Teaching students to compare and contrast enhances their critical thinking and analytical abilities. This strategy helps students grasp similarities and differences between concepts, texts, or objects in elementary grades, fostering a deeper understanding of the material.

This article explains how to teach students to identify the compare-contrast text structure, and to use this structure to support their comprehension. It also shows how to use compare-contrast texts to activate and extend students’ background knowledge and expand and enrich their vocabulary.

A compare-and-contrast essay is a style of essay that points out the similarities and differences between two or more subjects. It’s ideal for showing what separates and unites related things or concepts, particularly if the subjects are often confused for each other or unjustly lumped together.

When comparing and contrasting in an essay, there are two main ways to structure your comparisons: the alternating method and the block method. In the alternating method, you structure your text according to what aspect you’re comparing.

To have students practice linguistic skills behind comparing and contrasting, have them write a journal entry comparing/contrasting two things they are interested in. Provide them with a list of signal words to use, such as “also”, “similarly”, and “whereas”.