Week 36 — Printable Lesson Packet

Mathematics

Objective: Students will begin the 'Plan a class picnic' performance task by counting supplies to 1000 and adding three two-digit prices (2.NBT.A.1, 2.NBT.A.2, 2.NBT.B.6, 2.MD.C.8).

1. 10 min — Warm-Up: Look back at last week's cake drawings and ask your child to explain fourths in one sentence. Then introduce the task: 'This week you are the picnic planner for a class of 24 kids. Every day you finish one part of the plan, and on Friday you present it.' Hand over a 'Picnic Planner' booklet made from four folded sheets.
2. 15 min — Mini-Lesson: Part 1, supplies (Week 5 skill): the supply closet has bundles. Set out beans as 3 groups of 100, 6 groups of 10, and 4 singles for cups (364). Your child records 364 in words and expanded form. Do the same for napkins: 5 hundreds, 0 tens, 8 ones (508). Ask: 'We need 400 cups. Do we have enough? How many more or fewer?' (36 fewer, 400 - 364).
3. 15 min — Practice: Part 2, prices (Week 8 skill): choose three snacks from a price card (juice 28 cents, apple 35 cents, pretzels 19 cents, cookie 42 cents, cheese stick 26 cents). Your child adds the three prices two different ways (for example 28 + 35 + 19 = 82 cents) and records the equation and total in the booklet. Then pay the total with coins and check by counting them. Support: pick the three prices with ones digits that pair to ten. Stretch: find the most expensive and least expensive three-item combination and the difference between them.
4. 5 min — Wrap-Up: Ask: 'Which part felt like Week 5 and which felt like Week 8?' Clip the booklet into the portfolio folder.

Materials: four sheets of paper folded into a booklet, stapler or clip, portfolio folder, dried beans or straws, rubber bands, pencil, price card, coins

English Language Arts

Objective: Students will describe how a character responds to challenges over a long story (RL.2.3, first taught in Week 2) and begin assembling a reading and writing portfolio.

1. 15 min — Read-Aloud: Read the first two chapters of The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin, in which Pacy's family celebrates Chinese New Year and her mother says this is the year to find yourself. Ask: 'What does Pacy want to figure out this year? In Week 2 we learned to watch how a character handles a challenge. What is hers?'
2. 10 min — Mini-Lesson: Say: 'This is our last week, and our last book is about a girl who discovers she wants to write and draw books. Sound familiar?' Start a 'Pacy's Tries' list on the whiteboard for things she tries during the year (add to it as you read this week), with a smiley or frown next to how each turns out.
3. 15 min — Guided Reading: Your child rereads the Chinese New Year chapter aloud and lists three things the family does to celebrate, then writes one sentence comparing it to a celebration in your own family.
4. 15 min — Writing Workshop: Portfolio day one. Give your child a folder or binder labeled 'My Second Grade Portfolio'. Together, choose five pieces from the Finished Pieces folder that show different genres (a story, an opinion, an informational piece, the collaborative story, a poem or letter) and put them in order from earliest to latest. Your child writes a sticky note on each: 'I learned to ____ from this piece.'
5. 10 min — Phonics: Cumulative review game, day one: pattern bingo. Make a 3 by 3 grid with these patterns: ai, oa, silent e, ar, un-, -ful, two syllables, contraction, silent k. Call out words (rain, boat, bike, farm, unlock, hopeful, pencil, can't, knee) and your child covers the matching square and reads the word.

Materials: The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin, whiteboard or paper, marker, reading notebook, pencil, folder or binder, Finished Pieces folder, sticky notes, paper, dried beans for markers

Science

Objective: Students will review the year's science units by sorting portfolio work into topics and choosing their best piece from each (2-PS1-1, 2-LS2-1, 2-LS4-1, 2-ESS2-1, K-2-ETS1-1).

1. 5 min — Science Question of the Week: Ask: 'Last week you were a science fair presenter. What did a scientist have to do this year before getting to present?' List the answers on a card: observe, ask, test, measure, graph, explain.
2. 20 min — Investigation: Spread the portfolio folder across the floor and set out 6 labeled papers: Matter, Plants and Animals, Engineering, Earth, Biodiversity, Science Fair. Your child sorts every piece onto the right pile, then picks one 'best' piece from each pile and says why: 'This one shows I can ____.' Stack the 6 best pieces in unit order.
3. 5 min — Wrap-Up: Ask: 'Which unit had the most pieces? Which one do you wish we had spent more time on?' Write the answers on a sticky note for Friday.

