The Parent Plan explicitly lists the skill: "Recognize underlying messages in order to identify theme(s) within and across works," which references identifying themes across works. The Special Notes state that Dock quotes "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and instruct: "Read the poem to your child and discuss the story of the poem," providing a second form (poem) for discussion. Multiple student activities require students to identify themes in The Wanderer and provide textual evidence, preparing students to analyze thematic material.

Students are asked to create a Venn diagram titled "Comparing Ember & Sparks" and to illustrate both cities, which has them compare similarities and differences between two settings. The activity page explicitly tells students to use their log from Lesson 3 and to "think back to the movie," prompting recall of a different form (film) related to the text. Discussion prompts ask students to explain similarities and differences between the two communities and to justify interpretations about causes of conflict.

Students read two short stories in different genres (a low-fantasy story and a science-fiction story) and are asked to consider how the natural environment functions in each (Getting Started; Day 2; Activity 4). Activity 4 and the Ideas to Think About prompt students to record phrases and sentences that describe the settings and to reflect on how the environment shapes plot and character. The lesson includes discussion questions that explicitly ask why the natural environment is important to both stories and asks students to review genre differences (Wrapping Up; Parent Plan discussion questions).

The lesson asks students (Option 2) to create an actions/trait chart for a character from one of the other short stories in the unit ("The Good Deed," "Testing, Testing, 1...2...3," or "Follow the Water"), which requires working with more than one text. The RAFT activity asks students to produce a poem or song (a different format) in remembrance of Pompeii, asking students to work across genres/forms. The Skills section explicitly lists "Read a variety of literature and other text."

Activity 4 directs students to read a poem retelling of "Rip Van Winkle" and to consider how it is different from the short story, asking explicitly: Which version did you enjoy more and why? How were they similar? How were they different? The Parent Plan reiterates that the child should compare the short story and the poem excerpt. The "Ideas to Think About" section prompts thematic considerations (e.g., role of natural environment; how communities change) that students can apply when comparing versions.

Students read two short stories that both emphasize female characters and the natural world, and they answer guided questions about each text. Students complete a Venn diagram titled "Sympathetic Females" to find similarities and differences between Widow Carey and Sylvia. Students respond to wrap-up discussion prompts asking how the natural environment changed the lives of both female characters and produce a short critique that requires connections between texts.

Students read and analyze primary source journals (Activity 4) and are asked to read secondary sources about the Battle of Bull Run (Activity 5). The Parent Plan and Discussion Questions direct students to explain how the two journal/diary accounts differ in point of view and to consider how primary and secondary sources were useful in understanding the battle. Students are instructed to identify facts and opinions and to discuss perspective and bias in the primary-source entries.

Students read a picture book (Pink and Say) and multiple Civil War letters (primary-source documents) and are asked to identify factual information about the war from the story. Students analyze point of view by rewriting passages from Pink's or an omniscient narrator's perspective and are directed to identify the writers, audiences, sides, and opinions in the Civil War letters. The wrap-up and discussion questions explicitly ask students to compare how the Civil War letters are similar to and different from the book.

Students read a Civil War speech and are asked to record three factual statements, three opinion statements, and identify statements that could be propaganda, directly analyzing a textual primary source. Students also examine several Civil War pictures/posters on a "Propaganda" page and must explain how each picture could have been used to sway attitudes, analyzing visual primary sources. In the novel activities, students track multiple first-person accounts and are prompted to consider whether characters' ideas and perspectives change, and to place characters from North and South on a map to note differing viewpoints.

Students read Chapters 5 and 6 about Einstein and watch two videos about his discoveries, taking notes as they view. Students are explicitly asked in the Wrapping Up discussion prompts to compare the book and the video accounts of Einstein's "miracle year," noting similarities and differences and which account gave a better understanding. Activity 4 directs students to listen for facts versus opinions in the videos, supporting evaluation of different approaches to the same topic.

Students are asked in Activity 2 to look up an encyclopedia entry and compare its style and content to the biography they are reading and to videos they watched about Einstein. The Forms of Media activity page includes explicit comparison questions (e.g., how the purpose is the same, how the medium differs, which produced the greatest emotional response) that prompt students to contrast approaches to the same topic. The Parent Plan directs students to orally explain how each source contributed to their understanding and to describe benefits and limitations, and the Skills list explicitly includes synthesizing ideas across texts and recognizing similarities and differences based on a common theme or message.

Students read Chapters 3 and 4 and choose passages to read aloud and discuss, engaging with a narrative text about leaders, fear, and persuasion. Students analyze multiple propaganda posters (Nazi and American examples), summarize each poster's message, note techniques used to influence attitudes, and design their own persuasive poster. The lesson includes an explicit definition of propaganda and an 'Ideas to Think About' prompt asking how leaders use power to persuade and inspire, linking the narrative topic to the poster analysis.

Students read Chapters 9 and 10 of a historical fiction text, select passages to discuss aloud, and respond to comprehension questions about themes such as bravery and resistance. Activity 2 directs students to read an expository web biography about Barbara Rodbell and retell her story to a parent, and to answer how her message about thinking for yourself relates to World War II and today. The skills section explicitly mentions responding to literary or expository texts and providing evidence from the text to demonstrate understanding.

