Word study is the use of explicit instruction which encompasses both phonics and phonological awareness to instruct decoding and encoding. First grade students are learning to decode and encode short vowels. The Go Fish game is an enjoyable way to practice and contrast between short vowels, specifically short vowels e, o, and u.

This unit serves as a foundation for understanding the way in which the American government was formed and the way it is structured. The unit has three main sections. In the first section, students learn about the functions of government, the three main branches of government, and how the branches work together to meet the ever-changing needs of our country. In this section students will be challenged to think about how government is useful to its citizens and about the key powers of each branch. In the second section, students explore elections and how people become elected officials. Students also explore the women's suffrage movement, why women couldn't vote before 1920, and what changes brought about women's suffrage in the United States. Finally, in the third section, students read biographies of a few courageous individuals who overcame racism, sexism, and hardships to prove that they deserved a spot in government and that they would do whatever it takes to fight for and push for change. During this final section, students will be challenged to think about how the actions of others can inspire us to drive for change, especially in the current political climate.

This unit expands on the work done in units 1 and 2 to build reading skills. Students will continue to develop their skills as critical consumers of a text by annotating for main idea and details that support the main idea of a text, summarizing sections of a text, explaining the connection between ideas and concepts, interpreting information presented through different text features, and describing the structure of different paragraphs. In this unit students will also be challenged to think about how an author uses evidence and reasoning to support particular points or ideas in a text. They will also be challenged to integrate information from one text with information they learn in another text about the same topic.

To actively engage students in recognizing common errors in writing such as capitalization, punctuation, sentence structure, and spelling.

In this unit second graders explore different habitats (forest, desert, water, rainforest, and wetland) and investigate how different plants and animals survive in each the habitat. Rather than just learning facts about the habitats, students examine come to understand the connection between parts of each habitat and how those connections are crucial for survival. Using the Next Generation Science Standards as a guide, students are challenged to use the information they learn about different habitats to compare how different plants and animals depend on their surroundings and other living things to meet their needs. Students will also be challenged to compare the differences in the kinds of living things that are found in different areas and why those differences exist. This unit builds on the first grade Animals unit, in which students learned about different types of animals and their characteristics, and prepares students for a third grade unit in which they will analyze animal adaptations with regard to animal habitats.

This unit uses the Bobbie Kalman Introducing Habitats series as mentor texts. These texts were chosen because of their clear representations of the different habitats and their accessibility. The texts in this unit support student understanding of key genre features while also allowing multiple opportunities to develop fluency. Over the course of the unit the majority of heavy thinking and analysis should be on students. By the end of the unit, students should have a deeper understanding of key components of informational texts, and students should be able to transfer those understandings to other complex informational texts.

Students will also write daily in response to the text, with a focus on making a correct claim to answer the question. Students will also begin writing longer informational texts in which they synthesize and teach back the content they are learning about the different habitats.

In this unit, students learn about United States history by reading the core text, Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African-Americans, and excerpts from Let It Shine: Stories of Black Freedom Fighters and Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America. Throughout the unit, students grapple with the discrimination and broken promises African Americans faced, paired with the endless determination and perseverance that fueled countless triumphs to overcome unfair and unjust treatment. Through a study of slavery up through the civil rights movement, students will be challenged to think critically about different events, influential people, and how they have had a lasting impact on the America we know today. This is incredibly important for helping students not only understand America's past, but also to understand the realities of America's present. It is our goal that this unit, combined with others in the curriculum, will inspire a passion within students to stand up for what is right and to fight for civil rights in order to attain equality and justice for all human beings, regardless of race. The goal of this unit is not depth; rather, the focus is more on exposure and building student understanding of the history behind the civil rights movement while simultaneously building a sense of empowerment and empathy. In fifth grade, students will study the civil rights movement in depth, learning about a wider variety of influential leaders, groups, and events, especially those in which youth advocacy and fight inspired and drove change. It is our hope that the combination of both units will equip students with the tools necessary to begin to challenge injustice in their own lives.

The unit requires students to deeply analyze a text to see how an author develops different ideas and points using vivid evidence in both the text and illustrations. Students will analyze author's word choice, the different details an author includes, and the way in which an author presents information in order to build a deeper understanding of the time period and the text. Students will also be challenged to carry information across multiple texts in order to build a deeper understanding of content and themes.

Have you ever imagined what life would be like if you only could see and feel the sun once every seven years? How would you feel if you were alienated and ostracized because you are the only child on planet Venus who has memory of the sun. These are questions generated after reading Ray Bradbury’s All Summer in A Day. Students were asked to create an invention/concept that would assist the protagonist with their aforementioned conflicts. They created wonderful concept inventions by using the library makerspace which included Little Bits!

This unit connects with the third grade Social Studies Unit 1, Ancient Rome. In the Social Studies unit, students study and learn about the values and beliefs of the ancient Roman Empire. In this literature unit, students begin to see the role that myths, gods, and storytelling had in ancient Rome by reading a collection on Roman myths. While reading the myths, students will be challenged to think about how the myths illustrate and show the beliefs and customs of the Roman Empire. Students will also be challenged to think what the myths teach about retaliation and generosity.

