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.

My Brother Martin: A Sister Remembers Growing Up with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Farris King, Christine. My Brother Martin: A Sister Remembers Growing up with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (2006). Soentpiet, Chris (Illus.). New York, New York: Simon & Schuster

This text was told through the eyes of Christine King Farris the only survivor of king family and sister to Martin Luther King Jr. Christine felt as though it was important for her side of the story to be told, which is why she wrote this text. Throughout the text Christine recalls different events throughout their childhood and everything her brother did to work for change.

Connecting to the Standards 
Grade 2 W (7): Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., read a number of books on a single topic to produce a report)

• Students will meet this standard, because they will work in groups to research facts about Martin Luther King Jr. during a set of particular years in his life. 

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 by being able to recall information read from text but will also use other media to find the information they need. 

Learning Outcomes
 Given a particular set of dates, groups of students will work together to come up with 5 important facts about Martin Luther King Jr.'s life, with 80% accuracy.

Adapted to the Classroom
Prior to reading this text you would discuss who Martin Luther King Jr. is and what he he did. While you spend time talking about Martin Luther King Jr. you would set aside to discuss his family members. At this point you would read this text. After reading the students would be divided into groups. Once divided into groups students would use their knowledge of Martin Luther King Jr. and his family to create a timeline of his life. Each group would focus on a certain years, within those years students would have to come with 5 important events. Within each group their will be different roles assigned to each student to make sure all information need is being collected.

Bloom's Taxonomy 
Imagine you were Martin Luther King Jr., would you be able to fight for something you believe in? (Synthesis)
Who is Christine King Farris? (Knowledge)

Differentiation 
For ELL students, they will be given the opportunitiy to work in a group giving them the chance to work with others.
For students who are gifted, they will be required to do extra work on their time period and find more in depth information about Martin Luther King Jr.

So You Want to be President

St. George, Judith. So You Want to be President (2000). Small, David (Illus.). New York, New York: Philomel Books

In this text you learn all the positives and all the negatives that come with being President of the United States. While learning about the positives and the negatives, you also learn a little about each President. Not only do you learn fun facts about each President but you also learn fun facts about all the Presidents, like how many were born in long cabins and how many have the same name.

Connecting to Standards
Grade 2 W (7): Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g. read a number of books on a single topic to produce a report; record science observations)

• This content standard is met by the students getting into groups and doing research on the description of the president and having to report back to the class 

Grade 2 W (2): Write informative/ explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.

• This content standard is met by the students having to write paragraphs about one President of their choice. These paragraphs will be comprised on the information they found when doing research on the President of their choice

Learning Outcomes
After reading this text, students will pick a President to research and will write a paragraph biography about said President with 80% accuracy.

Adapted to Classroom
Prior to reading this text we would discuss the different Presidents of the United States. While discussing the Presidents we would make a time line so that students can visually see when the Presidents where President. While we are making a timeline we would discuss each President, whether that be by watching a video, reading a book, or doing some class research together on said President. During this discussion we would do some class research about the job's the President has, requirements to be President, and just overall important information regarding the President. This research would be done by having students break into groups and pick different categories of information to research on the President

After priming the students with all the information we would read this text. While reading this text we would start by taking a tally of how many students say "yes" or say "no" for wanting to be president. While we are reading the text we would make connections to the research that the students did.

After the read aloud is finished we would retake our poll and see who still wants to be president and who does not want to be President. After taking this poll we would discuss what we read in the text. While discussing this would be when I introduce the project to the children. For the project each student would research one particular President. They would answer research questions and would write a paragraph about the President they picked. These paragraphs would then be hung in the hall with a picture the student picked. 

Bloom's Taxonomy 
What is the name of the house the President lives in? (Knowledge)
In your opinion what is the best thing about the President you researched? (Evaluation) 

Differentiation
One way to differentiated this lesson is by allowing students to work in partners. This will allow students who are ELL or with SPED services to receive extra help from their classmate.
For students who are gifted you can require extra questions for them to answer forcing them to go in depth with research. 

Double Fudge

Blume, Judy. Double Fudge (2002). New York, New York: Dutton Children's Books

Double Fudge, is the final book in Judy Blume's Fudge series. In the book the Hatcher family takes a family trip to Washington D.C to show Fudge that Bureau of Engraving and Printing, in hopes that his love for money would stop. Fudge's love for many may not have stopped but along the way he found his twin. While the family is in D.C, they find some long lost cousins who have a young boy name Drexel Hatcher, which just happens to be Fudge's real name. 

