Unit 1

Second Grade Unit 1

http://commoncore.org/maps/index.php/maps/grade_2_unit_1/#

(click on “show all” to get unit details)

A Seasons for Chapters

ENDURING UNDERSTANDING: Focusing on the beauty of language in poetry and well-written literature and informational texts allow us to visualize similarities and differences (e.g. within the “four seasons” of the year).

1. Focus on beginning and endings of stories
2. Complete a research project on a seasonal activity from a contrasting region of the U.S.
3. Review roles of authors and illustrators
4. Could become a weather or solar system unit

Focus Standards:

5. RI.2.2: Identify the main focus of a multi-paragraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text.
6. RL.2.5: Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.
7. SL.2.1: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
8. RL.2.4: Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, [and] repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.
9. W.2.7: Participate in shared research and writing projects.
10. SL.2.2: Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

Questioning Stems: Narrative (literature) and informational texts questioning stems based on questions WITHIN, BEYOND, and ABOUT the texts, to be used throughout the unit.

Student “I Can” Statements:

I. “I Can” independently read chapter books by Cynthia Rylant or other grade level authors.

1. To introduce the characteristics from a text with a good solid beginning and ending to the story. Have students read the first paragraph or two and the last paragraph of the text aloud to a partner (switch roles). Have the students discuss and record what they think makes one stories beginning and ending stronger. As a class, have students share their thinking. Clarify and refine the list. Have students use these ideas as the evaluate future texts.
   
2. Use the (Story Cube) as a way of providing students with opportunities for interacting with higher-level questions about stories: Predict, summarize, debate, relate, compare, create!
   
3. Use QAR Reading Strategies to help students increase comprehension. Use this QAR Chart to teach the strategies.
   
4. Additional information about Cynthia Rylant

Lesson Plans for Missing May

Meet Cynthia Rylant

Celebrate with Cynthia Rylant

II. “I Can” distinguish between the roles of author and illustrator in chapter books and ask the questions “who, what, where, when, why, and how” after reading texts.

1. After reading the narrative (literature) read-aloud picture books for each of the seasons, have students ask and answer questions using “who, what, where, when, why, and how.” Make a six-columned chart with one of the question types as a heading. Have students ask who, what, where, when, why, and how questions and record them on the chart. (Questioning Stems)
   
2. Read a variety of informational texts suggested in this unit and do the same type of activities as above with the questioning “who, what, where, when, why, and how.” (Informational Texts B 1)
   
3. Read and discuss “About the Author/Illustrator” at beginning of any story in Houghton Mifflin. On a chart record what is the authors job in creating the book, and what is the illustrators job.
   
4. Keep an ongoing title, author, and illustrator/photographer chart and record this information for each book you read aloud with the class. Using this terminology continually will help students integrate it into their vocabulary.
   
5. Share and discuss books during the Writing Block, noting authors/illustrators and their roles. When students write, have them list themselves as author and illustrator. Discuss how the illustrator is sometimes a different person than the author. How do the illustrators help you understand the story?
   
6. Explicitly review sequential order prior to reading this text. Read the book, “How A Book Is Made” by Aliki, stopping along the way to have students list the process in sequential order.
   
7. The back of the book “Hip, Hip, Horray for Annie McCray” by Brad Wilcox. Help students see through explicit teacher talk, the writing process Brad Wilcox used when making the book.
   
8. Give students many opportunities to participate in making class books and individual books. This can be done by interactively writing the text and having the students become the illustrators, having each student contributing a page or two to class books, or having students write their own books being both the author and illustrator. A good resource for different types of class books is Diane Zikes books (commercial)
   
9. For many texts that you read as a class, create a chart with the who, what, where, when, why, and how questions and answers. Make them available for students to read and compare. Demonstrate how to answer these questions with a book you have read together. Have students use post-it notes to answer these questions on the book that they read.
   
10. Record on a graphic organizer what happened; first, next, and last. Including characters, setting, problem, and solution. (Sequencing ) (Story Map)
    
11. Have students use the graphic organizers above to create their own story.
    
12. Author Web Sites for resource information on books, authors, etc.
    
13. List of Questions Scroll down to the questions in the center of the page.

III. “I Can” identify the beginning and ending of chapters and stories and explain their connections.

1. Introduce and read the first chapter of Poppleton in Winter by Cynthia Rylant. The following day, look at the chapter again. Explain to the class how Cynthia Rylant is an author who knows exactly how to write the beginning of a story that “hooks” you and how “to wrap it up” with a strong ending. Have students identify the beginning, middle, and ending of each chapter as you read this text over several days. Make sure you give he students something to looking for and recording s you read.
   