Materials: portfolio folder, 6 sheets of paper, marker, sticky note

Mathematics

Objective: Students will measure the picnic table in inches and centimeters and build the picnic schedule by reading and writing times to five minutes (2.MD.A.1, 2.MD.A.2, 2.MD.B.5, 2.MD.C.7).

1. 10 min — Warm-Up: Reread yesterday's booklet pages aloud. Then estimate: 'How long do you think our table is in inches? In centimeters? Which number will be bigger?'
2. 15 min — Mini-Lesson: Part 3, the table (Week 19 and 20 skills): your child measures the length and width of a real table with the tape measure in inches, then in centimeters, and records both with the estimate. Then a length problem (Week 21): 'The tablecloth is 60 inches long. How much longer or shorter is it than the table?' Write the equation in the booklet.
3. 15 min — Practice: Part 4, the schedule (Week 23 skill): your child decides the times for five picnic events and sets each on the paper clock: arrive, games, lunch, cake, clean up. Each event gets an analog drawing and a digital time (for example 10:00, 10:35, 11:45, 12:15, 1:05) with a.m. or p.m. Then answer: 'If games start at 10:35 and lunch is at 11:45, how many minutes of games?' (70 minutes) using five-minute counts on the clock.
4. 5 min — Wrap-Up: Ask: 'Why did you choose those times? Is the picnic in the a.m. or the p.m.?' File the booklet.

Materials: planner booklet, tape measure, ruler with cm, pencil, paper clock with movable hands, portfolio folder

English Language Arts

Objective: Students will determine the central message of a longer story (RL.2.2, first taught in Week 4) and write a reflective letter to the reader of their portfolio (W.2.2 and W.2.1, first taught in Weeks 7 and 4).

1. 15 min — Read-Aloud: Read the chapters of The Year of the Dog in which Pacy tries out for the school play and discovers the book contest. Add each try to the 'Pacy's Tries' list. Ask: 'When something does not work out for Pacy, what does she do next?'
2. 10 min — Mini-Lesson: Say: 'In Week 4 we learned that the central message is the big idea an author wants us to carry away.' Look at the list and ask: 'What is Grace Lin showing us about finding what you are good at?' Guide toward the idea that you find your talent by trying many things and not giving up.
3. 15 min — Independent Reading: Your child reads a book of their choice and writes the central message on a sticky note stuck inside the cover. Then they reread the sticky notes on Monday's portfolio pieces and choose the one piece they are proudest of.
4. 15 min — Writing Workshop: Portfolio day two: 'Dear Reader' letter. Your child writes a one-page letter for the front of the portfolio with three parts: what kind of reader they were in September and what kind they are now, which piece they are proudest of and why (opinion with a reason, Week 13), and one goal for third grade. Model the greeting and closing with commas (Week 21 letter conventions).
5. 10 min — Phonics: Cumulative review game, day two: word ladder. Start with 'cat' and change one letter or add one part per rung, reading each: cat, coat, boat, boast, toast, toasted, untoasted. Then your child builds their own seven-rung ladder starting with 'pin' and reads it to you. Support: give the next word's clue ('a boat that floats in the bath'). Stretch: every rung must be a real word your child can define.

Materials: The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin, whiteboard or paper, library book of choice, sticky notes, portfolio, lined paper, pencil, paper

Social Studies

Objective: Students will assemble a social studies portfolio and reflect on how they have grown as a citizen, mapmaker, historian, and economist (D2.Civ.2.K-2, D2.Geo.1.K-2, D2.His.1.K-2, D2.Eco.1.K-2).

1. 10 min — Read-Aloud and Discussion: Read Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña. Ask: 'Which parts of this book are about community? About helping? About needs and wants? About the places on the bus route?' Point out that one story can hold all four kinds of social studies.
2. 15 min — Hands-On Activity: Sort the social studies work from the year into 4 piles: Civics, Geography, History, Economics. Your child picks one favorite from each pile, staples a cover sheet titled 'My Social Studies Portfolio' on the front, and writes a caption under each favorite: 'I chose this because ____.' Include the community project poster from Week 34.
3. 5 min — Quick Write: Your child finishes: 'At the start of the year I did not know ____. Now I can ____.' Support: reread one September page together before writing. Stretch: write one thing you still want to learn about your community and how you could find out this summer.

Materials: Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña, social studies portfolio pieces, paper, stapler, pencil

Mathematics

Objective: Students will collect votes, build a labeled bar graph, and partition a rectangular cake into fourths two ways (2.MD.D.10, 2.G.A.3).

