Grade 2 Teaching Center | Weekly Reader: Curriculum-Rich Resources for Teachers

Grade 2 Teaching Center

Reading, critical thinking, and citizenship skills for second grade

Text Size: A APrint ItE-Mail It

November
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
All Issues

Here is everything you need to teach each week's issue.

Click on the All Issues tab above to find prior issues.

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Share how Americans honor U.S. veterans.

National Standard
Social Studies (NCSS)
Civic ideals and practices

Common Core State Standard
Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.

Goal
Students will understand that Veterans Day honors people who have served in the U.S. military.

Objective
Students will be able to explain the meaning of Veterans Day and identify ways people honor veterans.

Concepts of Comprehension©
Vocabulary in Context means figuring out the meaning of a word by looking at the words and sentences around it. Have students read the story “Students Honor ‘Lifesavers.’” Ask them what they think the word donated means. Have them show you words and sentences that helped them understand what the word means.

Link
Check out the Department of Veterans Affairs teachers’ page.

Literature Connection
• H is for Honor: A Military Family Alphabet, by Devin Scillian
• Veterans Day, by Marlene Targ Brill
• Veterans Day, by Robin Nelson
• The Veterans Day Visitor, by Peter Catalanotto and Pamela Schembri

Before Reading
Think Critically: Display the cover of this week’s issue, and encourage students to make predictions. Ask: Why might this father be hugging his son? How might the boy and his father feel? What is Veterans Day?

Background Information
• Veterans Day honors all men and women who have served in the U.S. military during times of war and peace.
• The first Armistice Day was celebrated on Nov. 11, 1919. The holiday marked the anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I on Nov. 11, 1918. An armistice is an agreement by both sides in a war to end fighting.
• In 1954, Congress changed the holiday’s name to Veterans Day to honor all U.S. veterans.
• Veterans Day is always officially observed on November 11.
• A special ceremony is held on Veterans Day at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

During Reading
Think Critically: Pause after looking at the photo of the parade. Ask: What are people watching the parade holding? (U.S. flags) Tell students that the flag is a symbol of our country. Ask: What other symbols of our country can you name? Why are symbols important?

After Reading
Think Critically: Ask: How do you think veterans feel when they receive thank-you cards? What can you do to honor veterans?

Social Studies Extension: Have students make thank-you cards for veterans. Visit www4.va.gov/kids/teachers and click on Resource Guide/Activities. Then click on Locate a VA facility to find a Veterans Affairs facility near you where you can send cards.

Adaptation: Using simple grammar, create an outline of the issue for students. Review the outline together before reading the issue.

Back to Main Page

Teach about the differences between a cold and the flu.

National Standard
Science (NSES)
Personal health

Common Core State Standard
Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text.

Goal
Students will learn to tell the difference between a cold and the flu.

Objective
Students will be able to describe the symptoms of a cold and the flu, as well as several ways to stay healthy.

Concepts of Comprehension©
Cause is the reason why something happens. Effect is what happens as a result. Explain that germs are the cause of the flu. The flu is the effect. Ask: What happens when you rest? If rest is the cause, what might be the effect?

Link
Download reproducible activities about germs and hand washing.

Literature Connection
• The Bug Flu, by David Kirk
• Colds, Flu and Other Infections, by Angela Royston
• Germs Make Me Sick! by Melvin Berger
• Sneezy Louise, by Irene Breznak

Before Reading
Think Critically: Have students look at the photo on the cover. Ask: How might this girl feel? Why do you think she feels that way? Have you ever had
a cold or the flu? If yes, how did you feel? How might people avoid catching a cold or the flu?

Background Information
• Cold and flu viruses are spread when people touch germs with their hands and then touch their eyes, noses, or mouths. Viruses are also spread when a sick person coughs or sneezes and another person breathes in thet drops of mucus from the air.
• Germs are tiny organisms that invade cells in the body and multiply.
• The flu normally hits the United States from November to April.
• Scientists create a new flu vaccine each year because a different flu virus strikes each year.
• Flu vaccines contain flu viruses in a dead or weakened form. The vaccine can be injected with a needle or given as a nose spray.

During Reading
Make Predictions: Before students read “Share Music, Not Germs!” ask them to predict what the story will be about based on the headline and the photo.

After Reading
Think Critically: Doctors say to get plenty of rest if you are sick. Ask: How might rest help you get better? If you have a cold or the flu, how can you keep from passing the virus to other people?

Science Extension: Have students work in small groups to design posters showing how they can stay healthy during cold and flu season. Hang the posters around your classroom as reminders.

