We think that read alouds are the perfect way to teach elementary students about their world and diversity. The book Same, Same But Different compares and contrasts the life of two school aged boys. One boy lives in the United States while the other lives in India. This book lends itself to so much content area integration such as social studies, reading comprehension, writing and social emotional learning. We think students will love hearing this book and learning about life in a different part of the world. - Jodi and the Starts With a Story Team
SUMMARY
A boy named Elliot paints a picture of his world when he is in art class. His teacher sends it across the ocean. Elliot receives a painting back from a boy named Kailish. The two start writing to each other and sharing information about their lives where they live. The boys realize that while many things are different for them, they share a lot of similarities too! For example, both Elliot and Kailish live with their families. However, they are different because Elliot has a small family while Kailish lives with parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.
This book will teach students about the lives of two boys that live in different parts of the world. Students will learn about their lives at school, lives at home, about their families and where they live.
USE THIS BOOK TO TEACH:
Same, Same But Different is a great mentor text for teaching students important reading comprehension strategies, writing skills, and grammar concepts. All of our book companions come with activities that relate to these subject areas. Check out just some of the skills included in our book companion!
- Practice comparing and contrasting the characters in this book.
- Have students practice identifying the author’s purpose for writing the book and the theme.
- Integrate informational writing by asking students to research and write about a different country.
- Ask students to write about their personal connections to the story.
- Use examples from the book to teach a lesson on ending punctuation and commas.
- Teach a lesson on plural nouns.
- Discuss the importance of appreciating diversity.
GET THE PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES
NO-PREP PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES:
If you are looking for “ready to go” activities for the first day of school, be sure to check out the book companion. With it you’ll receive all of the following resources to align with this specific book:
- comprehension questions
- 30 writing prompts with themed paper
- vocabulary activities
- word study print & go activities
- ideas for grammar lessons with focus sentence printables
- social emotional learning discussion topics
- graphic organizers to target specific comprehension skills and strategies
This resource is all you will need when it comes to planning your read aloud for the book Same, Same But Different. Gone are the days when you have to brainstorm discussion questions, look online for student activities, and spend hours gathering resources. Now everything you need is included in this book companion allowing you to make choices on what you want to use with your students.
GET THE PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES
ADDITIONAL BOOK SUGGESTIONS
You and your students will also love these similar books:
- The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi
- All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold
- The Sandwich Swap by Kelly DiPucchio and Queen Rania of Jordan
- Just Ask! by Sonia Sotomayor
TRY OUT A SAMPLE COMPANION
It's hard to explain how amazing the Starts with a Story book companions are because there is just so much goodness included in each one. It's best if you experience using one for yourself. Sign up below & we'll send you an entire book companion to try out for FREE!