2. Blooms Taxonomy has a list o higher order thinking verbs that help students question on higher levels. (See Blooms pamphlet)
   
3. After reading a book about winter interactively or in groups have students use the 5W’s Chart to ask questions about winter. Find book list at: (Literature A 1)
   
4. Use Sequencing Chart to sequence the events in the books about winter (or other topics).
   
5. Read the Snow Day! by Lester L. Laminack. Discuss the features of the season this book is about (winter). Discuss things people need to wear, prepare (around the house), store (food, fuel), etc. Discuss why this season is important to Utah. Additionally, have students talk about what they do in winter. Chart information. Do a shared writing (Informative/Explanatory)using some of the ideas recorded. Next, have students do an independent writing (Informative/Explanatory)using information records that is important to them.
   
6. Snowman Venn diagram have students compare and contrast the two snowmen that are on the Venn Diagram. Have them use descriptive language (adjectives) in their descriptions. Pair students and have them share their recordings. In pairs, have them revise their language to be even more descriptive.
   
7. Read Emmett’s Snowball by Ned Miller, and have students discuss all the things in the story that get larger. Expand their thinking to other things that they know of that get larger. After studying the illustrations in the book, students can create their own water colors paintings of things that get larger. Include three or four sentences that describe the subject of their painting. (Informative/Explanatory)
   
8. Read Snowflake Bentley by By Jacqueline Briggs Martin - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2009). Help students become a expert on Wilson Bentley and his amazing snowflakes, by discussing the information Wilson discovered about snowflakes, having students look at various object under a microscope, creating a new snowflake, and having students create a Snowflake poem. Begin with this (“Snowflake”) questionare to help generate ideas. Visit this web site for pictures of Wilson Bentley’s snowflakes. Explain to the students that Bentley’s illustrations were done with wood block printing. If you desire, you could show students a potato stamp, or scrap book stamps, to make a connection to the process. Have students choose their favorite snowflake and write an (Opinion) piece about why this snowflake is their favorite.
   
9. Discuss why Snowflake Bentley’s book is classified as an informational text. Identify characteristic that make it informational. Use other informational texts for comparison and discuss the text features of informational books; (index, glossary, pictures, graphs, charts, captions, table of contents, etc.) (Text Features) . Have students choose one of the features to create an example of. Share with the whole class.
   
10. Have students create Snow Similes. Make a class book of their pages.
    
11. State Science Core - Discuss with students the seasonal changes in our area. How does the way we dress, the activities we participate in, and the foods we eat, change with the season? During a shared reading chart the information. Students may write an opinion piece, naming their favorite season the reasons for their choice, and a concluding sentence. Make a chart of the four seasons. Read texts (narrative or informational) about the four seasons and record features of each on the chart. Have students write an (Opinion) piece stating which of the four seasons is their favorite, with four reasons and a concluding statement.
    
12. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig - As you read aloud to students, stop often to make inferences at various points where it is needed to comprehend the text. Together, sequence the events and complete a summary paragraph of the story. (Informative/Explanatory)
    
13. Read another narrative (literature) text suggested in this unit. Have the students repeat the process in #12 in independent writing (Informative/Explanatory).
    
14. Read aloud Omar on Ice by Maryann Kovalski (Houghton Mifflin Theme 6) as a good follow up to #12. In this book Omar learns that he can achieve anything if he stops worrying about it. Have students write what they want to achieve in their future and draw a picture about it. (Graphic Organizer)
    
15. Use a variety of informational texts suggested for this unit (Informational Texts B 1)
    
16. State Science Core - Introduce a rock unit, discuss seasons, and explain how weather effects everything in our environment. Smaller rocks come from the breakage and weathering of larger rocks. Our beautiful Utah National Parks (Zion’s, Bryce, Canyonlands, etc. are all a result of weathering. Extend, as students describe the characteristics of different rocks. Students summarize the progression (beginning to present) of each type of rock they have observed and sorted. Begin with one rock type as a shared writing, then one in pairs, and then students do the rest independently with teacher support. (Informative/Explanatory)
    
17. Have students draw a picture of something they are afraid of. Suggest that fears can be overcome. Read “Thunder Cake” by Patricia Polacco - (Houghton Mifflin Theme 5). Discuss how the girl overcomes her fear of thunderstorms, talk about how to overcome fears, and the many different types of fears that people have.
    
