Comparing and text types | Year 5

💡Understand

Strong comparison focuses on HOW two texts differ in approach, not just WHAT they're about. Non-fiction and poetry each have distinct purposes and conventions — recognising these helps you read and compare them more precisely.

“Text A (non-fiction): 'Coral reefs support 25% of all marine species.' Text B (poetry): 'Beneath the waves, a rainbow city breathes, / fragile as glass, alive with silent song.'”

Text A informs with precise, factual language. Text B creates feeling through figurative imagery ('rainbow city', 'fragile as glass'). Comparing them means noticing this fundamental difference in PURPOSE and APPROACH, not just that both are about coral reefs.

🔍Spot it

What is the key comparison point between these two texts?

Question 1

Text A: 'The mountain is 2,400 metres tall.' Text B: 'The mountain reached toward the heavens, ancient and unyielding.'

💡 This highlights the fundamental difference in purpose and technique between factual and poetic writing.

Question 2

Text A explains a scientific process step by step; Text B tells a personal story about the same topic.

💡 Comparing the FORM each text uses reveals a genuine, meaningful difference in approach.

Question 3

Both texts conclude that protecting the environment matters, despite very different styles.

💡 Recognising a shared conclusion, even with different styles, is a valid and useful comparison point.

🧠Think about it

Why might comparing a non-fiction text and a poem about the SAME topic reveal more than comparing two similar non-fiction texts?

✍️Try it

Identify the key comparison point.

Text A: 'Deforestation has reduced the Amazon rainforest by 17% since 1970.' Text B: 'Where giants once stood, only silence remains, and the green cathedral falls quiet.'

Question 1

What is the key comparison point between these two texts?

💡 Compare the type of language and the effect each is trying to create.

📝Practise

Identify the comparison point or text type feature.

Question 1

Text A gives factual statistics; Text B uses personal anecdote. What is the comparison point?

Question 2

"Water covers 71% of the Earth's surface." What type of text is this?

Question 3

"The ocean breathes, a restless giant, / dreaming beneath the moon." What type of text is this?

Question 4

In one word, what should comparison focus on, beyond just shared topic?

💡 It's emphasised throughout this lesson's Understand and Think About It sections.

Question 5

Why might comparing texts about the same topic in different forms be especially revealing?

Question 6

What might both a factual text and a poem about a topic share, despite different styles?

🎯Apply

Read the passage, then answer the questions below.

Text A: 'The Arctic has lost approximately 13% of its sea ice per decade since 1979, according to satellite data.' Text B: 'Once, the ice stretched endless and eternal — now, fractured mirrors drift alone, reflecting a sky that no longer recognises them.'

Question 1

What technique does Text A rely on to make its point?

💡 Look for numbers and factual claims.

Question 2

What technique does Text B rely on to make its point?

Question 3

What shared message do both texts communicate, despite their different styles?

💡 Think about what both texts are ultimately telling us, beneath their different styles.

🏆Challenge

Write a comparative paragraph (three to four sentences) explaining how Text A and Text B use different techniques to communicate a similar underlying message about Arctic ice loss.

🔄Review

A quick mastery check — 3 questions.

Question 1

"Polar bears rely on sea ice to hunt seals." What type of text is this?

Question 2

"The bear walks a shrinking kingdom, / ice groaning beneath each careful step." What type of text is this?

Question 3

Strong comparison should focus mainly on...