Similar and Different

Students started getting ready today for the writing section of the California Standards Test. This is given to fourth graders early in March. One frequent topic is to have students compare and contrast two characters. So we are doing a practice run using two of our Open Court stories.

We discussed the direction in class this morning and had time to get started, BUT, in case they cannot remember, here are the directions.

1. The first paragraph is the introduction. Tell a little bit about both stories. End the paragraph with the topic sentence. The SUGGESTED topic sentence is "Dr. Johnson and Dr. Picotte are similar in many ways, yet different, too.
2. The second paragraph covers the similarities. The first sentence here should be your topic sentence.
3. The second paragraph covers the differences. The first sentence here should be your topic sentence.
4. The fourth paragraph is the conclusion. This is the hardest part to write because it is so open-ended. Students could reflect on whether the similarities or the differences are more important or just comment on the characters in some way.
   

Home Studies: (1) Complete the rough draft of the compare and contrast essay for the two Open Court stories. (2) Do the chapter review, pages 96-97. (3) Do the multiplication practice.