Connecting to the Standards 
Grade 2 W (3): Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure

• This standards is met through having to write a summary at the end of each reading time but also at the never end when students sequence the events of the story  

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

• This standard is met through the class timeline that the students will make at the end of each reading. Students also meet this standard when they write a summary of the chapters read that day in their journals.

Learning Outcomes 
In small groups students will put events from the text in order for which they occurred with 70% accuracy.

Adapted to the Classroom
This book would be one that I read aloud to students after lunch/recess to just simply calm them down. Before reading this text, we would have already read the first three and students would be family with Judy Blume, but also Fudge and his story.

While reading this text I would have students at the end of each reading time, write down in their journals what happened during those chapters and what they think to be important. After the students have written down we would come back together as a class. It is at this point that we would make a timeline of the important events from that section. We would add these important events to a class timeline from previous chapters.

At the very end of reading the book, children would be given pieces of papers that would have the events typed out on them and would put them in order by which event happened. The students would use glue to put the events in order of how they happened in the text. For this activity that would work in groups to put the events in order.

Bloom's Taxonomy
What do you think Fudge thought when he first found out someone else has his name? (Analysis)
What is the main idea of _____ chapter(s)? (Comprehension)
Where is the setting of the story? (Knowledge)

Differentiation
For students who are ELL students, I would do my best to try and find a way to get the text into their language. Be that they listen to the text read aloud in their native language. I would also translate the events into their native language for them to put in order.
For students who are unable to use fine motor skills to paste the events on another piece of paper, I would provide them with an assistive technology to help them complete the activity.

John, Paul, George, & Ben

Smith, Lane. (2006). John, Paul, George & Ben. New York, New York: Hyperion Books.

Laced with historical humor, this book is a (mostly) accurate telling of the events leading to the American Revolution and the men involved. It shows how the five men, John Hancock, Paul Revere, George Washington, Ben Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson, acted when they were children and how that behavior led to their bravery and ingenuity as adults.

Connecting to the Standards
Grade 2 RL (1): Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text

• .The books main characters are familiar historical figures and the book does a good job of differentiating each character and what part they play in the story. Students will be able to recognize at least who they are, what they did, when they lived, and how they effected the outcome of the story.

Grade 3 RL (3): Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.

• Through a little more research, students will be able to understand and describe each character including their behaviors and their individual personalities. They will also be able to explain the effect they cause through their actions.

Grade 2 W (7): Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., read a number of books on a single topic to produce a report; record science observations).

• Students will participate in a group project exploring one of the five characters in the books in more detail. 

Grade 3 W (7): Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic.

• Students will participate in a group project that researches in detail the lives of one of the five characters from the book.

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, in small groups, the cause-and-effect shown in this story, the characters of the story, and how it connects to previous discussions on the American Revolution.

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 present their findings from their research project to the classroom in a group effort.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this lesson, students will have, at least, a basic understanding of cause-and-effect and will be able to explain how cause leads to effect. Students will be able to set out to research any topic using various resources. Students will be able to effectively collaborate with group partners to implement and execute a research plan. Students will be able to present their research findings clearly and effectively to the classroom.

Adapted to the Classroom

First off, it is important to establish some background knowledge on the American Revolution and, in particular, the five people mentioned in the book. Students will watch informational videos, read about the war, and talk about what they know about the American Revolution.

Once students are familiar with the Revolution, I would read the book in a teacher-guided read-aloud. Students should be able to make connections to what they know to what they hear during the reading. They will be encouraged to raise their hands and ask questions or make comments (within the boundaries of the rules).

Students will then engage in a project with small groups of 5 or 6 to research one of the individuals from the story. They will learn to work as a team by doing group research and assembling a presentation together. Students will use a variety of resources to research including internet, informational texts, historical accounts, etc. Finally, students will present the information they've accumulated to the class.

Bloom's Taxonomy

Who, what, when, where, and how. (Knowledge)

Why is _______ significant? (Application)

Outline (Analysis)

What is most important? (Evaluation)

Differentiation

Because this lesson does have a lot of research involved, a lot of support should come from the teacher. This may be one of the first time students engage in a large amount of research and may not know exactly where to look, giving the teacher an opportunity to establish a scaffold. Once students have enough knowledge on research, the scaffold can be slowly removed. SPED students can still participate in this project and should be paired with traditional students who can give them some additional support.