Week 1

Book for the week: Chicken Soup with Riceby: Maurice Sendak

Suggested Activities:

  • Beginning Activity: As a teacher bring in your timeline; a picture of you when you were a baby, your second grade picture from school, special events in your life. If students do not say it, lead them to how you have “changed” over time.
  • Start a classroom timeline. On the first day of school take a picture of the students. (as the year progresses take pictures of special activities, projects, birthdays, lost teeth, broken bones, etc. (You can use this with calendar time or morning work)
  • Read Chicken Soup with Rice aloud. Discuss rhythm, regular beats, poetry ( RL 2.4)
  • Sing Chicken Soup with Rice AH-P-PCA-S-Mu2 ( Students will listen to and perform music created to fulfill a variety of specific purposes.) Would this song be Ceremonial( music created or performed for rituals or celebrations), Recreational( music for entertainment) or ArtisticExpression (music created with the intent to express or communicates one’s emotions, feelings, ideas, experience?)
  • Months of the Year: Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in the text (RL 2.1) ( Stanton Kindergarten song)
  • Math/Birth Months: Trailblazers Grade 2 – Unit 1 – Lesson 2 Extend the questioning to determine whether a group of objects ( up to 20) has an odd or even number of members, e.g., by pairing objects or counting them by 2s; write an equation to express an even number as a sum of two equal addends. (Math 2.OA.3)
  • Long and short vowels: distinguish long and short vowels when reading regularly spelled one-syllable words. Make lists of word families, discuss rhyming. (RF 2.3) Use the word families as spelling list.
  • Gather informational books from the library on the seasons for this week. As you read, or students read the books, chart the information. Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g. Read a number of books on the same topic to produce a report, record science observations)
  • Break the months into Seasons: Some events in nature have a repeating pattern. Weather changes from day to day, but things such as temperature or precipitation tend to be similar in the same months every year.(Program of Studies, Primary Science, Big Idea: The Earth and the Universe(Earth/Space Science)(57) SC-EP-2.3.2
  • Participate in collaborative conversations: Group students in groups 2 or 3. Assign them a month from Chicken Soup with Rice. Discussion topic: what other things could you do in that month? (e.g. January you could go sledding, build snowman, snowball fights, etc.) Encourage children to rewrite there month and share with class. (L 2.3, Sp.L. 2.1)
  • Visit Spain, Bombay, the Nile: Locate these places on a map, use internet, etc. (Locate and describe places (e.g. local environments, different habitats) using their physical characteristics (e.g. landforms, bodies of water) AH-P-Geo-S-Social Studies(67)SS-EP-4.1.1

Week 2

Book of the Week: Thunder Cake by: Patricia Polacco

Suggested Activities:

  • Beginning Activity: (gossip game) Whisper something in a student’s ear and they pass it on and the last person tells out loud what they heard. Have the discussion about how stories are told and past down and changed before they are ever written down. Discuss how our first stories came from storytellers. Maybe you remember a story your parent or grandparent told you. Share stories. Begin to develop an awareness of the purposes for which dramatic words are created (e.g. sharing the human experience, passing on tradition and culture, recreational, artistic expression)AH –P-PCA-S-DT1
  • Listen to an audio of rain, thunder, storms:

Write a sensory poem. (see attachment) ( bottom 5 activities)