Activity 2 asks students to brainstorm historical figures who made sacrifices and to choose one to compare and contrast with Annemarie using a Venn diagram, recording differences and at least two similarities. The directions require students to identify aspects that make Annemarie's struggle different and aspects that make the other person's struggle different, and to record shared ways their struggles are similar. The lesson's discussion prompts and "Ideas to Think About" focus students on the theme of sacrifice and consequences during conflict, which students use as the basis for their comparison.

Students are instructed in Activity 2 to read two versions of "Little Red Riding Hood" and to decide which version is most similar to Annemarie's story, then use a graphic organizer to show similarities and differences between Annemarie's story and Little Red Riding Hood. The skills section explicitly lists identifying themes within and across works, and the lesson notes that the author parallels Annemarie's journey with Little Red Riding Hood. Parent prompts ask students to describe the similarities and differences between the two stories, reinforcing cross-text comparison.

The Parent Plan lists the skill: "Make connections within and between texts by recognizing similarities and differences based on a common lesson, theme, or message," and the Things to Review asks the child to "explain one or two themes found in the novel" and to say if she has "read other books with similar themes." The lesson also prompts discussion questions that ask the child to relate themes (cycles and change) to real-world examples and other readings, and Activity 2 asks the student to connect novel themes to observations in nature.

In Activity 2 students read two Norse myths, a historical account about Ponce de León (the Fountain of Youth), and are asked to compare these with the novel by writing three similarities and three differences. The directions explicitly tell students to record similarities and differences between the myths/legends (and linked web material) and the story in the novel in their journals. The wrapping-up and introductory questions also focus students on the shared theme of magical waters and how discovery leads to change, connecting the texts by topic.

The lesson instructs students to watch the Disney movie Tuck Everlasting and then "record three ways the movie differed from the book" and "three things you would have done differently," which requires direct comparison between the novel and the film. It also prompts students to consider "How similar do you think the movie will be to the book?" and asks afterward whether they enjoyed the movie or the book more and why. The Parent Plan skills include comparing similarities and differences in setting, characters, and plot between a play and a film based on the same story line, indicating an expectation of cross-form comparison skills.

Students read chapters of the novel Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and complete a "Recognizing Discrimination" organizer to record examples of discrimination in the text. Students watch a primary-source video about the Civil Rights Movement and view a historical image of a segregated lunch counter, then write a three- or four-sentence journal response about what they learned and how the video made them feel. The lesson explicitly connects the novel's depiction of injustice to the later Civil Rights Movement and asks students to reflect on differences in communities over time.

Students read Chapter 5 of the novel and answer comprehension questions about events and characters. Students are asked to watch a linked nonfiction video about Jim Crow laws and discuss it with a parent. The lesson's stated skill includes connecting and clarifying main ideas by identifying their relationships to other sources and related topics, and the wrapping up/review sections prompt discussion of Jim Crow laws alongside the chapter.

Students read Chapter 8 of a historical novel (fiction) that includes a community boycott and are asked to track instances of discrimination as they read. Students also read primary-source style material titled "Integrated Bus Suggestions" and are provided a video link about the Montgomery Bus Boycott (nonfiction). Students are prompted to explain to a parent what they learned about the Montgomery Bus Boycott and to discuss the boycott depicted in the story, which brings both forms into the activity.

Students read Chapter 9 of a novel about the Logans and sharecropping and are directed to watch a linked video titled 'Sharecropping in the American South' that presents historical images and context. Students are asked to locate or create images (Option 2) and draw a diagram (Option 1) that visually explain the sharecropping system, and to observe facial expressions and body language in the video images. Students are asked to explain the system of sharecropping aloud to a sibling or parent using their diagram or picture and quote.

The presentation prompt asks students to provide examples "based on what you learned from the story as well as what you learned about the Jim Crow laws and other related video and text presented in the unit," which directs students to draw on multiple texts and media. The End-of-Unit Test asks questions about the novel, Jim Crow laws, and the Civil Rights Movement, requiring students to recall content from both literary and historical sources. The rubric and parent guidance ask students to "articulate an understanding of important ideas communicated by the novel" and to support opinions with detailed evidence and visual/media displays.

Students are asked to identify and explain theme (e.g., "Interpret text by explaining theme" and "Recognize underlying messages in order to identify theme(s) within and across works"). Students compare Jonas' community to communities in the United States and to historical examples (Hitler, communist regimes) when analyzing the theme of freedom. Students produce work in multiple forms and genres—writing a persuasive letter, composing before-and-after and acrostic poems, and completing a bio-poem—that engage with the same topic (freedom) from different expressive forms.

Students read both The Giver chapters and Lois Lowry's Newbery Acceptance Speech (multiple "Student Activity Page" descriptions) and are prompted to discuss how the memories Lowry shares relate to The Giver. The skills list includes responding to fiction and nonfiction using interpretive and evaluative processes and the Parent Plan instructs to "stop along the way to discuss the memories she shares and how they relate to The Giver." The final project asks students to consider Lowry's memories that inspired the story and to create a product (storyboard or final chapter) that connects those memories and themes to the novel.

