Arrival · retrieve

You already hold one lamp

In week 4 you read the approved Hanukkah source.

One more light was added on each of the eight nights.

Today you meet a second festival of light.

It is Diwali, and the source card calls its lamp a diya.

Comparing means putting two things side by side, not picking a winner.

You need both source cards, the comparison grid and a pen.

Starter · create the need

Two sentences from the same two cards

Here are two sentences written from today's cards.

Sentence one says Diwali uses lots of lamps, but Hanukkah is better.

Sentence two says both festivals light lamps, and each source gives its own reason.

Sentence one adds a judgement that neither card made.

Sentence two reports only what is printed on the cards.

• 1 · read one card at a time.
• 2 · record what that card actually says.
• 3 · ask both cards the same question.
• 4 · write one sentence that names both.

I Do · model

Building one comparison from the cards

I take Card A first, the Diwali card.

The card says rows of small clay lamps are lit.

It says those lamps are called diyas, and that the light stands for good over evil.

I write those three things in the Card A column.

I add nothing I half remember from somewhere else.

Now the step people skip: I ask both cards the same question.

My question is what the light stands for.

If I ask Card A about meaning and Card B about dates, nothing lines up.

So each row of the grid holds one question only.

We Do · everyone commits

Sort the cards, then match them

You have six statement cards, all taken from the two sources.

Sort them into two groups: Card A statements and Card B statements.

Then match each statement to the question it answers.

The three questions are what is lit, when it is lit, and what it stands for.

One statement is true of both festivals. Put that one in the middle.

Hold up the card you argued about most.

I Do 2 · connect

Reporting a difference without ranking it

Card B says one more light is added each night.

Card A says many lamps are lit on the same night.

That is a real difference and you may write it.

The trap is the next word you reach for.

Better, worse, only and proper all rank a festival.

Both, each and while report it instead.

So write that both festivals light lamps, while each gives its own reason.

One more rule: write according to Card A, and never write everyone thinks.

One date can also hold more than one meaning.

Card A says Sikhs mark a different event at the same time.

You report both meanings, and you choose between neither.

We Do 2 · lab

Hunt the ranking word

First write one draft comparison sentence on scrap paper.

Build it from the statement cards you sorted a moment ago.

Then work in twos. Swap drafts and read your partner's sentence.

Underline any word that puts one festival above the other.

Name the word you found. Do not say the sentence is wrong.

Your partner swaps that word for both, each or while.

Then swap back and read your own draft again.

If there is no ranking word, check that both festivals are named.

Independent · evidence

Fill the grid, then write the sentence

Work on your own now. Both cards stay on your desk.

The grid has three rows: what is lit, when, and what it stands for.

Every box reports one card in your own words.

Leave a box empty if the card does not say.

An empty box is honest, and a guessed box is not.

Then write your comparison sentence under the grid.

Use the draft your partner checked, or write a stronger one.

Name both festivals and use both, each or while.

Then underline the part of your sentence that came from Card B.

• Supported · fill one row for both cards, then write one sentence naming both.
• Standard · fill all three rows and write one comparison sentence with no ranking word.
• Stretch · as Standard, and add a second sentence on a difference the cards report.

Exit · Audience and Influence

Read your sentence to one adult

Read your comparison sentence to the adult at your table.

They read it back exactly as you wrote it.

Then they ask one question: does this rank either festival?

If it does, change that one word and read it again.

Then choose what happens next: keep the grid, add a third source card, or rewrite the sentence.

Write your choice and today's date on the sheet before you leave.