Synthesis & Mastery

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.