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Unit 2: Becoming Experts
Unit 2: Becoming Experts
Trade Book Titles
Eruption! The Story of Volcanoes by Anita Ganari (640L) Guided Reading Level L
Volcanoes (Smithsonian Little Explorer) by Martha E. Rustad (590L) Guided Reading Level L
Insects: By the Numbers by Steve Jenkins (760L) Guided Reading Level P
Bend I: How do nonfiction readers use what they know about a topic to help them understand more about it?
Bend I: How do nonfiction readers use what they know about a topic to help them understand more about it?
December 9
Session 1: Reading Nonfiction to Be Fascinated
Today I want to teach you that nonfiction readers are people who are fascinated by the world. They are experts in observation and curiosity. They pay close attention, they wonder, and they learn from the details they see and notice as they read.
RI.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. RI.2.2 Identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text.
Today we will read Mae Among the Stars to pay attention to feelings and traits and to analyze the relationships between people.
● I can collect details about the character and the topic in a narrative nonfiction text.
● I can stop and think about the character’s reactions to a big event.
● I can identify changes in the character’s relationships.
December 10
Session 2: Orienting and Recalling Relevant Background Knowledge
Today I want to remind you that it’s important to take a sneak peek, to get ready to learn. To do this, you look over the book. You don’t only think, "What will this book probably teach me?," you also think, "What do I already know about that?"
RI.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. RI.2.2 Identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text.
December 11
Session 3: Learning from All the Parts of the Page
Today I want to teach you that readers of nonfiction texts know that the pictures, or graphics, in their books can be just as important as the words. It pays off to study everything the author included on the page and to think about the ways the graphics work with the words to teach even more.
RI.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. RI.2.2 Identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text. RI.2.3 Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text. RI.2.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area. RI.2.5 Know and use various text features (e.g., captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently. 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.
Read the First Half of National Geographic Readers: Planets to Support Orienting, Building Vocabulary, and Summarizing
● Students will preview the text by studying the front and back cover, reading the chapter titles and headings, and predicting what the text will teach about.
● Students will determine the meaning of vocabulary words.
● Students will identify the big topics of the text and the details that support each topic.
December 12
Session 4: Using Background Knowledge to Help You Think More as You Read
Today I want to teach you that when you bring background knowledge to your reading, you need to use that background knowledge as you read. You use it to help you think more about what you are learning and to make connections and to raise new questions.
RI.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. RI.2.2 Identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text. RI.2.3 Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text. RI.2.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area. RI.2.5 Know and use various text features (e.g., captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently. 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. Session 5: Learning from Reading “Readers, today I want to emphasize that readers read nonfiction to learn more. So after you read a part, it’s really important to think, ‘What do I know now? What new things did this teach me?’ Sometimes you retell bits of what you know in your mind.”
December 13
Session 5: Learning from Reading
Readers, today I want to emphasize that readers read nonfiction to learn more. So after you read a part, it’s really important to think, "What do I know now? What new things did this teach me?" Sometimes you retell bits of what you know in your mind.
RI.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. RI.2.2 Identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text. RI.2.3 Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text. RI.2.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area. RI.2.5 Know and use various text features (e.g., captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently. 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.
Grammar Extension: Sentences that Contain Lists
Grammar Extension: Sentences that Contain Lists
Read the Second Half of National Geographic Readers: Planets to Support Asking and Answering Questions and Summarizing
● Students will generate questions about the topic before reading and seek out the answers to those questions while reading.
● Students will retell the main idea and details using keywords.
● Students will interview one another about their learning and use keywords to teach about the topic.
December 16
Session 6: Determining Importance in Nonfiction
Today the all-important thing I want you to learn is this: when reading nonfiction, you need to ask, "What do I most need to remember? What’s really important here?" To do that, it helps to pay attention to what seem to be the big parts, the subtopics in the text.