1. 10 min — Warm-Up: Read the schedule page aloud and check one time on the clock. Then hold a real vote: ask everyone at home (and call a grandparent or friend if you can) to pick a picnic game: tag, relay, catch, or hide and seek. If you have fewer than 10 voters, add pretend classmates until there are 24 votes total.
2. 15 min — Mini-Lesson: Part 5, the graph (Week 26 skill): your child turns the tally into a bar graph with a title, a label on each axis, four bars, and a scale of 1 (or 2 if the counts are large). Then write and answer three questions in the booklet: 'Which game won? How many more votes than the last-place game? How many votes in all?' (24).
3. 15 min — Practice: Part 6, the cake (Week 29 skill): draw a rectangular cake on paper (or use a real pan of brownies or a graham cracker). Your child cuts it into fourths one way, then draws a second cake and cuts it into fourths a different way, labeling each piece 'one fourth.' Then: 'The cake is for 4 helpers. If each helper gets one fourth, how many fourths are used? Is any left?' Extend: 'If we cut each fourth in half, how many pieces?' (8).
4. 5 min — Wrap-Up: Ask: 'Which picnic page are you proudest of so far?' File the graph and cake drawings in the booklet.

Materials: planner booklet, tally sheet, graph paper, markers, ruler, paper, crayons, graham crackers or brownie pan, portfolio folder

English Language Arts

Objective: Students will use illustrations to understand characters and compare central messages across two texts (RL.2.7 and RL.2.9, first taught in Weeks 5 and 14) and publish their Author's Celebration piece as a finished book.

1. 15 min — Shared Reading: Read The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds, then read the chapter of The Year of the Dog where Pacy writes and illustrates her book about the ugly vegetables for the contest. Ask: 'How is Vashti like Pacy? How is she different?'
2. 10 min — Mini-Lesson: Week 5 illustration review: look at the page in The Dot where Vashti's framed dot hangs on the wall. Ask: 'What do the picture's colors tell you about how Vashti feels now?' Then Week 14 comparing review: 'Both books say something about making art. What does each one say? Is it the same message?'
3. 15 min — Guided Reading: Your child makes a two-column chart, Vashti and Pacy, with the challenge each faced, what each made, and what each learned, then circles the lesson they most want to remember. Read the last page of The Dot aloud together, noticing the boy who signs his squiggle.
4. 15 min — Writing Workshop: Author's Celebration, publishing day. Assemble the final copy into a book: title page with author and illustrator, the illustrated pages in order, and an 'About the Author' page at the back with a self-portrait and three sentences (Week 20 publishing review). Staple or bind with yarn through punched holes, and have your child sign the cover, just like Vashti.
5. 10 min — Word Study: Cumulative review, day three: the year's toughest words. Your child looks back through the reading notebook for six words they marked as hard this year, writes each on a card, and reads the pile twice. Any word they now read easily gets a star.

Materials: The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds, The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin, reading notebook, pencil, chosen piece final copy, construction paper for cover, stapler or yarn and hole punch, crayons, index cards

Science

Objective: Students will write a caption for each portfolio piece explaining the science idea it shows and the evidence behind it (all Grade 2 science standards reviewed).

1. 5 min — Review: Hold up Monday's 6 best pieces one at a time. For each, your child says the big idea in one sentence, for example 'Heating and cooling can change matter' or 'Plants need water and light.'
2. 20 min — Deeper Investigation: Your child writes a caption card for each of the 6 pieces using the frame: 'This shows ____. My evidence was ____.' Then choose ONE favorite investigation to redo for 10 minutes as a quick demonstration (for example, an ice cube melting race or the paper towel test) and note whether the result matched the first time.
3. 5 min — Data Discussion: Ask: 'Did the result match? Why do scientists repeat tests?' Connect to the three trials from Week 34. Support: offer the choice between two demonstrations you have materials for. Stretch: have your child change one variable in the redo and predict the new result before running it.

Materials: 6 best portfolio pieces, 6 index cards, pencil, materials for one quick demonstration

Mathematics

Objective: Students will assemble and reflect on the year-end math portfolio, selecting one piece per unit and explaining growth in writing (2.OA.A.1, 2.NBT.B.7, 2.MD.A.1, 2.G.A.3).

