Activity 4 instructs students to compare Pa's story about Charley (from the chapter "Harvest") to the traditional tale "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," and asks students how the stories are similar and different. The activity provides a link to a version of the Aesop fable and prompts students to identify similarities/differences and then create their own version of the story using guided questions and an illustration box. Students are asked to analyze both stories and then write and illustrate an original retelling, which practices comparing themes and patterns of events.

Activity 2 asks students to discuss why Native Americans and settlers might have been upset and to write a paragraph choosing whether they would have wanted to be a settler or a Native American, prompting comparison of perspectives. The student activity pages and research directions have students gather information about Native American groups, Maine's history (1768), and how both groups used environmental resources. Options 1 and 2 require students to describe or depict how settlers and Native Americans depended on and used resources, encouraging contrast of practices and viewpoints.

The Introduction asks students to discuss that different cultures have different stories and notes that Matt shares a story with Attean and notices cultural differences. The listed skills include identifying and discussing similarities and differences in events, characters, and ideas and supporting them with text references. Activity 3 directs students to compare how Matt and Attean see Robinson Crusoe differently, with journal prompts asking why each boy identifies with different characters and a reflection on how people from different cultures may see the same story in entirely different ways.

A skills statement asks students to "identify and discuss similarities and differences in events, characters, and ideas among selections and support them by referencing the text." Activity 2 directs students to use a Venn diagram to compare Robinson Crusoe and Friday with the story of Matt and Attean, naming at least two similarities and two differences. The Wrapping Up and Life Application prompts ask students to discuss connections between Crusoe/Friday and The Sign of the Beaver (or film adaptations) to make cross-text connections.

Activity 4, "Flood Stories," directs students to compare Matt's retelling of Noah's Ark with Attean's flood story and provides a double-bubble map graphic organizer for recording similarities and differences. The lesson also prompts discussion that many cultures have flood stories, explicitly framing the task as a cross-cultural comparison of similar themes and patterns of events. Directions instruct students to read both versions and use the organizer to note corresponding elements of each story.

Students are asked to record three values that guide Matt's life and three that guide Attean's life, circle the most important shared value, and describe how they demonstrate those values in their own lives. The lesson prompts students to answer questions about Attean's quest for his manitou (how he will find it and what it means), providing a clear example of a quest pattern of events. The lesson also asks students to explain how Native American culture is different from their own and includes the skill goal to connect their experiences with others' languages, customs, and cultures.

The Skills list explicitly includes "Compare language and oral traditions (stories) that reflect customs, regions, and cultures," which directs students to consider similarities across stories. Activity 3 asks students to reread a myth or folktale, identify elements of culture, and complete an "Elements of Culture" chart for each story, with a note suggesting an extension: read another story from a different culture and compare the two. The Student Activity Page provides space for identifying elements from two myth origins, signaling that students are expected to examine more than one story and record comparative cultural details.

The lesson asks students to compare "The Woman Who Married a Frog" with the Brothers Grimm "Frog Prince" using a Venn diagram and guided discussion (Activity 4). It directs students to complete a story map for "The Dogs Who Saved Their Master," including problem, events, and resolution, which asks students to analyze patterns of events. Activity 8 explicitly prompts students to discuss similarities and differences between "Eagle Boy" and "Salmon Boy" and to consider why different tribes have similar stories, tying comparisons to cultural context. The skills list explicitly includes comparing experiences of characters across cultures and identifying similarities and differences in topics, characters, and themes.

Students are asked to "Compare language and oral traditions (stories) that reflect customs, regions, and cultures" in the Skills list. Activities provide "Elements of Culture" charts with fields for "Myth: ___ Origin: ___" that students fill in for the legends they read, and Activity 6 asks students to compare the mythical explanation of how the fawn got its spots with a scientific explanation. The Wrapping Up discussion prompts students to discuss how cultures differ and how their family's belief system is different.

