Students can break up into four groups and each group should research a different type of bear, for example, brown bears, black bears, polar bears and grizzly bears. They should find information on color, height, weight, habitat, babies, diet and hibernation practices and create a list of the characteristics of their particular bear. On the whiteboard, use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the different types of bears. Determine which bears are the most alike and most different.
An activity that takes more than one day is comparing and contrasting a book with the movie made from that book. Try to choose a book/movie that they have not read or seen previously. Have a classroom conversation about which they usually like better, the movie or the book, and take a vote and write down the numbers to compare to the actual results after the project. Reading the book in class, have students look for an example of writing in the book that compares and contrasts. Once the book is finished, watch the movie. In a classroom discussion compare and contrast the two. Take another vote at the end of the activity over which interpretation they liked best and compare that number to the original number.
Planning a compare and contrast activity to complement a science or health class lesson on tobacco use reinforces the concepts. Begin the activity by passing out one candy cigarette to each student and asking them if they like the taste and what they thought when they put it in their mouth. Taking the activity a step further, everyone should interview one smoker and one nonsmoker they know and find out why they made the choice they did. Come up with six to eight common responses after all the interviews are complete. Compare and contrast the factors that influenced the interviewee's decision on whether or not to use tobacco.
Students should break up into groups of two or three to begin this compare and contrast project. Encourage students to pair up with people they do not know as well. On a piece of paper, each student should answer specific questions about number and gender of siblings, number and types of pets, favorite color, game, television show, sports team, book and movie. Creating a Venn diagram, they need to compare and contrast what things everyone in the group has in common. Continuing to the next phase, students can make a list of the most common answers for each category to come up with answers for their group to each question. Repeat the Venn diagram on the whiteboard using each group's answers and compare and contrast again.