RI.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. RI.2.2 Identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text. RI.2.3 Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text. RI.2.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area. RI.2.5 Know and use various text features (e.g., captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently. 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.
Video Clip: Giant Pandas 101
Giant Pandas 101 Nat Geo Wild - YouTube
TRY IT! Make up your own sentences with a list, using sentence starters and commas.
Reread National Geographic Readers: Planets to Notice and Learn from Author’s Craft
● Students reread a text in order to identify craft moves the author used that they can try in their own informational writing
December 17
Session 7: Collecting Expert Vocabulary
Today I want to teach you that when you read nonfiction, you are given the chance to learn some of the language of the topic. To really learn that language, you want to notice it, to collect it, and above all, to use it.
RI.2.4 I can determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area.
Bend II: How do readers look at many nonfiction text sets to develop knowledge and vocabulary about a topic?
Bend II: How do readers look at many nonfiction text sets to develop knowledge and vocabulary about a topic?
December 18
Session 1
Today I want to teach you that nonfiction readers go through life with a pocket full of rubber bands. When we find a book that fascinates us, we often decide to search for another book on the same topic—two books with a rubber band wrapped around them makes for a text set. And the important thing is that you read the second book differently because you carry over what you have already learned.
RI.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. RI.2.2 Identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text. RI.2.3 Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text. RI.2.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area. RI.2.5 Know and use various text features (e.g., captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently. 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.
December 19
Session 2
Today I want to teach you that when we read nonfiction and learn about a topic, we make snowballs in our minds. As we read more and learn more, some of what we learn will stick to one of those original snowballs. It’s as if we roll those snowballs around in the new information, and they get bigger.
RI.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. RI.2.2 Identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text. RI.2.3 Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text. RI.2.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area. RI.2.5 Know and use various text features (e.g., captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently. 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.
December 20
Session 3
Today I want to teach you that there are a few predictable ways that information is connected within a nonfiction text. Noticing those predictable connections can help you hold on to what is most important.
RI.2.9 Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic. L.2.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiplemeaning words and phrases based on grade 2 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies. L.2.4a Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase. L.2.4b Determine the meaning of the new word formed when a known prefix is added to a known word (e.g., happy/unhappy, tell/retell). L.2.4c Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root (e.g., addition, additional). L.2.4d Use knowledge of the meaning of individual words to predict the meaning of compound words (e.g., birdhouse, lighthouse, housefly; bookshelf, notebook, bookmark).
January 2
Session 4
Today I want to remind you that when you are reading and you come across a long, tricky word, you can tackle the word part by part. You can think, which one of my strategies will help me read this word? And if that strategy doesn’t work, then you can try another strategy.
RI.2.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area. L.2.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiplemeaning words and phrases based on grade 2 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies. L.2.4a Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase. L.2.4b Determine the meaning of the new word formed when a known prefix is added to a known word (e.g., happy/unhappy, tell/retell). L.2.4c Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root (e.g., addition, additional). L.2.4d Use knowledge of the meaning of individual words to predict the meaning of compound words (e.g., birdhouse, lighthouse, housefly; bookshelf, notebook, bookmark).
January 3
Session 5
Today I want to teach you that when you build knowledge about a topic, you learn the words that are important to that topic. To get yourself ready to learn even more, you can sort your words into categories. Then, when you learn new words, you can think about how those words fit with what you already know.
RI.2.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area. L.2.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiplemeaning words and phrases based on grade 2 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies. L.2.4a Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase. L.2.4b Determine the meaning of the new word formed when a known prefix is added to a known word (e.g., happy/unhappy, tell/retell). L.2.4c Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root (e.g., addition, additional). L.2.4d Use knowledge of the meaning of individual words to predict the meaning of compound words (e.g., birdhouse, lighthouse, housefly; bookshelf, notebook, bookmark).
