Full Curriculum Overview

This unit sets up the daily routine: a read-aloud, a short lesson, reading practice, writing workshop and phonics. Through books like Frog and Toad Are Friends and Owl Moon, your child learns to ask questions, notice how characters feel, find a story's lesson and read the pictures as closely as the words. In writing, your child publishes a small-moment story, an opinion piece and a two-voice piece.

It builds on first-grade phonics and story sense. The habits started here (asking questions, pointing to evidence, Author's Chair) carry through every later unit, starting with the nonfiction of Unit 2.

• RL.2.1 Answers who, what, where, when, why and how questions about a story.
• RL.2.2 Retells a story in order and explains its lesson.
• RL.2.3 Explains what characters do and feel when big things happen.
• RL.2.5 Describes the beginning, middle and end of a story.
• RL.2.6 Knows characters have different points of view and uses different voices for them.
• RL.2.7 Uses both the pictures and the words to understand a story.
• RF.2.3 Uses phonics to sound out new words, including vowel teams, prefixes, suffixes and longer words.
• RF.2.4 Reads smoothly, at a good pace, with expression and understanding.
• L.2.1 Uses correct grammar: collective nouns, irregular plurals, reflexive pronouns, past tense, adjectives and adverbs.
• L.2.2 Uses capitals, commas, apostrophes and correct spelling.
• L.2.4 Works out unknown words with context clues, word parts and dictionaries.
• L.2.5 Connects words to real life and notices shades of meaning (mad, angry, furious).

• Asks and answers who, what, where, when, why and how questions and points to the page that proves the answer.
• Tells how a character feels and names the clue in the words or pictures that shows it.
• Retells a story in order and states its lesson in one sentence.
• Says who is telling a story and how another character would tell it differently.
• Reads words with vowel teams (ai, ay, ee, ea, oa, ow), silent e, r-controlled vowels and the prefixes un-, re- and pre-.

narrative, vowel team, character, sequence, structure, central message, opinion, evidence, illustration, point of view

• Reading notebook
• Sticky notes
• Index cards for phonics sorts
• Writing folder
• A special chair for Author's Chair
• Library copies of the unit's picture books

• Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel
• Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel
• Jamaica's Find by Juanita Havill
• A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams
• Fireflies! by Julie Brinckloe
• Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
• Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
• Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
• The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
• The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
• Hey, Little Ant by Phillip and Hannah Hoose

Keep the read-aloud and Writing Workshop on every day you teach, since the book and the writing piece build day by day. Shorten phonics to a 5-minute word sort, skip one independent reading block, and give the Friday phonics check only for patterns you taught.

The most common snag is answering from memory or opinion instead of from the book. Ask 'Where does it say that? Show me the page' until pointing to evidence becomes a habit.

Your child learns to read true books the way a researcher does: asking questions, finding the main topic, using headings and glossaries, noticing why the author wrote, and seeing how pictures and words work together. At the same time your child writes informational paragraphs and builds an 'All About' book on a plant or animal from the science unit, using more than one source.

It turns Unit 1's questioning and evidence habits toward nonfiction. The research and note-taking skills return in Unit 5's rain forest project and in the Unit 6 review.

• RI.2.1 Asks and answers questions about nonfiction using details from the text.
• RI.2.2 Tells what a whole nonfiction text is about and what each section focuses on.
• RI.2.3 Explains how ideas in a nonfiction text connect, like steps or cause and effect.
• RI.2.5 Uses headings, bold words, captions, glossaries and indexes to find information.
• RI.2.6 Explains why the author wrote the text.
• RI.2.7 Explains how pictures, diagrams and maps help readers understand.
• W.2.1 Writes opinion pieces with reasons, linking words and a closing.
• W.2.2 Writes teaching pieces with a clear topic, real facts and a closing.
• W.2.7 Learns about a topic from a few books and writes a short report, with help.
• W.2.8 Answers a question by remembering or by looking in a book you provide.
• RF.2.4 Reads smoothly, at a good pace, with expression and understanding.
• L.2.1 Uses correct grammar: collective nouns, irregular plurals, reflexive pronouns, past tense, adjectives and adverbs.
• L.2.2 Uses capitals, commas, apostrophes and correct spelling.
• L.2.4 Works out unknown words with context clues, word parts and dictionaries.
• L.2.5 Connects words to real life and notices shades of meaning (mad, angry, furious).