1. 10 min — Warm-Up: Quick year-end fact check: ten facts within 20 in under a minute. Then spread every portfolio piece from Weeks 31 to 36 on the table and ask: 'What do you notice about your work from the start of this unit to now?'
2. 15 min — Mini-Lesson: Portfolio routine, final version: your child picks one piece for each of the six units (place value, adding and subtracting, word problems, measurement, data and geometry, the picnic booklet) and fills in a table of contents card with the week and a one-line reason ('I chose this because...'). Model the first entry together.
3. 15 min — Practice: Apply: finish the booklet's last page, 'Picnic Math Summary,' by writing one sentence per part: how many cups we have, the snack total, the table length, the picnic start time, the winning game, and how the cake is shared. Then solve one final two-step problem for the booklet: 'We have 364 cups and buy 2 more packs of 50. Then 24 kids each take one. How many cups are left?' (364 + 100 = 464, 464 - 24 = 440).
4. 5 min — Wrap-Up: Practice presenting: your child reads the summary page aloud once, standing up, as a rehearsal for Friday. Give one compliment and one tip.

Materials: fact cards, portfolio folder, index cards, pencil, planner booklet

English Language Arts

Objective: Students will describe the overall structure of a chapter book and how the ending resolves the beginning (RL.2.5, first taught in Week 3) and complete the reading half of the portfolio with a book list and a favorite-book opinion.

1. 15 min — Read-Aloud: Read the final chapters of The Year of the Dog, in which Pacy learns the contest results and the year ends with another New Year. Say: 'In Week 3 we learned that the end of a story answers the beginning.' Ask: 'What question did Pacy have on the first page? How is it answered on the last?'
2. 10 min — Mini-Lesson: Draw a circle on the whiteboard with 'New Year, Pacy wonders' at the top and 'New Year, Pacy knows' at the bottom, and write three big events from the 'Pacy's Tries' list around the circle. Say: 'Grace Lin ends where she started, and that shows how much Pacy changed. Week 6 point of view: who is telling this story?' Confirm that Pacy tells it herself, and that Grace Lin based it on her own childhood.
3. 15 min — Independent Reading: Portfolio reading page. Your child looks through the reading notebook and the library basket and writes a 'Books I Read in Second Grade' list, as many titles as they can remember, with a star by the top three. Then they read their favorite pages of the number one book.
4. 15 min — Writing Workshop: Portfolio day three: favorite book opinion (Week 13 and Week 15 review). Your child writes 'The best book I read this year was ____' with two reasons linked by because and also, and one sentence telling who should read it next. Then they rehearse reading their published book aloud once more for tomorrow.
5. 10 min — Phonics: Cumulative review, day four: fluency duet. You and your child read one page of The Year of the Dog together in unison, then your child reads the next page solo with the same pace and expression. Say: 'This is what reading sounds like now. In September it sounded different.'

Materials: The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin, whiteboard or paper, marker, reading notebook, portfolio, pencil, lined paper, published book

Social Studies

Objective: Students will present their social studies portfolio, reflect on the year, and receive awards that name specific things they learned to do (all C3 K-2 indicators reviewed).

1. 10 min — Review and Extend: Play a quick 'Year in 10 Questions' game: What is a law? Name a community helper. Name the 7 continents. What is a landform? Name a Native American nation we studied (Lenape, Haudenosaunee, Cherokee, or Navajo). Name an invention that changed how people live. What is a tradition? What is the difference between a need and a want? What is a producer? What did you do for our community? Celebrate every answer.
2. 15 min — Project Work: Your child presents the portfolio to the family, reading each caption and showing the community project poster. Then make 4 award certificates together, one for each strand, with a specific title your child helps choose, such as 'Map Key Master', 'Community Helper Award', 'Historian of Then and Now', and 'Smart Saver Award'. Sign and date them.
3. 5 min — Share Progress: Hold a short award ceremony with applause. Your child says one sentence about what each award means. Store the portfolio and certificates in a folder for next year's first week.

Materials: social studies portfolio, 4 sheets of paper, markers, stickers (optional), folder

Mathematics

Objective: Students will complete the multi-domain 'Plan a class picnic' performance task, present the portfolio, and celebrate a year of Grade 2 math (2.NBT.A.1, 2.NBT.B.6, 2.MD.A.1, 2.MD.C.7, 2.MD.D.10, 2.G.A.3).

