This is an integrated lesson which is introduced using the book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle. Butterfly metamorphosis is explored through art, math, and writing.

Students learn how to annotate texts through the process of C.A.T.C.H. Then, they will use their annotations to make meaning by inferring/interpreting and evaluating/making judgments. Through this 10 1/2 minute video instruction and three handouts students will learn and practice an easy to remember 3-step process to critical thinking that will make their learning visible and help them discover how and why they can make meaning out of everything they read, see, and hear. Now they will have ready answers for discussions, questions, essay-writing, and quizzes.

Students read literary and informational texts about human interaction with animals and nature. They understand how authors portray animals to serve a purpose and make a comment about human interaction with animals. Students then explore scientific and personal accounts of animal cognition to express their understanding of Jack London’s portrayal of Buck and his interaction with humans in The Call of the Wild.

In this lesson various quotes that are stated by characters in Hidden FIgures are written on chart paper. Students will use the chalk talk protocol to write explaing their thoughts, connections, and questions about the quote first and then respond to what their classmates have written. Students will move in small groups from paper to paper guided by a timer. After they have finished, students will discuss big ideas on the chart paper and then discuss and share out how this quote teaches us about the person based on inferences we have made with this activity. Do we think this what the author intended us to think? This protocol can be used for any book or topic in many subject areas. There will also be reflection as an informative assessment.

In this unit, students will explore the meaning of true friendship by reading Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. Charlotte’s Web, a classic novel written in 1952, clearly illustrates how difficult and scary it can be to make a friend, yet how rewarding a true friendship really is. Over the course of the novel, students will consider what it means to be a good friend, whether or not friendship is always easy, and whether or not conflicts and struggle really are an important part of strengthening friendships. By deeply connecting with the characters, students will learn about the power of helping others, how creativity and determination can help solve problems, and that people can and do change. Students will also begin to understand the cycle of life and beauty, and the emotional responses that come with death through the eyes of Wilbur. It is our hope that this unit, in connection with other units, will provide the foundation for developing empathy and understanding about true friendship and life.

Charlotte’s Web was chosen not only because of the strong theme of friendship and life, but because it is a classic in children’s literature. Charlotte’s Web was written in the early 1950s and contains themes and language that are more archaic than other texts from the year. Therefore, students will learn how to analyze themes, settings, characters and language that are less familiar and relatable.

In this first unit of second grade, students read multiple versions of a classic fairy tale, Cinderella. Through reading various versions of the same story, students are not only exposed to a wide variety of cultures, but they are also challenged to think about how the culture, or setting, of the story influences the plot. In first grade fiction, students took a trip around the world, exploring a wide variety of themes and stories from all over, in order to build a foundational understanding that our world is made up of many diverse and unique cultures. This unit builds on the exposure to new cultures students received in first grade and provides an opportunity for students to explore the idea that even though cultures may appear to be different, there are many things embedded within the unique characteristics of different cultures that make them similar. Storytelling, and the role of storytelling, is one of those similarities. It is our hope that this unit, in connection with others in the sequence, helps students build empathy and understanding of the world around them.

The different versions of Cinderella help students understand the components of a fairy tale and the lessons associated with traditional fairy tales. Over the course of the unit, students will be challenged to ask and answer questions about the text and illustrations as a way of deepening their understanding of plot, setting, and characters. In the first section of the unit, students will focus deeply on the setting, characters, and plot of the different versions of Cinderella, learning to compare and contrast the nuances across different versions. In the second section of the unit, students will read Cinderella stories that vary from the traditional plot structure but still include the underlying theme that a person’s actions (good or bad) influence his/her life outcomes. In this section students will dive deeply into three texts to analyze different characters’ traits and how the author uses those traits to help reveal the lesson of the story.

Two blobs of clay go on an enjoyable adventure as they transform themselves into fun shapes and new things throughout their escapade. What will they be by the end of the book? The resource includes a lesson plan/book card, a design challenge, and copy of a design thinking journal that provide guidance on using the book to inspire students' curiosity for design thinking. Maker Challenge: Design a stop-motion video that morphs an item of your choice into another item. Before you begin, sketch out the process you’ll take to transform your item.

A document is included in the resources folder that lists the complete standards-alignment for this book activity.

Students hone their teamwork skills and play off each other's writing strengths as they participate in prewriting activities for a story to be written collaboratively by the whole class.

