Second Grade - ELA
1: Community
Unit 1: Communities Around the World
Lesson 1
Exploring a Community
The lesson explicitly defines key vocabulary in the Facts and Definitions section (e.g., "Rural means in the country" and "Urban means in the city"). Students complete a Places in the Community worksheet using a provided word box to label buildings and finish sentences (matching words to illustrations). Students locate and read labels on the Map of a Community and are asked to read or listen to the story "The City Mouse & the Country Mouse," then answer comprehension questions about city vs. country life.
Lesson 3
Goods and Services
Students are given explicit definitions for the vocabulary ("Goods are items..." and "A service is something someone does for us"). In Activity 1 students label pictured items as goods or services, recall times they used them, and name where they are found. In Activity 3 students read If You Give a Pig a Pancake and decide for each situation in the story whether the pig is asking for a good or a service, recording examples under Goods and Services.
Lesson 4
Wants and Needs
The lesson explicitly defines key vocabulary in the "Facts and Definitions" section (goods and services, need, want) and asks students to explain the difference between a want and a need. In Activity 1 students list five wants and five needs and justify/prioritize them, using the meanings to decide which items belong where. In Activity 2 and Activity 3 students sort pictures into "Wants" vs "Needs" and place pictured items into circles labeled Water, Food, Clothing, and Shelter, applying word meanings to classify examples.
Lesson 5
Money
Students are given explicit definitions (e.g., "Money is what we earn when we work" and "we use to buy goods and services") and are asked to explain terms like "change," "penny," "nickel," "dime," and "quarter." Students complete the "Values of Money" grid and fill in coin values, which reinforces word-to-meaning connections for coin names and their values. Students also complete the "Equivalent Amounts of Money" activity, showing different coin combinations that represent the same value, linking coin names and phrases to concrete numerical meanings.
Lesson 6
Uses of Money
Students are asked to "develop vocabulary by listening to and discussing new words" and to "use new vocabulary in writing," which gives them opportunities to hear and produce domain-specific words (wants, needs, goods, services, spend, save, give). Students read and discuss short texts and scenarios (e.g., the Flowchart of Money, the two saving scenarios, and questions about wants/needs) and answer comprehension and writing tasks that name and use key terms. Students also practice identifying parts of sentences (noun/pronoun and verb) in the Giving Money writing activity, which reinforces word-level attention.
Lesson 7
Work and Money
Students review the definitions of unit vocabulary (goods, save, work, job, money, want, give, need) and practice spelling each word, using each word in a sentence. Students complete sentence-fill activities that require choosing phrases such as "with," "without," "someone's help," or "by myself," demonstrating phrase-level comprehension. Students read scenarios (e.g., movie vs. saving for a toy) and write responses that require understanding and using topic-related vocabulary in context.
Lesson 8
Customs and Holidays
The lesson includes direct explanations of word meaning such as explaining that a "symbol is a simple drawing that helps to show the importance of something" and that the Fourth of July "is like a birthday party for America," which defines "Independence Day." The Facts and Definitions section gives short definitional sentences (e.g., what Memorial Day and the Fourth of July commemorate) that present meanings of holiday-related phrases. Activities ask students to write sentences about holidays and to read texts about religious holidays, which could involve using those provided definitions.
Lesson 10
Communities Change
The Skills list includes "Use prior knowledge to make meaning of text (LA)," and the lesson gives explicit definitions for "natural resource" and "human resource" that students read and apply. In Activity 3 students look through The Little House to find listed resources and categorize them as natural or human, applying word meanings to items from the text. Activity 1 prompts students to analyze pictures and answer questions about changes, and Activity 2 asks students to write a sentence beneath each season illustration, requiring them to produce and use descriptive language.
Lesson 11
Government and the People
The lesson explicitly defines key vocabulary in the "Facts and Definitions" section (e.g., "To vote means to express your choice..." and an explanation of a tally mark). Activities ask students to explain what it means to vote and to use tally marks while recording votes on the "Voting" activity page. The Government Flowchart and service pages require students to record leader titles and write sentences about services, exposing them to domain-specific words (president, governor, mayor, libraries, firefighters).
Lesson 12
Rules and Laws
The "Facts and Definitions" section explicitly defines key domain words (consequence, law, rule, person in authority), giving students direct meanings. The Spelling activity instructs students to discuss each word's definition, write each word multiple times, and choose the correct word to complete sentences, which requires applying word meaning in context. Activity 1 (Rules vs. Laws) and the two-column worksheet ask students to classify examples as rules or laws and produce examples, requiring them to use the words' meanings to make distinctions.
Unit 2: Citizenship
Lesson 1
A Good Citizen
Students are given a definitions box that defines the target words (Responsible, Care, Help, Honest) and are asked to use those definitions to label four short scenarios (Activity 1). In Option 2, students write sentences about times they demonstrated each characteristic, applying word meanings to their own experiences. Activity 7 has students track and describe instances of each labeled trait, writing short sentences about what they did to earn stickers.
Lesson 2
Decisions and Consequences
The lesson explicitly defines the key term "consequence" by stating, "A consequence is what happens after making a decision or taking an action." Students read and listen to Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, encountering actions and outcomes in the story that connect vocabulary to events. Students read action statements on the "Lilly's Actions Chart" and the Actions-and-Consequences cards, then write or match consequences, using the vocabulary in context.
Lesson 3
Diversity in the Community
The lesson provides explicit definitions and explanations of key vocabulary: it states "Diverse means to be different" and tells students that "a continent is a very large area of land" and names the seven continents. Students are asked to explain what "diverse" means during the wrap-up and to color/label the "Seven Continents" page, matching people to continents. The lesson also directs students to read about countries and use text and maps to locate important information and to write and recognize question words and punctuation.