• Asks questions before and during reading and finds the sentence that answers each one.
• Names the main topic of a book and of a single paragraph in their own words.
• Uses a table of contents, glossary, index, headings and captions to find a fact quickly.
• Tells whether an author wrote to answer, explain, describe or entertain, and explains what a diagram adds.
• Takes notes in their own words from two sources and turns them into a short book with sections, a diagram and a glossary.

nonfiction, question, main topic, fact, heading, caption, author's purpose, integrate, source, connection, revise, publish

• Library nonfiction books (Gail Gibbons and National Geographic Kids Readers work well)
• Sticky notes and sticky flags
• Research folder with one page per question
• Index cards
• Colored pencils
• Stapler for the finished book

• From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons
• Ants by Melissa Stewart
• What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
• Feathers: Not Just for Flying by Melissa Stewart
• Sharks by Anne Schreiber
• What Is the World Made Of? All About Solids, Liquids, and Gases by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
• Monarch Butterfly by Gail Gibbons
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
• The Honey Makers by Gail Gibbons
• Weather by Kristin Baird Rattini
• Where Do Polar Bears Live? by Sarah L. Thomson
• The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle

Keep the Monday read-aloud and the Writing Workshop days, because the All About book is built step by step across Weeks 10 to 12. Word study can shrink to a 5-minute card review, and the Friday reading response can be done aloud.

Children often copy whole sentences as 'notes,' or treat a story like The Very Hungry Caterpillar as a source of facts. Practice 'words, not sentences' notes, and ask 'Did the author write this to teach or to entertain?' before using a book for research.

Your child listens for rhythm and rhyme in poems, compares Cinderella stories from different cultures, compares two books about the same animal and meets folktales and fables. Along the way your child writes opinion pieces with reasons and linking words, presents a persuasive letter, records a reading and learns when to use formal or informal English.

It builds on the story work of Unit 1 and the nonfiction skills of Unit 2, now comparing two texts side by side. The speaking and presenting started here lead into the conversation work of Unit 5.

• RL.2.4 Notices how rhyme, repeated lines and beat give a poem or story its sound and meaning.
• RL.2.9 Compares two versions of the same story.
• RI.2.4 Works out new words in nonfiction using the sentence, the pictures and the glossary.
• RI.2.8 Names what the author wants to convince us of and the reasons given.
• RI.2.9 Compares what two books on the same topic say and where they differ.
• SL.2.1 Takes part in real conversations: listening, taking turns, staying on topic and asking questions.
• SL.2.2 Tells the main ideas and details of something heard.
• SL.2.3 Asks a good question after listening to someone.
• SL.2.4 Tells a story or event clearly, in order, loudly enough and with good details.
• SL.2.5 Records a reading and adds pictures to make a story clearer.
• SL.2.6 Answers in full sentences when it matters.
• W.2.1 Writes opinion pieces with reasons, linking words and a closing.
• L.2.1 Uses correct grammar: collective nouns, irregular plurals, reflexive pronouns, past tense, adjectives and adverbs.
• L.2.2 Uses capitals, commas, apostrophes and correct spelling.
• L.2.3 Notices the difference between casual talk and more careful, formal speaking and writing.
• L.2.4 Works out unknown words with context clues, word parts and dictionaries.

• Explains how rhyme, repeated lines or a steady beat add to a poem, and performs a poem with expression.
• Compares two versions of a story on a Venn diagram and tells how the setting changes the details.
• Finds key words in a nonfiction book and checks their meaning in the glossary or a children's dictionary.
• Writes an opinion with at least two reasons joined by because, and or also, plus a closing sentence.
• Presents in a clear voice and chooses formal or informal words to fit the listener.

rhythm, opinion, version, Venn diagram, key word, linking word, reason, evidence, present, folktale

• Poetry books from the library
• Writing folder
• Children's dictionary
• Index cards and sticky notes
• Phone or tablet for an audio recording
• Dried beans for votes and bingo

• Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
• The New Kid on the Block by Jack Prelutsky
• Cinderella by Marcia Brown
• Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China by Ai-Ling Louie
• Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe
• National Geographic Readers: Sharks! by Anne Schreiber
• Sharks by Gail Gibbons
• I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff
• Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
• Owls by Gail Gibbons
• National Geographic Readers: Owls by Laura Marsh
• Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
• Stone Soup by Marcia Brown
• Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti by Gerald McDermott

Keep the read-aloud and the Friday performance or presentation, since each week ends with something your child shares. Combine the two middle writing days into one and trim phonics to a quick card round.

Children tend to give reasons that are not really reasons ('because I like it') or that are not tied to the book. Ask 'Why?' one more time, and use Week 16's strong-or-weak reason test with a thumbs up or thumbs sideways.

Your child takes on harder books, both detailed nonfiction like A Drop of Water and the chapter book Charlotte's Web, using fix-it moves when a text gets tricky. In writing, your child revises and edits a piece, types and publishes it with a photo, and works on grammar such as irregular plurals, reflexive pronouns, adjectives and adverbs.

It asks your child to use the question, main-topic and retelling skills of Units 1 to 3 on longer texts with less help. Revising and publishing return in the Author's Celebration at the end of the year.

