In this unit, 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 1st Grade ELA, students explored a wide variety of themes and stories from all over in order to build the foundational understanding that our world is made up of many diverse cultures. This unit builds on that foundational understanding and provides an opportunity for students to explore the idea that even though cultures may appear to be different, there are many things 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 people and cultures that might be different from theirs.                                  

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 the plot, setting, and characters. In the first part of the unit, students will learn to compare and contrast the nuances across different versions. In the second part 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 their 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. Based on the complexities of the text, all texts in this unit are read aloud. Additionally, students will use discussion and oral discourse to show their understanding of texts. 

Students begin to build their writing fluency by writing daily in response to the Target Task question with an emphasis on writing complete sentences. Throughout the unit, students also have multiple opportunities to develop their narrative writing skills with a focus on crafting a strong beginning, middle, and end, using show not tell to describe characters’ thoughts and feelings, and temporal words to show passing time. 

In this unit, students explore different habitats (forest, desert, water, and rainforest) and investigate how different plants and animals survive in each habitat. Rather than just learning facts about the habitats, students examine the connection between parts of each habitat and how those connections are crucial for survival. Over the course of the unit, students are challenged to use the information they learn about different habitats to compare how different plants and animals depend on their surroundings and other living things to meet their needs. Students will also be challenged to compare the differences in the kinds of living things that are found in different areas and why those differences exist. This unit builds on the 1st Grade Amazing Animals unit, in which students learned about different types of animals and their characteristics, and prepares students for the 3rd Grade Understanding the Animal Kingdom unit. 

This unit uses the Bobbie Kalman Introducing Habitats series as mentor texts. Due to the repetitive structure of the texts, the texts allow readers to explore how text features help the reader learn more about a particular idea or topic. Students also learn how to use text features and text structure to think about how details are connected and to determine the main topic of a section of text. Additionally, students use discussion and oral discourse to show their understanding of texts. 

Students continue to build writing fluency by writing daily in response to the Target Task question. Students learn how to write complete sentences, ensuring that they are able to clearly communicate their ideas. Students also use what they have learned about text features to include text features in their own informational writing, writing multiple pages in their own informational books about the different habitats they have studied. 

In this unit, students grapple with common 2nd-grade topics through reading the easily relatable series Pinky and Rex. Through connecting with Pinky and Rex, students will learn that it is okay to be different and to be proud of who they are, no matter what others may think. Students will also learn about what it truly means to be a good friend and how friends can support and stick up for one another in a variety of ways. They will also see that it is okay for boys and girls to be friends, even best friends. This unit builds onto multiple units from 1st Grade ELA in which students learned what it means to be a good friend and a good person. It is our hope that this unit deepens the understandings developed in previous grades by giving students characters to connect with. These connections are especially important for students who are struggling with some of the same issues and are not sure how to process or talk about them.

This unit is a transition from units that were predominately read aloud to a unit that is almost entirely shared or independent reading. Pinky and Rex are perfect texts for second graders, not only because of the important themes they teach, but because of how James Howe develops character and plot throughout this unit. Students will be challenged to notice the descriptive details James Howe includes to show how characters feel in response to different problems and challenges. They will also be challenged to notice how a character’s dialogue shows what they are truly feeling and how the different “said” words James Howe includes deepens that understanding. 

Students will also begin to analyze why certain words in a text are written in italics and what that shows about how a character is feeling. This deep dive into character will allow students to truly understand the characters and the lessons that they are learning. By reading four books in the series, students will also have the chance to see how characters develop over the course of multiple texts. When discussing the text with partners, in small groups, or as a whole group, students will continue to work on engaging with the thinking of others. Students will continue to focus on building on others’ talk in conversations, with an emphasis on asking for clarification and further explanation if needed.

Students will continue to build their writing fluency by writing daily in response to the Target Task question using a combination of simple and complex sentences. Students will learn how to use different conjunctions when crafting answers, pushing them to think critically and deeply about the content. Additionally,  students continue to develop their opinion and narrative writing skills. Students use what they know about Pinky and Rex to write the first chapter of an imaginary Pinky and Rex series, focusing on using details and precise words to describe a character’s actions, thoughts, and feelings. When writing opinion pieces, students learn how to craft strong paragraphs that include topic sentences, opinions, and a conclusion.

