Image of a hot dog covered with ketchup & mustard
Marius Graf/Alamy Stock Photo (Ketchup); Michael Neelon(misc)/Alamy Stock Photo (French Fries); Feng Yu/Alamy Stock Photo (Mustard); Shutterstock.com (All Other Images)
Alike and Different,

Ketchup and Mustard

One is red, and one is yellow. You might see them at lunch today. But what do you know about . . . 

By Katie Mach
From the September 2024 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will practice comparing and contrasting by describing how ketchup and mustard are alike and different. 

Lexiles: 290L
Featured Skill: Comparing Texts,
Common Core Standards
  • RF.1.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words RI.1.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text RI.1.3 Describe the connection between two ideas or pieces of information in a text RI.1.4 Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meanings of words RI.1.5 Know and use various text features to locate information in a text RI.1.6 Distinguish between information from words and information from images RI.1.7 Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas RI.1.9 Identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic SL.1.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade-1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups
TEKS Standards
  • Social Studies
    (8) Economics. The student understands the condition of not being able to have all the goods and services one wants. The student is expected to: (C) identify examples of choices families make when buying goods and services. (9) Economics. The student understands the value of work. The student is expected to: (B) describe how various jobs contribute to the production of goods and services.

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clickable image of nosey, the dachshund, with instructions to click and listen to the article

Squirt Some Ketchup

Long Ago

Image of ketchup

People started making it long ago. It was made with fish guts!


What Is in It?

Image of bright, red tomatoes

tomatoes

Today it is made with tomatoes. They make it red. Other ingredients get mixed in too. 


How Do We Eat It?

Image of kid putting ketchup on pasta and image of fries with ketchup

It is good on french fries. Some people put it on pizza or pasta. What do you put ketchup on?


Spread the Mustard

Long Ago

Image of mustard

Mustard was made long ago. People ate it. They also put it on bug bites to stop the itch!


What Is in It?

Image of mustard seeds and mustard yellow flowers

It is made with seeds from the mustard plant. They can be yellow or brown. Other ingredients get added.


How Do We Eat It?

Image of kid holding hot dog with mustard and image of pretzel with mustard

It is good on hot dogs. Some people put it on pretzels. What do you put mustard on?


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Skills Activities

More About the Article

English Language Arts Focus

Compare and contrast

Social Studies Focus

Food history

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

Implementation

  • Whole group

Pairings and Text Connections

  • In this issue: “Poetry Kit: My Lunch Box” (p. 32)
  • From the Storyworks archive: “Alike and Different: The Truth Behind Chocolate and Vanilla” (February 2023), “Word Play: Ways to Say Yummy” (February 2023), “Poetry Kit: A Lot Dog” (February 2023)
  • Suggested books: Tomatoes to Ketchup by Lisa M. Herrington; Hello, Hot Dog by Lily Murray 

Before-Reading Resources

  • Vocabulary slideshow (5 minutes) ingredients, seeds
  • Video: Skill Power: Compare and Contrast (5 minutes) Help students understand how and why we compare and contrast with a fun how-to video.

Suggested Reading Focus

Compare and contrast (20 minutes)

  • Tell students that they will be reading about two similar-but- different condiments, ketchup and mustard. Explain that a condiment is something people put on food to make it taste different. As they read, students should think about how ketchup and mustard are alike and different.
  • Preview the parallel structure of the texts. What do children notice about the two pages? (They are set up similarly. Each section has a heading. All the headings are the same.)
  • Read “Squirt Some Ketchup,” stopping at the end of each section to check comprehension. Do the same with “Spread the Mustard.“
  • Next, read through the texts again. This time, read the sections under the matching headings back-to-back so students can focus on comparing and contrasting. Then discuss what they learned from the section.
  • To finish, ask students to turn and talk to a partner to recall ways ketchup and mustard are alike and different. Have volunteers share their answers..

 

 

After-Reading Skills Practice

  • Skills: Key details/compare and contrast

Text-to-Speech