  • Read Jacket Cover or background information on Patricia Polacco to be able to discuss where her story ideas come from.
  • Read Thunder Cake aloud: Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action. ( RL 2.5)
  • Music:
  • Dance: Use Appalachian square dance steps to teach students a simple dance to go with the Thunder cake song. Get in groups of 8 and hold hands. Walk into the center and raise hands up. Walk back out pulling hands down and forming a circle. (repeat) Lead breaks off with allemande left, lead into a right, left Grand back to starting position. March in place as they count and then raise hands in air when thunder explodes. (Students will begin to associate dances they observe or perform with specific cultures (Appalachian); describe in simple terms how dances reflect the cultures) AH-P-HA-S-Da1
  • Discuss the folk art illustrations: Students will begin to associate artworks they experience or create with specific cultures (Appalachian); describe in simple terms how art of these cultures reflects the cultures. AH-P-HA –S-VA1(simple, used what they had, didn’t waste anything…)
  • Counting: What other ways could the girl have counted? Count within 1000; skip count by 5s, 10s, and 100s. (2.NBT.3)
  • Babushka: Students will start a list of all the names for grandmother. Make this an ongoing list, encourage students to not only list the names they use for grandmother but add other countries as well. Students will describe cultural elements (e.g. beliefs, traditions, languages, skills, literature, and the arts). SS-EP-2.1.1 (Vocabulary: Russia, samovar, & Babushka)
  • Gather informational books: from the library on the weather for this week. As you read, or students read the books, chart the information.Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g. Read a number of books on the same topic to produce a report, record science observations) W 2.7
  • Weather: Students will describe the properties of water as it occurs as a solid, liquid or gas as it relates to the weather, rain, hail, evaporation, snow. SC-EP-1.1.3
  • Writing: Students keep a weather journal for the unit. Weather changes from day to day and over seasons. Weather can be described using observations and measurable quantities such as temperature, wind direction, wind speed and precipitation. Simple predictions can be made by analyzing collected data for patterns. SC-EP-2.3.2
  • Onomatopoeia: Words that sound like what they are. Make a list of these words from Thunder Cake. Encourage students to come up with their own. How do these words contribute to the story? Describe how words and phrases supply rhythm and meaning in a story, song or poem. (RL 2.5)
  • Expanding Sentences: Thunder Cake is full of adjectives and vivid verbs. Help students demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English grammar and usage when writing and speaking. (f) Produce, expand, and rearrange complete simple and compound sentences. (E.g. Milk from the cow; Milk from old Kick Cow; Old Kick cow gave us milk.) Discuss how Patricia Polacco uses vivid verbs and adjectives to “show, don’t tell” (L 2.1)
  • Culminating activity: Make a thunder cake. Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media. (Sp/L 2.2). Write a how to piece after baking cake.

Week 3

Book of the week: The Very Hungry Caterpillar by: Eric Carle

Suggested Activities:

  • Beginning Activity: You will need three paper bags. One paper bag has something like a caterpillar, another bag has something like a chrysalis and the third bag has a butterfly. Tell the children that the same thing is in each bag, but only allow students to feel in one bag. Without saying what is in the bag, students describe what they felt. This should lead to a discussion on how can things feel different and be the same. Give the students a hint. A change takes place.
  • Read The Very Hungry Caterpillar aloud : and then listen to Eric Carle read the story. Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action. (RL 2.5) beginning – egg/ middle – cocoon/ ending- butterfly
  • Gather books from the library: Informational texts on life cycles of various animals and plants
  • Science: Life cycle discussion - refer to science books if you have them – discuss different animals and the stages they go through. (Students will describe a variety of plant and animal life cycles to understand patterns of the growth, development, reproduction and death of an organism.(SC-EP-3.4.4)
  • Science: Use pasta to illustrate the life cycle of a butterfly. Glue and label pasta to the four sections of the wings of a butterfly. ( attached)
  • Art: After glue dries, students will begin to use elements of art ( line, shape, form, texture, color) and principals of design (emphasis, pattern, balance(symmetry), contrast) in creating artworks independently and with others. Have students color butterflies. (AH-P-SA-S-VA-2)
  • Speaking: Students will present their pictures, recount key ideas or details of the life cycle of the butterfly. (Sp/L 2.2) Orally discuss and compare other life cycles.
  • Writing: Journal entry – students create a Venn diagram comparing two life cycles. Discuss other possible graphic organizers you could use to show likes and differences. ( Formative Assessment) Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g. Read a number of books on the same topic to produce a report, record science observations) (W2.7)
  • Writing: Students write an informational piecetogether on the life cycle of the butterfly using the proficient paragraph method.
  • Story Strips: Students place pictures in order(sequence) to describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending conclude the action. ( RL 2.5) Retell the story by recounting or describing key ideas or details from the text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media. (Sp/L 2.2) Picture cards attached)
  • Poetry: Introduce the poem, The Fuzzy Little Caterpillar. Discuss and describe how words and phrases (e.g. regular beats, alliteration, rhymes and repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, song or poem. (RL. 2.4)
  • Music: Set the poem, The Fuzzy Little Caterpillar to song. Use the tune the Itsy, bitsy Spider. Students will listen to and perform music created to fulfill a variety of specific purposes. (ceremonial, recreational, and artistic expression) AH-P-PCA-S-Mu 2
  • Dance: Students will use the elements of dance in creating, copying and performing patterns of movement independently and with others. Force – dance movements that use more or less energy (e.g. gentle movements versus strong movements) AH-P-SA-S-Da2 . Create movements to represent the stages of a butterfly while singing the song The Fuzzy Little Caterpillar.
  • Writing: Students will write an opinion piece discussing why they did or did not like the book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Use evidence gathered from research to support their opinion. Use the prescription for a proficient paragraph when writing.
  • Reader’s Theater: Pick a narrator for the class, break the rest of the class into groups. Each group presents a section of the book. (AH-P-SA-DT2 Students will use the elements of drama(Literary elements: script, story line (plot). Character, story organization (beginning, middle, end) Technical elements – scenery, costumes, props, make-up. Performance elements – Acting(how speaking, moving help to create characters) in creating and performing dramatic works independently and with others.
  • Guest Speaker: Laura Young –Good/Bad food choices, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Careers. Students will apply the decision-making process in making healthful food choices. (PL-P-N-S-6)