Lesson 4
Living in America
Students read the Pledge of Allegiance text and are asked to "explain the meaning of each part," with the activity page providing short parenthetical explanations for key phrases (e.g., "I pledge allegiance..." = "I promise to be true"). Students read the words to "The Star Spangled Banner" and are told the phrase "The Star Spangled Banner" refers to the American flag, and they discuss the poem's meaning. The skills list explicitly includes "Explain the meaning of American traditions," and discussion questions ask students to respond to meaning-focused prompts (e.g., Why do you think we have a pledge?).
Lesson 7
Inventors
The lesson gives an explicit definition: "An invention is something someone creates that is new," which students are asked to explain and use. In Activities 1 and 2 students write sentences about specific inventions (e.g., light bulb, printing press) and describe how each invention helped people, requiring them to use topic-specific words and phrases. Activity 2 has students name inventions found at home and complete sentence frames such as "We use the ________ to ________," which asks students to attach meaning and function to domain words.
Unit 3: Plants and Animals
Lesson 1
Living and Nonliving
Students are asked to read Sylvester and identify living and nonliving things in the illustrations and answer questions such as "Is Sylvester the donkey living? How do you know?", which requires understanding the meanings of the terms living and nonliving. Students are explicitly asked what it means for something to be living and are given definitional statements (e.g., living things grow, change, and need food and water). Students are taught the term "attribute" (defined as words or phrases that describe how something looks, feels, sounds, smells, or tastes) and practice writing descriptive words and phrases for objects they found.
Lesson 2
Animal Structure
Students are asked to write the four body-covering words from a word box and to think of texture words and animals for each covering, which requires connecting terms to concrete examples. The lesson provides an explicit definition for exoskeleton and directs students to look at pictures of animals to understand unfamiliar terms. Matching activities (drawing lines from body-part names to images) and cut-and-paste sorting require students to connect vocabulary (beak, gills, claws, etc.) with visual representations and functions.
Lesson 3
Classifying Animals
The lesson gives explicit definitions for content words (e.g., "To classify means...", definitions of mammal, amphibian, reptile, warm-blooded, cold-blooded) that students read and use. Activities ask students to read books or use the Internet to decide whether animals belong to particular groups (Activity 3, Activity 6, Activity 7) and to check off traits on the "A Closer Look at Mammals" chart. Skills include "Use vocabulary to describe feelings and ideas" and several activities require students to label animals, describe body coverings, and record whether animals are warm- or cold-blooded.
Lesson 4
Animal and Plant Communities
Students label each habitat using a provided word list (Desert, Rainforest, Woodlands, Arctic, Ocean, Grasslands, Wetlands), which has them match vocabulary to pictured scenes. Students write types of animals (insects, reptiles, mammals, birds, amphibians, fish) on the x-axis of a graph and place counts from a rainforest illustration, practicing category words in context. In the Measuring Animals activity students use directional vocabulary (light/heavy, narrow/wide, short/long, short/tall) to order animals by attributes.
Lesson 6
Extinct and Endangered Species
Students are given explicit definitions for the terms "endangered" and "extinct" and are asked to explain what those words mean. Students match animal names to pictures on the Endangered Species Charade Cards and act out animals, linking written words with visual referents and actions. Students read and perform the puppet show script and solve subtraction word problems that include vocabulary (e.g., habitat, captured, stuck), exposing them to words in context.
Lesson 7
Plants
Students read the "A Plant" page and label plant parts while reading short function descriptions (e.g., "Leaves: Trap sunlight to help the plant make food"), providing direct word-meaning pairings. Students complete a spelling activity where they write each word and are asked to tell the meaning of each spelling word (plant, seed, living, classify, habitat). Students read the full text of "Jack and the Beanstalk" and answer comprehension questions, giving them exposure to words and phrases in connected text.
Lesson 10
Life Cycles
The introduction defines the term "life cycle" and gives examples, providing explicit domain vocabulary. In Activity 1 students write the names of life-cycle stages and sequence pictures (e.g., egg, tadpole, frog; caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly), showing they match words to visual referents. Activity 2 and Option 2 ask students to read stage labels and draw or role-play stages, and Activity 3 asks students to select descriptive words and -ing verbs, which requires using and producing content vocabulary.
Lesson 11
Community Members Depend on One Another
Students are given explicit definitions for herbivore, carnivore, omnivore, and food chain in the Facts and Definitions section. In Activity 1 students label animals as omnivore/carnivore/herbivore and sort/cut food items to place on the correct plates, applying word meanings to categorize items. Activity 2 and 3 ask students to label habitats and sequence organisms in food chains, requiring understanding of domain-specific terms like habitat, producer, and food chain. The lesson also tells students they can read an encyclopedia or use the Internet to check unknown foods or animal diets.
2: Matter and Movement
Unit 1: States of Matter
Lesson 1
What Is the World Made Of?
The lesson prompts students to listen to and discuss new words presented in a nonfiction book and explicitly lists vocabulary development as a skill. Students read and listen to What Is the World Made Of?, stop to discuss ideas, and answer targeted questions about terms such as matter, solids, liquids, gases, water vapor, and ice. Activities require students to label, sort, and write sentences using those vocabulary words (e.g., labeling pictures as solids/liquids/gases, writing a sentence to describe each balloon). The Wrapping Up questions ask students to name and explain the meanings of specific words and phrases (e.g., what water is called in different states and how to change states).
Lesson 2
Solids
Students are asked to reread pages 9–10 of the book What Is the World Made of?, which exposes them to topic-specific words (Introduction). The Spelling Journal activity requires students to write the words solid, gas, matter, space, and liquid three times and use each word in a sentence, which has students produce and use the domain vocabulary. Multiple activities (e.g., labeling objects as solid/liquid/gas, labeling pictures on the Weight of Solids page, and identifying states of matter in containers) require students to apply and use those content words in tasks.
