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.

Abe Lincoln's Dream

Smith, Lane. (2012). Abe Lincoln's Dream. New York, New York: Roaring Book Press

The ghost of Abe Lincoln keeps coming back every year because he can't rest until he knows the fate of the nation. A nice young lady on a tour of the White House helps to show him what has happened since he passed. She takes him across DC and even to the moon to show him how far the U.S. has come, but also how far we can go.

Connecting to the Standard
Grade 3 RI (1): Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answer

Grade 3 RI (2): Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.

Grade 3 RI (3): Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.

Grade 3 W (2): Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. a. Introduce a topic and group related information together; include illustrations when useful to aiding comprehension. b. Develop the topic with facts, definitions, and details. c. Use linking words and phrases (e.g., also, another, and, more, but) to connect ideas within categories of information. d. Provide a concluding statement or section.

• Though this text is not necessarily non-fiction, it does have informative parts to it, mostly about US history. 

Learning Objectives

Students will learn how to understand an historical fiction book that is informative and how to engage in research on the topics introduced in the story. Students will be able to research using a variety of resources including internet, library, etc. Students will also learn to use word-processing applications to create their informative writing.

Adapted to the Classroom

This lesson will also incorporate some Social Studies/History standards.

After doing a teacher-guided classroom read, students will engage in a research process on the changes that have occurred in the social and political landscape of the country since the time of Abraham Lincoln's passing. Why might Lincoln be happy with changes that have been made based off of the progress he started making during his presidency? Students should choose one topic to write on and be able to explain and support their reasons behind why the progress they chose would make President Lincoln happy. Students will present their findings in an essay which will be written using a word-processing application on the computer. 

Bloom's Taxonomy

What is the main idea of the story? (Comprehension)

Why are the things shown by the little girl significant? (Application)

Choose a topic of progress and support your reasoning why President Lincoln would be happy with it. (Evaluation)

Differentiation

Giving students who struggle with research and writing extra support is important during this assignment. It may be helpful to have individual meetings with students to check their progress over the course of the research process and writing process.

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.

And Tango Makes Three

Parnell, Peter and Richardson, Justin. And Tango Makes Three. (2005). Cole, Henry (Illus.). New York, New York: Simon & Schuster

In the Central Park Zoo, there are two male penguins who only dream of having an egg to raise. They try everything they can to get an egg to raise but are no successful. After much waiting they finally got their egg, and were able to be parents. Throughout the text you see the two grow penguins grow into amazing parents.

Connecting to the Standards
Grade 2 W (5): With guidance and support from adults and peers, focus on a topic and strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing.

• Students will meet this standard when they work on their paragraphs about their family and go through the writing process to get their final product. 

Grade 2 L (2): Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. A: Capitalize holidays, product names, and geographic names. E: Consult reference materials, including beginning dictionaries, as needed to check and correct spellings.

• Students will meet this goal when work through writing process. After creating the rough draft they will have to go through and revise, making sure they have spelled unknown workds correctly and that they use proper capitalization in their paper.

Learning Outcomes
Students will create a paper about their family by working through the writing process with 80% accuracy.

Adapted to the Classroom
This would be used in the classroom when discussing the topic of families. When talking about families we would talk about the different traditions each family has and who makes up your family.  After reading this text students would work through the writing process to write a paper on their family. For the final draft students would be allowed to either type their paper on the computer or hand write it if they would like. After they finished writing their paper they would draw a picture of their family to go along with their paper. After students have finished their paper students would be given a chance to stand up in front of the class and read their paper. While the student is reading their paper, their picture of their family would be displayed on the board so that all students could see the visual representation of what the students family look like.

Bloom's Taxonomy 
How many members do you have in your family? (Knowledge) 
Identify one tradition that your family has. (Application)
Elaborate on what your favorite memory is with your family. (Synthesis)

Differentiation 
For students who are ELL, they would be given the option to incorporate some of their native language into their paragraphs and presentation.
For students with Dyslexia they will be allowed to use a dictionary to make sure they are spelling the words correctly.
For students who visual learners they will be given the chance to draw their family members for people to see.