January 6
Session 6 Video Session
RI.2.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area. L.2.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiplemeaning words and phrases based on grade 2 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies. L.2.4a Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase. L.2.4b Determine the meaning of the new word formed when a known prefix is added to a known word (e.g., happy/unhappy, tell/retell). L.2.4c Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root (e.g., addition, additional). L.2.4d Use knowledge of the meaning of individual words to predict the meaning of compound words (e.g., birdhouse, lighthouse, housefly; bookshelf, notebook, bookmark).
January 7
Session 7
Today I want to teach you that readers of nonfiction do more than just collect information about a topic. When they’ve learned a bunch about a topic, they find ways to share their thinking and learning with others and to get those people to care about those topics too.
RI.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. RI.2.2 Identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text. RI.2.3 Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text. RI.2.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area. RI.2.5 Know and use various text features (e.g., captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently. 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.
Bend III: How do readers look across multiple nonfiction genres to help them understand more about a topic?
Bend III: How do readers look across multiple nonfiction genres to help them understand more about a topic?
January 8
Session 1 “Today I want to teach you that when reading browsable nonfiction, you often start by browsing through a book, like you browse through a store. But just as you often end up settling on a thing or two to buy, you often settle on a part or two to read closely.”
RI.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. RI.2.2 Identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text. RI.2.3 Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text. RI.2.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area. RI.2.5 Know and use various text features (e.g., captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently. 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.
January 9
Session 2 “Today I want to teach you that reading browsable nonfiction asks for the reader to do more brainy work—more thinking—than the average reader does when reading a chapter book. All the white spaces on the page in browsable nonfiction are places where the reader is supposed to almost fill in the words. This kind of reading is more, not less, brainy.”
RI.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. RI.2.7 Explain how specific images (e.g., a diagram showing how a machine works) contribute to and clarify a text.
January 10
Session 3 “Today I want to teach you that to be a great reader of how-to or procedural texts, you need to let those texts teach you how to cook or make or fix or build the thing. It’s almost like the text becomes your teacher and you need to listen keenly to everything the teacher says and to do as you are told. You try to be a methodical, careful reader and learner.”
RI.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. RI.2.2 Identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text. RI.2.3 Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text. RI.2.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area. RI.2.5 Know and use various text features (e.g., captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently. 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.
January 13
Session 4 “Today I want to teach you that readers of any kind of nonfiction text try to learn as much as they can as they read. And to do that, they approach the text thinking, ‘I need all the help I can get.’ They use all the help that authors give by drawing on all the parts of the page.”
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. SL.2.1a 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). SL.2.1b Build on others’ talk in conversations by linking their comments to the remarks of others. SL.2.1c 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.2.5 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 for specific expectations.)
Let’s Gather! Curriculum
1. How can readers learn about a topic by reading several texts and then teaching others about it?
2. What have readers learned about space and space exploration?
Let’s Gather Read Aloud Texts
Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed (580L) Guided Reading Level L
National Geographic Readers: Planets by Elizabeth Carney (600L) Guided Reading Level O
Your Place in the Universe by Jason Chin (888L) Guided Reading Level V
January 14
Celebration and Reflection
There are several celebrations across the reading unit. At the close of the first bend, partners will rehearse what they have learned using their palms to talk about the main topic and their fingers to discuss the important details. Then, they will share their learning with another partnership.
In the final session of Bend 2, students will share their learning with students from another classroom, perhaps first graders, and teach them about their topic.
The unit will culminate with a more significant celebration. Reviewing their text sets and notes, students will think about all they’ve learned about a topic. Then, they will get to share what they’ve learned with visitors. Readers will be coached to sound like expert reporters using pictures and new vocabulary learned about the topic.
Let’s Gather! Read Aloud
Students will work together as a class to create a mural representing their learning across the unit. Students will draw, annotate, and caption important people and places using as many keywords as possible.
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. SL.2.1a 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). SL.2.1b Build on others’ talk in conversations by linking their comments to the remarks of others. SL.2.1c 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.2.5 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 for specific expectations.)
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