Grade by Grade
D. Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts · Writing for Real Audiences

Informational Writing: Compare-and-Contrast Reports and News Articles

D2.1 D1.3 D1.4 A3.1About 45 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can write a compare-and-contrast text using a Venn diagram and signal words.
  • I can write a news article with a headline, a lead that answers the 5 Ws, and the most important facts first.
  • I can use facts from reliable sources and keep my opinions out of informational writing.

Words to know

informational text
A text that gives facts about a real topic.
compare
To tell how things are alike.
contrast
To tell how things are different.
news article
An informational text that reports on a recent event.
headline
The short, bold title of a news article.
lead
The first sentence or paragraph of a news article, which answers the most important questions.
5 Ws
Who, what, where, when and why (and often how).
objective
Sticking to facts, without the writer's opinions or feelings.

Remember from Grade 4

In Grade 4 you wrote reports with subheadings and explanations that tell how or why something happens, and you added text features like diagrams, captions and glossaries.

In Grade 5 you will try two more informational forms: compare-and-contrast texts and news articles. Both are used in science, social studies and real life.

Compare-and-contrast texts

A compare-and-contrast text explains how two things are alike and how they are different. First, gather facts from reliable sources and sort them in a Venn diagram. Then choose how to organize your paragraphs:

  • Block method: one paragraph all about thing A, then one paragraph all about thing B, then a paragraph on how they're alike.
  • Point-by-point method: one paragraph per feature (skin, legs, habitat), comparing both things in each paragraph.
FROGSsmooth,moist skinlong legsBOTHamphibiansmost layeggs inwaterTOADSdrier,bumpy skinshorter legs
A Venn diagram comparing frogs and toads. What they share goes in the middle.
Worked example

Let's write a compare-and-contrast paragraph

Use the Venn diagram to write a point-by-point paragraph about skin and legs.

  1. Topic sentence: say what you are comparing. Frogs and toads are both amphibians, but you can often tell them apart by their skin and legs.
  2. Contrast skin with a signal word: Frogs usually have smooth, moist skin. In contrast, toads have drier, bumpy skin.
  3. Contrast legs: Frogs have long back legs for big jumps, while toads have shorter legs and often hop or walk.
  4. Compare (alike): Both of them usually lay their eggs in water.
  5. Concluding sentence: So, even though they are close relatives, a quick look at the skin and legs can help you tell which is which.

Signal words like in contrast, while, both, also, however guide the reader between alike and different.

News articles

A news article reports on a recent event. It is objective: it sticks to facts and lets people's quotations share opinions.

  • Headline: short and catchy, often in the present tense (Students Collect 300 Coats for Winter).
  • Byline: who wrote it.
  • Lead: the first sentence or two answer who, what, where, when, why (and how).
  • Body: more details, from most important to least important. This shape is sometimes called an inverted (upside-down) pyramid. Busy readers can stop early and still get the main facts.
  • Quotations: the exact words of people involved, with their names.
  • Photo and caption (if possible).
A rack of colourful children's winter coats and a box of hats and mittens in a school hallway.
What news article could go with this photo? Think about the 5 Ws: who collected the coats, what, where, when and why. AI-generated image
Worked example

Let's write a news lead and body

Facts (pretend event): Maple Grove Public School, Grade 5 classes, collected 312 winter coats, November 2 to 20, for families in the community who need them, coats given to the community centre on November 21, student Liam Chen said "Nobody should be cold in winter."

  1. Headline: Maple Grove Students Collect 312 Coats for Neighbours
  2. Lead (5 Ws): Grade 5 students at Maple Grove Public School (who and where) collected 312 winter coats (what) between November 2 and 20 (when) so that families in their community can stay warm this winter (why).
  3. Next most important: The coats were delivered to the community centre (where) on November 21.
  4. Quotation: "Nobody should be cold in winter," said Grade 5 student Liam Chen.
  5. Least important details go last, like how the classes advertised the drive.
  6. Check: no opinions from the writer, such as This was the best coat drive ever.