In reading and writing, this unit focuses on helping readers solidify their understanding of the connection between recounting stories, determining a central message, and using details to explain how the central message is conveyed. Through multiple readings of the same myths, students will be able to analyze and discover the way in which messages are developed. Students will then be pushed to articulate this understanding both orally and in writing. Rereading the same myth multiple times also supports students fluency and vocabulary development.

In this science/history-based unit, students learn about the history of the earth by studying fossils and dinosaurs. In the first part of the unit, students learn about how fossils are formed and how paleontologists study fossils in order to learn about ancient history. In the second part of the unit, students study what makes dinosaurs unique and fascinating creatures by learning about various species of dinosaurs and how they adapted in order to meet their basic needs for survival. Students will also be challenged to think about what earth was like at the time of the dinosaurs and how learning about dinosaurs helps them better understand the earth's history. In the last part of the unit, students read a collection of fiction texts, each with a unique perspective on what happened to the dinosaurs and if dinosaurs really are extinct. In this part of the unit, students should be pushed to use what they have learned from the informational texts in order to confirm or deny the statements the author makes in the fiction texts.

In reading, this unit exposes students to both informational and fiction texts. When reading informational texts, students will focus on explaining the connection between two or more pieces of information in a text, particularly in regard to retelling how fossils are formed or how scientists uncover fossils. Students will also be pushed to describe the relationship between the illustrations and the text in which they appear, specifically describing what new or additional information they learn from reading the illustrations. Additionally, students will continue to practice determining the main topic of a text and asking and answering questions about unknown words. When reading fiction texts, students will focus on retelling the story and making connections between the story and the facts they've learned from the informational texts.

In writing, students will continue to write daily in response to the text. Written responses should focus on including an inference or critical thinking that shows understanding of the text and/or question and on using more words than pictures to communicate the answer to a question. This unit also includes two longer writing assignments: one research writing assignment and one narrative writing assignment.

This short video and google slide presentation is to show 2nd graders the correct spelling and meaning of different homophones.

I created this activity/game to provide my students with practice using frequently misused homophones. I begin this activity by reviewing what homophones are and having the class identify some examples. This activity/game provides practice for SOL 4.4b.

This is an instructional strategy that has students work in small groups to construct a "honeycomb" that analyzes a text's structure. Students are given a set of ten honeycomb cards connected to their text and then must work together to assemble the honeycomb by ensuring that all connecting cards can be logically connected through careful analysis of the text. If they cannot successfully argue the connection between literary elements, they must reorganize the honeycomb until all the pieces work together seamlessly. This is a learning strategy that works well during a text unit (as opposed to before or after the unit) and is designed to help students understand the intentionality of a text's structure. It can be paired with any text, but I have provided a sample card set for "Frankenstein" and "The Picture of Dorian Gray" in this resource.

This is an instructional strategy that has students work in small groups to construct a "honeycomb" that analyzes a text's structure. Students are given a set of ten honeycomb cards connected to their text and then must work together to assemble the honeycomb by ensuring that all connecting cards can be logically connected through careful analysis of the text. If they cannot successfully argue the connection between literary elements, they must reorganize the honeycomb until all the pieces work together seamlessly. This is a learning strategy that works well during a text unit (as opposed to before or after the unit) and is designed to help students understand the intentionality of a text's structure. It can be paired with any text, but I have provided a sample card set for "Frankenstein" and "The Picture of Dorian Gray" in this resource.

This is an instructional strategy that has students work in small groups to construct a "honeycomb" that analyzes a text's structure. Students are given a set of ten honeycomb cards connected to their text and then must work together to assemble the honeycomb by ensuring that all connecting cards can be logically connected through careful analysis of the text. If they cannot successfully argue the connection between literary elements, they must reorganize the honeycomb until all the pieces work together seamlessly. This is a learning strategy that works well during a text unit (as opposed to before or after the unit) and is designed to help students understand the intentionality of a text's structure. It can be paired with any text, but I have provided a sample card set for "Frankenstein" and "The Picture of Dorian Gray" in this resource.

This video is part of the Continue to Know with WHRO TV series. Watch Kelly Sowden teach about character development.

This video is part of the Learn and Grow with WHRO TV series. Watch Dr. Karen Drosinos teach about identifying rhyming words and the letters f, h, and q.

This video is part of the Learn and Grow with WHRO TV series. Watch Kelly Diehl teach about the qualities of a friend and finding friendship traits inside a story.

This video is part of the Learn and Grow with WHRO TV series. Watch Alystra Barefoot teach about making inferences.

This video is part of the Learn and Grow with WHRO TV series. Watch Alystra Barefoot teach about retelling a story.

This video is part of the Learn and Grow with WHRO TV series. Watch Alystra Barefoot teach about visualizing a story.