Lesson 3
Liquids
Students read pages 12-13 of an informational book and are asked to describe what a liquid is, which requires them to interpret the term in context. Students read labels on containers and the ingredients list of a recipe and decide whether items are solids or liquids, requiring them to use text information to categorize words/phrases. Students complete activity pages that ask them to write descriptive words or phrases (e.g., using the five senses) about named liquids, which engages them with vocabulary tied to the topic.
Lesson 5
Comparing Matter
The lesson provides explicit definitions for domain-specific words (molecule, solids, liquids, gases) and for parts of speech (noun, adjective). Students label pictures as solid, liquid, or gas and draw molecule arrangements, and they select adjectives from a list to describe given nouns and then write sentences using those adjectives. Students also record number words and numerals on the Counting Molecules page, reinforcing word–meaning connections for number words.
Lesson 6
Changes in States of Matter
The lesson includes a skills goal to "Use new vocabulary in speech and writing (LA)" and asks the child to read the directions on a JELL-O box, write sentences about drawings, and label pictures (e.g., solids, liquids, gases). Activities require students to write "heat" or "cold" on arrows and to read and answer short graph questions, which engages them with words and short text related to the topic. Students are also asked to read sentences they wrote and circle nouns, connecting word usage to written text.
Lesson 7
Exploring Solids and Liquids
Activity 8 asks students to look up the definition of any spelling words they cannot define and to write each word multiple times. The lesson explicitly asks students to explain what "dissolve" means and provides an explanation if the child is unfamiliar with the term. The Dancing Raisins and Dissolving activities prompt students to predict, observe, and describe phenomena using vocabulary from the topic (e.g., dissolve, sink, float).
Lesson 8
Our Bodies and Our World
Students are given a definition of matter ("anything that has mass [weight] and takes up space") and are asked to apply that vocabulary. Students read short informational and narrative texts (the short story options) and are asked to circle solids, liquids, and gases and to fill in blanks with words representing solids, liquids, or gases. Students label body parts/substances as solids, liquids, or gases on the activity sheet and classify items in situational scenarios ("Would You Use a Solid, Liquid, or Gas?").
Unit 2: Earth
Lesson 3
Digging Into Dirt
Students read pages 20–32 of You're Aboard Spaceship Earth and are asked to discuss what they read. The Skills list includes "Select and use new vocabulary in speech and writing," and the lesson provides explicit vocabulary and definitions (for example, "Particles are tiny pieces that come together to form a substance"). Multiple activities ask students to label layers, name soil materials, describe similarities and differences of soil samples, and write short sentences using earth-related words.
Lesson 4
From the Earth
The lesson explicitly defines topic vocabulary: it reviews the definition of a natural resource and explains the Law of Conservation of Matter. Students are asked to read about specific resources (gems, granite, oil, natural gas), record where each resource is found and how they are used, and label and describe items (e.g., on the Everything We Need page) using resource names. Activities require students to write sentences using nouns and to identify resources that make various products, which engages them with grade‑level subject vocabulary.
Lesson 6
Water, Water Everywhere
The lesson explicitly defines domain-specific words: Facts and Definitions state "A model is a simple example of a more complex object," and Activity 2 reiterates "A model is a small copy..." Activity 4 explicitly defines "range" and gives an example range 1-10. Multiple student tasks require students to use and demonstrate word knowledge: students label animals using words from a word box, circle and color animals by category, read and interpret zone labels (Sunlight, Twilight, Midnight) and depth numbers, and write sentences comparing fresh water and ocean.
Lesson 7
Taking Care of the Earth
The Skills list includes "Select and use new vocabulary in speech and writing (LA)," and the Spelling activity asks students to use each target word in a sentence and write them three times. Students are asked to read the materials list and directions aloud in Activity 3 and to read and circle items on the "Air Pollution" list in Activity 7, exposing them to domain-specific terms (recycling, pollution, landfill, detergent). The "Is It Recyclable?" and other activity pages require students to match item labels and item names to categories, giving practice with environmental vocabulary in context.
Unit 3: Balance and Motion
Lesson 1
What Is Balance?
Students are given explicit definitions in the "Facts and Definitions" section (e.g., "Balance means making two amounts equal"; "A balance is a tool used to see how the weight of materials compares"). In Activity 1 students read a text aloud and answer direct comprehension/vocabulary questions such as "What are balance weights?" and "What are balance scales used for?" Activity 3 asks students to identify and use measurement vocabulary (ounces, pounds, grams) and to practice with one-, five-, and ten-gram weights.
Lesson 2
What Can Be Balanced?
The lesson tells students to "Read the definition of the word balance in a dictionary," giving an explicit task to locate a word's meaning. Students are asked to explain what a "balanced diet" means using the MyPlate diagram and to draw a meal that follows those guidelines, which asks them to interpret a phrase in an informational context. The lesson also asks students to "Share and read about other examples" of balance in nature and to write a paragraph about an example they read, which requires reading informational text on the topic.
Lesson 3
Symmetry
The lesson provides explicit definitions (e.g., symmetry, vertical line, horizontal line, line of symmetry) in the "Facts and Definitions" and introductory sections. Students are asked to "explain the difference between vertical and horizontal," to draw lines of symmetry on shapes, and to be told that a circle has an infinite number of lines of symmetry, which reinforces domain-specific vocabulary. Multiple activities require students to label, explain, and use these terms when deciding whether images have vertical, horizontal, both, or no lines of symmetry.
Lesson 4
Force and Motion
The lesson gives explicit definitions of motion and force and asks the child to read the informational book Move It! and answer questions about word meanings (e.g., "What is the difference between a push and pull?" and "What does motion mean?"). Students complete activities that link vocabulary to actions (circling pushing vs. pulling illustrations and labeling examples in their own drawings). The spelling activity asks students to write and fill in sentences using target words (force, push, pull, move), placing the words in contextual sentences.
