2014-2015 Curriculum Blueprint
Grade:
2
Course: ELA
Unit 3
Approximate Time:
18 days
Lexile Band 420-650
Unit Overview
In this unit, student will use text and illustrations to help identify story elements, point of view, and the role that characters play in a story. The student will
write an opinion piece in which they provide two supporting reasons for their opinion, linking their opinions and reasons to the text, and providing a
concluding statement.
Learning Goal
Essential Question
Students will identify characters and their traits by analyzing dialogue to
understand their points of view. RL.1.3 Scale RL.2.6 Scale RL.3.7 Scale
Students will understand how to write an opinion, provide supporting
reasons for their opinion, linking it to the text, and providing a concluding
statement. W.1.1 Scale
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What role do characters play in a story?
How do characters react to story elements?
How do we identify the point of view of characters in the text?
What can illustrations tell me about the story?
What can illustrations tell me about story elements?
Published Product for Unit 3
After reading Sled Dogs Run, create a flow chart to show how the girl’s point of view changes throughout the story. Write
an opinion piece where you explain the girl’s points of view. Provide two reasons that explain what you believe caused the
girl’s point of view to change at various points using details from the text and illustrations of the story. In your
conclusion, state what you learned by reading about the girl’s experience.
Focused Writing Standard
LAFS.2.W.1.1 (DOK 2) Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion,
use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.
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Identify a topic or title of a book to write about.
Recognize and define opinions.
Recognize and define concluding sections or statements.
Recognize and define linking words.
Formulate and articulate an opinion about a text or topic.
Generate reasons that support stated opinions.
Organize writing to introduce, support, and conclude.
Link ideas with effective words in order to connect opinions and reasons.
Write an opinion piece which introduces the topic or book.
Write an opinion piece which supplies at least 2 supporting reasons for the opinion.
Write an opinion piece which uses effective words to link opinions and reasons.
Write an opinion piece which provides a concluding statement or section.
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Reading Standards
LAFS.2.RL.1.3 (DOK 2) Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
 Define character.
 Define major events.
 Identify major events or challenges of story.
 Describe how characters respond to major events and challenges.
1st: Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.
3rd: Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.
LAFS.2.RL.2.6 (DOK 2) Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue
aloud.
 Recognize own point of view.
 Identify the characters.
 Identify traits of each character.
 Define point of view.
 Recognize dialogue to determine who is speaking.
 Analyze characters to know what type of voice to use when speaking the part.
 Determine differences in each character’s point of view.
 Read the dialogue in text using appropriate voices for different characters.
1st: Identify who is telling the story at various points in a text.
3rd: Distinguish their own point of view from that of the narrator or those of the characters.
LAFS.RL.3.7 (DOK 2) Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.
 Identify plot.
 Recognize digital text.
 Obtain information from illustrations and words in various types of text.
 Explain characters based on illustrations and words in print.
 Explain setting based on illustrations and words in print.
 Explain plot based on illustrations and words in print.
 Understand characters from illustrations and words in digital text.
 Understand setting from illustrations and words in digital text.
 Understand plot from illustrations and words in digital text.
1st: Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.
3rd: Explain how specific aspects of a text’s illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or
setting).
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Speaking and Listening Standards
Language Standards
LAFS.2.SL.1.3 (DOK2) Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in
order to clarify comprehension, gather additional information, or deepen
understanding of a topic or issue.
LAFS.2.SL.2.4 (DOK 2) Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts
and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audibly in coherent sentences.
LAFS.2.L.1.1 (DOK 2) Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English
grammar and usage when writing or speaking. a. Demonstrate legible printing skills. b.
Use collective nouns (e.g., group). c. Form and use frequently occurring irregular plural
nouns (e.g., feet, children, teeth, mice, fish). d. Use reflexive pronouns (e.g., myself,
ourselves). e. Form and use the past tense of frequently occurring irregular verbs (e.g.,
sat, hid, told). f. Use adjectives and adverbs, and choose between them depending on
what is to be modified. g. Produce, expand, and rearrange complete simple and
compound sentences (e.g., The boy watched the movie; The little boy watched the
movie; The action movie was watched by the little boy).