• RI.2.10 Reads and understands grade-level nonfiction, with some help on the hardest texts.
• RL.2.10 Reads and understands grade-level stories and poems, with a little help on the hardest.
• W.2.5 Goes back to a piece of writing to add details and fix mistakes, with help.
• W.2.6 Types a short piece on a computer or tablet and shares it, with help.
• RF.2.3 Uses phonics to sound out new words, including vowel teams, prefixes, suffixes and longer words.
• RF.2.4 Reads smoothly, at a good pace, with expression and understanding.
• L.2.1 Uses correct grammar: collective nouns, irregular plurals, reflexive pronouns, past tense, adjectives and adverbs.
• L.2.2 Uses capitals, commas, apostrophes and correct spelling.
• L.2.4 Works out unknown words with context clues, word parts and dictionaries.
• L.2.6 Uses new words from books and conversations when talking and writing.

• Uses rereading, the pictures and word parts to make sense of a hard sentence in a nonfiction book.
• Asks thick and thin questions and answers them starting with 'The book says...'
• Retells a story with the five-finger retell and names its central message.
• Revises by adding, removing, moving or swapping words (ARMS) and edits for capitals, usage, punctuation and spelling (CUPS).
• Uses collective nouns, irregular plurals (feet, mice), reflexive pronouns and words collected from reading in their own writing.

revise, self-correct, collective noun, plural, retell, reflexive, linking word, response, lesson

• Reading notebook
• Sticky notes
• Index cards for the ARMS and CUPS lists
• Computer or tablet for typing
• Phone or tablet camera
• Word Collector booklet made from folded paper

• A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder by Walter Wick
• The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks by Joanna Cole
• The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth by Joanna Cole
• Down Comes the Rain by Franklyn M. Branley
• Penguins! by Gail Gibbons
• Penguins! by Anne Schreiber
• Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
• Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
• Weather Words and What They Mean by Gail Gibbons
• The Stories Julian Tells by Ann Cameron

Keep the read-aloud, since Charlotte's Web runs from Week 22 into the next unit and each chapter depends on the last. Merge two writing days, and let independent reading double as the Friday reading response.

With harder texts, children often keep reading after the meaning breaks down or guess a word from its first letter. Teach the question 'Does that make sense?' and praise every self-correction by name.

This unit is about talking about books: following conversation rules, taking roles, building on someone else's idea and asking for clarification. Your child reads books linked to science and social studies, writes a true recount and a short research paragraph, and plays with shades of meaning like warm, hot and scorching.

It builds on the speaking and presenting of Unit 3 and the research skills of Unit 2. The conversation habits and recordings are used again in the Unit 6 showcase and Author's Celebration.

• SL.2.1 Takes part in real conversations: listening, taking turns, staying on topic and asking questions.
• SL.2.2 Tells the main ideas and details of something heard.
• SL.2.3 Asks a good question after listening to someone.
• SL.2.4 Tells a story or event clearly, in order, loudly enough and with good details.
• SL.2.5 Records a reading and adds pictures to make a story clearer.
• SL.2.6 Answers in full sentences when it matters.
• RL.2.1 Answers who, what, where, when, why and how questions about a story.
• RL.2.2 Retells a story in order and explains its lesson.
• RL.2.3 Explains what characters do and feel when big things happen.
• RL.2.4 Notices how rhyme, repeated lines and beat give a poem or story its sound and meaning.
• RL.2.5 Describes the beginning, middle and end of a story.
• RL.2.6 Knows characters have different points of view and uses different voices for them.
• RL.2.7 Uses both the pictures and the words to understand a story.
• W.2.3 Writes stories in order with details, time words and an ending.
• L.2.1 Uses correct grammar: collective nouns, irregular plurals, reflexive pronouns, past tense, adjectives and adverbs.
• L.2.4 Works out unknown words with context clues, word parts and dictionaries.
• L.2.5 Connects words to real life and notices shades of meaning (mad, angry, furious).

• Follows the talk rules (eyes on the speaker, one voice at a time, stay on topic) and builds on an idea with 'I want to add on...'
• Asks a clarifying question, such as 'What do you mean by...?', when something is unclear.
• Explains what the pictures add to the words and describes a story's beginning, middle and end.
• Writes a recount of a real event with time words, a line of dialogue and a clear ending.
• Orders words by strength (sad, upset, furious) and chooses the one that fits.

conversation, role, build on, point of view, purpose, structure

• Talking Together chart on large paper
• Speaker, Listener and Questioner role cards
• Sticky notes
• Phone for recording
• Research notebook
• Index cards for word sets

• Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña
• Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts
• A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams
• What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
• Hey, Little Ant by Phillip and Hannah Hoose
• The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! by Jon Scieszka
• The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry
• Nature's Green Umbrella: Tropical Rain Forests by Gail Gibbons
• Over and Under the Pond by Kate Messner
• Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday by Judith Viorst
• The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
• Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall

Keep the conversations, since talking is the skill being taught; a 5-minute stem conversation can replace a written response. Drop one phonics review day and one independent reading block, and keep the Friday conversation, retelling or reading check.

