compare and contrast graphic organizer essay

Grades 6-12
School Leaders

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Compare and Contrast Graphic Organizer Bundle (Free Printables)

Check out all the ways to compare and contrast.

Comparing and contrasting is one of those skills that students develop as they learn more about the world, read more widely, and get curious about everything from outer space to animals in a coral reef. As students learn about more complex topics, a compare and contrast graphic organizer can help them make sense of information and make connections.

Yes, there’s always the Venn diagram , but comparing and contrasting goes beyond this graphic organizer. Challenge students to analyze compare-contrast essays and write their own using the compare and contrast graphic organizers in our printable bundle.

Learn more: Graphic Organizers 101: Why and How To Use Them

1. Cut-and-Paste Comparison

Use this compare and contrast graphic organizer to help students identify specific ways that two topics are different and the same. Students can write facts in each square and use the center space to write what is the same. Or they can cut out the squares and organize the information for a multi-sensory approach.

Use these compare and contrast essays to teach students this writing format.

2. Compare and Contrast Boxes

This is a great chart to start students on as they think about compare and contrast. As students learn about two topics, they write how the two are alike in the top row and ways they are different in the bottom columns. Start with the two-columned graphic organizer and advance to the organizer with three columns when students have mastered identifying differences.

3. Note-Taking Compare and Contrast Graphic Organizer

As students listen to discussion or lecture or read text, have them think about what they’re learning and how the information is either unique to one topic, or if it shares features with another topic. For example, reading about two types of weather and noting how they are different and the same. Using this graphic organizer, students can jot notes on two topics and note what similarities they notice in the center.

4. Compare and Contrast Essay Graphic Organizer

It’s one thing to analyze what they’re reading, and another to write using compare and contrast. Students can organize their ideas to write an essay or article using the compare and contrast format.

Use these compare and contrast essay topics to get students’ wheels turning.

5. Comparison Castle

Teach students another way to compare and contrast using a chart. Students identify what they are comparing (e.g., book genres, species of animals) and list what is unique about each in the columns. They can highlight what is similar between various topics.

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Want more reading comprehension strategies? Check out 14 Powerful Reading Comprehension Strategies To Teach Students .

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Free Printable Compare and Contrast Graphic Organizers – Blank Pdfs

Free Printable Compare and Contrast Graphic Organizers. Here is a free collection of compare and contrast templates for students, teachers and kids. These printables are a great help if you’re writing a compare and contrast essay, trying to solve a problem, or simply getting your thoughts down. They’ll be useful in various school activities, including classroom exercises and homework. In order to download these files, click on the image below. The pdf will then open up in your browser, and from there you can save it to your computer. Each compare and contrast sheet is 8.5″ x 11″ and will fit on standard printer paper. The first and second graphic organizers below have ruled lines for you to write on. The second is an entirely blank compare and contrast chart. The final compare and contrast diagram is in color.

Compare and Contrast Graphic Organizers

Each of these templates was created by Tim van de Vall and is copyright 2013 Dutch Renaissance Press LLC. They may be used for personal and educational purposes only. Commercial use of these printable worksheets is prohibited. If you are unable to open the PDF files on your computer, you may need a newer version of Adobe Acrobat Reader , which is free.

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