Week 4

Book of the Week: Yonder by Tony Johnston

Suggested Activities:

  • Reading: After reading Yonder aloud, guide students in a discussion on the book. Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. (RL 2.1) After question and answer session , question students to identify the main focus of the story. ( Passage of time, things change, grow old, etc.) Read individual pages to pinpoint the focus of specific paragraphs. (e.g. There is a plum tree growing year by year, glowing like a bonfire, Pumpkins on the front porch grin from ear to ear, There, Just over there. What season/holiday is the focus of this paragraph.) (Identify main focus of a multi-paragraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text. RI2.2)
  • Write: Read the story again, discuss emotions/feelings. Look at colors on the pages, how do they relate to the emotions. Discuss how certain colors represent certain emotions. Brainstorm and record emotions on a chart;match a color with each emotion. Then choose one emotion and write a sensory poem together, line by line. Then have students choose one emotion and write a sensory poem. (Students will identify effective social interaction skills(e.g. identifying emotions ) PL-EP-1.1.1
  • Texts: refer back to books on seasons and life cycles.
  • Science: Life cycle discussion – Students will describe a variety of plant and animal life cycles to understand patterns of the growth, development, reproduction and death of an organism. (SC-EP-3.4.4) Use lesson plan on the apple.
  • Math: Write math problems using the book that deal with greater than, less than or equal to. (e.g. Number of leaves on a tree in spring ___number of leaves on a tree in winter. Age of grandfather ____ age of baby. Number of cats in barn ___number of geese in yard. ) Students can draw pictures to go with word problems and then give an example using numbers. 2.NBT.4
  • Art: Go back through the book this time looking at the pictures. What do you notice about the pictures? Most pictures are created with dots or dabs made by the paint brush. This is a form of stippling or pointillism. Use lesson plan on link . Students will explore, describe, and compare elements of art (e.g. line, shape, form, texture, primary and secondary colors, color schemes) and principles of design (e.g. focal point, pattern, balance, contrast) in two and three dimensional artworks. AH-P-SA-S-VA3
  • Music: Song with movements. Leaves, branches, trunk and roots, trunk and roots (repeat)

Soil, and Sun and Rain bring the fruits,

Leaves, branches, trunk and roots, trunk and roots.

(tune: head, shoulders, knees and toes with same motions)Students will use the elements

of music while performing and singing music independently and with others.

AH-P-SA-S-Mu 2

  • Social Studies: Students will identify and give examples of good citizenship at home, at school and in the community (e.g. helping with chores, obeying rules, participating in community service projects such as recycling, conserving natural resources, donating food/supplies) and explain why civic engagement in the community is important. SS-EP-1.3.2. Go back through the story; Yonder chart examples from the book on good citizenship to help springboard other examples.
  • Yonder: What does yonder mean? Make a list of other informal words we use. Students will describe cultural elements (e.g. beliefs, traditions, languages, skills, literature, the arts) SS-EP-2.1.1 Make connection to Appalachian culture. Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening. (a) Compare formal and informal use of English. (L 2.3) Assign students to go home and make a list of sayings/expressions that parents and grandparents use. After compiling classroom list break into small groups and give each group an expression or two. Groups discuss the true meaning of the word or phrase.( Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.(Sp/L 2.1) Groups illustrate the figurative meaning on one half of paper and then illustrate or give definition of the true meaning on other half of paper.
  • Writing: Students will write an opinion piece on why they liked or didn’t like the book. Students will use evidence from the book and draw on background knowledge to support their opinion. Use the prescription for a proficient paragraph when writing.

