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Kindergarten Compare and Contrast Resources

27 kindergarten compare and contrast resources: 16 worksheets, 7 activities and 4 Common Core Lessons. How teachers use these

Kindergarten Compare and Contrast Resources

27 kindergarten compare and contrast resources: 16 worksheets, 7 activities and 4 Common Core Lessons. How teachers use these

Worksheet
WorksheetKindergartenSmall Smaller Smallest Worksheet

This Small Smaller Smallest Worksheet helps Kindergarten students compare three objects, trace the size words, and order pictures from smallest to largest. Answer key included, so size practice is ready in minutes.

Worksheet
WorksheetKindergartenSize Worksheet

This Size Worksheet helps Kindergarten students compare two pictures of the same object and circle the big one or the small one. An answer key is included for quick, easy checking.

Activity
ActivityKindergartenSize Activity

This size activity has Preschool to Kindergarten children sort picture cards into big or small and tall or short on two sorting mats. Answer key included, plus a practice page.

Worksheet
WorksheetKindergartenCircling Empty Full Examples Worksheet

This circling empty full examples worksheet lets kindergarten students find the full container in each row of pictures. An answer key is included, making it a quick, fun way to build early measurement words.

Worksheet
WorksheetKindergartenCompare and Contrast Cross Out Worksheet

This compare and contrast cross out worksheet has Kindergarten students find and cross out the picture or shape that does not match. An answer key is included, making it a quick, no-prep way to build early comparing skills.

Worksheet
WorksheetKindergartenCharacters The Giving Tree Worksheet

Using Characters, Settings, and Big Events Worksheet, students draw pictures and write a sentence for each to tell about the story elements in a book.

Worksheet
WorksheetKindergartenGreen Eggs and Ham Worksheet

Using this Green Eggs and Ham Worksheet, studentsread Green Eggs and Ham to compare and contrast the adventures the two characters have in the book.

Worksheet
WorksheetKindergartenFrog and Toad Together Worksheet

Using this Frog and Toad Together Worksheet, studentsread Frog and Toad Together to compare and contrast the adventures the two characters have in the book.

Activity
ActivityKindergartenComparing Characters Activity

This comparing characters activity has K-2nd Grade readers hear two short animal stories, then sort picture cards into Bunny, Turtle or Both. Answer key included, so practicing alike and different feels like a game.

Worksheet
WorksheetKindergartenThings That Go Together Worksheet

This things that go together worksheet asks kindergarten students to circle the two pictures that belong with each other and cross out the one that does not. An answer key is included, so checking takes seconds.

Activity
ActivityKindergartenSame or Different Activity

This same or different activity has PreK-K students sort winter picture cards onto Same and Different mats, with a practice page and answer key included to sharpen early looking skills.

Activity
ActivityKindergartenComparing Books Activity

In this comparing books activity, K-1st grade students read two pumpkin picture books and use 12 detective cards to tell what is the same and different. Answer key included.

Worksheet
WorksheetKindergartenCompare Contrast Book Covers Worksheet

Using Compare Contrast Book Covers Worksheet, students compare two books using information from the book cover to determine how they are alike and different.

Activity
ActivityKindergartenFarm or Zoo Matching Activity

This farm or zoo matching activity has PreK-1st Grade children sort 12 animal picture cards onto a farm and zoo mat, with a practice worksheet and answer key included for easy checking.

Worksheet
WorksheetKindergartenWhat Is Different Shapes Worksheet

This what is different shapes worksheet asks kindergarten students to find and color the one shape in each row that does not match. An answer key is included to make checking quick and easy.

Worksheet
WorksheetKindergartenComparing Expository Texts Worksheet

This comparing expository texts worksheet has kindergarten readers listen to two leaf texts, match facts to each text, and find what both share. An answer key is included.

Common Core Lesson
Common Core LessonKindergartenRL.K.3 Kindergarten Common Core Lesson

This RL.K.3 Kindergarten Common Core Lesson includes RL.K.3 Worksheets, RL.K.3 Activities, RL.K.3 Assessment, and RL.K.3 Poster.

Activity
ActivityKindergartenMaking Connections Between Stories Activity

This making connections between stories activity gives PreK-1st grade students spinner-picked question cards for text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world talk after any read-aloud.

Worksheet
WorksheetKindergartenRainbow Fish and The Very Grouchy Ladybug Worksheet

Using this Rainbow Fish and The Very Grouchy Ladybug Worksheet, students compare and contrast the adventures that each character experiences after reading the two stories.

Worksheet
WorksheetKindergartenThe Giving Tree Worksheet

Using The Giving Tree Worksheet, students compare two characters from a story to determine how they are alike and different.

From our teachers' playbook

Same or different? Let's look!

What do kindergartners learn about compare and contrast?

Kindergartners learn to notice how things are the same and how they're different. They start with objects: big or small, full or empty, which one doesn't belong. Then they compare characters in a story ("Frog is calm and Toad is silly") and compare two books. They learn the words same, different, both and but. The click is when a child listens to two stories and says, "They both have a lost puppy!"

Our favorite ways to teach compare and contrast

Five-year-olds compare all the time. These moves give that a reading focus.

Small, smaller, smallest

Start with pictures kids can compare at a glance, like three teddy bears. Which is smallest? What's the same about them? Comparing size first gives kids the language they'll use for stories.

Why it works: children learn more from words and pictures together than from words alone (Mayer, 2009).

Small Smaller Smallest WorksheetTry it withSmall Smaller Smallest WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →

Two stories, two hoops

Read two short stories and lay two hula hoops on the rug. Kids place picture cards from each story in the right hoop, and anything in both goes where the hoops overlap. A giant Venn diagram they can walk around!

Why it works: going from real objects to pictures to symbols is a core recommendation of the U.S. Department of Education's elementary math guide.

Comparing Two Stories ActivityTry it withComparing Two Stories ActivityActivitiesOpen it →

Think aloud about friends

Read about two friends and say your thinking out loud: "Both like to swim. But one is brave and one is scared." Then ask kids to add one more same and one more different.

Why it works: handing over the work step by step, from teacher to student, is one of the most widely used teaching frameworks (Pearson and Gallagher, 1983).

Frog and Toad Together WorksheetTry it withFrog and Toad Together WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →

Questions parents and teachers ask

What does compare and contrast mean for kindergartners?

It means telling how things are the same and how they are different. Kindergartners compare objects, characters and stories.

How do I teach compare and contrast to a 5-year-old?

Start with real objects, like two apples or two toys. Ask "What's the same? What's different?" Then try it with characters from bedtime stories.

What words help kids compare?

Same, different, both, alike, but and not. Use them often in everyday talk so kids pick them up naturally.

Is compare and contrast too hard for kindergarten?

Not at all! Young kids notice differences naturally. With practice, they learn to describe them using details from a story.