In this unit, students explore immigration by reading a combination of informational nonfiction, narrative nonfiction, and fiction texts that highlight the experiences of early and recent immigrants. In the first part of the unit, students are pushed to notice and think about the different reasons people choose to leave their homes and settle in a new community or country. They will also learn about—historically and in the present day—who is allowed to come to the United States and wrestle with whether or not the system is fair.

In the second part of the unit, students will be pushed to think about the different memories, cultural traits, goods, ideas, languages, and skills that individuals and families bring with them when they move to a new place and how these characteristics enrich the community. While students are exposed to a wide variety of immigrant experiences over the course of the unit, not every experience or feeling about immigration is captured in this unit. Because students might be first- or second-generation immigrants, it is crucial to be sensitive to and respect the varying experiences and feelings of students and families. It is our hope that this unit, in connection with others, will help students build sensitivity and empathy for varying cultures and experiences within the United States.

Students focus on noticing the connection between events. While the language of the standards does not explicitly state the type of connections students are exploring, students notice the cause-and-effect and chronological connections between events and how the connections influence events in a person's or family’s life. Students also begin to explore the author’s purpose, exploring why an author may write a particular text and how that influences the type of details they include in the text and why. When discussing the text with partners, small groups, or the whole class, students will continue to work on engaging with the thinking of others. Students will continue to focus on building on others’ talk in conversations, with an emphasis on asking for clarification and further explanation if needed.

Students will continue to work on building writing fluency by writing daily in response to the Target Task question using simple and complex sentences. Throughout the unit, students will also participate in both informational and opinion writing: Students will research culture in their community and, through a variety of opinion writing projects, learn to state an opinion, include reasons to support the opinion, use linking words to connect the opinion and reasons, and write a strong concluding statement.

In this unit, students continue to explore the characteristics of chapter books by reading and engaging with the beginning chapter book series, Zapato Power. Building off of what students learned in the Belonging and Friendship: Pinky and Rex unit, students will explore what it means for two people to be friends and how friends are able to help each other by examining the somewhat unusual friendship between Freddie and Mr. Vaslov, an older man who lives and works in Freddie’s apartment building. Over the course of the unit, students will be challenged to think about what it means to be a superhero and the differences between using “super” powers and brain power to solve problems. It is important to note that these books are part of a beginning chapter book series; therefore, there are aspects of the plot that are less developed or not as powerful as other books that students read in the progression. The chapter book series does, however, introduce students to a male Latinx protagonist, something that is often missing from children’s literature and helps students explore similar themes and topics from other units with texts that are accessible. It is our hope that this unit, in connection with other units from the sequence, will set students up for success in reading and understanding longer chapter books.

This unit should be done predominantly as shared or independent reading; therefore, this unit gives students a chance to practice the reading skills they have developed in previous units. As they did in previous units, students will be challenged to think about how authors develop characters throughout a single text and how that understanding builds as they read more books in a series about the same characters. Students will focus on character motivation and what motivates both of the main characters, Freddie and Mr. Vaslov. Students will also begin to notice the different types of descriptive language authors include—specifically figurative language—and how descriptive language helps a reader better visualize the story and bring it to life. Finally, students will begin to notice how chapter titles are a clue for what is important in a chapter and can be used to guide retells and summaries of the key events within a chapter. 

When discussing the text, students use all of the strategies they have learned in previous units to participate in partner, small group, or whole-class discussions. When building on others’ talk in conversations, students continue to work on linking their comments to the remarks of others and asking questions for clarification or further explanation if needed. Students may also begin to critique and analyze the reasoning of others as they build on and respond to their classmates’ comments.

Students continue to build their writing fluency by writing daily in response to the Target Task with an emphasis on using simple and complex sentences. In this unit, students explore using subordinating conjunctions as a way of showing an even more nuanced understanding of the text and task. Students also continue to work on refining their narrative writing skills by writing a variety of narratives that have a strong beginning, middle, and end, and use a variety of precise words and phrases to describe characters and manage the sequence of events.