18. Other curriculum connections for this “I Can statement: weather; descriptive language; integrate with math fractions, skip counting by thousands.
    
19. Write a piece about seasons. Use “Anticipating Readers Questions” Nonfiction Craft Lessons pg. 30

(commercial product)

IV. Use digital sources to research a seasonal activity.

1. Refer back to III, 11. Focus further discussion and review on the characteristics of seasons in your local climate. Discuss activities that your students might associate with each season. Have students create charts of activities for each season
   
2. Use “Beginning, Middle, End” graphic organizer
   
3. Write a “Surprise Ending” based on Craft Lessons pg. 43, by Ralph Fletcher.
   
4. What would happen if the first and last events in the story were switched? Take one of the stories you have read previously and switch the events. Describe how the switch would affect the other events in the story. Have students take one of their previous (Narrative) writing pieces and switch the beginning and ending of the story. Make changes that are necessary when these are switched and share in small groups.
   
5. Digital Resources - to be used in research and explicit instruction.

Season Reasons

BrainPop Seasons

Seasonal Postcards:

Seasons:

Spring:

Summer:

Autumn:

Winter:

6. On-Line Stories

Iguanas in the Snow and Other Winter Poems

Laughing Tomatoes and other Spring Poems

From the Bellybutton of the Moon and Other Summer Poems Link:

Angels Ride Bikes and Other Fall

Autumnals

V. “I Can” use a computer-generated graphic organizer to help organize class or group research.

1. Watch Martha Skits Under the Weather . Have a discussion of why weather is important to our community. On Kidspiration have students organize the information from the video, or any book they have read.
   
2. Use “Winter Storms: the Deceptive Killers” as a teacher guide to discuss the effects of winter weather on humans and animals. Have students create a graphic organizer of what they have learned.
   
3. Great link to study weather (teacher resources as well as students online activities):
   
4. Students compare the weather at home and in other cities in Utah or the U.S., recording the name of the city, the temperature, the climate, and a description of what they would wear; record on “United States Weather Tracker” in Second Grade Science, (Standard 2, Objective 3, Activity 1).
   
5. National Weather Service:
   
6. Use Kidspiration Read/Writing Templates found in the computer lab.
   
7. As a class, use all of the information gathered within this objective, decide on a topic, combine information from all sources, write a topic statement, organize information into categories, summarize information, formulate a concluding statement or section. Revise writing, edit writing, and publish this research as a class.

VI. “I Can” help create an informational class book from shared research.

1. Be a reporter and write an article based on how the seasons effect the community.

Be a Reporter

Graphic Organizers This site gives multiple ideas for being a reporter.

2. Use the book Oxcart Man by Barbara Cooney to compare how families (then and now) prepare for each season and what they do during each season. Use a 4 cycle graphic organizer to brainstorm. (Informative/Explanatory). Explicitly teach how to use this graphic organizer prior to using it. Then, use it to record the information between then and now.
   
3. Draw a series of pictures to show change in seasons. (Nonfiction Craft Lessons pg.33 by Ralph Fletcher).
   
4. Using the information gathered from being a reporter and from then and now graphic organizer, create a class book using Comic Life, PowerPoint, Keynote, KidPix, iPhoto or iMovie. Each student will have their independent piece that is connected to the whole finished project.

VII. “I Can” recognize the artist’s techniques when creating a sense of cold or warmth.

1. View the suggested art pieces. (Art, Music, Media H 1) As the class studies each piece, ask the children how the artist creates a sense of warmth or cold, dryness or wetness in the painting. Record their ideas. Have students sort their crayons into categories of warm and cold colors.
   
2. Select a artwork to study. Ask the students to identify the season that the artist painted. Ask students to write a two or three sentence explanation identifying elements in the artwork that led them to their conclusion (Informative/Explanatory).
   
