At a Glance:

Grades:5
Subject:ELA (English Language Arts)
Topic:Compare and Contrast Characters
Lesson Length:45 mins - 1 hour

Standards / Framework:

What will students learn in this activity?

Students will compare and contrast two characters in a story.

What should students know before this activity?

This lesson works best when using text with strong character descriptions.

How can teachers introduce this lesson?

  • Have students compare and contrast the characters in the sample comic.
    • How are they similar?
    • How are they different?
    • What do they notice about each character’s personality?
  • Using a Venn Diagram or T-Chart, compare and contrast two characters in the story based on the following characteristics:
    • Physical traits
    • Actions
    • Thoughts
    • Dialogue
    • Interactions with others
    • Challenges faced

What will students do?

  • Have students read a text and complete a graphic organizer.

  • Have students create a comic comparing and contrasting two characters.

How can teachers wrap up the lesson?

  • Have students share their comics with a partner and discuss how the characters' similarities and differences impact the events and understanding of the story.

How can teachers differentiate this activity?

  • Allow students to use the speech-to-text feature.
  • Allow students to use the voiceover feature to read their comics aloud.
  • Preteach vocabulary for ELL students.

  • Provide visuals for each characteristic.

  • Provide sentence starters as needed.

  • Allow students to work with peer model.

  • Have students analyze the dialogue in the story to infer character traits.

Related Resources:

Suggested Story Starters: