Grade 2: Finding Evidence: "The Wonders of Nature" (Liben)
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Common Core Standards
Reading for Information
RI.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
RI.2.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area.
RI.2.5 Know and use various text features (e.g., captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently.
Speaking & Listening
SL.2.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
Description of Lesson
This Grade 2 video lesson titled, "Finding Evidence: The Wonders of Nature" from americaachieves.org is intended to be completed in one 35-minute session of ELA/Literacy instruction. (This is the second of five lessons using this text.) This individual lesson shows a second grade class undertaking a close reading of “The Wonders of Nature” by Cheryl Ryan. Students identify, underline, discuss evidence from the text, and draw inferences from evidence. Teacher observation regularly assesses whether students are mastering standard-based content and skills. Following the completion of the five instructional sessions, a summative assessment expects students to independently draw evidence from texts to produce clear and coherent explanatory writing.
Cautions
Connecticut teachers should be aware that the America Achieves website requires users to set up a free account to access all materials. The link above allows the user to access only this particular video. On the full website, there are many quality resources included with the lesson video that should be viewed prior to implementing instruction. The text used in this lesson is not included in the resources; however, any informational text could be substituted.
Rationale for Selection
The video lesson and its resources are exemplary. The lesson illustrates the Common Core key shifts in a diverse classroom using text-dependent questions for close analytic reading, text-based evidence, and building academic vocabulary in context. It includes a progression of learning where concepts and skills advance and deepen over time. Along with the lesson video, resources include a video of teachers discussing/questioning this lesson and the rationale for instructional practices, a Common Core shift analysis video, an editable lesson plan and pacing guide, student work samples, and a guide to creating text-dependent questions. This video lesson along with its instructional resource materials could also be used in a professional development setting.