I Compared Characters, Yet Stayed At “Remember”
I uncovered this worksheet from the mid-2010s. We were comparing Harry Potter and Percy Jackson. I know what you’re thinking! Compare and contrast? Oh, he’s already at Analyze? Great job!
But look at this set of questions that I gave students. I was only prompting “Remember” thinking. I asked students to recall facts, not actually compare and contrast characters.
This table sets up an Analyze question, but I never actually asked the Analyze question!
My Original Questions
Answer with Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, both, or neither.
- Is the son of a Greek god.
- Has a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead.
- Attends a school to learn about magic.
- Uses a magical sword named Riptide.
- Has a close friend who is a highly intelligent girl.
- Was raised by uncaring relatives.
- Fights against a dark lord who wishes to return to power.
- Can speak to snakes.
- Has been prophesied to either save or destroy the world.
- Is associated with the symbol of a lightning bolt.
Question Renovation!
I’ll keep the original table. Then, I’ll ask a sequence of questions. Remember, each part is a checkpoint. Students do not get to see Part 2 until they’ve answered Part 1 to my satisfaction.
- Part 1: (I’ll keep the table from above.)
- Part 2: What do these two heroes have in common? What might they disagree about? (This is the missing Analyze step!)
- Part 3: If you were to give an award to each of the heroes, what would those awards be for? Think of a clever name and description for each one. The awards can be positive or negative.
- Part 4: Pick one of the awards to present to the hero. Write a short speech to explain to the audience why this person has earned this particular award. (You can have your students actually design and present their award in class or not).
- Part 5: Tour your classmates’ awards. Which awards would Harry appreciate? And which would he decline? Write from Harry’s perspective. (You could also offer Percy as a choice).
This little sequence offers so much more opportunity for thinking than my original table of questions.