Week 5

Book of the week: The Force of Water by: Lacy Finn Borgo

Log in to Reading a-z

Suggested Activities:

  • Build Background: Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.(RL 2.1) Ask students to tell what they already know about water. Ask them if they have ever heard the term “water cycle” and, if so, to explain how it works.
  • Create a KWL chart: on the board and give students the KWL worksheet. Work together to fill in the first column (K) with things students know about water. As a group, brainstorm some things students would like to know about the topic and have students fill in the second column(W) of their worksheets. Write some shared ideas on the class chart, as an example.
  • Introduce the Book: Give students a copy of the book and have them preview the front and back covers and read the title. Have students discuss what they see on the covers and offer ideas as to what kind of book this is and what it might be about.
  • Table of Contents: Have students turn to the table of contents and review its purpose with them. Read through the section titles and ask whether they provide students with a better idea of what the book is about.
  • Think aloud:When I’d like to know more about a topic, I can use the section titles in the table of contents to think of questions I’d like to have answered. For example, the section after the introduction is titled “Water on the Move.” This makes me wonder what happens to water once it has soaked into the ground. (Write your question in the (W) column of the KWL chart and invite students to add it to their worksheets.) Have students share any questions they have based on the table of contents or the covers of the book and add these to the second column(W).
  • Set the purpose: Have students read the book to find answers to their questions about water.
  • Check for understanding: Have students turn to section 5 (Water is Important). Discuss the photos on page 13 and ask students to look at the KWL chart to find questions that might be answered by the details shown in the photos. Have students share their findings. (Sp/L 2.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.)
  • Independent practice: Have students practice locating the main idea and details in a section by completing the main-idea-and-details-worksheet. Discuss their answers when they’re done. (RI 2.2 Identify main focus of a multi-paragraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text.)
  • Writing: The book states: It covers most of Earth and is always at work changing Earth’s surface. Work together as a group to write a proficient paragraph. Give examples from the story that show how the force of water changes Earth’s surface. (W2.7 Participate in shared research and writing projects (eg. Read a number of books on the same topic to produce a report, record science observations)
  • Social Studies: Provide student groups with maps of different countries with all the major bodies of water visible but not labeled. Have students locate and label the major bodies of water, including rivers, oceans, seas, lakes and gulfs. (SS-EP—4.1.2 Students will use geographic tools to identify major landforms (e.g., continents, mountain ranges), bodies of water (e.g. oceans, major rivers) and natural resources on Earth’s surface and use relative location.)
  • Science: SC-EP-1.1.3 Students will describe the properties of water as it occurs as a solid, liquid or gas. Matter (water) can exist in different states—solid, liquid and gas. Properties of those states of matter can be used to describe and classify them. Have students turn to page 5. Look at the picture, here you can see water in different forms. Can you name them? Talk about what it takes to change from a solid to a liquid to a gas. Listen to the song about matter.
  • Visual Art: Does water always flow in a straight line? How can we move the paint without using a brush or our fingers? (AH-EP-4.4.2 Students will choose media to create artworks with a basic understanding of how to use the media.)
  • Practical Living: In the book The Force of Water, the author talks about the importance of water. Break into groups, identify ways that we use water to help our bodies(e.g. diet/drink lots of water, exercise/ swimming, good hygiene practices – hand washing, brushing our teeth, taking a bath, washing our clothes) promote good health and prevent diseases.(PL-EP-1.1.7) Create a picture to share with group. (Sp/L 2.1)
  • Math: Looking at the graph on page 15 Notice that the numbers are in the thousands. (2.NBT.3 Read and write numbers to 1000 using base-ten numerals, number names, and expanded form.) Tie the graph The World’s Rivers into your math lesson.
  • Research: Break students into groups of 3 or 4. Distribute the following questions. 1) What are all the ways humans use/need water beside drinking? 2) Why is a floodplain a good and a bad thing?3)If pollution is put in a stream, how does it get to the ocean? 4) What caused the Grand Canyon to form? 5) What do you think is the most important use of water? Why? 6) What are some ways that you can take care of the Earth’s water? Reread the story The Force of Water. Use information from the story and background knowledge to answer the questions. Students decide how to present information to class. (e.g. write a response, create a poster, podcast) W2.7 Participate in shared research and writing projects.
  • Poems dealing with water.

Week 6