Students read multiple traditional stories from different Native American groups ("The Alligator and the Hunter," "The Gift of the Whale," and "The Passing of the Buffalo") and answer specific comprehension questions about each one (e.g., the man's problem, why the whale was important, the Kiowa–buffalo relationship). Students complete an "Elements of Culture" chart and label cultural features found in the myths. Students draw animals in their ecosystems and write sentences describing each animal's role in its survival story.

Students read multiple traditional stories from different cultures (Central African "The Rabbit...", Chinese "Pan Gu Makes the World", Brazilian tale, and a Native American creation story) and answer comprehension questions about each. Students use a double-bubble map to compare "Pan Gu Makes the World" with "Silver Fox and Coyote Create the Earth," recording similarities and differences in the two creation accounts. Students also discuss and write about the role of nature in folklore and summarize stories from different cultures.

The lesson repeatedly foregrounds the theme of good versus evil (Getting Started questions and the Historical Background linking WWII to a battle of good and evil). Activity 1 asks students to think of another novel or movie that involved a battle between good and evil, describe the struggle and which side won, and illustrate a scene that demonstrates the struggle for power. The Skills list includes recognizing the theme or author's message, which prompts students to identify thematic elements in the text.

Activity 2 asks students to find a myth/legend/folktale about a lion from another culture, record words and phrases that describe that lion, and use a Venn diagram to compare that lion to Aslan. The Student Activity Page provides multiple cultural examples (griffin, sphinx, Acker, Chinese and Judeo-Christian references) that students can read and use for comparison. Activity 1 has students identify and illustrate examples of good vs. evil from the chapters, giving practice in recognizing a recurring theme.

Students are asked to describe Aslan and to say if he resembles other characters they have learned or read about, prompting comparison between characters. Activity 1 directs students to record an example of good vs. evil from the chapters, engaging them in identifying a shared theme. Activity 4 has students research historical rulers and decide whether each leader is more similar to Aslan or to the White Witch, prompting comparison of leadership traits and use of power.

The Skills section tells students to "Compare communication in different forms such as contrasting a dramatic performance with a print version of the same story or comparing story variants." Activity 2 directs students to watch the movie The Chronicles of Narnia and "Discuss the differences between the book and the movie," including how characters, creatures, and setting were similar to and different from their imaginings. The introductory question "How do leaders use their power for good?" and several journal questions ask students to discuss themes (e.g., use of power, bravery) within the Narnia story.

Students read chapters from The BFG and the traditional tale "Jack and the Beanstalk," and they are asked direct compare-and-contrast questions such as "How is the giant in Jack and the Beanstalk similar to and different from the giants in the BFG?" and "How are the two stories similar? How are they different?" The skills list explicitly tells students to identify and discuss similarities and differences in events, characters, and concepts between texts, and an extension asks students to locate different versions of "Jack and the Beanstalk" and discuss similarities and differences among those versions.

The lesson directs students to identify the primary conflict as man vs. nature and explicitly asks them to "think of other books that involve man vs. nature conflict." It also tells students to "Discuss how they were similar to and different from Precious's story," prompting direct comparison of a theme across texts. The Getting Started question asks, "How are people from different cultures similar and different?" which introduces a cultural comparison prompt.

The book report organizer explicitly asks students in Paragraph 3 to explain how "Precious's life is similar to and different from life of a child in the United States." The Getting Started questions prompt students to explore "How is life in Africa similar to and different from life in the United States?" The listed skills include "Relate plot, setting, and characters to own experiences," which directs students to connect the story's cultural setting to their own lives.

Students read chapters about O Bon and answer questions about how the family celebrated the holiday (Questions #5 and #6). In Activity 2 students discuss how people in Japan honor ancestors and then compare those practices to American ways, and they produce a journal entry or song from both an American child's and a Japanese child's perspective. The Skills section explicitly lists 'Compare traditions that reflect cultures, regions, and customs.'