Mary Poppins

Travers, P.L. Mary Poppins. (1934). Shepard, Mary (Illus.). Orlando, Florida: Harcourt Inc

"A blast of wind, a house rattling bang, and Mary Poppins arrives at Number Seventeen Cherry Tree Lane." Marry Poppins is not your average nanny, she is able to make the most ordinary events into some extraordinary events. Throughout the text Marry helps Jane and Michael until her work is done and she floats away.

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

• Students will meet this goal when we compare and contrast Mary Poppins the movie and Mary Poppins the book.  

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 goal when they are asked to give important details from the text to our class chart of important details.

Learning Outcomes 
After reading and watching Mary Poppins, students will write down one similarity and one difference between the book and movie with 80% accuracy 

Adapted to the Classroom 
This would be a text that we would read over time a few chapters at a time. After each reading we would record important details from the chapter read that day. Along with recording important events, we would also make predictions as to what will happen next.

After finishing reading the text we will watch the Disney movie Marry Poppins. While students are watching the movie I will ask them to write down important details. After we finish viewing the movie we will come together and make a list of important details. When this list is finish, we will compare and contrast the book and the movie.

To finish, students will be asked to write down one similarity and one difference that they notice between the movie and the book.

Bloom's Taxonomy 
Where is the setting of Mary Poppins? (Knowledge)
Why do you think Mary Poppins left Jane and Michael? (Analysis)

Differentiation
For students with hearing impairments we will put close captions on the movie so that they can read along with the text.
For students with Dyslexia they will be allowed to verbally tell the teacher one similarity and one difference between the book and the movie.

The Junkyard Wonders

Polacco, Patricia. (2010). The Junkyard Wonders. New York, New York: Philomel Books

This inspiring book of perseverance and overcoming challenges focuses on a group of students with exceptionalities including a girl with dyslexia who has trouble reading, a boy with Tourette Syndrome, a girl who doesn't speak, etc. Over the course of the book, the children's teacher tries to inspire them to think of themselves as more so they can accomplish anything. They set out to win the science fair and, in the process, learn a lot about life and overcoming hardship.

Connecting to the Standards
Grade 3 RL (1): Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers

• This story has a lot of information and students should be able to ask and answer questions about that information from the text.

Grade 3 RL (6): Distinguish their own point of view from that of the narrator or those of the characters.

• The story has a strong narrator and students should be able to understand the narrator's POV.

Grade 3 W (3): Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences. a. Establish a situation and introduce a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally. b. Use dialogue and descriptions of actions, thoughts, and feelings to develop experiences and events or show the response of characters to situations. c. Use temporal words and phrases to signal event order. d. Provide a sense of closure.

• Students will be able to write their own story about overcoming hardship.

Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to take information directly from the text and answer simple questions about it. Example question: "Who are the main characters and why were each of them 'in the Junkyard?'" Students will be able to take the POV of the narrator as her and her classmates overcome hardships and find ways to succeed. Students will then write about a time in their own life when they had to overcome hardship much like the Junkyard Wonders who overcame the death of their friend, the bullying they put up with at school, etc. Students will also explain how they overcame or how they are overcoming that hardship.

Adapted to the Classroom

Junkyard Wonders is a pretty long book to read in just one sitting and it may be more appropriate to break it up into two pieces. I would say a good time to stop on the first day of reading would be after they find the airplane. This could give the teacher the chance to ask questions like "what do you think the students will do with the airplane they found?" Students will have the chance to make logical predictions about where the story is heading.

After the read-aloud, students should have a chance to discuss the important events in the book and the issues that are raised. This book does include some difficult subjects for adults to speak about to children such as death, but if presented correctly, children should be able to handle the subject. After discussion, students will begin the writing process by writing about overcoming hardship in their own life. It may be difficult for the students to think about hardship, but even just learning how to ride a bike, being sick, or other childhood difficulties will work.