LAFS.2.L.1.2 (DOK1) Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English
capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
a. Capitalize holidays, product names, and geographic names.
b. Use commas in greetings and closings of letters.
c. Use an apostrophe to form contractions and frequently occurring possessives.
d. Generalize learned spelling patterns when writing words (e.g., cage → badge; boy →
boil).
e. Consult reference materials, including beginning dictionaries, as needed to check and
correct spellings.
Literary Texts
Teach and Model
Starry Night, Reading/Writing Workshop, pg. 198,
Unit 3, Week 2
Happy New Year, Reading/Writing Workshop, pg.
290, Unit 4, Week 3
The Fox and the Crane, Interactive Read aloud
Wonders Online Resources Unit 2, Week2
LAFS.2.L.2.3 (DOK 2) Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing,
speaking, reading, or listening.
a. Compare formal and informal uses of English.
Literary Tasks
LDC 2-3 Template Tasks
LAFS.2.RL.1.3 (DOK 2) After reading Sled Dogs Run, participate in a collaborative discussion in which you
identify the characters, major events, and challenges. Use key details from the text and illustrations to provide
evidence.
LAFS.2.RL.1.3 & LAFS.2.RI.3.7 (DOK 2) After reading Mr. Putter & Tabby See the Stars, write 3-5 sentences
describing how the characters in the story respond to eating too much food. Explain the characters actions by
using illustrations and words from the text as support for your writing.
LAFS.2.RL.2.6 (DOK 2) After reading Starry Night, identify each character’s point of view in the story. Write an
opinion piece explaining whether you believe the students’ point of view changes during the story. Support
your opinion with evidence from the text.
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Apply with Close Reading
Sled Dogs Run, Literature Anthology, pg. 110, Unit 2,
Week 1
LAFS.2.SL.1.3& LAFS.2.SL.2.4 (DOK 2) After reading Sled Dogs Run, work in a small group to tell or recount an
experience when you were nervous to try something new. Use facts and descriptive details as a basis for your
story. Ask questions of the other students in the group to gain understanding about their experiences.
Mr. Putter & Tabby See the Stars, Literature
Anthology, pg. 232, Unit 3, Week 2
LAFS.2.RL.2.6 (DOK 2) After reading Starry Night, work with a partner to identify dialogue in the story and
practice reading the dialogue using appropriate voices for each character. Use character traits as evidence as a
basis for your voices.
LAFS.2.FL.2.6 (DOK 2) After reading Mr. Putter & Tabby See the Stars, discuss with a partners the traits of Mr.
Putter and what his voice would sound like. Identify when Mr. Putter is speaking and practice using his voice as
you read.
LAFS.2.RI.3.7 (DOK 2) After reading Starry Night, look at the image on Pg. 201 and discuss with a partner how
the images help to clarify the text.
*Students should interact with the selected texts
multiple times to master the three focus reading
standards within this unit. PLC’s should collaborate
to determine the order of instruction and strategies
that support the learning goal.
LAFS.2.RI.3.7 (DOK 2) After listening to The Fox and the Crane, discuss with a partner the character, setting, and
plot of the story based on the illustrations and words from the digital text.
LAFS.2.RI.3.7 (DOK 2) After reading Happy New Year, create a double bubble map comparing/contrasting
information gained from illustrations and written print about the celebrations in the United States and China.
Create a writing piece demonstrating how the illustrations enhanced the written text.
*The tasks provided are a sampling therefore additional tasks would be required to ensure
adequate practice and deepening of knowledge to ensure mastery of the focus standards.
Higher Order Questions Link to Webb’s DOK Guide
*Question stems should be utilized to create text dependent questions to encourage close reading, speaking, listening, and writing throughout the unit.
LAFS.2.RL.1.3
LAFS.2.RL.2.6
LAFS.2.RL.3.7
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How did the event/challenge impact the character?
What traits would best describe __? What from the text
supports your inference?
How does __ (character) feel about __? How is that different
from __ (character)?
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What do we know about the character _?
What traits would best describe __? What from the
text supports your inference?
How might __ (character) sound/act? What from
the text makes you think that?
How does __ (character) feel about __? How is that
different from __ (character)?
How is __’s point of view on/about __ different
form __? How do you know?
What is your point of view of __ actions? What is
your point of view on __?
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What do you know about ___(characters, setting, plot)
from the text? From the illustrations?
How do the pictures and text together help you better
understand ___(characters, setting, plot)?
Draft 8-19-14