Compare Two Accounts
Pairs mark one shared fact, one difference in emphasis and one question about each source.
Worked classroom example
History
Compare a textbook summary with a first-person account of the same event.
Use this example to make the language move visible. Select subject content appropriate to the class’s age and prior knowledge.
Teaching sequence
- Choose two short sources with a shared topic and a genuine difference.
- Learners record one overlap and one difference, citing words from both.
- Discuss who produced each source and what further evidence would help.
Materials and purpose
two short accounts of the same event
Comparison makes viewpoint and evidence visible instead of treating sources as interchangeable.
Try it in your next lesson
Prepare
Use two short accounts of the same event. Choose a second example that checks the same language move without repeating the original answer.
Classroom task
Pairs mark one shared fact, one difference in emphasis and one question about each source.
Check independent transfer
Discuss who produced each source and what further evidence would help.
Collect a response on fresh content. Note what was achieved without the model, partner or teacher prompt, then choose one next teaching step.
Teacher language
Teacher language
What appears in both accounts, and what does each one emphasise?
“What does the source actually say, and what are you inferring?”
“What cannot be concluded from this evidence alone?”
Respond to the learner
Identify one successful meaning or language choice. Ask about one gap, allow thinking time, then invite a revision. Check the revised move again on a fresh example.
Adjust support and challenge
Offer a brief model, useful vocabulary and partner rehearsal where needed. Keep the subject goal; reduce one prompt on fresh content and record what was independent.
Teaching this skill → · Age and language support →
More support
Chunk the source, gloss essential terms and model one evidence selection. Keep the question’s reasoning demand. Allow familiar-language notes or another response mode when checking subject understanding.
Greater independence
Change the content, evidence or audience. Remove the completed model and ask learners to explain a choice. Increase subject complexity only when it fits the curriculum and prior knowledge.
Choose the next step
If subject meaning is insecure, reteach the concept. If the concept is understood but the English is unclear, model one useful language relationship and invite a fresh response.