Students are prompted to compare characters from different cultures with the question "How are people from different cultures similar and different?" The Skills list directs students to "identify and discuss similarities and differences in events, characters, concepts, and ideas within and across selections" and to "compare experiences of characters across cultures." Activity 1 has students record descriptions, quotes, actions, and personality traits for Precious and Sadako and then explain how they were similar and different. Activity 2 explicitly identifies a shared theme (supporting and helping friends and family) and asks students to consider what they could do to help each character.

The lesson asks students to compare Kate Barlow and Sam's story with Stanley and Zero's story using a Venn diagram or another format, and it includes a stated skill: "Identify similarities and differences among characters and stories." Reading questions prompt students to analyze plot details (e.g., irony about the stolen shoes, origins of onions) that support comparison of themes and events between the two narratives. Activity instructions require students to record at least three similarities and four differences or two overlaps and two unique traits for each story.

The lesson asks students to consider how settings reflect the geographical origin of a story and how stories teach culture in the "Questions to Explore." The introduction reminds students that they read a folktale in the previous lesson, creating a potential link between two cultural stories. Activity 1 asks students to record what they learned about Russia's culture and geography from the legend, and Activity 2 has students sort factual cultural details from fantasy. The Story Elements activity has students identify the theme, conflict, and resolution of the Russian legend.

Students are asked to complete a "Frozen vs The Snow Queen" organizer and to find at least two similarities and two differences between the movie and the story, explaining why screenwriters changed aspects. Students fill in a story-elements snowflake (characters, setting, theme, conflict, resolution) and identify the theme "Love and goodness can overcome evil." Students locate Denmark, read about Hans Christian Andersen, and respond to questions about how stories reflect culture and settings that reflect geographical location.

Students read and summarize three different stories drawn from different parts of Europe and are asked which story was their favorite and why, which establishes a basis for cross-story comparison. In Activity 2, students complete a "Comparing Story Elements" page where they list three similarities and three differences between two or more stories and explain which two stories are most similar and most different and why. The skills list and Activity 1 prompt students to compare and contrast point of view from which different stories are narrated, reinforcing comparative analysis across texts.

Students are asked to identify the theme and cite textual evidence using the Theme Bubble Map activities (both basic and advanced options), which directs them to name a main theme and provide supporting events or examples from a story. Students are prompted to read a sample story (e.g., The Little Engine That Could or The Ugly Duckling) and find events that support the theme. The Life Application asks students to watch Swiss Family Robinson and compare how that family's use of natural resources and survival situation relates to Abel's experience, prompting a cross-text comparison.

Students read a "Meteors as Signs" activity page that lists cultural beliefs about meteors from Switzerland, Germany, Chile, the Philippines, Japan, Baltic countries, and parts of America, exposing them to myths and traditional interpretations from multiple cultures. Students are asked to read the legend and the list of omens and to make up their own myth or omen about the meaning of a meteor. The listed skills include "Compare language and oral traditions that reflect customs, regions, and cultures," indicating an expectation that students engage with cross-cultural traditions.

Students are asked to complete a Comparing Stories graphic organizer that directly has them list similarities and differences between Pedro's Journal and The Island of the Skog. Guided questions prompt students to compare events and patterns (e.g., why the mice set off, what threatened their survival, and how that is similar to Columbus' journey) and to identify corresponding groups across texts (e.g., the Skog representing the natives). Activities ask students to analyze the shared theme of prejudice across both texts and to write an anthem imagining different treatment of explorers and natives, requiring analysis of how each text treats the theme.

Students identify and diagram plot elements (problem, rising action, climax, falling action, solution) using the Plot Flowchart and Plot Diagram, practicing recognition of event patterns. Students identify theme elements (for example, good versus evil) on the Elements of Fantasy page and record examples from the book. Students are prompted to compare and contrast the book with its movie adaptation and to compare the rats in this story with the rats in Ratatouille, discussing similarities and differences.