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Learn
Exactly the Same or the Same But …
Students use attributes to establish whether two objects are exactly the same or the same but a little different.
Display the picture of the two ducks.
Look at the two ducks. Are they the same? How do you know they are the same?
Yes. They are both yellow. They are the same size.
Everything about them is the same. We can say they are exactly the same.
Show the picture of the apples.
Look at the two apples. Are they exactly the same? No.
What is the same about both apples? Turn and talk to your neighbor about the things that are the same about both apples.
They are both red. They are both round.
Promoting the Standards for Mathematical Practice
Students attend to precision (MP6) when they use the phrases exactly the same and the same but … to describe two objects. They precisely communicate common attributes among the objects rather than simply describing them as the same or different.
Observational Assessment
Listen to student responses during turn and talks. Can students describe the attributes that are the same and different?
What’s not the same? What’s different about them? Turn and talk to your neighbor about how the apples are different. One is big and one is small.
They are the same because they are both red, round apples, but they are different because one is big and one is small. We can say they have the same name and are the same color and shape, but they are different sizes.
Repeat with each picture: the glasses of juice, the dice, and the dogs. To support students, summarize their thoughts by using a repetitive sentence structure.
• Everything about them is the same. They are exactly the same.
• They are the same because but different because .
• They are the same but different .
Problem Set
Problem Sets are normally set aside for students to work independently on the day’s objective. There is no independent practice for lesson 1. Use this time to establish transitions and routines so that, on subsequent days, students move around the classroom and handle materials, such as the student book, efficiently.
Providing opportunities for students to practice and show what they have learned through independent in-class work is an integral part of A Story of Units®. In kindergarten, that practice may take the form of hands-on experiences, games, or written work.
Gradual introduction of Problem Sets builds kindergarten students’ capacity to represent their work through drawing and writing. Problem Sets are not part of every kindergarten lesson.
Teacher Note
The images are sequenced to first establish the meaning of same and different and then challenge students to consider various attributes that can be compared.
The last pair may be particularly tricky because the same dog is in different positions. Why introduce this complexity? The idea that an object keeps its name regardless of its position or orientation will be important in module 2 when students consider the attributes of shapes. The triangles below are the same shape but in different positions.
Language Support
Young children are learning to produce complex sentences independently. Revoicing student responses by using a repetitive sentence structure provides a language model that students can emulate.
Students may use two simple sentences instead. “It’s the same dog. What’s different is one shows the dog sitting and the other shows the dog lying down.”
