A Lesson in Comparing and Contrasting Two Short Stories

Comparing and contrasting two short stories is something your students will enjoy doing. It is a skill that can be repeated and expanded to enhance students' appreciation of literature throughout their lives. As they read more extensively and watch more videos, they can apply this skill to compare a book to a screenplay, a book to a movie, a news report to a documentary, and on and on. 

At first, when teaching this concept, I suggest that you choose the two short stories that you want them to compare and contrast. Be sure to choose stories that have some common elements. If you are entirely familiar with the stories, it will be so much easier for you to grade their work. I also suggest that you assign the same selections to the whole class. 

Here is the sequence when teaching this lesson: 

• Prepare a rubric to use as an instructional tool to let students know what you expect in their essays. 
• Assign a point value to each element in the rubric to make it easier to determine the grade on the paper.

• Assign the two stories as an in-class reading assignment or for homework. 

• Give students the instructions you want them to follow while writing their essays.

• My instructions are to write a four-paragraph composition in which they discuss three similarities and three differences between the two stories or novels). The first paragraph is the introduction, the second discusses three similarities, the third discusses three differences, and the final paragraph is a summary of the main ideas. (I include specific details in the rubric.)

• Give them a copy of the rubric you will use to grade their work. Tell them to study it, so they know what you expect when they write their essays.

• Have students brainstorm on a graphic organizer and take notes on the plot, characters, theme, point of view, and tone of each of the short stories 

• Assign writing a four-paragraph composition in which they discuss three similarities and three differences between the two stories (or novels) that they are comparing. 

If you are working with students who will need to write such essays frequently, do this assignment again. This time, let them choose the literary selections they wish to compare and contrast. 

You can prepare this lesson just as you wish, and your students will be successful. Grading the papers should not be a time thief for you if you prepare the rubric first. However, if you want this lesson ready to go with everything already prepared, you will find it here in my TpT store. 

This resource is both printable and digital and can be used in Easel by TpT™.

Thanks for reading. Here are some interesting blog posts from my teacher friends in The Best of Teachers Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative.

   All the best,

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Find Amazing Bargains in Back-to-School Sale on TpT

The annual back-to-school sale on TeachersPayTeachers.com begins next week on Tuesday, August 3rd. You will have two days to save up to 25% on thousands of resources that you can purchase, download, and use immediately. 

Be sure to enter the code BTS21 when you check out. Many sellers are pricing their resources at 20% off and if you enter the code, TpT will take off another 5%.

Busy teachers will especially enjoy the back-to-school activities that are printable, and many resources also provide a link to a product in Google Drive™ or offer the opportunity to work in Easel by TpT™.

Here's a link with more information on how to use Easel by TpT™. 

I have spent much of my summer making 50 of my resources available to use in Easel. If you wish to see which of them have been converted to Easel, click here. 

If you have already purchased a resource that has been converted to Easel, please go to the "my purchases" tab in your TpT dashboard and download it again.

Here's a great opportunity to enter an amazing contest sponsored by Victoria Leon and The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative. You can win a $100 TpT Gift Certificate. Click here to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway.

One of my goals for the coming school year is to write a blog post and an email each month to help you teach a grammar, writing, or creative writing lesson to your students. If you have any special requests about concepts you would like to see me spotlight, please tell me in the comments below or send me an email at charlenetess@yahoo.com. I would love to help you in any way I can. 

You may find these two back-to-school lessons helpful. 

This back-to-school unit will get your new semester or school year off to a good start. Everything you need is included in this unit. Five pages of instruction for the teacher and a four-page handout packet for the students. 

When completed, students will have introduced each other to you and to their classmates, and you will have taken three assessment grades.

The twenty back-to-school-themed sentences in this exercise all begin with the subject and the verb.

Good writers vary their sentence patterns by sometimes placing phrases or clauses at the beginning of their sentences. 

In this exercise, students will rewrite sentences by varying the sentence patterns.

I hope the 2021-2022 school year is a happy and healthy one for you, your family, and your students.

Best,

Charlene

Sun, Sand, and Savings Sale Week of July 19-23

Sun, Sand, & Savings Sale  

$1 resources $2 resources and FREE resources. Week of July 19-23

It's that great summer sale again. You can choose from amazing TpT resources and save BIG!

You can find all the sales and giveaways for grades K-12 here.

Every Monday in July, I will mark two of my resources down to $1.00. Click on the link below to shop deals on 7/19. (I will not reduce prices until tomorrow!)    

Three Ways Authors Reveal Characters

Comparing and Contrasting Two Short Stories

Every Tuesday in July, I will mark two of my resources down to $2.00. Click here to shop deals on 7/20. 

(I will not reduce prices until Tuesday!)    

Scenarios to Plot a Mystery Story

Show Don't Tell

Every Wednesday in July, I will mark two of my digital resources down to $1.00. Click here to shop deals on 7/21. (I will not reduce prices until Wednesday.)