A headline, a 5 Ws lead, then details from most to least important, with a quotation. (This school and event are pretend.)

Headline + lead: who, what, where, when, whyMaple Grove students collected 312 coats, Nov. 2 to 20Next: coats delivered to the community centreQuotation: Liam ChenLeast important:how the drivewas advertisedmostleast
The inverted pyramid: the most important facts go first, so a busy reader who stops early still gets the main news.

Facts, not feelings

In informational writing, leave out I think, amazing and the best. If an opinion matters to the story, put it in a quotation from a real person and name them. Always use facts from reliable sources and keep track of where they came from.

Just for fun

Fun fact for your Venn diagram: touching a toad can't give you warts. That's a myth! (Still, wash your hands after holding any frog or toad.) 🐸

Hands-on activity

Family news reporter

You need: paper, a pencil, and a family event from this week (a visit, a recipe you made, a lost tooth, a first snowfall).

  1. Interview one family member. Ask the 5 Ws and How. Write down one exact quotation.
  2. Write a headline.
  3. Write a lead that answers the 5 Ws in one or two sentences.
  4. Add two body paragraphs, most important first.
  5. Draw a picture and write a caption.
  6. Read it to your family. Ask: Did the first sentence tell you the main facts?
  7. Bonus: compare two things in your home (two pets, two winter boots, two apps) in a Venn diagram, and write one compare-and-contrast paragraph.

Your turn

1

What do compare and contrast mean?

2

Name three signal words for contrast.

3

What questions does a news lead answer?

4

Rewrite to be objective: The amazing fire trucks raced to the scary fire on King Street.

5

Why are the most important facts first in a news article?

6

Write a headline for a pretend event: Our town's library opened a new reading room for teens.

7

Block or point-by-point? Paragraph 1: hockey. Paragraph 2: ringette. Paragraph 3: how they're alike.

More practice: warm-up

1

What is a headline?

2

What goes in the middle of a Venn diagram?

3

What is a byline?

4

Is I think cats are better objective?

5

Name a signal word that shows things are alike.

More practice: on your own

1

Find the 5 Ws: On Saturday, volunteers planted 50 trees in Riverside Park to give shade and homes for birds.

2

Write a compare sentence and a contrast sentence about a bicycle and a car.

3

Order these news details from most to least important: the colour of the balloons; the school raised $2,000 for the hospital; the event was on Friday.

4

How could a writer include an opinion in a news article and still be objective?

5

Which source would you use to check facts about frogs: a nature centre website or a cartoon about a talking frog? Why?

Challenge

1

Plan a point-by-point compare-and-contrast report on rabbits and hares. Name three features you would compare in your body paragraphs, and say what you'd need to do before writing.

2

Rewrite this as a news lead: It was a cold day. Lots of people came. They were at the arena. It was the Winter Carnival on Sunday. They raised money for the food bank.

3

Why are compare-and-contrast texts useful in science and social studies? Give an example.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which tool is best for planning a compare-and-contrast text?

2.

What does a news lead answer?

3.

Which sentence is objective?

4.

Which signal word shows contrast?

5.

In a news article, where do the least important details go?

6.

In the point-by-point method, each body paragraph...

For parents and teachers

Big idea (D2.1): Grade 5 writers draft texts in a variety of informational forms. Compare-and-contrast texts and news articles use researched facts (D1.3), logical organization (D1.4) and are used across subjects (A3.1).

How to help at home:

  • Read a short local news story together and find the 5 Ws in the first paragraph.
  • Compare two things at the grocery store (two cereals, two apples) using both, but and while.
  • Notice when news uses quotations to share opinions.

Common difficulties:

  • Opinions sneaking in ("the amazing event"). Ask: "Could someone check that?"
  • A list of differences without any similarities. Remind them to fill the middle of the Venn diagram.
  • Leads that start with background ("It was a cold day..."). Start with the most important fact.

Please note: The coat drive and its school are pretend. The frog and toad facts are general; there are exceptions in nature, which is why the text says usually and often.