Weeks 5 and 6
Teaching Options
Develop Comprehension
Develop Fluency Do an echo reading of a page, paying particular attention to punctuation. Emphasize proper intonation, pace, and phrasing. Then read aloud one sentence at a time and have children repeat it after you. Expand Oral Language/Conversation Talk About Animal Groups Explain that some animals spend their adult years on their own, but some, like elephants, live in groups. Talk about the advantages and disadvantages of animals living in herds. How would it affect eating and sleeping? How might animals have different jobs in a herd? Write and Respond to Reading Make a Chart Model creating a two-column chart showing information about elephants with column heads of “African Elephant” and “Asian Elephant.” Rows can have labels such as “Weight,” “Diet,” and “Environment.” Have children work with a partner to decide what facts from the book to include. (Informative/Explanatory) Write a Fable Have children write a two-paragraph fable telling how the elephant got another feature— for example, its wrinkled skin, its tusks, or its ears. They can pattern it on the story mentioned on page 22. Have children share their stories. (Narrative) ML Bridge Assign pairs of children one photograph each and ask them to work together to write one sentence describing what they see in the picture. Have children share their sentences in a group.
Thinking Within the Text Remind children that good readers ask and answer questions about a text as they read. Have children ask questions for their classmates to answer using information from the text. Thinking Beyond the Text Talk about elephant habitats: • What details are in the photographs about where elephants live? How do elephants’ bodies help them live in these places? • How would elephants’ lives be different on savannas and in jungles? Thinking About the Text Talk about “An Elephant Story” from page 22: • This story is different from the rest of the book. How does the story connect to real elephants? • What does this tale add to the informational text? Focus on Foundational Skills Phonics and Word-Solving Strategies Three-Syllable Words Explain that sometimes breaking longer words into parts can help when reading them. • Write the words elephant, continent, savannas, predators, hyenas, and crocodile. • Use slashes to divide syllables ( el/e/phant, con/ti/nent, sa/van/nas, pred/a/tors, hy/e/nas, croc/o/dile ). Sound out the syllables and have children repeat after you. Comparative Endings -er and -est Remind children that the endings -er and -est show how things compare with each other. • Write the words large, larger, and largest. Explain that one elephant can be larger than another. But when an elephant is larger than many elephants, it is the largest of the group. • Repeat with the words big, bigger, and biggest. Note that the g had to be doubled before adding the endings.
Grade 2 I Teacher’s Guide 97
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