1. 10 min — Warm-Up: Set up a small audience (family, a pet, or stuffed animals in a row) and lay out the booklet pages in order. Ask your child to say the six picnic tasks from memory before opening the booklet.
2. 15 min — Mini-Lesson: Presentation: your child presents the Picnic Planner page by page, showing the 364 cups in expanded form, the three-price total with coins, the table measurement in both units, the schedule on the clock, the bar graph with its questions, and the cake in fourths. The audience asks one question per page (for example 'How do you know 5 + 5 + 5 is the same as 3 rows of 5?').
3. 15 min — Weekly Assessment: Performance task check with fresh numbers: count a new supply pile of 4 hundreds, 2 tens, 7 ones and write it three ways (427); add 3 prices (36 + 24 + 18 = 78 cents) and pay with coins; measure a book in inches and centimeters; set the clock to 11:40 and say a time 25 minutes later (12:05); read the vote graph to find total votes and the difference between the top two; draw a rectangle and shade one fourth. Score each of the six domains as secure, developing, or needs review.
4. 5 min — Wrap-Up: Math celebration: present a handmade 'Grade 2 Mathematician' certificate, write the date on the portfolio cover, and let your child choose one favorite piece to hang up. Ask the last question of the year: 'What is one thing you can do now in math that you could not do in September?'

Materials: planner booklet, portfolio folder, coins, paper clock, tape measure, assessment sheet, dried beans, ruler, vote graph, pencil, crayons, certificate, tape

Assessment: Year-end performance task: multi-domain assessment and portfolio

English Language Arts

Objective: Students will present their published book and portfolio to family with a clear voice and relevant details (SL.2.4, SL.2.5, SL.2.6) and reflect on their growth as a reader and writer across the year.

1. 10 min — Reading Celebration: Family Author's Celebration opens. Set up chairs, a decorated author's chair, and a table displaying the published book, the portfolio, and the Frog and Toad, Amelia Bedelia, Ivan, Mercy Watson, and Year of the Dog books read this unit. Your child welcomes the family and tells them what they will hear.
2. 15 min — Reading Response or Assessment: Year-end reflection. Your child completes a half-page with three prompts: 'The most important thing I learned as a reader this year is...', 'The most important thing I learned as a writer is...', and 'The central message of The Year of the Dog is ____, and it matters to me because...'. Add it as the last page of the portfolio.
3. 15 min — Publishing and Author's Chair: The main event. Your child reads their published book aloud from the author's chair, showing each illustration, then plays the Week 35 audio recording for anyone who arrived late or wants to hear it again. They walk the family through the portfolio, reading the 'Dear Reader' letter and one favorite piece. The family applauds, and each listener says one specific thing they loved.
4. 10 min — Phonics Check: Year-end word check. Your child reads any Dolch grade-2 words missed in Week 32 plus ten mixed pattern words (sleep, boat, shape, storm, unfair, kindness, blanket, didn't, knight, celebrate). Record the total and present a handwritten 'Second Grade Reader' certificate with the Week 35 words-per-minute score written on it.
5. 15 min — Independent Reading: Summer reading launch. Your child chooses three books from the library basket or a list of series they loved this year (Frog and Toad, Mercy Watson, Amelia Bedelia, Who Would Win?, Elephant and Piggie, Grace Lin's Pacy books) to start over the summer, writes the titles on a 'Summer Reading Plan' page in the portfolio, and reads the first pages of one right now.

Materials: published book, portfolio, unit books, chairs, paper, pencil, phone or tablet with recording, Dolch grade-2 word cards, index cards, handwritten certificate, library books of choice

Assessment: Year-end performance: published and illustrated book read aloud to family with audio recording; portfolio of five writing pieces, a 'Dear Reader' letter, a book list, a favorite-book opinion, and a written reflection; year-end sight word and mixed pattern check recorded on a completion certificate.

Science

Objective: Students will present their science portfolio, reflect on their growth as a scientist, and receive awards tied to real skills demonstrated during the year (all Grade 2 science standards reviewed).

1. 10 min — Drawing Conclusions: Your child presents the 6-piece science portfolio to the family, reading each caption card, and ends with the science fair poster. Ask the audience to name one thing they learned from the presentation.
2. 15 min — Extension or Art Connection: Make 3 award certificates: 'Science Fair Scientist' for the project, 'Careful Observer' naming the investigation with the best drawings or tallies, and a third your child chooses, such as 'Engineer of the Year' for the Unit 3 build or 'Life Cycle Expert' for the bean. Decorate with a drawing of the matching experiment. Then plant something or check the Week 31 bean plant in its cup as a living reminder of the year.
3. 5 min — Week Reflection: Read the sticky note from Monday. Ask: 'What is one question you still wonder about? What could you test this summer?' Write it on the last page of the portfolio and title it 'Next Year's First Question.' Hold the award ceremony and applaud.

Materials: science portfolio, science fair poster, 3 sheets of paper, markers, crayons, bean plant, sticky note from Monday