Lesson 5
Gravity
Students are asked to read or listen to the book Forces Make Things Move and to read the title and predict the topic, so they encounter text-based vocabulary. The Skills list explicitly includes "Discuss unfamiliar vocabulary after listening to text (LA)" and "Use vocabulary to describe clearly feelings, ideas, and experiences (LA)," indicating students will talk about and use words from the text. Activity 1 has students read statements about forces and decide true/false, which requires them to process words and phrases in context.
Lesson 6
Friction
Students are asked to read topic texts (pages 24 in Move It and pages 16–21 in Forces Make Things Move) and to explain what friction is and give examples. The Facts and Definitions section explicitly defines friction and other terms (e.g., "Friction is a force that happens when two objects rub together"), and the Friction Investigation has students test surfaces and discuss which surface created the most friction. The wrapping up prompts ask students to explain the meaning of friction and identify surfaces with more or less friction.
Final Project
A Wordless Skit
Students are asked to reread books on balance and motion to gather ideas, which requires them to consult informational text about the topic. Students create vocabulary cards labeled Balance, Push (force), Pull (force), Gravity, and Friction and record different ways to act out each word on a graphic organizer. Students plan and practice actions and props that demonstrate each word, and they must use and present the vocabulary in speech and performance.
3: Culture
Unit 1: Geography
Lesson 1
Using Maps and Globes
During Activity 1 students read The Armadillo aloud and are instructed to stop when they find a word they do not understand; the directions tell the adult to reread the sentence and explain the definition of the word. The Skills section lists "Answer questions about text read aloud," which supports practice with words and phrases encountered during reading. Several activities require students to read map-related text and label/map features, giving opportunities to encounter domain-specific vocabulary (e.g., legend/key, scale, compass rose).
Lesson 2
Cardinal Directions
Students label and identify the cardinal direction words (north, south, east, west) in Activity 1 and the Facts and Definitions section. Students read and use map vocabulary and symbols (map key for valley, mountain, cove) and answer map-based questions (e.g., "What is north of Death Valley?") on the Treasure Map activity. Students are asked to use the four cardinal directions in spoken directions, movement games (Activity 2 and 3), and to include all four directions in a written pirate journal (Activity 5).
Lesson 3
Landforms and Bodies of Water
Students review and are given explicit definitions for topic vocabulary (Ocean, Lake, River, Pond, Mountain, Hill, Valley, Island). Students complete a matching activity where they cut out pictures and match them to the provided definitions, and students are directed to read about rivers and lakes in The Usborne Children's Picture Atlas (pp. 24–27). Several activities ask students to label, name, and write sentences using the landform and body-of-water terms.
Lesson 4
Natural Resources
The lesson explicitly defines the term "natural resources" in the Facts and Definitions section and models examples (wood, fruit, honey, salt). Activity 1 asks students to match named resources (peanuts, cotton, wheat, oil, coal, etc.) to products, which requires recognition of resource vocabulary. Activity 3 has students read information (with adult help) about a chosen resource and fill in the "Researching Resources" sheet that asks where it is found and how it is made.
Lesson 6
Geography, Weather and Natural Disasters
The lesson gives explicit definitions of key terms: students are presented with the definition ‘‘the equator is an imaginary line...'' and ‘‘a natural disaster is a sudden and destructive change...''. In Activity 1 students listen to descriptive passages (dry, sun pounding, mist, warm and damp) and infer which habitat is being described, requiring them to determine the meaning of words and phrases from context. In Activity 3 students read about natural disasters, view pictures, and write descriptive sentences and questions, engaging with subject-area vocabulary in text and illustrations.
Lesson 7
The Seven Continents
The lesson gives explicit definitions (for example, it reviews the definition of "culture" and defines "population") and directs students to use pictures and words to find information in the book. Students are asked to look back at pages if they do not remember answers, and they practice labeling terms such as "equator," "continents," and habitats in map and coloring activities. The activities require students to match animals and place names to continents, reinforcing vocabulary tied to the topic.
Lesson 8
People Change Geography
The lesson defines the term "pollution" in the Facts and Definitions section, giving students a direct meaning for that key word. Activity 6 asks students to write spelling words (trash, resource, people, land) three times and to use each word in a written or oral sentence, which has students produce and apply word meanings. Activity 2 asks students to look at ingredient/material labels and record the natural resources used for items, requiring students to read short text on packaging and identify relevant vocabulary (e.g., wheat, corn, cotton).
Unit 2: People Around the World
Lesson 1
Exploring Culture
The Introduction explicitly reviews the definition of the word "culture," asking the child what she knows about it. Activity 1 has the student read pp. 10-13 of a picture atlas about culture and answer questions about what people do and how they share ideas. The Skills list includes language goals such as "Listen critically to, interpret, and evaluate" and "Compare language and stories that reflect customs, regions, and culture," which requires engagement with words in cultural texts.
Lesson 2
Traditions
The lesson explicitly defines the word "tradition" in the Facts and Definitions section. It provides meanings or translations for culturally specific phrases (e.g., "Cinco de Mayo is the Spanish way of saying 'May the fifth'" and "Kwanzaa means 'first fruits' in Swahili") and explains symbolic meanings of foods for Chinese New Year (noodles = long life, oranges = good luck). Several activities ask students to draw symbols and "write about why the holiday is important" or "discuss the significance" of foods, which requires them to engage with word/phrase meanings related to the topic.
Lesson 3
Different Religions
Students read explicit definitions such as "Religion describes the beliefs and practices held by a group of people." Students read explanatory paragraphs that define and describe terms (Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr, crescent moon, menorah, Hanukkah, Easter, Christmas). Students complete matching and graphing activities that require them to connect holidays, religions, and symbols, exposing them to grade-appropriate topic vocabulary in context.
