Focus for our first Unit of Study: Building a Community of Readers and Writers
Essential Questions
Why do readers ask questions?
How do readers and writers follow routines and rituals to develop a community of independent learners? (We are learning the components of the Daily 5 program, which helps to foster literacy independence)
Standards we are currently focusing on in this unit:
*Write opinion pieces--We have been reviewing how to write an opinion piece and learning about the use of linking words (because, also, since, therefore) to connect our opinion and reasons
*Ask and answer questions such as who, what, where, when, why and how in order to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text
*Form and use frequently occurring irregular plural nouns (ex. foot-feet, child-
children, mouse-mice)
Students have been practicing the components of the Daily 5 program, which helps to foster literacy independence. During our Reading RTI time, students are now able to take part in Read to Self, Read to Someone, Listen to Reading, Word Work, Work on Writing, and Work with the Teacher. Students also wrote opinion pieces about their favorite season, best ice cream, and also shared their opinions on whether they would squish an ant or let it go free after reading "Hey, Little Ant". Finally, as part of our assessment, they will write an opinion piece about which pet is best (a cat or a dog). We have worked on going back into a text to find reasons for our opinions, and also practiced using "linking words" to connect these reasons to our opinion. We will soon be working on "Writing to Inform". Students will learn how to recall information from experiences or gather information from a provided source to answer a question.
We have been busy comparing different versions of the same story, which meets our standard of "comparing and contrasting two or more versions of the same story by different authors or from different cultures." We read the original Cinderella story, the Egyptian Cinderella, and the Korean Cinderella. Students also wrote an opinion piece based on which one they preferred, the original or the Egyptian version. They needed to include reasons from the text. Our opinion pieces based on who has the harder job, The Tooth Fairy or Santa, recently came home in the assessment folders.
We are now beginning Narrative Writing. In class, we have been reading different versions of classic fairy tales, while discussing their similarities and differences. Students have started to write their own version of one of these classics. This is another high interest assignment!
I recently sent home our final informational piece on Reindeer. Students gathered note facts from multiple sources, including a book about Reindeer, as well as Internet sources. Mrs. Rothberg created a tab on her webpage for Grade 2 which included many excellent websites to read about reindeer, along with a few videos which students used to find facts. They then organized their writing with the help of a graphic organizer, before writing their final piece.
I was impressed with how much effort students placed into their final opinion piece, which compared the benefits of owning a cat or dog. They needed to find their supporting reasons from the text, begin with an introduction and end with a conclusion, as well as include linking words (such as because, also, since). This was definitely a high interest topic!
Students are currently working on an opinion piece focused on, “Who do you think has a harder job, Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy?” We have read Do You Think It’s Easy Being the Tooth Fairy? and also What Santa Can’t Do. After reading both books and brainstorming reasons to support each side, students have formed their opinions and are working on their piece. This is a high interest assignment!
I was impressed with how much effort students placed into their final opinion piece, which compared the benefits of owning a cat or dog. They needed to find their supporting reasons from the text, begin with an introduction and end with a conclusion, as well as include linking words (such as because, also, since). This was definitely a high interest topic! We are now beginning informational writing (writing to inform) We will be reading an article about The First Thanksgiving and using this to model our first piece together. Students will also be reading books about turkeys and we will use this information for another informational writing piece.
Padlet for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Students will be adding to this padlet to share character traits they feel describe Charlie Bucket. A padlet is an interactive way in which students can share/add information to a question/topic posed to a group and see others' responses immediately. Please check back once students have added their thoughts.
ELA Update
We have been busy comparing different versions of the same story, which meets our standard of "comparing and contrasting two or more versions of the same story by different authors or from different cultures." We read the original Cinderella story, the Egyptian Cinderella, and the Korean Cinderella. Students also wrote an opinion piece based on which one they preferred, the original or the Egyptian version. They needed to include reasons from the text. I recently sent these home in their assessment folders, along with an assessment comparing versions of The Ugly Duckling story. Our opinion pieces based on who has the harder job, The Tooth Fairy or Santa, also came home in this folder.
We are now beginning Narrative Writing. In class, we have been reading different versions of classic fairy tales, while discussing their similarities and differences. Students have started to write their own version of one of these classics. This is another high interest assignment!
I recently sent home our final informational piece on Reindeer. Students gathered note facts from multiple sources, including a book about Reindeer, as well as Internet sources. Mrs. Rothberg created a tab on her webpage for Grade 2 which included many excellent websites to read about reindeer, along with a few videos which students used to find facts. They then organized their writing with the help of a graphic organizer, before writing their final piece.
Students are currently working on an opinion piece focused on, “Who do you think has a harder job, Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy?” We have read Do You Think It’s Easy Being the Tooth Fairy? and also What Santa Can’t Do. After reading both books and brainstorming reasons to support each side, students have formed their opinions and are working on their piece. This is a high interest assignment!
Students have been continuing to place lots of hard work into their informational writing. The "Turkey" writing to inform piece was sent home recently. I have been modeling how to collect notefacts, ways to write a good introduction and conclusion, along with the use of transition words to begin their facts. This piece was completed together, with lots of modeling. Right before winter break students began reading about owls, and are in the process of collecting notefacts about what they look like, where they live, and what they eat. They will then use their notefacts to complete a graphic organizer which includes an introduction and conclusion. For their assessment, students will use multiple sources to complete an informational writing piece about reindeer.
I was impressed with how much effort students placed into their final opinion piece, which compared the benefits of owning a cat or dog. They needed to find their supporting reasons from the text, begin with an introduction and end with a conclusion, as well as include linking words (such as because, also, since). This was definitely a high interest topic! We are now beginning informational writing (writing to inform) We will be reading an article about The First Thanksgiving and using this to model our first piece together. Students will also be reading books about turkeys and we will use this information for another informational writing piece.
Focus for our first Unit of Study: Building a Community of Readers and Writers
Essential Questions
Why do readers ask questions?
How do readers and writers follow routines and rituals to develop a community of independent learners? (We are learning the components of the Daily 5 program, which helps to foster literacy independence)
Standards we are currently focusing on in this unit:
*Write opinion pieces--We have been reviewing how to write an opinion piece and learning about the use of linking words (because, also, since, therefore) to connect our opinion and reasons
*Ask and answer questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how in order to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text (use of shared reading, read alouds, close reading practice to address this standard)
*Form and use frequently occurring irregular plural nouns (ex. foot-feet, child-children, mouse-mice)
The focus for our first unit was "Building a Community of Writers and Readers". We will soon be moving on to our next unit, "Reading and Writing Nonfiction and Informational Text". During this unit, students will read a variety of grade level informational texts and begin to identify the main ideas of paragraphs, know and use text features to locate key facts or information, and continue to ask and answer questions about a text. We have also been focusing on proper nouns.
Students have been practicing the components of the Daily 5 program, which helps to foster literacy independence. During our Reading RTI time, students are now able to take part in Read to Self, Read to Someone, Listen to Reading, Word Work, Work on Writing, and Work with the Teacher. Students also wrote opinion pieces about their favorite season, best ice cream, and also shared their opinions on whether they would squish an ant or let it go free after reading "Hey, Little Ant". Finally, as part of our assessment, they will write an opinion piece about which pet is best (a cat or a dog). We have worked on going back into a text to find reasons for our opinions, and also practiced using "linking words" to connect these reasons to our opinion. We will soon be working on "Writing to Inform". Students will learn how to recall information from experiences or gather information from a provided source to answer a question.