Week 32, Day 1---Day 5
Compare/Contrast
"This week we are going to write three different compare and contrast pieces. We are going to structure our compare and contrast pieces as descriptive writing. We are going to tell about how two things are the same and how two things are different.
Over the last few days we have read different versions of Cinderella. We read one from France, one from Egypt, and one from the Algonquin."
visuals:
Compare/Contrast Graphic Organizer 1
Compare/Contrast Graphic Organizer 2
Compare/Contrast Linking Words
Descriptive Checklist Sample
Second Grade Editing Checklist

In this unit students dive into the world of Greek mythology. Over the course of the unit students will read the classic myths of Pandora, Arachne, and Echo and Narcissus. In reading the myths, students will gain a deeper understanding of the gods and mortals in ancient Greece and how the ancient Greeks used mythology as a way to make sense of and interpret the world around them. Students will also continue the thematic exploration from previous units about how a person’s beliefs, ethics, or values influence that person’s behavior.

Over the course of the unit, students will read multiple versions of the classic myths. The primary focus of this unit is on close reading and analyzing the differences among the versions and critically analyzing an author’s choice of genre. In doing so, students will be challenged to think about how the structural elements of different genres, particularly prose, drama, and verse, allow a reader to better understand a story or text. Students will also explore how the point of view in which a story is written, either third-person point of view or first-person point of view, changes the way a story is told and the depth of information that a reader knows. Another focus of this unit is determining the central theme of the myths. Because the stories in this unit are shorter than the novels students have read so far, this unit offers students practice in finding the theme of a shorter text and explaining how the author uses evidence to develop the theme.

The purpose of this unit is to put students in the driver’s seat of their own reading by considering their own preferences and what it means to be a connected reader in our multi-media society.

It’s easy to take today’s ubiquitous colored crayons for granted, but they were the result of one individual’s innovation. Biebow introduces Edwin Binney—a mustachioed man and head of a carbon black factory—who wished to make color-pigmented wax crayons that reflected the world outside. The resource includes a lesson plan/book card, a design challenge, and copy of a design thinking journal that provide guidance on using the book to inspire students' curiosity for design thinking. Maker Challenge: Think about the school/community/world in which you live and identify a problem that could be solved with a new invention.

A document is included in the resources folder that lists the complete standards-alignment for this book activity.

Students will learn the potential costs and benefits of social media, digital consumption, and our relationship with technology as a society in the three-week lesson. This inquiry based unit of study will answer the following questions:

Essential Question: How can we use science fiction’s ability to predict the future to help humanity?

Supportive Questions 1: What predictions of future development has science fiction accurately made in the past? This can include technology, privacy, medicine, social justice, political, environmental, education, and economic.

Supportive Question 2: What predictions for future development in contemporary science fiction are positive for the future of humanity? What factors need to begin in your lifetime to make these predictions reality?

Supportive Question 3: What predictions for future development in contemporary science fiction are negative for the future of humanity? What factors need to begin in your lifetime to stop these negative outcomes?

This lesson is the fifth in a series of six in which students engage in a close read aloud of The Invisible Boy. In Session 5, students use a Language Dive to see the cause of and change in Brian's feelings. Additionally, students use Justin's kindness toward Brian as an introduction to compassion, a habit of character.

This lesson is the final one in which students engage in a close read-aloud of The Invisible Boy. Students learn that Brian is happier at school because of the new friendship he has built with Justin. This final session allows students to practice recognizing significant events that cause a response in the main character.

In Work Time A, students complete another focused read-aloud of The Dot. In this session, they revisit key sections of the text to answer text-dependent questions that guide them to identify the central message. Students should be able to explain why the author wrote this story or what he wanted us to learn from it.

This lesson is the first in a series of six in which students engage in a close read-aloud of The Invisible Boy. This book provides another example of school to help students define and clarify the purpose of school. In this book, students learn that school helps us to appreciate other people's abilities and underscores the importance of treating others kindly. Additionally, students track the main character's change of emotions to better understand the impact of their words and actions on their classmates.

This lesson is the second in a series of six in which students engage in a close read-aloud of The Invisible Boy. In Session 2, students focus their attention on a smaller chunk of the text that dives deeper into understanding the main character, Brian, and an example of something that makes him feel invisible.

This lesson is the third in a series of six in which students engage in a close read-aloud of The Invisible Boy. In Session 3, students begin talking about and tracking Brian's feelings on an anchor chart.