Students will read the following informational texts, The Reason For a Flower, The Wonderful World of Plants (A-Z Science) and the material from STEM scopes /STEMscopdeia What Plants Need, Animal and Plant Dependence, and Diversity of Living Things . To demonstrate understanding, students will determine the main purpose of a text, explain how specific images contribute to or clarify a text, identify key points in a text and give reasons to support specific points the author makes, and use two texts on the same topic to compare and contrast. With guidance and support, they will revise, edit, produce and publish a short informational and opinion pieces using a variety of digital tools after participating in shared research. Children will demonstrate a command of English grammar, usage and conventions when speaking, writing and spelling.
In the concluding unit for the grade, students build on the previous analyses of similarities and differences in how children grow up around the world and in their opportunity to be educated and analyze the ways in which children can express their agency in positive ways that make a difference. Students engage in a small project in which they make a contribution to the education of other children in some part of the world. Reimers, Fernando; Chopra, Vidur; Chung, Connie; Higdon, Julia; O'Donnell, E.. Empowering Global Citizens: A World Course.
Essential Questions
Big Ideas and Enduring Understandings How can I identify the main purpose of a text? How can I explain how diagrams or pictures help me to understand the text? How can I find the important information in more than two texts on the same topic?
RI.2.6. Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe. RI.2.7. Explain how specific images (e.g., a diagram showing how a machine works) contribute to and clarify a text. RI.2.8. Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text. RI.2.9. Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic. RI.2.10. By the end of year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, in the grades 2–3 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
RF.2.4. Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension. Read on-‐level text with purpose and understanding. Read on-‐level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.Use context to confirm or self-‐correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary. W.2.1. Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, an state opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section. W.2.2. Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section. W.2.3. Write narratives in which they recount a well-‐ elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure. W.2.5. With guidance and support from adults and peers, focus on a topic and strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing. W.2.6. With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers. W.2.7. Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., read a number of books on a single topic to produce a report; record science observations). W.2.8. Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
SL.2.1. Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about second grade topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
Follow agreed-‐upon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways, listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).
Build on others’ talk in conversations by linking their comments to the remarks of others.
Ask for clarification and further explanation as needed about the topics and texts under discussion.
SL.2.2. Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media. SL.2.3. Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to clarify comprehension, gather additional information, or deepen understanding of a topic or issue. SL.2.4. Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audibly in coherent sentences. SL.2.5. Create audio recordings of stories or poems; add drawings or other visual displays to stories or recounts of experiences when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings. SL.2.6. Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification. (See grade 2 Language standards 1 and 3 on pages 26 and 27 for specific expectations.)
L.2.1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. Use adjectives and adverbs, and choose between them depending on what is to be modified. Produce, expand, and rearrange complete simple and compound sentences (e.g., The boy watched the movie; The little boy watched the movie; The action movie was watched by the little boy). L.2.2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing Use an apostrophe to form contractions and frequently occurring possessives. Generalize learned spelling patterns when writing words (e.g., cage, badge; boy, boil). L.2.3. Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening. a. Compare formal and informal uses of English. L.2.4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple meaning words and phrases based on second grade reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies. Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of and unknown word with the same root (e.g., addition, additional). L.2.6. Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and begin read to, and responding to texts, including using adjectives and adverbs to describe (e.g., When other kids are happy that makes me happy.)