Into the Forest

Browne, Anthony. (2004). Into the Forest. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press.
A young boy goes off, into the forest, to deliver a cake to his grandmother who lives there. Along the way, he meets lost souls in the forest and eventually becomes lost himself. But as he wanders, he finally finds his grandmother's cottage.

Connecting to the Standards
Grade 2 RL (7): Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.

• The illustrations in the story are very detailed when it comes to explaining characters and setting of the story.

Grade 2 RL (9): Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.

• This story includes stories such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Jack and the Beanstalk, and elements of Little Red Riding Hood.

Grade 2 SL (1): Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

• Students will discuss the illustrations in groups.

Adapted to the Classroom

Students will most likely already be familiar with the stories present within this book, so establishing prior knowledge will probably not be necessary. I would possibly pair this lesson with the other fairy-tale lessons presented in this blog such as Lon Po Po and The Three Pigs. 

The teacher will read the story aloud, possibly having the illustrations projected for students to see up close. Students should recognize some of the elements of other stories they see, either in the text or in the illustrations. The teacher might ask if they recognize the different characters and what stories they're from.

Once the reading is over, students will break up into small groups, each group getting a copy of the book. Students will be prompted to study the illustrations in conjunction with the text. Have students write down what fairy tales they see present in the story. Prompt them to look very closely at the illustrations, as some of the fairy tales are not as obvious as others. Students will share their findings with the class.

Bloom's Taxonomy

Distinguish what fairy tales are present in this story. (Analysis)

What story does the main character present? (Analysis)

Differentiation

Students who have trouble in small groups may need support, either by putting them with other students they work well with or by having the teacher standing by ready to give support to the student and redirect their behavior.

The Relatives Came

Rylant, Cynthia. The Relatives Came. (1993). Gammell, Stephen (Illus.).   Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Who does not love leaving at 4:00am to drive to spend weeks on end with your relatives. Through this text you will see how daily life changes when the relatives come to town. You will also see traditions that only happen when the relatives come to visit.

Connecting to the Standards

Grade 2 SL (4): Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audibly in coherent sentences.

• Students will meet this standard when they are given the change to present to the class about their family tradition. 

 
Learning Outcomes  
Students will write about a tradition that they have with their family with 80% accuracy.

Adapted to the Classroom  
To start this less you can your students if they know what a relative is, and what traditions the students have when relatives come to visit. If the students do not know what a relative is, you will give them context clues to help them get to the point where they can figure it out on their own. After you have established what a relative is with the students you will read this text. While reading the text you will use reading strategies to make sure the students are still engaged into the story. After the story is over, talk with the class about family traditions that happened within the text. When this conversation has closed, you will give students the chance to write about one of their traditions. When they finish writing about their traditions, students will be given the chance to tell the class about their tradition they have with their family.

Bloom's Taxonomy
What is a relative? (Knowledge)
Identify three traditions your family has. (Application)


Differentiation 
For students with Dyslexia, they will be given the option to either type their response or they will be provided with a dictionary to help with spelling if they choose to hand write it
For students who finish their assignment early, they will be ask to draw a picture of what their tradition looks like.

Catfish Tale

Stewart, Whitney. Catfish Tale. (2014). Guerlla's, Gerald (Illus.). Park Ridge Illinois: Albert Whitman & Company

Have you every heard of a Catfish with magical powers down in they Bayou? Well Jack has and when he tells his wife everything changes. She makes bigger and bigger wishes, until she just simply wishes she could go back to the way things were. 

Connecting to the Standards 
 Grade 2 RI (4): Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area

• Students will meet this standard when they are learning vocabulary words. When you go over the vocabulary words, not all the vocabulary words will be gone over so that when you get to them in the text you can ask the students and they can use context to figure it out 

Grade 2 RI (9): Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic

• Students will meet this standard by creating their chart to see if each fair tale meets their component of a fairy tale they are looking for. 

Learning Outcomes
In groups of two or three, students will be in charge of finding one component of a fairy tale in each of the fairy tales read throughout the lesson. Students will be in charge of charting whether the component is there or not. 

