In the weeks before we left for winter break, we were engaged in activities using Venn Diagrams. Abby introduced the concept to the children by comparing the family traditions that we were learning about as we explored Celebrations of Light.
The students then had a chance to interview one another in pairs, to see how they are alike and different, and record their findings on a Venn Diagram using words and pictures. It was so wonderful to hear the excitement as they discovered the many things that they have in common and the ways that they are unique. They were also very excited to see which part of their diagram had the most information in it.
Our next activity was to work with partners again and compare phone numbers. Several wanted to write down their partners' phone numbers so that they could call each other!
Our concluding activity was to work individually and compare Jan Brett's book, The Gingerbread Baby, with Karen Schmidt's book, The Gingerbread Man. This proved to be more of a challenge than I had anticipated. Fortunately, the books were on hand and could be reviewed to help them come up with ideas. They were able to find similarities in the books much more readily than to identify ways that each book was different. It was a great exercise to go back into the stories and find unique features from each.
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