3. Observe and write about the changes of trees during each season. (Informative/Explanatory) Use a variety of texts to support this activity.
   
4. Explicitly teach was students need to look for when evaluating the accuracy of information in texts. A good lesson to use is “Figuring Out What is and isn’t True” Nonfiction Craft Lessons pg.34 by Ralph Fletcher.
   
5. Have students pretend they are a drop of water in the earth’s atmosphere. Write a story that tells about your life and how it changes as it passes through the water cycle. (Narrative)
   
6. Use Story Jumpers to create a class book based on art, music, media.
   
7. Why Do Leaves Change Color? by Betsy Maestro Have students collect leaves to study and write about (Informative/Explanatory) (Science lesson plan)
   
8. Read Autumn Leaves by Ken Robbins. Have students do leaf rubbings with crayon describe what leaf is and describe its characteristics. Also, complete the leaf graphing using this lesson plan.
   
9. Play the music Autumn Leaves while students do the autumn drawings. Have students describe, in a few sentences, what it is about the music make them feel. YouTube music and words with video of leaves
   
10. Read How and Why Animals Prepare for Winter by Elaine Pascoe (Creative Teaching Press)
    
11. Use this Autumn Leaves lesson ideas and the book Look What I Did With a Leaf by Morteza E. Sohi (gather leaves, use dried leaves to make pictures of animals and their habitats for an art project, observe the leaves with magnifying lenses, do rubbings, and write an (Informative/Explanatory) piece with descriptions of animals and habitats).
    
12. Read Cactus Hotel by Brenda Z. Guiberson and America’s Deserts, Guide to Plants and Animals by Marianne D. Wallace. Discuss and record information about desert weather, plants and animals, and geography. Ask student to use their knowledge of warm colors create a desert landscape. Add animals and their habitats, using perspective and lines/texture; integrating science, art, math and geography.
    
13. Read One Small Square, Backyard by Donald M. Silver. As a whole group, list characteristics of a forest. Have students write a paragraph describing how the forest is different from the desert. Use a Venn Diagrams to compare and contrast a desert and a forest. Save for future reference.
    
14. Read Mountains by Seymour Simon. Focus on descriptive words, as well as science, geography, and weather vocabulary. On charts that can be posted around the room, record descriptive words for deserts, forest, and mountains. etc. Do a three part Venn Diagram to compare and contrast deserts, forests, mountains. Three circle Venn Diagram
    
15. Study the painting "The Virgin Forest" by Henri Rousseau. He is know for using the overlapping technique. This lesson plan to help students create an art project using overlapping.
    
16. Study the painting "The Gleaners" by Jean-Francois Millet. Discuss how Millet put dimension into his work.
    
17. Use additional artwork suggested for this unit to continue (Art, Music, Media H 1)
    
18. Have students pretend they are a famous artist and the meteorologist ’s society has asked you to create a painting or drawing about the weather to be framed in the hall of fame. Discuss what information would you need to know before doing the artwork? List everything that would be needed. Using the information chart, allow time for students to create drawings or paintings. Have students write an (Informative/Explanatory) piece to go with their artwork. Create a class book including each student’s work.
    
19. Lesson helps for suggested books:

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert

Snowballs by Lois Ehlert

Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert

Snow by Uri Shulevitz

VIII. “I Can” create a collection of adjectives and adverbs and use them in my writing.

1. Integrate the poetry suggested in this unit focusing on the use of colorful adjectives and adverbs. (Poetry G 1)
   
2. Use the artwork completed in the previous objective, and have students first write a class poem about one of the seasons and color. Individually, students will create their own poetry about seasons and color.
   
3. Use a character web to describe a character in one of the previously read books (Literature A 1). Model taking the information from the character web to write a description of a character, using colorful adjective and adverbs. Have the students use the information on the web to write a description of one of their favorite characters. Make a class book of character. (Informative/Explanatory)
   
4. Compare 2 characters, from the same text or different texts, using descriptive adjectives. graphic organizers
   
5. Read Many Luscious Lollipops by Ruth Heller. This is a wonderful book about adjectives. Also read Up, Up and Away by Ruth Heller, which is a book about adverbs. Record lists of adjectives and adverbs that are found in these texts. Together create kid friendly definitions for adjectives and adverbs and have students use them in their own writing.
   