Adapted to the Classroom 
This text would be used when you are studying about fairy tales. Before reading this students would know what a fair tales is and all the components of a fairy tale. In the fairy tale unit you would be working on finding all the components of a fairy tale, in text that are believed to be fairy tales. Students would be in groups of two or three and would be looking for a certain component for each fairy tale read. Students would be given a chart with their component and all the fair tales read, the the story is being read they would check the box to see if the component had been met or would leave it blank if it had not. At the end of the unit, we would create a big chart with all the components and the stories read. Students would then be invited to mark the stories that met their component.

For this text in particular before reading you would introduce new vocabulary. There are so many knew vocabulary to students because of the setting of the story, that this is a major learning opportunity for students.

Bloom's Taxonomy 
What is a Bayou and where is it located? (Knowledge)
Why do you think that Jolie made the wishes she did? (Analysis)
How would you use a wish from a magical Catfish if you found one? (Application)

Differentiation
For ELL students, directions on what the task is would be given in both English and their native language.
For gifted students, they will have to make a graph at the end showing how many books where fairy tales and how many books where not fairy tales

If You Take a Mouse to School

Numeroff, Laura. If You Take a Mouse to School. (2002). Bond, Felicia (Illus.). New York, New York: HarperCollins

You never know what the mouse is going to ask for next when you decide to take him to school. The illustrations help you guess what is going to happen next, but sometimes you never know what the mouse is actually going to want.

Connecting to the Standards
Grade 2 RL (4): Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem or song.

• Students will meet this standard through the active participation in the read aloud. As the students catch on the the repeated sentences, the teacher will invite the students to read along. 

Grade 2 RL (7): Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.

• Students will meet this standard because before we flip pages, students will be given the chance to make an inference as to what is coming next in the text.

Learning Outcomes  
Students will be able to finish the sentences "If you take a mouse to school, he'll ask you for your _______. When you give him your ______ he'll want a ______ to go with it, by following the same pattern set up in the text. Student will also draw a picture of their sentence.

Adapted to the Classroom 
When reading this book you would read in a manner that students would be able to catch up on the pattern and be able to eventually guess what is going to come next.

While reading students will actively  participate in the read allowed. Students will be given a chance to guess what is coming next. After reading students will create their own explain following the same pattern from the text.

Bloom's Taxonomy 
List three request that the mouse had. (Knowledge)
How would you use the pattern in the story to develop another page to the story. (Application)

Differentiation 
For students with a hearing impairments the teacher will be wearing a microphone and the student will be wearing the receiver so that the sound is amplified and they can hear what the students are saying.
For students with visual impairments the teacher would use a large print book so that the studnet can follow along with the teacher.

Ramona Quimby, Age 8

Clearly, Beverly. Ramona Quimby, Age 8. (1981). Rogers, Jacqueline (Illus.). New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers

Ramona is in the 3rd grade and she is experiencing things that she has never had before, both good and bad. Ramona has an enthusiasm for life that no one can take from her and often rubs off on people. Throughout the text we watch Ramona do some crazy things but also some things that she believes to ruin her reputation.

Connecting to the Standards
Grade 2 L (3): Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening. A: Compare formal and informal uses of English

• Students will meet this standard by writing a letter to their future self, and making the choice how to write the letter to themselves. 

Grade 2 L (2): Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. B: Use of commas in greetings and closing of letters.

• Students will meet this standard by making sure they have the proper letter format when writing a letter to their future self. The letter format would have already been taught to the students.

Learning Outcome
After finishing reading Ramona Quimby, Age 8, students will write a letter to there future selves about anything they want with 80% accuracy. 

Adapted to the Classroom 
Prior to reading this text we would have already read the books prior to this one in the series. Since my students would be in the second grade we would read this towards the end of the year. After we finished reading this students would then write a letter to themselves, but the letter would not be given to them until the next year when they are in the 3rd grade. This letter could be about anything the student wanted to write about. Whether it be out Ramona gets through the 3rd grade and being 8 years old, or something that is is more personal.