Lesson 5
Transportation in Culture
Students use a word box to complete the Spelling activity, filling in sentences such as "A _____ refers to the life shared by people in a particular time and place," which requires them to select the correct vocabulary word from context. Students read the explicit definition "Transportation refers to the way people get from one place to another" and use vocabulary to label and match vehicles with speeds on "The Need for Speed" and to draw transportation for different landforms using provided word boxes. Students write sentences about transportation experiences and choose transportation-related job words in the "Transportation and Jobs" activity, applying word meanings in their own writing.
Lesson 6
American Culture
The lesson provides explicit word definitions in the "Facts and Definitions" section (e.g., Freedom, Symbol, Diversity). Students are asked to describe and write a sentence about a personal symbol (Activity 1), read short biographies and match leaders to contributions (Activity 2), and read song lyrics in Activity 3, which gives opportunities to encounter topic-specific words in texts. The American Culture map activity asks students to label a "FAMOUS SONG," "A SYMBOL," and other cultural terms, prompting use of vocabulary.
Lesson 7
History of America
The lesson provides explicit definitional language students can read and use (e.g., "History is the study of events in the past…" and "explorers are brave people who try to find new lands…"). Students read nonfiction (Three Young Pilgrims) and are asked to read names of foods on "The First Thanksgiving Foods" sheet and circle ones they recognize. The lesson also directs students to point out animals and foods they recognize on the book's pages and to describe items they do not know, prompting vocabulary discussion.
Lesson 8
Asian Culture
Students are asked to discuss and define vocabulary such as "endangered" and "extinct" and to review animal group terms (mammal, reptile, bird, etc.) when completing the Giant Panda activity. Students are encouraged to "look at the pictures to understand more about the continent and culture" when completing the Guidebook to Asia, using illustrations to support word/phrase understanding. Students read short descriptive texts (e.g., Chinese Zodiac trait descriptions) and match years and names, requiring them to interpret the meaning of descriptive phrases about personality traits. The skills list explicitly includes that students will "select and use new vocabulary in speech and writing."
Lesson 9
African Culture
The lesson provides an explicit definition students can learn: "Borders are the imaginary lines that show where one country ends and another begins," which directly teaches the meaning of a geography term. Students are asked to "listen to the words and look at the pictures" to find similarities and differences and to identify nations on the map while reading, which requires using text and illustrations together. Students also record foods "from the book's text or pictures," asking them to extract word meaning from context and images.
Unit 3: Stories Around the World
Lesson 3
Story Setting
Students are asked to "listen for words that describe the setting" and to draw the perfect setting based on those words, which requires attending to descriptive words and phrases. The "Creating a Setting" pages direct students to "draw a scene using loaded words" and to "describe how each setting would have details," prompting them to use and produce descriptive vocabulary. Activity 3 asks students to provide specific examples from the text (foods, geographic features, clues that the setting is another country), which requires noticing words and phrases that convey cultural and place-based meaning.
Lesson 5
Folktales and Fairy Tales
The Facts and Definitions section explicitly defines a 'folktale' and the Introduction notes that 'another word for a story is "tale,"' giving students direct word meaning information. The Introduction also has students attempt to read the Cinderella story aloud, which exposes them to words and phrases in context. Activity directions ask students to look at illustrations and identify cultural elements, which can support contextual understanding of domain-specific words.
Lesson 6
Cinderella Stories Around the World
Activity 8 asks students to write the words theme, setting, character, plot, tale, and story three times and then describe the meaning of each word, which requires students to articulate word meanings. The skills list includes "Use words that describe characters, settings, actions, and events in simple texts," and multiple activities (Cinderella Elements Chart, Venn diagram, and Setting drawing) require students to label story elements using those vocabulary words.
Lesson 8
Myths and Legends
The lesson provides explicit definitions of "myths" and "legends" in the Facts and Definitions and asks students to describe what myths and legends are in the Wrapping Up. It instructs students to identify Alaska and explains that the Inuit are people who live far north before reading the myth, giving contextual meaning for a cultural term. The Skills list includes "Compare language and stories that reflect customs, regions, and culture," and students retell and act out the script, exposing them to words and phrases in context.
Final Project
A New Cinderella
The lesson lists skills that include "Select and use new vocabulary and language structures orally and in writing" and "Use words that describe characters, settings, actions, and events in simple texts," which asks students to work with vocabulary. Students are asked to read an example Cinderella story and to read their own completed books aloud to family, providing exposure to words and phrases in grade-appropriate narrative texts. The student activity pages prompt students to fill in blanks and complete sentences using words for characters, settings, magical helpers, and lost items, requiring them to choose and use words in context.
4: Relationships
Unit 1: Living Things and Their Environment
Lesson 1
Relationships Among Organisms
The lesson provides explicit definitions in the "Facts and Definitions" section for genetics, heredity, trait, and offspring and asks students to read/watch text to learn vocabulary. Activity 1 has students match vocabulary words to their definitions on the "Inheritance Vocabulary" page. Several activities (e.g., classifying inherited vs. learned, the "Shared Traits" chart, and discussion prompts) require students to use those domain-specific words in context to describe traits and relationships.
Lesson 2
Heredity Lab
The lesson includes explicit definitions in the "Facts and Definitions" section (e.g., "A generation is a group of individuals..." and "Species is a term for similar organisms..."). Activity 4 asks students to use each vocabulary word orally in a sentence and write each word three times, providing practice with word usage. The Student Activity Page labels generations and shows illustrated creatures, giving students contextual examples tied to the vocabulary.
Lesson 3
Sun, Moon, and Stars
The lesson provides direct definitions in the "Facts and Definitions" section (e.g., organism, equator, constellation) and repeats those definitions during Activity 1 where the child is told that "organism is another word for a living thing." Students label and name moon phases (New Moon, Crescent, Quarter, Full) and complete a "Stars" page where they color, label, and describe star types and temperatures. Several activities require students to write labels, draw examples, and match color/temperature keys, reinforcing specific subject-area vocabulary.
