Realism vs Fantasy

 Tyler was walking to school and stopped suddenly when he heard, "Hey kid, watch where you're going?". He looked down and saw an angry ant shaking its fist at him.

   

This is how I introduce realism and fantasy. I tell this story about one of my children and then tell a realistic version of the same story. I list the elements of both genres on an anchor chart and we practice identifying each genre during whole group reading using Reading Street.

  After practice during guided reading, I will put out books in a bag for reading workshop.  I choose books of similar themes, one fantasy and one realistic fiction. My freebie is a link to the printable the children fill out to compare the two books. I have also used the books in a bag as a take home activity. Click on the picture below to download.  

    This is a fun time of the year to use this activity with holiday books. Enjoy!