Students are asked in Activity 2, Option 2 to read an entry from the diary of John Adams and the account in Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution and then compose a short first-person paragraph describing the Boston Tea Party based on both sources. The activity directs students to explore primary sources and to use multiple accounts (the diary and the Abigail Adams reading) as sources for their writing.

Students are asked to read primary letters from Abigail Adams and Chapters 9–10 of a biography and then compare their own notes on the letter with the way the biographer used that same letter (Activity 1, Option 1). The student activity page asks questions about how much of the letter the author quoted, what point the author was attempting to convey, and whether there were parts of the letter the author did not note. Option 2 and the parent guidance prompt students to consider how a primary source "supports or challenges other information" and to evaluate an author's use of sources and possible biases.

The Option 2 activity asks students to review and compare two texts: the animals' Seven Commandments and the U.S. Bill of Rights. Guided questions ask students to identify which document places more restrictions on leaders or citizens and to explain circumstances under which the Seven Commandments might not work, prompting direct comparison of content and consequences. Students are asked to state a preference for living under one document or the other and to provide evidence for their claims.

The Parent Plan lists a skill to "Distinguish among facts, reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in a text," and Activity 2 asks students to visit multiple web pages and judge whether each would be an appropriate research source (questions ask about credibility, accuracy, and understandability). The lesson also tells students to be suspicious "if you find that information from one site clashes with other information you've read" and gives tips for checking multiple sources and using research databases.

Students are asked to use at least three sources (including The Story of Science) for their research paper (Activity 5) and to record and integrate information from those sources (Activities 4–6, 9). The lesson gives an explicit example of organizing research showing conflicting views about light—"research showing that light is a wave... particle... both"—and suggests students color-code notes accordingly (Activity 4). The skills list includes goals for students to "cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts" and to "distinguish among facts, reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in a text."

Students are asked to listen to two slave narratives (links provided) and take notes about the life of the slave, dialect, and figurative language. Students are instructed to compare and contrast their conclusions about the slave narratives to the character of Jim in the novel and to compare/contrast the dialects used. The wrapping up and parent sections reiterate that students will make connections between the slave narratives and Jim's story.

Students are asked to watch the 1993 film adaptation and "take notes as you watch the film, observing any changes the director or actors have made regarding the character, plot, language, setting, or dialect of the novel." Students are prompted to compare and contrast the novel and the film, deciding whether the directors and actors made good choices and considering why changes were made. Discussion questions ask students to identify how the movie was similar to and different from the book and to explain the impact of changes on the movie.

Students read the "Slavery: Two Views" page that presents one excerpt from George Fitzhugh and one excerpt from Frederick Douglass, and they are directed to "contrast the views of the two men." Students answer questions asking whether they agree with Fitzhugh, whether Douglass's account is persuasive, and which voice seems more authentic, and they are asked to mark vivid adjectives and repeated verbs in Douglass's passage as evidence.

Students read Chapter 7 and 8 excerpts and consider quotes from Mr. Leroy and Elijah's father alongside linked primary-source materials (excerpts from slave narratives, a photograph of a slave family, an engraving of slaves picking cotton, and a sketch of slaves celebrating). In Activity 2 students are directed to read each quote or view each artwork and write words or brief phrases explaining what they learned about the experience of being a slave from each source. The student activity pages and parent notes present multiple perspectives and images about slavery for students to examine and respond to.

Students read and take notes from six different informational sources about cloning (Learn.Genetics pages, Genome.gov, Britannica, BioExplorer) and are instructed to create source cards and note cards labeled with pros and cons. Activity prompts ask students to make separate note cards for "Arguments FOR human cloning" and "Arguments AGAINST human cloning," and Activity 3 asks students to identify an author's argument, a counterargument, and a refutation. The Parent Plan skills explicitly list comparing and contrasting persuasive texts and analyzing works written on the same topic.

Students read Chapters 10-12 of The House of the Scorpion, which includes a disturbing hospital scene showing a clone. Students also read a short persuasive essay titled "Human Cloning" and are asked to mark rhetorical and logical fallacies in that essay. The Parent Plan/Skills section explicitly lists comparing and contrasting persuasive texts that reached different conclusions about the same issue as a targeted skill.

Students read two opposing essays on human cloning and are instructed to "think about how the two authors reached different conclusions". Students complete the "Arguing the Issue" activity page, recording each author's main arguments and listing logical and rhetorical fallacies they find. The parent plan and activity directions explicitly ask students to compare and contrast persuasive texts that reached different conclusions and to analyze the evidence each presents.

