- I can ask and answer questions about what school is and why it is important using key details from "What Does School Mean to You?" (RI.2.1, RI.2.6, W.2.8)
- I can listen with care when I participate in conversations with my classmates. (SL.2.1a)
These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:
- 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.2.6: Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe.
- W.2.8: Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
- 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.
- SL.2.1a: Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways, listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).
Daily Learning Targets
Ongoing Assessment
- During Work Times A and C, use the Speaking and Listening Checklist to track students' progress toward SL.2.1 (see Assessment Overview and Resources).
Agenda
Agenda | Teaching Notes |
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1. Opening A. Song and Movement: "What Is School?" Song (10 minutes) 2. Work Time A. Focused Read-aloud, Session 1: "What Does School Mean to You?" (15 minutes) B. Independent Writing: What Is School? Notebook (10 minutes) C. Making Observations: Evidence in Our Classroom (15 minutes) 3. Closing and Assessment A. Sharing Our Work (10 minutes) |
Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards:
How this lesson builds on previous work:
Areas in which students may need additional support:
Down the road:
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In Advance
- Prepare:
- "What Is School?" song, by writing it on a large piece of chart paper (see supporting materials).
- Instrumental version of "Sing a Song of Sixpence" to play for students during the Opening. This is meant to provide students with an understanding of the tune for the "What Is School?" song.
- Module Guiding Question anchor chart, by drawing the table and filling in the left column (see supporting materials). Students will help fill in the right column during the focused read-aloud in Work Time A. Refer to the Module Guiding Question anchor chart (example, for teacher reference) as necessary.
- Set up a document camera to display the "What Is School?" song and other documents throughout the lesson (optional).
- Distribute pencils and the What Is School? notebook at students' workspaces. Doing this in advance helps ensure a smooth transition during Work Time B.
- Review the Think-Pair-Share protocol. (Refer to the Classroom Protocols document for the full version of the protocol.)
- Post: Learning targets, "What Is School?" song, Module Guiding Question anchor chart, and Sharing Our Work anchor chart.
Tech and Multimedia
Consider using an interactive whiteboard or document camera to display lesson materials.
- Opening A: Record the whole group singing the "What is School?" song and post it on a teacher webpage or on a portfolio app like Seesaw for students to listen to at home with families. Most devices (cell phones, tablets, laptop computers) come equipped with free video and audio recording apps or software.
- Opening A: Find an instrumental version of "Sing a Song of Sixpence" to play while students learn to sing the "What is School?" song.
- Work Time A: If students were recorded during Think-Pair-Share in Lesson 1, consider replaying these recordings to remind students of the process.
- Work Time C: Students take pictures on the tour using devices. Post on a teacher webpage, class blog, or on a portfolio app like Seesaw for students to talk about at home with families. Most devices (cell phones, tablets, laptop computers) come equipped with free camera apps or software.
Supporting English Language Learners
Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 2.I.A.1, 2.I.B.6., and 2.I.C.10
Important points in the lesson itself
- The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs with opportunities to read informational text closely to determine key details that support their understanding of schools. This provides students with valuable experience reading and interpreting complex text, which will foster English language development by exposing them to academic vocabulary and syntax.
- Some ELLs may find the independent writing activity challenging, as most of their prior work was heavily supported. If necessary, use additional prompting such as sentence frames and scribing. See below and the Meeting Students' Needs column for further suggestions.
Levels of support
For lighter support:
- Before providing sentence frames or additional modeling during Work Time, observe student interaction and allow them to grapple. Provide supportive frames and demonstrations only after students have grappled with the task.
For heavier support:
- During Work Time C, distribute a partially filled-in copy of page 2 from the What Is School? notebook. This provides students with models for the kind of writing expected and reduces the volume of writing required.
Universal Design for Learning
- Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): In the Role Play protocol, students are invited to act like characters in the book The Dot. Highlight and define the literary term character, connecting this term to other characters in familiar classroom library books.
- Multiple Means of Action and Expression (MMAE): As students practice singing the "What Is School?" song with motions, provide options for expression by singing the song several times in different voices.
- Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): During Closing B, students will have to read and interpret written questions in their notebooks. Foster collaboration and community by providing prompts that guide students in knowing when and how to ask classmates or teachers for help in reading these questions.
