Comparing and contrasting is a way of finding out the similarities and differences between two or more things. This is an essential skill for children as they progress in their understanding and use of language. Practising comparing and contrasting can help them to improve their vocabulary, describing skills, sentence structure, and more.

Compare and contrast activities are an essential part of education, as they help students develop critical thinking and analysis skills. These activities involve identifying similarities and differences between two or more items, concepts, or ideas and can be used across a variety of subjects and grade levels.

The ability to compare and contrast is one of the first higher-order reading comprehension skills students are introduced to. And it is no wonder, as the ability to categorise and compare things in terms of their differences and similarities corresponds to some of the earliest stages of cognitive development.