Sarah Plain and Tall Setting Comparison Activity

Activity Overview

There are two settings in the story. The prairie, where the events of the story take place, and Maine, where Sarah is from, and which can be seen in her vivid illustrations of the sea.

In this activity, students will use information from the text to compare and contrast the prairie and the sea.

Here is an example of the differences between the Prairie and the Sea:

Prairie

grass
fields
dirt roads
middle of the country
fresh water ponds
"Outside, the prairie reached out and touched the places where the sky came down.”

Sea

salt water
sand dunes
shells
sea birds
on the coast
"The sea is salt. It stretches out as far as you can see. It gleams like the sun on glass. There are waves.”

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Template and Class Instructions

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Student Instructions

Create a storyboard comparing and contrasting the settings in Sarah, Plain and Tall.

Use the template provided by your teacher.
List the characteristics of the prairie in one column.
List the things that similar and different about the sea in the second column.
Illustrate each characteristic with appropriate scenes, items, and characters.

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Lesson Plan Reference

Grade Level 3-4

Difficulty Level 3 (Developing to Mastery)

Type of Assignment Individual or Partner

Type of Activity: Compare and Contrast with T-Charts

Common Core Standards

[ELA-Literacy/RL/2/7] Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.
[ELA-Literacy/RL/3/7] Explain how specific aspects of a text's illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting)

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Rubric

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Compare and Contrast

Create a storyboard that finds the similarities and differences between two things.

	Proficient	Emerging	Beginning
Similarities	Student identifies and explains many of the similarities between the two.	Student identifies and explains some of the similarities between the two.	Student identifies and explains few of the similarities between the two.
Differences	Student identifies and explains many of the differences between the two.	Student identifies and explains some of the differences between the two.	Student identifies and explains few of the differences between the two.
Images	Images are clear and creative.	Most images are easy to understand, but at least two images do not fit.	Images are not easy to understand.
Spelling and Grammar	Student makes few errors.	Student makes two or three errors in spelling and grammar.	Student makes multiple errors in spelling and grammar.