Guide to Understanding a Novel

Using Irregular Verbs Correctly Set One

Every Thursday and Friday in July, you can enter a $100 TpT Gift Card giveaway. Winners are announced on the main website on Saturday.

You can enter the giveaway on Thursday and Friday here.

Every Friday you can grab one or two of my Freebies.

Finding Prepositional Phrases Video

Practice with Possessive Nouns Worksheets

You can find all the sales and giveaways for grades K-12 here.

Bookmark it for use during July.

Sun, Sand, and Savings Sale Week of July 12-16

Sun, Sand, & Savings Sale  

$1 resources $2 resources and FREE resources. Week of July 12-16

It's that great summer sale again. You can choose from amazing TpT resources and save BIG!

You can find all the sales and giveaways for grades K-12 here.

Every Monday in July, I will mark two of my resources down to $1.00. Click on the link below to shop deals on 7/12. (I will not reduce prices until tomorrow!)    

How to Develop a Thesis Statement

How to Write a Character Analysis

Every Tuesday in July, I will mark two of my resources down to $2.00. Click here to shop deals on 7/13. 

(I will not reduce prices until Tuesday!)    

Sentence Pattern Worksheets for Back to School

Getting to Know You Activities for Back to School

Every Wednesday in July, I will mark two of my digital resources down to $1.00. Click here to shop deals on 7/14. (I will not reduce prices until Wednesday.)

Halloween Song-Writing Activity

How to Keep a Reading Reaction Journal

Every Thursday and Friday in July, you can enter a $100 TpT Gift Card giveaway. Winners are announced on the main website on Saturday.

You can enter the giveaway on Thursday and Friday here.

Every Friday you can grab one or two of my Freebies.

Reducing Wordy Sentences

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs Worksheets

You can find all the sales and giveaways for grades K-12 here.

Bookmark it for use during July.

Sun, Sand & Savings Sale Week of July 5-9

Sun, Sand, & Savings Sale  

$1 resources $2 resources and FREE resources. Week of July 5-9.

It's that great summer sale again. You can choose from amazing TpT resources and save BIG!

You can find all the sales and giveaways for grades K-12 here.

Every Monday in July, I will mark two of my resources down to $1.00. Click on the link below to shop deals on 7/5.    

All About Verbs

How to Write a Critical Essay

Every Tuesday in July, I will mark two of my resources down to $2.00. Click here to shop deals on 7/6. 

(I will not reduce prices until Tuesday!)    

Show Don't Tell 

Action and Linking Verbs Complements

Every Wednesday in July, I will mark two of my digital resources down to $1.00. Click here to shop deals on 7/7. (I will not reduce prices until Wednesday.)

Proofreading for Capitalization, Punctuation, & Spelling BOOM Cards.™

Practice with Apostrophes Boom Cards™ Deck 1

Every Thursday and Friday in July, you can enter a $100 TpT Gift Card giveaway. Winners are announced on the main website on Saturday.

You can enter the giveaway on Thursday and Friday, here.

Every Friday you can grab one or two of my Freebies.

Who, or Whom, Fewer or Less, Bad or Badly BOOM Cards.™

Gratitude Booklet Creative Writing Activity

You can find all the sales and giveaways for grades K-12 here.

Bookmark it for use during July.

Advance Preparation for a Substitute Is a Must

Dear Teacher Friends,

It's finally the end of a long and stressful school year. You deserve a restful and fun vacation. This tip is one that will help make your next school year get off to a great start. Preparing this now, before you need it, will be so reassuring.

One of the biggest worries for teachers is what to do if you have an unexpected need to be absent. Sometimes you just don't feel like writing out a lesson plan that incorporates the lessons you have been working on in class. At other times, during a family crisis, you don't have time to think about a lesson plan at all. You have to pack, or go to the hospital, or rush in to help a family member who needs you. 

At such times, I always relied on a folder that I kept in the drawer of my desk. 

I would call a teacher friend at my school and ask them to get the folder out of my drawer and put it on my desktop. In addition to the lessons I had prepared, the folder contained my schedule, my seating charts, notes about my class rules, information about the teachers' lunchroom and break room, fire drill information, and any other helpful information I thought a substitute might need.

My go-to lesson was a short story that students would read in class and worksheets they would use to analyze the story. In the folder, I included printed copies of the story and the worksheets. You will find that lesson here.

If I had to be absent for more than one day, I had my teacher friend pull out a second folder in which I had placed a different lesson that could take up to a week to complete. You will find that FREE lesson here.

If you prefer lessons for distance learning, I have many resources that you could use. My Google Drive resources are here, and my BOOM Cards are here.

I learned that if you take the time to prepare these two folders before you need them, they can be a lifesaver later on. 

