Background knowledge can be built directly and indirectly. Build background knowledge about how students can use information they already know in order to compare and contrast elements of a character’s experience.Students can determine what is the same and what is different in the content of what they read or see.Why is it Important to Build Background Knowledge?.You might include sentence stems to help direct their discussion. While the students are sorting, ask them to describe how the events of the stories are similar/different. One column should represent Story Version #1 and the other column should represent Version #2. Then, sort the picture cards into two different columns. These could come from student drawings, magazines or the internet, or other image sources. Event Sorting: Visually represent the events of two similar stories by making picture cards of the various events.Use a double character profile graphic organizer to match or organize pictures and/or sentences representing the key traits, experiences, and feelings of characters from two different stories and then compare and contrast the characters of each story.Use a compare and contrast graphic organizer (e.g., Venn diagram) and have students write, match, or place pictures with written labels to record the differences and similarities between the characters and events of two versions of the same story written by different authors or from different cultures.Model how to use the graphic organizer so students can see how it helps them to compare and contrast. Use a double event graphic organizer to match or organize pictures and/or sentences representing the key events of two different stories and then compare and contrast the events of each story.Learn more about graphic organizers in this TIP Sheet. Graphic Organizer: Write or draw to understand using graphic organizers.Learn more about accessing grade-level text in this TIP Sheet.
Anchor Text: Compare anchor texts such as the traditional Cinderella story and Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Taleby John Steptoe.