In conversation, children often wait for their turn and then share their own idea without connecting it to what was just said. Ask for a stem at the start of each turn, such as 'I agree because...' or 'I want to add on...'

This unit reviews the year's reading and writing skills with new books, from Frog and Toad Together and Amelia Bedelia to the true and invented stories of Ivan the gorilla. Your child revises one favorite piece into a published, illustrated book, records it, builds a portfolio and presents it at a family Author's Celebration.

It gathers every skill from Units 1 to 5 in one place and shows your child how much they have grown. The portfolio and the reading checks give you a clear picture to carry into third grade.

• RL.2.1 Answers who, what, where, when, why and how questions about a story.
• RL.2.2 Retells a story in order and explains its lesson.
• RL.2.3 Explains what characters do and feel when big things happen.
• RL.2.4 Notices how rhyme, repeated lines and beat give a poem or story its sound and meaning.
• RL.2.5 Describes the beginning, middle and end of a story.
• RL.2.6 Knows characters have different points of view and uses different voices for them.
• RL.2.7 Uses both the pictures and the words to understand a story.
• RL.2.9 Compares two versions of the same story.
• RI.2.1 Asks and answers questions about nonfiction using details from the text.
• RI.2.2 Tells what a whole nonfiction text is about and what each section focuses on.
• RI.2.3 Explains how ideas in a nonfiction text connect, like steps or cause and effect.
• RI.2.5 Uses headings, bold words, captions, glossaries and indexes to find information.
• RI.2.6 Explains why the author wrote the text.
• RI.2.7 Explains how pictures, diagrams and maps help readers understand.
• RI.2.8 Names what the author wants to convince us of and the reasons given.
• RI.2.9 Compares what two books on the same topic say and where they differ.
• RF.2.4 Reads smoothly, at a good pace, with expression and understanding.
• W.2.1 Writes opinion pieces with reasons, linking words and a closing.
• W.2.2 Writes teaching pieces with a clear topic, real facts and a closing.
• W.2.5 Goes back to a piece of writing to add details and fix mistakes, with help.
• W.2.7 Learns about a topic from a few books and writes a short report, with help.
• SL.2.1 Takes part in real conversations: listening, taking turns, staying on topic and asking questions.
• SL.2.2 Tells the main ideas and details of something heard.
• SL.2.3 Asks a good question after listening to someone.
• SL.2.4 Tells a story or event clearly, in order, loudly enough and with good details.
• SL.2.5 Records a reading and adds pictures to make a story clearer.
• SL.2.6 Answers in full sentences when it matters.
• L.2.1 Uses correct grammar: collective nouns, irregular plurals, reflexive pronouns, past tense, adjectives and adverbs.
• L.2.2 Uses capitals, commas, apostrophes and correct spelling.
• L.2.3 Notices the difference between casual talk and more careful, formal speaking and writing.
• L.2.4 Works out unknown words with context clues, word parts and dictionaries.
• L.2.5 Connects words to real life and notices shades of meaning (mad, angry, furious).
• L.2.6 Uses new words from books and conversations when talking and writing.

• Answers questions about a story or nonfiction book with evidence from the page.
• Compares two versions of a character, or a made-up and a true book about the same subject.
• Revises, edits and publishes a piece of writing with illustrations and an 'About the Author' page.
• Reads an unseen grade-level page aloud with accuracy, a good pace and expression.
• Presents the published book and portfolio in a clear voice and explains why each piece was chosen.

comprehension, decode, research, topic, compare, collaborate, reasoning, showcase, audio, portfolio, celebration, author

• Finished Pieces folder
• Portfolio folder or binder
• Reading notebook
• Children's dictionary
• Phone or tablet for audio recording
• Stapler, or yarn and a hole punch, for binding

• Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel
• A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead
• Who Would Win? Lion vs. Tiger by Jerry Pallotta
• Big Cats by Elizabeth Carney
• Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
• Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School by Herman Parish
• The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
• Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla by Katherine Applegate
• Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo
• We Are in a Book! by Mo Willems
• The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin
• The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds

Keep the Author's Celebration steps in order (choose, revise, edit, final copy, illustrate, record, present), since each builds on the last. Review read-alouds can shrink to one chapter or story, and phonics review can skip any pattern your child already reads easily.

In review weeks, children often rush and skip the evidence step because the skills feel familiar. Keep asking 'How do you know? Show me,' and check that revisions really change the piece rather than just recopy it.