What is compare and contrast in 1st grade?

Comparing means finding how two things are the same, and contrasting means finding how they are different. First graders read about two pets or two things they know, like rain and snow, and answer short questions about what the pair shares and how it differs.

Why do some wrong answers look right?

Most of them are true about one of the two, but not the other. If a passage says one puppy digs, then a choice saying both puppies dig is wrong. Have your child test each both answer against each character before choosing.

1st grade compare and contrast

1st grade compare and contrast worksheets

First grade compare and contrast worksheets pair two characters or two familiar things in a passage of about eighty words, such as two puppies or ducks and chickens. Your child answers four questions about how the pair is the same, how it is different, and which one did something. The key gives each answer.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core RL.1.9.

Each click picks one of the 15 passages written for this grade. Every sheet comes with its answer key. You don't need to sign up.

The kind of passages you'll get

Read the passage. Then circle the letter of the best answer for each question.

Cows and Horses

Cows and horses both live on farms. Both are big animals with four legs and a long tail. Both eat grass and hay. But their feet are not the same. A horse has one hard hoof on each foot. A cow has a hoof on…

How are cows and horses the same? both eat grass and hay · both have a mane · both have split hooves
Answer: both eat grass and hay
How are cows and horses different? only a horse has a mane · only a cow eats grass · only a horse has a long tail

Each print picks one of the 15 passages written for this grade, and its questions come with it. With 15 to pick from, a second print can land on one you've used, so check the title before you hand it out.

What's on a 1st grade sheet

1st grade sheets draw from 15 passages, 81 to 91 words long. None of these passages are on 2nd grade sheets. On 2nd grade sheets they run 129 to 155 words.

Some of the titles: At the Pool, A Day at the Beach, A Rainy Saturday, Two Library Books, Apples and Oranges, The Two Snowmen.

Reading passage. Read the passage. Then circle the letter of the best answer for each question. One passage per sheet, with its own question set.

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

How to teach this

Read the passage aloud together, then let your child read it again. Hold up two fingers, one for each character or thing, and talk about each one in turn. Then point out the word both: it marks a way the two are the same. The word but usually marks a difference. When a choice says both, check it against each finger. A wrong choice is often true of only one of the two.

Watch for: Kids latch onto differences and skip what the two things share. The alike questions are usually the ones that need a second look at the passage. A fact about only ONE of the two things answers neither kind of question. If the passage says it about just the frog, it is not a both answer, no matter how true it is.

Common questions about 1st grade compare and contrast

What is compare and contrast in 1st grade?: Comparing means finding how two things are the same, and contrasting means finding how they are different. First graders read about two pets or two things they know, like rain and snow, and answer short questions about what the pair shares and how it differs.
Why do some wrong answers look right?: Most of them are true about one of the two, but not the other. If a passage says one puppy digs, then a choice saying both puppies dig is wrong. Have your child test each both answer against each character before choosing.

Related worksheets

Ready to print one?

Want a different passage? Print again. Each print picks one of the 15.

Aligned to Common Core RL.1.9. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated October 2026.

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