Take a look at all of the fantastic lessons you could use as substitute plans that were written by teachers who write for TeachersPayTeachers.com. These lessons are classroom-tested and ready to print and use. Why not download them and get your folders ready? Enjoy!

Thanks for reading. I hope you have a fun and restful summer break.

Here are some interesting blog posts my teacher friends in The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative wrote. 

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Two Day Sale on TpT April 6 & 7

Are you ready to grab some amazing products from the teacher/authors on TeachersPayTeachers.com and SAVE BIG?

This site-wide two-day sale (April 6th and 7th) is a huge bonus for teachers who want no-prep materials to help them finish out the 2021 spring semester. 

Whether you teach remotely, in the classroom, or a hybrid version of both, you will find lessons and resources that will make your job easier. 

At the same time, you can save up to 25% if you enter the code FORYOU21 at checkout.

If you use any version of my Simple Steps to Sentence Sense program, you will find some new BOOM Card™ decks that will allow your students to practice each step and receive immediate feedback. 

It's a win-win for you. You could even use it as a quiz before giving students the final test in each step. Why not wish-list the ones you need now and buy them for 25% off tomorrow.

Here are links to the BOOM Card™ decks on TpT

Step 1 - Prepositional Phrases

Step 2 - The Verb

Step 3 -  The Subject

Step 4 - Action and Linking Verb Complements

Step 5 - Adjectives and Adverbs

Step 6 - Verbal and Appositive Phrases

Step 7 - Adjective, Adverb, and Noun Clauses

Step 8 - Classifying Sentences 

            (Simple, Compound, Complex, Compound/Complex)

If you're not using the Simple Steps to Sentence Sense program, but you've heard how easy it is to use and how much your students are going to love it, now is the perfect time to save 25%. 

You will find those products here.

Thanks for reading,

Charlene

3 Tips on Using Apostrophes Correctly

Knowing when and how to use apostrophes can be really confusing at times. The key to using apostrophes correctly is to know when they are needed and for what purpose they are used. 

Here are three reasons to use an apostrophe: 

1.  Use an apostrophe to show that a letter or letters have been left out of a word or that numbers have been left out. 

For example, can’t and ’80. 

Be sure to place the apostrophe in the exact location of the missing letters or numbers. (can’t = can not) (‘80=1980)

2.  Use an apostrophe to show ownership or possession of nouns and indefinite pronouns.

  (Cathy’s car.) (someone’s fault)

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The rules to form possessive nouns are simple. 

First, determine if the word you are making possessive in form is singular or plural. 

If the word is singular, add an apostrophe and then an s. (cat’s meow) 

Note: In words of more than one syllable that end in an s-sound, you are permitted to add only the apostrophe to avoid too many s-sounds. (Moses’ tablets) 

If the word is plural, you must first check the spelling of the word before making it possessive. 

If the plural word ends in an ‘s,’ just add the apostrophe. Flowers = flowers’ fragrance 

If the plural word does not end in an ‘s,’ you would add an apostrophe and then an ‘s.’ 

men = men’s wardrobe 

Never add an ‘s’ and then an apostrophe. (s’) 

(Doing so would have made the word plural and possessive.) 

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3. Use an apostrophe to make individual letters and numbers plural. For example, there are four s’s and four i’s in Mississippi. There are three 0’s in my phone number. Mind your p's and q's.

You do not use an apostrophe to make a word plural.  

For example, one boy= three boys

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sometimes you need to make a word plural first and then make it possessive. 

Here's an example.

 

A family named Wilson is having a party. Because there are several members of the family who are having the party, you would make the name plural and then possessive. On the invitation it should read: You are invited to the Wilsons’ Christmas party. 

However, the Wilson family would sign their Christmas cards: The Wilsons. (Note: There is no apostrophe because “Wilsons” is a plural noun but not a possessive noun.) 

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Indefinite pronouns refer to something that is not specified.

Singular indefinite pronouns do not end in an “s”. To make an indefinite pronoun possessive, you would add an apostrophe and an ‘s.’ 

•anybody = anybody’s guess 

•anyone = anyone’s idea

•everybody = everybody’s right

•somebody = somebody’s idea

•nobody = nobody’s business

•no one = no one’s business

•someone = someone’s house

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If you follow these rules, the use of apostrophes becomes easier to understand. I have several resources that address the use of apostrophes and may be helpful for your students.

Practice with Apostrophes BOOM Cards Deck 1 $3.75

Practice with Apostrophes BOOM Cards Deck 2  $3.75

Avoid the Misuse of the Greengrocer's Apostrophe  $3.15

Using Apostrophes Correctly Grammar Worksheets FREE

We have something to look forward to since it's almost spring. Here in the Rockies, we just had 28 inches of snow at my house. I'm ready to skip spring and go straight to summer.

Stay safe and well. Thanks for reading.

Charlene

Some of my teacher friends have written some interesting blog posts. Take a look below.

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