Bloom's Taxonomy
What were some of the difficult things the Junkyard Wonders had to endure? (Knowledge)
How did they succeed in becoming geniuses? (Knowledge)
Write about a hardship you've had to overcome in life. (Synthesis)

Differentiation
This book/lesson may not be sensitive to students who have recently lost someone. If this is the case in the classroom, and the subject of death needs to be approached because of the circumstances, another book that is specifically aimed at that subject may be more appropriate. Be sure to know if this is going to be a problem before you start the lesson because it may be difficult for the student to deal with the assignment. If you believe that this assignment may help relieve some of the frustration or anger around the subject by writing about it, then it may be helpful to use this lesson.

Other than that, students who may have had difficult pasts or are in the middle of something difficult may not want to do this kind of assignment. It may dredge up feelings that shouldn't be examined in the classroom through a writing assignment.

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.

Henry and Mudge: In the Green Time

Rylant, Cynthia. Henry and Mudge In The Green Time. (1987). Stevenson Sucie (Illus.).
     New York, New York: Bradbury Press

This adventure of Henry and Mudge takes place in the summer and all the things they can do on green grass. They have a picnic on the grass in the park where Henry gets stung by a bee but Mudge cheers him up. They play with the water hose out on the green lawn to give Mudge a bath that he does not like, so he gets Henry back soaking him when he shakes all the water off. Finally Henry and Mudge head up a hill where they let there magic imaginations unleash and eventually get worn out and fall asleep under the tree.

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 text

• This story allows student to answer a questions about what Henry and Mudge
   do when they are in the 3 different chapter. 

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 story allows students to meet this standard because they can write about the different events in each of the 3 different chapters.

Learning Outcomes
Students will answer the question, "Which Henry and Mudge story was your favorite and why, and who is your favorite character and why?" citing the text twice with 80% accuracy

Adapted to the Classroom 
After reading the text as a class we would discuss what happened in each story. While discussing we would write down a class summary of each text and events we think to be important. It is at this point that I would ask questions to help the children. Through this discussion I would make sure that each students have a good understanding as to what happened in each story. Once student's understanding have been checked, I would then dismiss students to answer the overall question. It is at this time that students would answer the question "Which Henry and Mudge story was your favorite and why?" and "Who is your favorite character and why?"

Once students have completed this text as a class we would then create a graph to see which story was the class favorite and which character was the class favorite.

Bloom's Taxonomy
Who are the main characters in our story? (Knowledge)
 If you were Mudge, how would you solve the problem of not wanted to take a bath? (Application)
Suppose you could have a magical place like Henry and Mudge, what would do when you are at your magical place? (Synthesis)

Differentiation 
For students who are not able to write, we would make sure that they have access to assistive technology that would allow them to type out their answer to the questions.
For students who are gifted we would take the questions one step further to make sure that they are stilling being challenged

The Wizard

Prelutsky, Jack. (2007). The Wizard. B. Dorman (Illus.). New York, New York: Greenwillow Books

This adaptation of a poem from Nightmares: Poems to Trouble Your Sleep shows the life of a wizard living in a tower. Bored by the monotony of his daily life, he decides to have fun when a bullfrog shows up, turning him into everything from a cockatoo to a flash of light.

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 be able to recognize and identify the rhyme and beat of this poem.

Grade 2 SL (5): Create audio recordings of stories or poems; add drawings or other visual displays to stories or recounts of experiences when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

• Students will write and perform their own poem that has rhyme and rhyme.

Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to identify rhythm and rhyme in a story. They will identify the ending words that create the rhyme and the meter that creates the rhythm. Students will be able to write, edit, and revise their own poetry using meter and rhyme, much like The Wizard. 

Adapted to the Classroom

Students should have already had some experience with poetry and identifying rhythm and rhyme before they are asked to complete the creative writing activity in this lesson, writing there own poem with rhythm and rhyme. 