6. Explicitly teach that adjectives answer one of the following questions. What kind is it? How many are there? Which one is it? Post a list of nouns on the board and have students supply adjectives for the nouns that answer the three guiding questions. Have students work in pairs to create sentences using the nouns and adjectives. Combine the sentences to create a story.
   
7. Read In November by Cynthia Rylant. Find the colorful adjectives. On another re-reading, focus on subject/predicate lists.
   
8. Focus on adjectives in seasonal poetry and read alouds. Make a T chart recording the noun/adjective.
   
9. Focus on adverbs in seasonal poetry and read alouds. Make a T chart recording verb/adverb
   
10. Classroom games Adjective Activities
    

IX. “I Can” expand sentences by adding adjectives and adverbs based on class discussions topics.

1. Focus on seasons and other science and social studies topics for classroom discussions. Write down what students say in sentence format. Revisit the sentences and add adjectives and adverbs to make them more explicit and colorful.
   
2. With small groups, write down a simple sentence and have students to add adjectives and adverts to make the sentence more “colorful”. Share their revisions.
   
3. Use this website of words to describe Art work. (Art, Music, Media H 1) Have students revisit some of their writing and find ways to use more color descriptive words. First with shared writing then with personal writing. Share.

X. “I Can” write poetry based on Vivaldi’s Four Seasons or other musical compositions.

1. Listen to one of the four concertos in Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Instruct the students to write down words or phrases that come to them as they are listening. Talk about how music can make you feel something and that is what leads them to descriptive words.

Winter
Spring:

Summer:

Fall:

2. Create a chart of weather words and weather-related adjectives and adverbs to use. Ask students to write a weather report using correct weather terms and good adjectives and adverbs to make it interesting and understandable. In small groups have students create weather posters, done by hand or digitally, with illustrations or photos, descriptions, and information boxes, using the language fro the chart.
   
3. Study “Word Choice” from Six Traits, pick words from their writing that are overused and make a class list of alternative words that they could use. Have students focus on these for one of their future writings.

XI. “I Can” analyze and enjoy poetry related to the seasons, noting alliteration, rhyme, rhythm, and repetition.

1. The Seasons edited by John N. Serio, is a book of collected poems by different poets. Introduce the poem “Summer Song.” Ask the students, “What did you notice about the first four lines of the poem?” Continue the discussion based on what students say. Expand, deepen, and re-teach in a variety of ways to meet needs.
   
2. Read The Book of Shadow Boxes: A Story of the ABC’s by Laura Seeley. Have students “harvest” the rhyming words in each letter poem. Write them on charts. Think of other adjectives and adverbs that could be used with each letter. Attach rhyming words to each. Have partners work together to write new poems for each letter using some of the new rhyming combinations. (This is a multi-day/week activity).
   
3. A is for Alice Alliteration Brainstorming. Have student write their own alliterations using weather as the topic. Share in small groups. Have listeners give a praise and a suggestion. Allow time for revisions. Make a class book of alliterations.
   
4. Have students create alliterations for the weather (Wild Weather, Super Storm, Windy Wilma) and illustrate. Share in small groups. Have listeners give a praise and a suggestion. Allow time for revisions. Make a class book of weather alliterations.
   
5. Other books that are helpful
   
6. Poetry for the seasons
   
7. Songs and Poems
   
8. List of Poems (Poetry G 1)

XII. “I Can” organize informational text for specific purposes, using paragraph format.

1. Explicitly teach students about what a paragraph is. Interact with students in modeled and shared writing creating at least three paragraphs.
   
2. To introduce the work of organizing informational text, choose a book with a variety of text features and strong paragraphs. Two books that would work well for this are “The Reason for Seasons” by Gail Gibbons and “It’s Winter” by Linda Glaser. Choose strong paragraphs to work with. Have students practice writing paragraphs, then enriching them with good word choice, sentence fluency, and voice.
   
3. This unit contains a wide variety of informational texts. (Informational Texts B 1) Use combinations of these texts to study informational text structures and organization.
   
4. Organize students into small groups. Have each group choose a topic from the texts, gather information from a variety of texts on that topic, and write three or four paragraphs on the topic. Share writing with other groups and have listeners give praise and suggestions. Revise writing. THEN proceed to editing for conventions, making sure that the rules for paragraphs are used correctly.