There are a variety reading levels in second grade. Students in my class will benefit from having opportunities to read, listen to, and reflect on different genres of books in the classroom.
Second grade readers are crossing the bridge between learning how to read and applying comprehension skills to make sense of what they read.
They are still decoding longer unfamiliar words, but also making new connections and meaning from relevant and varied texts.
I want to offer my students choices in the products and processes they use to become fluent readers, writers, and thinkers! I want to meet the needs of all learners so they feel comfortable in trying a new genre or attempting a text above their independent reading level.
Read-alongs are not just for the beginning reader! They are for all readers who want to learn and stretch their imagination.
My Project
Nonfiction titles from the book set, such as Spiders and From Seed to Plant, will help students see and understand how to use the structure of nonfiction text to learn new information.
Reading and understanding the differences between informational text and varied genres in literature not only expose students to a variety of stories and ideas, but also support new vocabulary acquisition, writing skills, and critical thinking.
Several of the historical fiction texts in my project will help second graders develop new knowledge. A Picture Book of Christopher Columbus, The Drinking Gourd, and The Man Who Walked Between the Towers are entertaining and informative texts. Integrating these stories with grade-level social studies standards will help students learn about how important people and historical events ranging from the 15th century to the 1970's influenced our country.
Then there are fun fictional stories such as The Mouse and the Motorcycle and Stone Soup where second graders get to listen to great stories and focus on recognizing main idea, details, and character traits - all skills they need to apply as independent readers. The more students can interpret from a story, the deeper their verbal and written expressions will be in analyzing the text.
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