Lesson 4
Seasons and Living Things
The lesson provides explicit definitions of key topic words: the Facts and Definitions section defines hibernation and migration, and Activity 3 repeats the definition of hibernation for students. Students read Sunshine Makes the Seasons and are directed to reread pages 20–25 to label seasons, which exposes them to domain vocabulary in context. The activities (labeling seasons, sequencing animals, and discussing migration/hibernation) engage students with texts and vocabulary related to the grade 2 topic.
Lesson 5
Rivers
Students listen to or read Life Cycles: River and answer comprehension questions, requiring them to refer to the text for answers. Students create a picture dictionary for spelling words (writing each word and drawing an illustration) and write each word three times, directly linking words to meaning through drawing. The lesson's skills list also directs students to know and use text features (captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes) to locate key facts or information in a text.
Unit 2: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
Lesson 1
Relationships
The skills list explicitly instructs students to "Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase" and to "Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary." In Activity 1 students read sentences from the novel, choose among three possible definitions based on sentence context, substitute definitions into the sentence to see whether they fit, and then write the correct definition beside the word. The Student Activity Page presents seven sentences from the book with specific vocabulary words underlined and spaces for students to write definitions.
Lesson 2
Point of View
Question #2 asks students to explain what the author means by the simile comparing Pellegrina to "a hawk...study[ing] a mouse," requiring students to infer the phrase's meaning from context. The Skills list explicitly states students should "Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in word meanings," which directs practice with word/phrase meaning. Students are also asked to retell Pellegrina's story and discuss characters' viewpoints, which requires understanding words and phrases in context to recount events and attitudes.
Lesson 3
The Queen Mary
Students complete a "Shades of Meaning" activity in which they substitute more descriptive words for underlined words in context sentences (e.g., replacing "large," "beautiful," "threw," "fell"). The lesson's Skills list explicitly asks students to "Distinguish shades of meaning among closely related verbs... and closely related adjectives." In the Wrapping Up section, students repeat sentences and substitute an emphasized word with a more interesting descriptive word or phrase.
Lesson 5
Emotions
Students are asked to read Chapters 10–12 and answer questions that require drawing conclusions from text (skill: read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and make logical inferences). Students read specific quoted phrases about Edward (e.g., "Edward was surprised to discover he was listening," "He liked feeling like a part of things") and are asked to discuss what they can assume about Edward, his feelings, and how he is changing. The instructions tell students to consider how the author uses "creative and meaningful words" to show emotion and to write a goodbye note that uses language showing Edward's feelings.
Lesson 7
Figurative Language
The lesson defines figurative language and asks students to compare the literal meaning and the author's intended meaning for multiple quoted phrases from the book. Students are asked to explain what phrases like "his heart soared" or "shone as bright as the stars" really mean, and to discuss whether the phrases are literal. Students then copy a chosen quote, circle the figurative part, illustrate it, and/or write their own sentence using figurative language, plus skim other books to find examples.
Lesson 11
Building Sentences
In Activity 2 students locate a specific poetic quote at the start of the book and are asked to explain why the author might have put that quote there and how it applies to Edward's journey. Students are asked to describe examples of Edward's heartbreak and darkness in relation to the quote, and to copy the quote in neat handwriting and add illustrations that represent its meaning. These tasks require students to interpret the meaning of a phrase from the text and relate that phrase to events and relationships in the story.
Unit 3: Connecting with the Past
Lesson 1
Studying History
Students are given a Chronology Vocabulary box with explicit definitions for domain words (decade, century, pre-, recent, past, present, future, historic, chronological order). Students are asked to use each vocabulary word in a sentence (Activity 1) and to insert the correct word in sentence-level fill-in-the-blank items on the Student Activity Page. Students also practice domain vocabulary in context by classifying primary and secondary sources and by labeling events on timelines, which require understanding the meanings of chronology terms.
Lesson 2
Colonization and the Revolution
The lesson provides explicit definitions (e.g., ancestor, descendant, American Indians, colonists) that students are told and asked to restate. The lesson asks students to "review the meanings" of specific words (past, present, future, vote) and then write them in a Spelling Journal. The lesson also asks students to explain the meaning of quoted phrases from the Declaration of Independence ("All men are created equal" and "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness"), prompting students to articulate what those phrases mean.
Lesson 3
Slavery and the Civil War
The lesson provides explicit definitions for key words (slavery, freedom, abolitionists) in the "Facts and Definitions" section, so students read and are presented with grade‑level meanings. Students read or listen to texts (Henry's Freedom Box, Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln) and complete fill‑in‑the‑blank pages and timeline entries that require them to use those vocabulary words in context. In Activity 1 students must explain character traits with evidence from the book, which requires comprehension of trait‑related language used in the text.
Lesson 4
Immigration
The lesson explicitly defines domain vocabulary: the Facts and Definitions section gives a definition for "immigrant," and the Introduction explains what "primary" and "secondary" sources are. Students are asked to classify black-and-white photos as primary or secondary sources and to justify why (Are the black and white photos in the book primary or secondary sources? Why?). Activity 1 asks students whether an interview with someone who experienced an event would be a primary or secondary source and has them listen to oral histories and retell stories, applying the source-related vocabulary.
Lesson 5
Civil Rights
Students are given explicit definitions in the "Facts and Definitions" section that define racism and segregation and provide examples of segregation in schools. The lesson asks students to read The Story of Ruby Bridges, which exposes them to target vocabulary in context (e.g., segregation, race). Activity 5 directs students to "be sure your child understands what the following words mean" (free, war, bus, equal) and to write each word three times, reinforcing word recognition and meaning.
