Identifying+Similarities+and+Differences

**__Description__**
Identifying similarities and differences is an important skill in fully understanding a lesson. It allows a student to restructure a lesson in a way that they understand. This can include comparing and classifying things, as well as using metaphors and analogies. Identifying similarities and differences allows students to think deeper about the subject at hand, allowing them to find possible patterns and make connections. When students identify similarities and differences, they are classifying them into groups; they can then create a metaphor. A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two things, saying that one thing is similar to another.

**__Critiques__**
When students compare and contrast things, they are using higher level thinking because they have to think about the features of the objects. This is a very important skill because they will then be able to categorize the objects and organize them into some sort of technological tool, such as a table on Microsoft Word.

Unfortunately, this particular type of instructional strategy is only really useful in lower grade levels. Once you get to high school, this is a good way of organizing information for an essay but it does not allow much room for details or information about the topics.

**__Applications__**
This skill is important and can be used in the classroom to compare and contrast different things. **COMPARING AND CONTRASTING:** Two useful tools when comparing and contrasting are a Venn diagram and a comparison matrix. A Venn diagram consists of two circles that overlap. The middle section is the similarities of the two things being compared. A comparison matrix is set up like a table, where you have the things being compared on the left side and characteristics on the right side. You then put an "X" next to the object being compared if it has the certain characteristic.



**CLASSIFYING:** When classifying, there are many different ways to organize your information. You could set it up like a diagram where all the same things go together. This would be useful when talking about animals because you could classify them as mammal, reptile, amphibian, bird, fish, etc. Then you could talk about the different characteristics that classify them in their particular animal kingdom. Classifying Animals

**METAPHORS AND ANALOGIES:** A metaphor is a figure of speech where you replace an idea or object with something seemingly unrelated. An example of this is "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Analogies create relationships between pairs of objects, example: "Glove is to hand as paint is to wall."

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