After an initial lesson on the Concept Comparison routine, I realized that the students in my group were getting distracted by the higher-level vocabulary I was using to teach the routine. This was interfering with their understanding of the two concepts, as well as their overall level of engagement during co-construction of the table. I decided to modify the lesson to verbal interactions and providing concrete examples. Before co-constructing a table again on the same concepts, I changed my draft to simplify the information they needed to write and be able to explain. I also used examples as a way to initiate the second lesson to provide a hook. This allowed the students to make connections to their prior learning and stay more engaged and curious about the information taught. We were able to expand on the two concepts by not only having the students recognize and explain the similarities and differences, but also change one example of a metaphor to a simile. It was clear that the students had a better understanding after using the routine a second time.