Question #5 asks students to consider the author's purpose in the nonfiction book and to predict how the historical fiction novel Esperanza Rising will differ in purpose or viewpoint, prompting a direct comparison of genres addressing the Great Depression. A discussion question asks how photos (primary source documents) and the book about the Great Depression (a secondary source) were both useful, prompting students to compare different forms' approaches to the same topic. The Great Depression Photo Journal activity has students work with first‑hand accounts and images alongside the informational text, which supports comparing perspectives across different text types.

Students read chapters from a novel ("Las Papayas" and "Los Higos") and a poem ("The Phoenix Bird" by Hans Christian Andersen) and are given a web resource about the phoenix myth. Students are asked in Option 1 to describe how the phoenix might serve as a symbol for Esperanza's circumstances, linking the myth/poem to the novel. The lesson includes an "Ideas to Think About" prompt about how literature and oral storytelling reflect cultural values and a parent plan skill to "analyze the function of stylistic elements...in traditional and classical literature."

Students are asked to choose a quote from Cesar Chavez, explain its meaning in their own words, and relate it to Esperanza's story, which requires connecting a nonfiction source to the novel. The lesson includes Chavez quotations and a student activity page that explicitly prompts students to explain how a Chavez quote "relates to Esperanza's story in a meaningful way." The parent prompts also ask students to describe who Cesar Chavez was and what he did and to discuss connections to the characters and events in Esperanza Rising.

Students read chapters from the historical fiction novel Esperanza Rising and are asked to write a four- or five-sentence summary of events from "Los Aguacates" and "Los Esparragos." Students listen to two primary-source interviews (oral histories) about FSA camps and life in the camps and are directed to use those recordings to learn about migrant worker culture and discrimination. Students are asked to examine listed reasons for striking and record examples from the book that support those reasons, summarizing examples and providing page numbers.

The parent discussion questions ask: "Both What Was the Great Depression and Esperanza Rising dealt with the Great Depression. How were their approaches similar? Different? How did each text help you better understand the time period?" This prompts students to compare a nonfiction text and a historical novel in terms of their approaches to the same topic. The Questions to Discuss section explicitly directs students (via parent facilitation) to analyze similarities and differences in how two texts treat the same historical topic.

The lesson asks students to explain the difference between a novel and a play and to discuss how movies or plays based on books are similar to and different from their source text. The Parent Plan explicitly lists "Analyze the similarities and differences between an original text and its dramatic adaptation." Students read a readers' theater script, write their own script adapting an event from Esperanza Rising, perform it, and are prompted to discuss how the dramatic interpretation is similar to and different from the book. Students also write a movie trailer that must highlight main events and major themes (e.g., adjusting to a new culture or navigating social class), requiring them to present themes in a different form.

Students are asked to reread and compare three versions of the poem "from March '79" (Question #4), and to note how the structure of "Tunnels" differs from other poems (Question #2). Students are prompted to analyze punctuation, capitalization, and sentence structure of poems and to notice that these features differ from prose in the "Poetic License" activity. The wrap-up discussion also asks students whether these poems are similar to or different from poems they have read in the past.

Students read a range of poems (pages 92–113) including identified haiku and a narrative poem. Students are asked to find the haiku, record it, count syllables, and write their own haiku about an insect. Students are also guided to write a narrative poem about nature or science, with prompts about character, conflict, and story arc.

Students are asked to compare specific poems directly: the parent plan discussion question asks, "How were 'The Panther' and 'The Dancing Bear' similar?" and Question #4 prompts students to record emotional responses to both "The Panther" and "The Bear." Activity 2 (Student Activity Part II) requires students to examine ellipsis use in three different poems and explain why each poet might have used an ellipsis, which involves comparing poetic choices across multiple poems. Option 2 directs students to reread an original poem and a rewritten version and "Discuss similarities and differences between the two."

The Skills section instructs students to "Compare and contrast the stated or implied purposes of different authors writing on the same topic," which directs students to analyze and compare texts on a shared theme. Activity 4 asks students to reread two buffalo poems and draw a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the poems, and the Parent Plan gives explicit similarities and differences for that comparison. Several activities (e.g., rereading "Secretary Bird" and "The Dodo") have students read multiple poems on similar topics, prompting comparative thinking about messages and tone.

Students are asked to make connections within and between texts by recognizing similarities and differences based on a common lesson, theme, or message (Parent Plan skills). Students compile multiple poem types (haiku, narrative, lyric, found, shape poems) into a lapbook and are prompted to reflect on how the poems reflect systems, cycles, and patterns in nature. Students review their poems and discuss questions such as which poem is their favorite and what people will learn about nature by reading their poems, which supports comparing content across pieces.

Students read Chapters 1 and 2 of a fictional story (Cusi) and also explore multiple informational websites about ancient Incan culture. Students record what they learn on "Elements of Incan Culture" graphic organizers and respond to thematic prompts (e.g., How do belief systems of the past influence the present?). The materials therefore place a narrative text and nonfiction sources side-by-side and prompt students to think about cultural themes.