Students are asked to evaluate how a filmed or live production stays faithful to or departs from the text, as stated in the Parent Plan skills and the "Things to Know" note that dramatic presentations contain similarities and differences from original works. In Activity 2, students must decide whether to add or omit elements when creating a dramatization and to include notes on music, lighting, and other effects, which requires them to consider interpretive choices made when adapting a text.

Students read three different primary/secondary sources in the War Journalism activity: a PBS article on news and censorship, a 1943 newsreel, and an Ernie Pyle column. Students answer questions that ask them to identify how newsreel footage is informational versus propagandistic and to explain how Ernie Pyle's column differs from a regular news article. The Wrapping Up prompt asks students to consider how the words and images Americans received differed from those the German people got.

Students read primary-source excerpts (Anne Frank and Warsaw Ghetto writings) alongside sections of The Book Thief and are asked to compare primary sources and historical fiction. In Option 2 (Primary Sources vs. Historical Fiction) students brainstorm advantages and disadvantages—including accuracy, emotional effect, and point of view—and then choose three ideas and provide specific examples from either the day's primary source reading or The Book Thief. The activities ask students to consider writing style, point of view, and accuracy when comparing the two kinds of texts.

Students are asked to compare the book and the movie/trailer by answering questions such as "In what ways was the trailer or movie consistent with the book? In what ways was the movie version different from the book?" The skills section explicitly asks students to "Analyze the extent to which a filmed or live production of a story or drama stays faithful to or departs from the text," which requires evaluating choices made by directors or actors. Parent prompts and activity directions ask students to identify omissions or condensations of characters and events and to consider whether the movie impacts viewers the same way the book impacts readers.

Students read and answer questions that require them to recount Mayella Ewell's testimony (Question #1) and Tom Robinson's version of events (Question #2), and to summarize Atticus's explanation of Mayella's actions (Question #4). Students also read the informational student activity page "Order in the Court" and watch a courtroom video to learn legal procedures, then apply those terms to the Tom Robinson trial in the "The Trial" activity. Discussion prompts ask students to evaluate which version of events the jury or readers might believe, prompting comparison of differing accounts.

Students watch the 1964 film adaptation and use a two-column activity page to keep a running list of similarities and differences between the novel and the movie. Students answer focused comparison questions asking what the biggest changes were, why those changes were made, and whether they agree with the director's decisions. Students are asked to choose an activity (write a deleted scene or design a poster) that requires them to engage with omitted or altered material and justify those creative choices. The parent plan lists concrete factual and interpretive differences (e.g., sequence changes, character portrayals, Tom Robinson's death) that students can identify and discuss.

Students are shown a sample graphic organizer that explicitly compares the book and its movie adaptation, noting how the movie omits or deemphasizes characters and alters portrayals of racial tensions. Students see a sample slide idea labeled Book vs. Movie that lists specific differences in scenes and character representation. Students are instructed to design slides and an oral presentation, so they have exposure to an example of comparing two texts (book and film) as a model for analysis.

Students read Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "Paul Revere's Ride" and Paul Revere's first-person account of the same event and mark phrases or lines they find significant. Students complete a Venn diagram comparing the two texts, noting similarities and differences in content, use of literary language, and specific details. Students are given answer-key examples that point out factual differences (e.g., Revere's capture appears in his account but not in the poem) and interpretive differences (poem uses figurative language, rhythm, and dramatization), and an optional article prompts reflection on factual inaccuracies.

Students are asked to compare Carl Sandburg's "Chicago" to Walt Whitman's poems and identify similarities in free verse, imagery, and repetition (Question #1). Students reread "Euclid" and compare it to Whitman's "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer," identifying a contrast between scientific facts/figures and the wonder of nature (Question #2). The Student Activity Page asks students to compare how two villanelles adhere to formal rules, prompting analysis of differences in form and interpretation between texts.

Students read and reread two poems about the same topic—"Poetry" by Marianne Moore and "Ars Poetica" by Archibald MacLeish—and are instructed to underline phrases or images that strike them and answer focused interpretive questions about specific stanzas and lines. Students explicitly compare the two poems on the student activity page by explaining which poem they liked better and why and by choosing effective phrases or images from "Ars Poetica." The Parent Plan and Skills list also direct students to compare and contrast the structure of two or more texts and to analyze poetic language and meaning.

Students are asked to compare two E.E. Cummings poems (QUESTION #1) and to compare Dunbar's "Sympathy" with Angelou's "Caged Bird" (QUESTION #4), describing similarities and differences in theme, form, and imagery. The Parent Plan skills list explicitly includes "Compare and contrast the structure of two or more texts and analyze how the differing structure of each text contributes to its meaning and style." Students also analyze Cummings's capitalization choices and their effects, which requires comparing treatments across two texts.