What You Would Have to Compare
A 55-minute Grade 5 lesson on identifying the comparison a supporting question needs, and when it does not exist.
What You Would Have to Compare is a free 55-minute Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies lesson plan for Common Core standard D1.3.3-5 — name the ideas behind a smaller question that people read in more than one way. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the mathematics, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.
- Grade:
- Grade 3 to Grade 5
- Length:
- 55 minutes
- Standard:
- D1.3.3-5
Grade 3 to Grade 5 · Developing Questions and Planning Inquiries
D1.3.3-5
Identify the disciplinary concepts and ideas associated with a supporting question that are open to interpretation.
Objective
Students will be able to name the comparison a question needs and say when no such evidence survives.
Students are successful when they can
- Names the evidence, not just the source.
- Says what comparison it must be set against.
- Identifies a question the record cannot settle.
What you need
- The council report, the broadcast and the poll
- Question strips with two evidence boxes
- The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan
The lesson
Warm-up — 140,000 on its own
5 min- Write 140,000 on the board with nothing beside it.
- Ask whether that is good or bad, and refuse to answer without a second figure.
Teach — a figure needs a comparison
18 min- Put 300,000 beside it. Now the figure means something.
- Do the council report: 4,180 built is nothing until 11,600 waiting sits beside it.
- Write the rule: name the evidence, then name what it must be compared with.
- Do 'could private firms have built faster?' You need output where firms did build.
- Say what follows: if no such place exists in the record, the question cannot be settled.
- Do 'was the poll representative?' You need the method and the country's distribution.
- Show a tempting wrong answer: the minister's opinion. On topic, and not evidence.
“What would that figure have to sit beside before it meant anything?”
Guided practice — fill both boxes
17 min- Pairs take five strips and fill both evidence boxes.
- They mark any question whose second box cannot be filled from the record.
- Groups compare their unfillable questions.
Independent practice
12 min- Students complete the 'What You Would Have to Compare' page.
- Watch for single figures offered as complete answers.
Close
3 min- List the questions this archive cannot settle, and keep the list.
What goes wrong, and why
Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.
Offers a single figure as the answer.
Why: A number looks conclusive.
Fix: 140,000 alone is neither good nor bad. Ask what it sits beside.
Names a source rather than the evidence.
Why: 'The report' feels complete.
Fix: Which line of the report? The evidence is the information, not the object.
Treats an unanswerable question as a bad one.
Why: Questions are supposed to have answers.
Fix: Saying which questions the record cannot settle is itself a finding.
If they are not there yet
- Three strips with the first box filled.
- Choose which of three comparisons the question needs.
If they finish early
- Find a question needing three pieces rather than two.
- Say what evidence would settle the shortages-or-choices question.
- Write a question the archive can nearly, but not quite, answer.
Exit ticket
To answer 'did one city keep pace with the national target?', what two figures would you need?
What to look for: The city's completions and the national target for the same period. One figure alone means the comparison idea needs another run.
Printable practice for D1.3.3-5
Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.
- What You Would Have to CompareCircle what you would need to settle each question.
Questions about What You Would Have to Compare
How long does the What You Would Have to Compare lesson take?
55 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 18 min, guided practice 17 min, independent practice 12 min, close 3 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.
Which standard does What You Would Have to Compare teach?
D1.3.3-5 — D1.3.3-5, Developing Questions and Planning Inquiries for Grade 3 to Grade 5: “Identify the disciplinary concepts and ideas associated with a supporting question that are open to interpretation.” In plain terms, name the ideas behind a smaller question that people read in more than one way.
What do I need to teach this lesson?
The council report, the broadcast and the poll, question strips with two evidence boxes and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.
What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?
Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: offers a single figure as the answer; names a source rather than the evidence and treats an unanswerable question as a bad one. The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.
How do I know whether the lesson worked?
The exit ticket asks: “To answer 'did one city keep pace with the national target?', what two figures would you need?.” The city's completions and the national target for the same period. One figure alone means the comparison idea needs another run. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.
Is there a worksheet to go with What You Would Have to Compare?
Yes — 1 printable D1.3.3-5 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.
Is What You Would Have to Compare free to use?
Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on 7 September 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.
Last reviewed 2026-09-07. Aligned to D1.3.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.