Vocabulary
Key: Lesson-Specific Vocabulary (L); Text-Specific Vocabulary (T); Vocabulary Used in Writing (W)
New:
- key detail (L)
- dozen, suburb (T)
Materials
- "What Is School?" song (new; teacher-created; see supporting materials)
- Instrumental version of "Sing a Song of Sixpence" (audio; play in entirety; see Teaching Notes)
- What Does School Mean to You? (one to display; for teacher read-aloud)
- What Is School? notebook (from Lesson 1; page 2; one per student and one to display)
- Module Guiding Question anchor chart (begun in Lesson 2; added to during Work Time A; see supporting materials)
- Speaking and Listening Checklist (for teacher reference, see Assessment Overview and Resources)
- Think-Pair-Share anchor chart (begun in Lesson 1)
- Module Guiding Question anchor chart (for teacher reference)
- Sharing Our Work anchor chart (new; teacher-created; see supporting materials)
Materials from Previous Lessons
New Materials
Assessment
Each unit in the K-2 Language Arts Curriculum has one standards-based assessment built in. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize their understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.
Opening
Opening | Meeting Students' Needs |
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A. Song and Movement: What Is School? Song (10 minutes)
"What is one thing you heard in the song?" (Responses will vary, but may include thinking, working and playing.)
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Work Time
Work Time | Meeting Students' Needs |
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A. Focused Read-aloud, Session 1: What Does School Mean to You? (15 minutes)
"I can ask and answer questions about what school is and why it is important using key details from What Does School Mean to You?"
"The text What Does School Mean to You? has ideas of what other people around the country think school is and why it's important. Let see what they have to say."
"You may have heard the word dozen before. What does dozen mean?" (12)
"This text mentions schools being in a city, in a suburb, and in the country."
"What is a suburb, and how is it different from a city and the country?" (a community just outside a city; proximity and number of cars, buildings, and people differentiate the city, suburbs, and country)
"Could you say more about that?"
"When I was walking around, I heard a lot of people talking about why school is important for building knowledge, or what you know, and skills, or what you can do. I heard Juan say it is important to learn to read and write, and Lanya said you get to learn stuff you didn't know before. I am going to take all of those ideas and write them on the Module Guiding Question anchor chart."
"What kind of work does Solomon think is important at school?" (challenging, difficult, tough) "Why would it be important for school to have you do hard work?" (It helps us learn. We think in new ways.)
"School sounds important because you do work that is hard and that helps you think in new ways. I'll write that idea on our chart too."
"Why do Bryce and Miles think school is important?" (School can help you learn how to make your class and school a better, safer place)
"Could you say more about that?"
"When I was walking around, I heard a lot of students talking about being nice or treating others well. It sounds like that is an important part of school that helps us build relationships. I'll add it to the chart."
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"What do you think it means to challenge someone? How does school challenge you to learn?" (To test, or to get you to do something that might be difficult; school challenges us to read, to write, and to think about new things.) Place your finger on the chunk: "by teaching me a topic" and invite students to do the same.
"The word by here means that we are about to learn how school challenges Solomon."
"How does school challenge Solomon? What does it mean to teach a topic? What are some topics we learn about?" (School challenges Solomon by teaching him things. A topic is the thing or subject we learn about. Some topics are frogs, ducks, toys, and schools.)
"What do you think this chunk means? What does Solomon mean by pushing me to use it? What does Solomon mean by the real world?" (encouraging or helping me use the things I learn; places outside of school) "How do you use the things you learn outside of school, in the real world? (Answers will vary, but may include: I tell my family about what I learned in school.)
"Now what do you think this sentence means?" (Responses will vary.) "What key details in the sentence help us understand how school is important?" (Responses will vary.) |
B. Independent Writing: What Is School? Notebook (10 minutes)
"What did you learn from the book about what school is and why schools are important? What picture would you draw?" (I learned that school helps you think in new ways; I'll draw a picture of a person learning about science.)
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C. Making Observations: Evidence in Our Classroom (15 minutes)
"I can listen with care when I participate in conversations with my classmates."
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Closing & Assessments
Closing | Meeting Students' Needs |
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A. Sharing Our Work (10 minutes)
"If you are not sharing your work, what should you do?" (listen, face the speaker, think about what he/she is saying)
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