In-class Yopp & Yopp activity for The Giver

Contrast Chart

Source: Yopp & Yopp, page 31

The contrast chart strategy is used as a pre-reading strategy in Yopp & Yopp to help students think about a more in-depth topic in the book they will be reading. For this case, however, I think it is a great tool to use as a post-reading activity. It is very simple to set up because students just need to put a title at the top, and make two divided columns underneath.

The purpose of a contrast chart as a pre-reading strategy is to show differences within a text in order to help predict what might happen. As a post-reading strategy, a contrast chart is a great way for students to analyze the text at a deeper level. A different version of a contrast chart could be a Venn diagram, where not only contrast is shown, but also similarity. With this kind of chart, students can use the middle section to bring together two categories and decide how to analyze them. For example, with The Giver there might be some similarities between pros and cons, like “Gains insight into the truth.” Students could then discuss why this statement is a similarity instead of merely a difference. The statement can be a pro because Jonas learns the truth and is able to better understand his surroundings and those around him. But it is also a con because with that truth comes immense pressure to expose it and do the right thing.


There are many benefits and many hardships Jonas must endure when he is chosen to be The Receiver of Memory. List some positives that come out of his experience in the first column, and then list the negatives in the second.

The Giver: Pros and Cons of receiving the community’s memories

Pros of receiving memories

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Cons of receiving memories

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What is it about this strategy that makes it a “scientifically based best practice?”

This strategy is best practice because students must use their prior knowledge of the book to fill out the chart. This helps with comprehension because depending on the topic, the students must look for and think of specific information to contrast with each other. This chart can be used at any level; for lower grades a topic like “What is good vs. what is bad about what the cat in the hat does to the children’s house?” could be used, and for upper grades a topic like the one above about The Giver could be used. This kind of chart stimulates deep cognitive thinking about the similarities and differences between topics within a text, and can be used to make text-to-text or text-to-self connections.

List the Procedures you will go through to teach your strategy. Follow the Cognitive Apprenticeship (Watch It Do It Know It, Direct Teaching model)

First I will introduce the strategy to the group and explain its use. I will guide them through the example I have laid out, followed by the reasons behind the answers I filled out on the chart. I will explain that good readers go back to use the text to look for information they need, and that the reason behind this is to strengthen comprehension. Then I will explain what I want them to do (see below under “Materials Application”) and ask them to work together to fill out the chart. Following this, I will ask them to share their answers and then apply them to the questions I have written that will lead to a deeper understanding of the text.


What questions will you ask to stimulate discussion of the effectiveness and further application of your strategy?

-Did you enjoy this strategy? Why or why not?
-If you could add or subtract an element of the strategy, what would you change?
-Do you like the column chart or the Venn diagram better? Why or why not?