The book in this lesson, The Wizard is just one example of a poem book that can be used along with this creative writing activity. Students should be exposed to a variety of rhythm-and-rhyme poetry to establish an understanding of different types of rhythm and possibilities for rhyme. 

Once this understanding has been established, students will engage in a creative writing activity that tests their understanding of rhythm-and-rhyme poetry. Students will, over a long writing period, create their own poem using rhythm and rhyme. Students will write over a period of 2-3 weeks, editing and revising their poems. When they are finished, the poems could be recorded by the students and posted to the classroom website.

Bloom's Taxonomy

What are the parts or features of a rhythm-and-rhyme poem? (Analysis)

Create your own rhythm-and-rhyme poem. (Synthesis)

Differentiation

Because this assignment occurs over a long period of time, teachers will have the chance to meet with students who are having trouble completing the assignment and help them get back on track. Some possibilities for support may include a rhyming dictionary or give students the chance to look online for rhymes for their poems. 

The Three Pigs

Wiesner, David. (2001). The Three Pigs. New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Taking The Three Pigs to new heights and new places, this unpredictable retelling of the classic story will delight children's imaginations. The three brothers wander from the own story, admittedly leaving the wolf a little baffled, and pick up eccentric characters from different tales. '

Connecting to the Standards
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 provides students with a different version of the familiar story, The Three Little Pigs.

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.

• Students will do a creative writing exercise using the same conventions in The Three Pigs, but will have the chance to use the characters in their favorite books to tell the story.

Grade 2 L (2): Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

• Students will write their own narrative and will demonstrate mastery over these conventions through their writing.

Learning Outcomes

From this reading and subsequent activity, students will gain an understanding of comparing and contrasting two similar stories. Over the course of the year, students will continue to read different versions of familiar and similar stories. Students will then use this understanding of differing stories to write a narrative based off a story they are familiar with, using similar storytelling devices to The Three Pigs. Through the writing of this narrative, students will demonstrate their command over writing conventions including "capitalization, punctuation, and spelling..."

The final product, the written narrative, plus any previous rough drafts will be used to show progress towards the standards. Students will have multiple chances to revise and edit their narrative as they work their way through the writing process.

Adapted to the Classroom

Before reading The Three Pigs by David Wiesner, the class will participate in reading other versions of the The Three Little Pigs. Prior to that, it may be a good idea to also introduce other tales and different versions of them to get students used to the idea that storytelling is an art and a story may change based off of who is presenting the story.

Once the book is read, in a teacher-guided read aloud, students will have the chance to discuss the differences in this version of the story to past versions. This discussion will be mostly student-led, but the teacher will most likely need to guide the discussion if it becomes stagnant. Once students have an understanding of the storytelling devices used in The Three Pigs, they will have a chance to go to the library to pick out a book they are familiar with or want to become familiar with. The teacher should also provide more books for students to use who are having trouble deciding what story to use.

Students will then engage in a creative writing exercise that will most likely span over 4-5 days. Students will start with a rough draft of their favorite story, that should follow the devices used in The Three Pigs, such as characters escaping the story, duping the main villain in clever ways, or meeting characters from other stories along the way. Over the course of the next few days, students will have time to revise and edit their stories until they are left with a final draft that they submit. It would be fun for the teacher to put these stories into a classroom collection, either in book form or online for parents to view. 

Bloom's Taxonomy

Who are the main characters in your narrative? (Knowledge)

What differences exist between the original story and this retelling? (Comprehension)

How would you create a new ending for your story? (Synthesis)

What might happen if you combined this story with this other one? (Synthesis)

Differentiation

Because this project involves a lot of reading and writing, the main concern would be with students with disabilities that affect their ability to read and write such as students with dyslexia. Additional support should be provided to these students and possibly include one-on-one sessions with these students to check their progress. Additional supports could be put in place to make sure they succeed such as having a dictionary nearby for students to refer to (this could be done for any student) or having technology that is meant to support students with dyslexia or other language disorders.