Free teaching resource

Compare Two Accounts of the Same Event

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Audience / fit: Grade 6 ELA
Teaching or planning target: Compare two fictional accounts and distinguish an omitted detail from a contradiction.
Essential prerequisites: Learners can read or listen to a short fictional account and point to a sentence or detail. No prior lesson on point of view is required.
Preparation: About 5 minutes.
Use time: About 40 minutes. Planning estimate: opening 3 minutes, strategy 5, model 8, guided comparison 10, independent response 12, closure 2.
Materials: Learner pages in print or editable format. Pencil; two colored pencils or highlighters are optional for marking details both accounts share and details only one includes. Board or display for the modeled comparison; optional.
What to print: Use the stage-specific student choices below and the matching teacher guide. Give independent, new-evidence and later-assessment pages only at their intended stage.

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Model and guided practice · PDF (3 pages)

Read the teacher guide and answers · PDF (9 pages)

Print model and guided practice first. Keep the independent response with the teacher until guided practice is complete. Use the complete teacher guide for the named task’s criteria and answers.

Editable Word, browser copies and other files

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In this estimated 40-minute lesson, learners compare two fictional accounts of one event. They identify shared and account-specific details, connect each speaker's position to the account's focus, distinguish omission from contradiction, and limit claims to textual support.

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Who it is for: Grade 6 ELA
Preparation: About 5 minutes.
Teaching time: About 40 minutes. Planning estimate: opening 3 minutes, strategy 5, model 8, guided comparison 10, independent response 12, closure 2.
Teacher guidance: Separate teacher files include completed examples or answer and scoring guidance.

Materials

Learner pages in print or editable format.
Pencil; two colored pencils or highlighters are optional for marking details both accounts share and details only one includes.
Board or display for the modeled comparison; optional.

Choose a stage and format

Give only the stage being used. Keep later tasks and all teacher keys with the teacher until needed.

Formats and all files

Complete reference files may include teaching, independent tasks, later evidence or teacher answers. Keep them with the teacher; use the separate stage selections above for handouts.

Read or download the complete resource

Keep teacher guidance and answers separate from student copies. Word files contain editable text; the PDF files are ready to print.

Support and adaptation

Offer read-aloud or text-to-speech, show one account at a time, and let learners use two simple marks for shared and account-specific details. Invite oral rehearsal, pointing, or dictated response when writing is not the target, and record the response mode. Confirm local access needs; these general suggestions do not replace an individual plan.

Extension

Invite learners to write a third short account of the paper-animal-table event from the position of a visitor at the doorway. Include two details already stated in the pair and one new observation that could plausibly be seen from that position. Label the added detail as invented; do not claim it appeared in either original account.

Choose a next move

Choose a route that fits the response and your teaching goal. These are links to materials already supplied, not a prescribed sequence or a placement decision.

Substitute Handoff and Independent-Work Pack — Use the complete two-account independent assignment and a locally verified substitute handoff.
Evaluate a Web Source’s Credibility — For a different goal, evaluate what a source can support for a particular question.

Save follow-up passages until students are ready to try them on their own. Once a passage has been shown, modeled or practiced, use it for practice. Keep answer keys with the teacher and use each resource’s own learning target and criteria.

About the materials

Use the editable files to adapt the materials to your learners and local curriculum.

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