Bloom's Taxonomy 
 Based on the text that was read, make an inference on what you think will happen next. (Comprehension)
What age is Ramona during this book? (Knowledge)


Differentiation
For students who finish writing their letter early, they will be given another task of writing a letter for themselves 5 years down the road about anything they want.
For ELL students, they will be given the option to write their letter in their native language

Mr. Popper's Penguins

Atwater, Richard and Florence. Mr. Popper's Penguins. (1993). Lawson, Robert (Illus.). New York, New York: Little, Brown and Company

Mr. Popper, was just a poor house painter who lived in Stillwater Oklahoma until one day when he suddenly own a penguin named Captain Cook from Admiral who promised him a surprise. Shortly after getting Capital Cook, they got a female penguin from the zoo who matted with Captain Cook and had 10 baby penguins. Mr. Popper and his penguins make a circus act, which may seem like a good idea but things suddenly take a turn in opposite directions and Mr. Popper winds up in the North Pole with his penguins and Admiral.

Connecting to the Standards 
Grade 2 W (5): With guidance and support of adults and peers, focus on a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including collaboration with peers.

• Students will meet this standard when they take turns to type out the cause and effect chart of the events in the story while reading the text.  

Grade 2 SL (2): Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

• Students will meet this standard when we discuss what happened during the last reading time before we read another passage.

Learning Outcomes  
While reading Mr. Popper's Penguins, the class will create a cause an effect chart outline the events within the story, with 80% accuracy.

Adapted to the Classroom
This would be a book that would be read aloud by the teacher after lunch/recess to calm the students down. Throughout reading the text you can create a cause an effect chart. This chart would also be a guide for students to understand what is happening in the story. While reading this text you can also do a science lesson on penguins and animals that live in the cold climates. Each day you would review what you wrote down the day before on the cause and effect chart. The cause and effect chart could be on the computer and each day a different students gets to take turns typing into the chart.

Bloom's Taxonomy 
What is the name of Mr. Popper's first penguin? (Knowledge)
Give a summary of the chapter read aloud today (Comprehension)

Differentiation 
For students who are auditory learners, instead of you reading the text one day you can find a recorded read aloud allowing for the students to listen to the text in a different tone.
For students with hearing impairments, the teacher will wear a microphone while the student has the receiver, amplifying the sound for the student to hear the story.

Enigma - A Magical Mystery

Base, Graeme. Enigma- A Magical Mystery. (2008). Base, Graeme (Illus.). New York, New York Abrams Books for Young Readers

Bertie was expecting a typical visit to see his grandfather at his retirement home. But much to Bertie's surprise it was not a typical visit. Bertie spend his time trying to find his grandfather's rabbit Enigma, and helping the other residents of the retirement home get their magic back.

Connecting to the Standards
Grade 2 RL (2): Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

• Students will demonstrate this when we are discussing the different character and what their magic power is. 

Grade 2 RL (7): Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.

• Students will meet this standard when they make predictions about what magic power each character has prior to finding out what magic power they actually have.

Learning Outcomes 
Given the question "If you could have any magic powers, what would they be and why?," students will formulate an answer with 80% accuracy.

Adapted to the Classroom
This would be a read a loud used when discussing sequence and patterns due to the code that has to be broken in the back to display. While reading students would make predictions as to what the different characters magical powers are before we read.When we are finished reading we will make a chart listing the character and their magic power. After we are done reading we will work toward trying to solve the code in the back of the book.

After discussing the code, we would go back and discuss the events that happened in the text. While discussing we would touch on Magic and discuss Magicians. While discussing Magicians and what they do we would discuss magic. After discussing I would students the chance to answer the question "If you could have any magic powers, what would they be and why?" After students had a chance to answer this question they would report back to class, so the class could hear about what magic power they would want to have.

Bloom's Taxonomy 
What is a Magician? (Knowledge)
What approach would you use to solve the mystery in the retirement home? (Application)

Differentiation
For students with Dyslexia, they would be aloud to use the dictionary to look up words they are not sure how to spell in order to answer the questions about which magic power they would want
For students who finish early, they would be given worksheets where they are trying to crack the code.