Compare and Contrast Chronology of Events Graphic Organizer Worksheet

Putting events in order is one of the most useful reading skills a third grader can build, and comparing the order of events in two texts takes it a step further. Once a child can tell what happened first, next, and last in one story or article, a bigger question opens up: how do two texts tell events in a different order, or show the same kind of change in a different way? This compare and contrast chronology of events graphic organizer worksheet gives students one clear place to hold both texts at once, so no event gets lost while they are thinking.

Students begin by writing the title of each text on the lines at the top of the page. Each text gets its own column, so the First in Text 1, Next in Text 1, and Last in Text 1 cards line up right beside the matching cards for Text 2. The last card asks students to look at their notes and write one way the events in the two texts are alike and one way they differ, which turns six boxes of notes into real thinking. Because this 3rd grade sequencing worksheet works with any two texts, teachers can pair a read-aloud with a short history article, two versions of a folk tale, or a fiction and a nonfiction piece on the same subject. Every response comes from the child’s own reading, so responses will vary from student to student.

What’s Included

• 1 print-ready PDF worksheet
• 2 text title lines and 6 labeled first, next, and last event cards
• A written comparison step with 3 writing lines

This compare and contrast chronology of events graphic organizer helps kids in three ways. First, it breaks the work into small steps, so finding the first event, the next event, the last event, and then comparing happen one at a time instead of all at once. Second, the side-by-side columns make the comparison visible, because students can read straight across from Text 1 to Text 2 and see where the order matches and where it changes. Third, the writing step at the bottom asks for a reason in the student’s own words, which is the form most state reading tests use.

Teachers and parents can stretch this skill well past the page. Read two biographies of the same person and talk about which events each author chose to tell first. Try a recipe and a how-to article, and ask which one made the order of steps easier to follow. At home, compare two retellings of a family trip and see whether everyone remembers the events in the same order. You can also cut the finished cards apart, mix them up, and ask a partner to put each text back in order. Slide the page into a sleeve and use a dry-erase marker so the organizer can be used again all year.

Related Resources

• First Next Last Graphic Organizer Worksheet
• Sequence of Events Graphic Organizer Worksheet
• Compare and Contrast Cause and Effect Graphic Organizer Worksheet
• Story Elements Song (Have Fun Teaching)