EvidenceWhat are the key elements I should compare?

      3 OrganizeShould I discuss one text and then another or compare point by point?

      4 Check TransitionsIs each point clearly introduced?

      5 Draw ConclusionsWhat does this comparison reveal?

      During: Practicing Comparison and Contrast

      It’s fine to introduce students to compare-and-contrast tasks with a Venn diagram or T chart—these are useful tools for identifying similarities and differences. Ultimately, however, students will need to go beyond gathering comparisons to categorize and draw conclusions from the comparisons they make.

      Key to this practice is organization. Consider the following three models for organizing a compare-and-contrast paper:

      Rather than requiring a specific approach, consider modeling all three organizational strategies for students using the same information. Then, let each student choose how to organize his or her own paper. The process of grappling with organization is likely to deepen student thinking about texts or topics and may even lead to unanticipated conclusions or lines of thought.

      ELL Focus: Do This One Thing to Help

      Consider providing your ELL students with a Venn diagram or T chart in which you have already included headings or examples for guided practice. Keep in mind that ELL students may bring a wealth of knowledge to a compare-and-contrast task but may get sidetracked by unfamiliar words.