Adaptation: On a whiteboard or an easel, write flu season. Encourage students to think of words related to flu season, and write them on the board. Challenge students to see how many words they can list.

Back to Main Page

Explore Native American culture.

National Standard
Social Studies (NCSS)
Culture

Common Core State Standard
Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic.

Goal
Students will gain an understanding of Native American culture by learning about powwows.

Objective
Students will be able to name things they would see and do at a powwow.

Concepts of Comprehension©
Comparing is noticing how two or more things are alike. Contrasting is noticing how they are different. Ask students to read the issue. Then have them compare and contrast Native American traditions with their own.

Link
See an online exhibit of “A Song for the Horse Nation.”

Literature Connection
• More Than Moccasins: A Kid’s Activity Guide To Traditional North American Indian Life, by Laurie Carlson
• Native American Animal Stories, by Joseph Bruchac and Michael J. Caduto
• The Very First Americans, by Cara Ashrose
• The Wampanoags, by Alice K. Flanagan

Before Reading
Think Critically: Explain that Native Americans have festivals called powwows. Ask: What might you see at a powwow? What might you hear? What foods might you eat?

Background Information
• November is National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month.
• There are more than 500 Native American groups. Each has its own unique culture.
• Powwows allow members of the groups to share and celebrate their heritage with others.
• Native Americans were the first inhabitants of North and South America. Most experts believe they came from Asia across the Bering Strait. During the Ice Age, the strait, which now separates Siberia from Alaska, was a land bridge.
• European explorers brought the first horses to North America. The arrival of horses changed Native American culture.

During Reading
Think Critically: Explain to students that headlines and subheads tell what the story will be about. Ask students to brainstorm other headlines for the powwow story.

After Reading
Think Critically: Tell students to imagine they are going to a powwow. Ask: What do you think would be the most interesting thing about going to a powwow? If any students have attended a powwow, invite them to share their experiences.

Social Studies Extension: Gather books about Native Americans today and long ago. Have students compare and contrast Native American life today and long ago.

Adaptation: Gather examples of Native American crafts, clothing, drums, flutes, and so on. Place them on a table for children to look at. Provide sentence strips with names and descriptions of the items.

Back to Main Page

Teach about hibernation.

National Standard
Science (NSES)
Characteristics of organisms

Common Core State Standard
By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, in the grades 2–3 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

Goal
Students will learn that groundhogs hibernate during cold months.

Objective
Students will be able to explain how and why groundhogs hibernate.

Concepts of Comprehension©
Genre is a type of text, such as fiction or nonfiction. After reading the issue, ask: Is this groundhog story fiction or nonfiction? Have students explain their answers. Review the overall structure of the story. Ask them what the issue might be like if it were fiction. List the differences between fiction and nonfiction.

Link
Get hibernation activities to use in your classroom.

Literature Connection
• Animals That Hibernate, by Larry Dane Brimner
• The Animals’ Winter Sleep, by Lynda Graham-Barber
• Bear Wants More, by Karma Wilson
• Hibernation, by Anita Ganeri
• Time to Sleep, by Denise Fleming

Before Reading
Think Critically: Tell students to read the cover of the issue. Ask: What is a groundhog? Why might it need to get ready for winter? How might some animals prepare for cold weather?

Background Information
• During the part of the year when it is cold and food is scarce, some animals hibernate. Those animals go into an inactive state in which body temperatures decrease and heartbeats slow.
• Along with the groundhog, other animals that hibernate include hedgehogs, bats, chipmunks, and ground squirrels.
• Estivation is another type of dormant sleep. Animals that estivate, such as lizards and snakes, survive hot, dry periods by finding cool places to sleep.
• Some insects, such as ladybugs, also sleep through the winter. During that time, they do not grow. That is called diapause. Grasshoppers and gypsy moths also undergo diapause during the winter.

During Reading
Think Critically: Pause after reading the news sidebar. Ask: Why might scientists want to learn more about animals that hibernate?

After Reading
Think Critically: Ask: Why do animals need to adjust their habits during the winter? Why might it be difficult for an animal to find food during the winter? Why is it important for an animal to stay warm during the winter? What might an animal do once it wakes up from hibernating?

Language Arts Extension: Ask each student to write a fictional story about a groundhog hibernating. Have students include factual information they learned from reading the issue.

Adaptation: Assess students’ comprehension of the main story. Write three or four sentences on the board. Example: 1. A groundhog wakes up when the weather gets warmer. 2. A groundhog rolls up into a ball to hibernate. 3. A groundhog digs a den. Invite children to arrange the sentences in the correct sequence. (Answer: 3, 2, 1)

Back to Main Page

Add new comment