Comparing Characters, Settings and Events
PROCEDURALCompare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details about how characters interact, settings influence action, or events connect
Mastery Evidence
- Create a Venn diagram comparing two characters' traits using textual evidence
- Explain how a change in setting affects the mood and characters' actions in a story
- Analyse how two events in a narrative are connected through cause and effect
Assessment Prompt
“After reading a novel with several main characters, can [child] compare two of them in detail — explaining how their personalities, experiences, and relationships are both similar and different?”
Curriculum Standards1 alignment
RL.5.3Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical SubjectsCompare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).
Prerequisites1
- In-Depth Character and Setting AnalysishardAges 9—10
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- In-Depth Character and Setting Analysis hard
Comparing story elements builds on describing characters in depth
- Character Traits and Motivation hard
Describing character/setting/event in depth builds on analysing character traits and motivations; the step up is from trait analysis to comprehensive in-depth description using multiple textual details
- Inferring Characters' Feelings and Motives hard
Analysing character motivations requires inference skills
- Predicting what happens next soft
Drawing inferences about characters' feelings and justifying them with evidence is enriched by prior experience predicting what might happen next — both require reading ahead of the literal text
- Reading between the lines hard
Inferring characters' feelings/motives with evidence builds on identifying key details and making simple inferences
- Self-Correcting While Reading soft
Inferring and justifying inferences with text evidence requires the metacognitive habit of checking that the text makes sense as you read — a reader who doesn't self-monitor will miss the cues on which inference depends
- Monitoring Comprehension soft
Self-correcting while reading requires the awareness that decoding correctly is not the same as understanding
- Feeling of not understanding soft
Noticing the decoding/understanding gap is the English-specific form of the universal comprehension-monitoring habit
- Asking for Help hard
Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck
- Reading for Meaning hard
Noticing the gap between decoding and understanding requires first having the foundational idea that reading means making meaning
- Feeling of not understanding soft
Understanding that reading means making meaning is the English-domain grounding of the universal habit of noticing when you don't understand
- Asking for Help hard
Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck
- Feeling of not understanding soft
Checking that a text makes sense while reading and self-correcting is the reading-domain form of the universal comprehension-monitoring habit
- Asking for Help hard
Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck
- Reading with Expression and Accuracy soft
Reading comprehension monitoring builds on earlier fluency skills
- Blending Sounds to Read Words soft
Blending helps attempt unfamiliar words but sight words bypass phonics
- Story Sequence and Central Message soft
Drawing inferences about motivations is enriched by the prior ability to understand and discuss the sequence of events and connections between them — inference relies on understanding what happened and in what order
- Main Topic of Informational Texts soft
Understanding main topic and key details of informational texts supports discussing how items of information are related
- Reading with Expression and Accuracy soft
Expressive reading supports comprehension of sequence and meaning
- Blending Sounds to Read Words soft
Blending helps attempt unfamiliar words but sight words bypass phonics
- Domain Vocabulary Across Subject Areas soft
Drawing inferences from complex texts requires academic vocabulary for reasoning about evidence and argument
- Discussing and Questioning New Words hard
Academic and domain-specific vocabulary acquisition builds on the habit of discussing word meanings and linking new vocabulary to known words
- Defining Words soft
Defining academic words requires the ability to define words by category and attribute
- How Many in Total? soft
Sorting and categorising objects uses the same counting/cardinality skills from maths
- One-to-one counting hard
Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
- Characters' Viewpoints and Responses hard
Character traits/motivations analysis builds on Y2-3 character POV and comparison
- Connecting reading to experience soft
Personal connection to text supports understanding character perspectives
- Thinking Before Starting soft
Linking reading to own experiences is the English-domain application of the universal prior-knowledge activation habit
- Persisting When It's Hard hard
Activating prior knowledge requires the foundational habit of persistent engagement with new material
- Reading for Meaning soft
Linking reading to personal experience depends on approaching reading as a meaning-making activity
- Feeling of not understanding soft
Understanding that reading means making meaning is the English-domain grounding of the universal habit of noticing when you don't understand
- Asking for Help hard
Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck
- Seeing Someone Else's Point of View soft
Comparing characters' points of view in literature requires the perspective-taking ability developed through SEL — understanding that people genuinely experience the same events differently
- Vocabulary: social awareness soft
Perspective-taking practice is enriched by precise vocabulary including 'perspective', 'bias', and 'compassion'
- Vocabulary: understanding others hard
Understanding that others have perspectives and feelings requires the vocabulary of empathy and perspective
- Comparing Characters Across Stories soft
Comparing characters across stories builds on general text comparison skills
- Connecting New & Old Ideas soft
Comparing and contrasting characters or texts draws on the universal habit of connecting new ideas to existing knowledge
- Thinking Before Starting hard
Making connections between new and old ideas requires the habit of activating prior knowledge first
- Persisting When It's Hard hard
Activating prior knowledge requires the foundational habit of persistent engagement with new material
- Feelings Change and Differ soft
Comparing characters' adventures and reactions in stories is enriched by the foundational SEL understanding that the same event can make different people feel differently
- Spotting Patterns soft
Identifying patterns and similarities across texts is the reading form of the universal pattern-recognition habit
- Connecting New & Old Ideas soft
Spotting patterns across domains is an extension of the habit of connecting new ideas to existing ones
- Thinking Before Starting hard
Making connections between new and old ideas requires the habit of activating prior knowledge first
- Persisting When It's Hard hard
Activating prior knowledge requires the foundational habit of persistent engagement with new material
- Retelling Stories with Structure hard
Character analysis and POV identification requires understanding of characters, settings, and events
- Blending Sounds to Read Words soft
Blending helps attempt unfamiliar words but sight words bypass phonics
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