Skip to content
LessonPrint

Comparing What Happens to Characters

A 40-minute Grade 1 lesson on comparing the adventures of characters in two stories, keeping same and different apart.

Comparing What Happens to Characters is a free 40-minute Grade 1 English lesson plan for Common Core standard RL.1.9 — compare what happens to two characters in different stories. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the meaning, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.

Grade:
Grade 1
Length:
40 minutes
Standard:
RL.1.9

Grade 1 · Reading: Literature

RL.1.9

Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in stories.

Objective

Students will be able to say one way the adventures of two characters are alike and one way they are different, using what happened in each story.

Students are successful when they can

  • Says Tia and Jack both lost a pet and both got it back.
  • Says one difference in what they did: Tia searched and cried; Jack made posters.
  • Uses "Both..." for a same and "but" for a difference.

What you need

  • Two short stories, "Puff" and "Rex" (texts in the Teach section)
  • A two-circle same-and-different chart drawn on the board
  • The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan

The lesson

Warm-up — same problem, two people

5 min
  1. Ask: "What would you do if you lost your shoe?" Take two answers that are different: "Look under my bed," "Ask my mom."
  2. Say: "Same problem, different plan. Today we compare two characters with the same problem."

Teach — compare the events, not the characters

13 min
  1. Read Story 1: "Tia lost her kitten, Puff. She looked under her bed. She looked in the yard. She sat down and cried. Then her neighbor, Mr. Lee, heard a tiny meow. Puff was up a tree! Mr. Lee got his ladder and helped Puff down."
  2. Read Story 2: "Jack lost his puppy, Rex. Jack drew a picture of Rex and made ten posters. He put them on every lamp post on his street. The next day, a girl knocked on the door. She was holding Rex. 'I saw your poster,' she said."
  3. Ask: "What happened to both of them?" Write in the middle: both lost a pet; both got it back; someone else helped.
  4. Ask: "What was different?" Write Tia's side: looked herself, cried, Puff was up a tree, a neighbor helped. Jack's side: made posters, a girl he did not know helped.
  5. Model the sentences: "Both Tia and Jack lost a pet. Tia looked for Puff herself, but Jack made posters."
  6. Point out that we compared what happened, not what they look like. "Tia is a girl and Jack is a boy" is true, but it is not about their adventures.
“Ask: what happened to both of them? Then ask: what did each of them do that was different? Use "both" for same and "but" for different.”

Guided practice — one each

12 min
  1. Read two more short stories: "Ana's kite got stuck in a tree. She climbed up and got it, but she tore her dress." and "Omar's kite got stuck on a roof. He asked his dad, who used a long pole to get it down."
  2. Pairs fill a same-and-different chart: at least one thing in the middle and one thing on each side.
  3. They say one sentence with "both" and one with "but."
  4. Circulate and ask: "Is that about what happened in the story?" If a pair writes "Ana has a dress," ask how that is part of the adventure.
  5. Share the best "but" sentence: "Ana got her kite by herself, but Omar got help from his dad."
“Tell your partner one thing that happened to both. Then tell them one way it was different.”

Independent practice

8 min
  1. Students complete the two-stories page: reading two short stories and answering the questions about each.
  2. Remind them to read both stories before answering any question.
  3. Ask finishers to write one "both" and one "but" sentence about the stories on the sheet.

Close

2 min
  1. Ask: "Who helped Tia, and who helped Jack?"
  2. Fish for a comparison: "Tia got help from a neighbor she knew, but Jack got help from a stranger who saw his poster."

What goes wrong, and why

Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.

Compares how the characters look: "Tia is a girl and Jack is a boy."

Why: Looks are the easiest difference to see and say. The standard asks about adventures, which takes thinking about the whole story.

Fix: Ask "What happened to them?" and point to the events in the stories. Write "what happened" as the title of the chart so every entry is checked against it.

Lists everything from one story and then everything from the other, without linking them.

Why: Retelling two stories feels like comparing them, because both are being talked about.

Fix: Ask for a pair: "Tia did this. What did Jack do at the same part?" Line up the events of both stories side by side and compare row by row.

Writes the same thing as both a similarity and a difference.

Why: Both lost a pet (same), but the pets are different (kitten and puppy), so the same event feels like it belongs in both places.

Fix: Say both are right, but they answer different questions. "Both lost a pet" is the same. "Tia lost a kitten, but Jack lost a puppy" is a difference. Show where each goes on the chart.

If they are not there yet

  • Give one same and one different in a sentence frame: "Both ___ lost a ___. Tia ___, but Jack ___."
  • Use picture cards for each event so the child can lay the two stories side by side.
  • Compare only one part of the stories: how each character got their pet back.

If they finish early

  • Say whose plan was better, Tia's or Jack's, and give a reason from the story.
  • Write a third story about someone who lost a pet and solved it a different way, then compare it to both.
  • Compare how each character felt at the end, using words from the stories.

Exit ticket

Say one way what happened to Tia and Jack is the same, and one way it is different.

What to look for: "Both lost a pet and got it back. Tia searched, but Jack made posters." A difference about looks means the chart title needs pointing to. Two separate retellings means they need the side-by-side pairing again.

Printable practice for RL.1.9

Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.

Questions about Comparing What Happens to Characters

How long does the Comparing What Happens to Characters lesson take?

40 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 13 min, guided practice 12 min, independent practice 8 min, close 2 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.

Which standard does Comparing What Happens to Characters teach?

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.9 — RL.1.9, Reading: Literature for Grade 1: “Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in stories.” In plain terms, compare what happens to two characters in different stories.

What do I need to teach this lesson?

Two short stories, "Puff" and "Rex" (texts in the Teach section), a two-circle same-and-different chart drawn on the board and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.

What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?

Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: compares how the characters look: "Tia is a girl and Jack is a boy."; lists everything from one story and then everything from the other, without linking them and writes the same thing as both a similarity and a difference. The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.

How do I know whether the lesson worked?

The exit ticket asks: “Say one way what happened to Tia and Jack is the same, and one way it is different.” "Both lost a pet and got it back. Tia searched, but Jack made posters." A difference about looks means the chart title needs pointing to. Two separate retellings means they need the side-by-side pairing again. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.

Is there a worksheet to go with Comparing What Happens to Characters?

Yes — 1 printable RL.1.9 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.

Is Comparing What Happens to Characters free to use?

Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on October 8, 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.

Last reviewed 2026-10-08. Aligned to RL.1.9 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.