Comparing & contrasting real & make-believe bears

Student pairs create a Venn Diagram in their Bear Research Journal listing things that are the same and different about real and make-believe bears.

A lesson plan for grade 1 English Language Arts and Mathematics

By Susan Lovett

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Related topics

• Learn more about Venn diagrams, graphic organizers, mathematics, and sorting.

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Learning outcomes

Goals

• Student pairs will correctly label their own Venn Diagram.
• Student pairs will come up with at least 3 similarities or differences between real bears and fictional bears.

Objectives

• The learner will share information from their Attribute Chart and/or contribute a similarity or difference to our class Venn Diagram.
• The learner will write and illustrate at least one sentence on mammals in his/her Bear Research Journal.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

30 minutes

Materials/resources

• Student Bear Research Journals that have a blank Venn Diagram photocopy inside
• pencils
• Chalk, chalkboard

Pre-activities

Students will have already learned about black, grizzly, polar, and panda bears. They have participated in creating Venn Diagrams with the teacher. Students have also begun writing their own fictional stories about bears. (This is one strategy lesson from the unit titled, “We’re Bearly Different!: Comparing and Contrasting Bears and Humans”)

Activities

1. Read different fictional bear stories aloud at storytime for several days (e.g. Corduroy, Paddington, Little Bear)
2. Discuss some of the actions of fictional bears from the stories read in class: “Remember when Little Bear was talking to the other bears? Can real bears speak using the words we use? Do they use a knife and fork like we do at dinnertime? So is Little Bear a real bear or a make-believe bear? Today we’re going to *compare* real bears to the bears in the stories we’ve read and the stories you are writing. Raise your hand if you know what we should use to organize our thinking.” (Elicit Venn Diagram) “Right, Venn Diagrams help us see things that are the…(let kids say ’same’) and things that are…(let kids say ‘different’).”
3. “Please open your Bear Research Journal to the page with a blank Venn Diagram. (pause) Now what’s missing on this Venn Diagram? Yes, the labels. What should we put on this side? (Write “Real Bears” on front board/chart paper) Repeat for “Make-Believe Bears”.
4. Explain that the pairs will make their own Venn Diagrams after we do a few examples on the board. Write 2 or 3 similarities or differences on the board and then have pairs start.
5. Walk around and monitor/praise effort.
6. When most pairs have at least 3 items of their own, regroup as a whole class and add some of their ideas onto the class Venn Diagram.

Assessment

Students who participate in the pair creation of three similarities/differences and have correctly labeled and filled in their Venn Diagrams will have met the lesson goals.

Supplemental information

See the unit titled, “We’re Bearly Different!: Comparing and Contrasting Bears and Humans” for more information.