6: Reading
Unit 1: Semester 1
Lesson 2
Vowel Teams Review
Students read connected text (Shared Reading dialog and the Reader "A Thump on a Cold Night") and are asked to identify or discuss words encountered (for example, teacher notes to explain unfamiliar terms such as "doe" and "broth"). The skills list explicitly includes "Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding," and activities prompt students to read sentences and point to words, sounds, and meanings as they go. Sight-word activities ask students to notice how adding -s changes pronunciation in "say" vs. "says," and several word-sort activities ask students to read words and explain word meanings as needed.
Lesson 3
Complex Consonants Review
The lesson explicitly asks students to use context and to have word meanings explained as needed (e.g., Activity 2.2: "Explain word meanings as needed," and the Skills list: "Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary"). Students use pictures as clues to identify scrambled words with silent starts (Activity 4.1) and complete a Fill in the Blanks passage (Activity 5.1) that requires listening for and supplying context-appropriate words. During Shared Reading students are asked to interpret riddles and sentence-ending punctuation to understand meaning and purpose.
Lesson 5
More R-Controlled Vowels
Students read an informational text All About Storms (Activity 5.1) and answer questions about content, including "What is hail? (it is rain that has turned into balls of ice)." The lesson repeatedly prompts students to "discuss word meanings as needed" during word sorts and asks them to explain meanings and draw pictures for homophones (e.g., hare/hair). The Skills list includes "Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary," indicating students are expected to apply context when reading.
Lesson 6
Other Vowel Sounds
Students are asked to use context to help with pronunciation and meaning in Activity 3.3, where they are told that context can help identify a mystery word and are guided to read sentences and use lines as clues. Several activities prompt students to read texts (Reader #6) and discuss word meanings (e.g., explaining 'brook' and 'gnaw') and to read sentences with would/could/should and discuss their meanings. The Skills list explicitly includes "Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding," and multiple activities instruct students to explain word meanings as needed while reading.
Lesson 7
More Long Vowel Spellings
Students read sentences and choose the best long-e word to complete each sentence (Activity 2.1), requiring them to use sentence context to determine which word fits. Students discuss and define word meanings as they sort and group long-a and long-e words (Activities 1.2, 4.1, and 5.1), and the lesson instructs to "define word meanings as needed." The skills list and several activities prompt students to use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding.
Lesson 8
Vowel Sounds Review
Students reread grade-level readers (A Thump on a Cold Night; If Fish Could Talk) and complete word-hunt activities that require locating and categorizing words from those texts by vowel sound. The lesson explicitly tells students to "discuss word meanings as needed" during word-building (for example, clarifying that "blew" does not refer to the color "blue"). The skills list includes "Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary," which implies students practice checking words against surrounding text.
Lesson 9
Complex Consonants: dge vs. ge
Students read an actual text (Moose on the Loose) and answer comprehension questions about events and vocabulary. Multiple activities prompt students to "discuss word meanings as needed" and provide concrete supports (for example, showing a hinge on a door to explain the meaning of "hinge"). The lesson's skill list explicitly includes "Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary."
Lesson 10
Complex Consonants: tch vs. ch, ck vs. k
Students are asked to read The Egg at the Lake aloud and answer specific content questions about words and events, providing opportunities to engage with words in text (Day 5 Activity 5.1). Multiple activities prompt discussion of word meanings (e.g., "Explain word meanings as needed" in Activities 1.2, 2.2, and 3.2) and give an explicit example of defining a word (explaining "hunch" in Activity 2.2). The skills list and instructions direct students to "use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding," and pre-reading asks students to predict which words they will find in the book, linking word meaning to text context.
Lesson 11
Final e: ce, ve, ze, se
Students read grade-level texts (Aesop's Fables) and answer questions about story events and morals, which requires them to interpret meaning in context. Multiple activities prompt discussion of word meanings (e.g., "Discuss word meanings as needed," comparing piece/peace, and explaining lose vs. loose). Students also read short passages (Word Finding) and are asked to locate and read words in context and to use sight words in sentences.
Lesson 12
Homophones
Students read sentences and a short reader and then identify and explain the meanings of homophones from that text (Activity 5.1). Students choose the correct homophone to complete sentences using context (Activity 1.3 and Activity 2.2). Students read word lists, pair homophones, discuss meanings, and draw pictures to represent word meanings (Activities 1.2, 2.1, 3.1, 4.1). The skills list and multiple activities prompt students to use context to confirm word recognition and determine or clarify unknown and multiple-meaning words.
Lesson 13
Making Plurals
The lesson asks students to explain how words like "dime" and "dimes" are different and to identify singular versus plural forms, which requires recognizing a change in word meaning (Activity 1.1 and 1.2). The skills list explicitly includes "Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary." Activity 5.2 asks students to say each word to make sure they understand what each picture represents, and Activity 2.1 directs teachers to "Discuss word meanings as needed."
Lesson 16
Words Ending with er and est
Students read connected text (Shared Reading and the reader Bug Game Day) and answer comprehension questions about the passages. The skills list and activities prompt students to use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, and teachers are instructed to "discuss the word meanings with her as needed" (e.g., Unusual Comparing Words, riddles, and sight-word sentence use). Multiple activities require students to read words in context, use adjectives in sentences, and infer comparative meanings (e.g., ordering blocks by height and answering which is tallest/shortest).
Lesson 17
Semester Review
Students are asked to "use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding" in the Skills list. In Activity 3.2 (Fill in the Blank), students read sentences and choose or place words that best fit each sentence, using sentence context to determine which word makes sense. In Activity 5.1 (What's the Word?), students use picture and word clues to identify specific words, requiring them to infer word meaning from clues and context.
