SYRACUSE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Grade 02 Unit 02 Informational Text
Special Education and Consultant Teacher Resource Guide
*Denotes scaffolds and supports from original Unit 2 Curriculum pages
Teaching Points
(Lesson Objectives)
2.1 Readers quickly locate
information by using the Table of
Contents and indexes.
Scaffolds and Support
*Use and post anchor charts to show text features (table of contents, indexes, titles and
headings)
*Use the following sites:
Study zone
Table of Contents Treasure Hunt
2.2 Readers quickly locate
information by looking at titles and
headings.
*Think/Pair/Ink/Share about what the text will be about based on the title/heading
Chapter headings
Brain Pop Jr
2.3 Readers determine the big ideas
and supporting details in a text by
noticing the captions, bold print,
and subheadings and asking What
does this ______ want me to know?
2.4 Readers determine the big ideas
and supporting details in a text by
noticing the photographs, diagrams,
charts, and graphs and asking: What
is this ___ teaching me?
The following website may be useful:
Nonfiction Text Features Activities
The following website may be helpful:
Nonfiction Text Features Activities
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Teaching Points
(Lesson Objectives)
2.5 Readers preview their books by
taking a picture walk, and
skimming and scanning, to ask the
question “What will this text teach
me?”
2.6 Readers keep track of their
learning by pausing after reading a
chunk of text and telling back the
key details.
Is this detail interesting?
Is this detail important to know?
Scaffolds and Support
Anchor chart or use the following worksheet individually, as pairs or cooperative groups
Preview and Review worksheet or Wh Graphic organizer
You may want to use the following websites. They have ideas of ways to scaffold main idea and
details.
Main idea worksheets
Summarization skills
Think Pair Share
*Students write in their response journals the details from the text that they feel are important
2.7 Readers determine the key
details of a text by pausing and
asking themselves: Is this detail
important to know? Is this detail
just interesting?
Cooperative groups write important text details on chart paper and then share out to whole
group.
Think, Pair Share; Think, Pair, Ink, Share or Think, Pair, Ink, Square, Share with the following
T-chart: Click here
Important Details
Interesting details
2.8 Readers build understanding by
making pictures in their minds.
(who, what, where, when, why, and
how)
This is a visual aid for students to understand visualization:
Visualization Strategy
Visualization graphic organizer
Changes in visualizations
Visualization worksheet
2.9 Readers figure out
unfamiliar words/phrases by
Vocabulary page – worksheet
*Small group activity in which students are grouped to cut pictures out that match vocabulary
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Teaching Points
(Lesson Objectives)
thinking about words they know
that look like the tricky word.
2.10 Readers find the meaning of
unfamiliar words/phrases by using
context clues, re-reading, and
reading on
2.11 Readers determine the key
facts or information by paying
attention to every detail on the
page.
Scaffolds and Support
words.
*Review with students the strategies good readers use when faced with unfamiliar word.
Point out any Fundations skills that have been taught previously ie: are there closed syllables
the students can chunk within a multisyllabic word, digraphs, vowel teams, bonus letters, etc.
See above
FCRR Comprehension Center Activities
Reading and Analyzing Non-fiction
Expository Text Grades 2-4
Text feature scavenger hunt worksheet
Text features and purpose worksheet
RAN Strategy
2.12 Readers determine the key
*Key Facts Sticky notes: Teacher places sticky notes strategically throughout the text in places
facts or information by paying
where it is appropriate to identify supporting details and main idea.
attention to the text features.
*Picture/Caption Sort (or other text feature sorts): i.e., Teacher provides students with a set of
pictures and a set of captions. Students match the correct picture to the corresponding caption.
Have students support their choices with a partner or group. To scaffold use the same picture
for each student but one word captions for some students and more complex captions for
students who would benefit from extensions
EXTENSION: Being able to pull out the non-examples (what is not important)
2.13 Readers identify the main idea The following website has LOTS of available worksheets you can use:
and details in a selection by
 We’re all jacked up on Nonfiction
recognizing that the main idea is the
 SmartBoard lessons: Text Features
most important idea and that details
 Main Idea
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Teaching Points
(Lesson Objectives)
tell more about the main idea.
Scaffolds and Support

Think, Pair, Ink, Share
*Partner Reading: Students write main ideas by identifying supporting details and facts in
expository text. You may want to modify by having students with similar reading levels work
on leveled text or by partnering mixed levels with mid-level text. Another modification could
be that the student with the lower reading level may be the “brainstormer” while the other
student becomes the recorder.
 Place text in center and provide each student with a student sheet.
 Students take turns reading text aloud until designated stopping point.
 Student one brainstorms/ discusses the main idea and its supporting details and facts
with student two then writes the supporting details and a one sentence main idea on
student sheet. http://www.studyzone.org/testprep/ela4/h/mainidea.htm
 Reverse roles and continue until the text is read and each student has recorded at least
two main ideas with supporting details.
2.14 Readers make inferences by
using the words and features in a
text, and what they already know,
to figure out why the author wrote
the text
Use the main idea and details graphic organizer
Great website with LOTS of graphic organizers including one for inferencing and author’s
purpose:
 Scholastic Graphic organizers
 Author’s purpose teaching videos
Instructional Process (Model think aloud) for teaching author’s purpose with instructional texts
at 2nd grade level that can be read aloud:
2.15 Readers make sure they
understand what the author is
saying by putting what they’ve read
into their own words.
FCRR Student Center Activities: Comprehension use pages 65-69
Review summarizing
*Independently, have students write a journal response to: “What is the author trying to tell me
in this text?” Then, work together in pairs or quads to de-brief their responses.
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Teaching Points
(Lesson Objectives)
Scaffolds and Support
*Using post-it notes in the text or next to text features to capture students thinking
*Working with partners, think pair share to explain what features or words in a text helped them
figure out why the author wrote the text
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