Unit 2: Semester 2
Lesson 1
Compound Words
The Skills list and activities explicitly ask students to use word parts and context to figure out meanings (e.g., "Use knowledge of the meaning of individual words to predict the meaning of compound words" and "Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding"). In Activity 1.2 students break compound words apart and discuss meanings (example: explain that "lighthouse" is a house that provides light to sailors). In Activities 2.2 and 3.1 students identify the two words in compound words (him/self, gold/fish, etc.) and explain how the parts create the whole meaning; in Activity 4.2 students find target words in A Color of His Own and answer comprehension questions about the text.
Lesson 2
The Six Syllable Types
Students reread A Color of His Own and answer comprehension questions, and they complete the "Finding Words in the Text" activity by locating specific words (elephant, parrot, goldfish, tiger(s), change, animal(s)) in the text and answering a question about seasons. Multiple activities prompt students to define unfamiliar words as needed and to use images or the book to help with spelling and word meanings (e.g., using theme word cards and pictures as clues). The lesson's Skills list explicitly includes "Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding" and "Ask and answer questions about key details in a text."
Lesson 3
Open and Closed Syllables
Students practice locating and reading specific words in connected text during Activity 4.2 (Finding Words in the Text), where they search pages 6–21 of Mouse Soup for body-part and sight words. Students read and use theme word cards for body parts (Activity 2.2) and use images as clues to read vocabulary. The lesson also notes that students should "discuss the word meanings as needed" in the Tiger/Camel Fill in the Blanks activity and lists "Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding" among targeted skills.
Lesson 4
Syllables with R-Controlled Vowels
Students are asked to read and explain the sight words "earth" and "second," including identifying the sounds of ear and describing the words' meanings (planet vs. dirt; unit of time vs. position). Students are prompted to read nature-theme vocabulary, explain any unfamiliar terms as needed, and then use those words in a self-generated story, which requires using word meanings in context. Students interpret personification by considering the stones' dialogue and drawing faces, connecting word/phrase meaning to figurative language in the text. The skills list also specifies that students should "use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding."
Lesson 5
Two-Syllable Words Ending in y
Students locate and mark target words in the story (Activity 4.2) and record four two-syllable words that end in -y from the text. Students are asked to pronounce each found word and "discuss any meanings as needed," and to use sight words orally in sentences (Activity 1.3). The skills list explicitly tells students to "use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary," indicating expectation of context-based word checking.
Lesson 6
Possessives
The lesson directly teaches the meanings of specific words: Activity 1.3 defines the sight word "thought" (noting both the noun and past-tense verb meanings) and has the student pronounce syllables in "between." Activity 4.2 has students find words in Chapter 1 (including "thought" and "between") and answer a context question asking what the marble is between, requiring them to use the text to determine meaning. Activity 3.1 asks students to list words and phrases the marble evokes (including the phrase "a piece of the sky" from the book), prompting them to consider phrase meanings tied to the text.
Lesson 7
Contractions
Students read sight-word cards for "don't" and "it's" and are asked to say what each is short for ("do not," "it is"). Students match contraction cards to their expanded forms (Day 2 activity and Building Contractions) and split contractions into the two words that form them (Separating Contractions activity). Students locate contractions in Penny and Her Marble and convert underlined phrases in the text into contractions on the Finding Words in the Text page.
Lesson 8
Two-Syllable Words with Silent e
The lesson asks students to use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition (listed under Skills) and has an activity (Activity 4.2) where students locate specific words in the story "Down the Hill" and record page numbers. Activity 1.2 instructs the adult to assist with definitions of any unfamiliar words when students sort silent-e words, and Activity 4.1 asks students to answer "What season was it in the story? How did you know?", which requires using textual clues to support an inference.
Lesson 9
Vowel Teams
Students discuss and explain the phrase "just around the corner," explicitly identifying its meaning as "will happen soon." Students complete sentence-fill activities that require choosing vocabulary words that make sense in context (e.g., the Lion and Weasel Words sentence completion). Students locate and identify theme and target words in Frog and Toad text pages and use surrounding context to confirm word meanings during the "Finding Words in the Text" activity.
Lesson 10
Consonant Teams
Students are asked to use text details to identify the season of a story (Question #1 asks, "In what season does 'The Surprise' take place? How do you know?"), requiring them to infer meaning from the text. In Activity 2.1 students read descriptive passages and write the season or holiday name that fits each description, using contextual clues to determine the correct vocabulary. In Activity 4.3 (Panther Word Sentences) students select words from a word bank to complete sentences, requiring them to choose words whose meanings fit the sentence context. The lesson's Skills list and multiple prompts also instruct students to use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding.
Lesson 11
Consonant + le Syllables
Students read and locate specific words in the text (Activity 4.2) by finding sight and theme words on assigned pages. Students practice word meaning with theme words by reading the Feelings word card and matching words to pictures and filling in sentences (Activities 2.1 and 5.1). The lesson asks students to discuss the meanings of unfamiliar longer words after decoding strategies are used (Activity 4.3) and includes instruction about different pronunciations and meanings of ear-related words (Activity 1.3).
Lesson 12
Suffixes
Students match suffixes (y, ful, less, ly, able) with their meanings and then read words like "thirsty," "meaningful," and "quickly" and choose or explain the correct meanings. Students read a passage from Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse, fill in blanks with theme and sight words, and underline a word ending in -ly (suddenly), using text context to locate and identify the form. Students apply spelling/suffix rules to form and read derived words (e.g., truthful, truthfully, muddy, bumpy) and answer questions about meaning (e.g., what movable, joyful, fearless mean).
Lesson 13
Prefixes
Students watch a prefixes video, cut out prefix and base-word cards, and add prefixes to base words to read and discuss new word meanings (e.g., precut = cut before; recharge = charge again). They match prefixes to meanings and choose best meanings for prefixed words (prepay = pay before; misjudge = judge wrongly). While reading poems, students find words in the text (remember, evening) and identify words that begin with prefixes in specific poems, then answer a prompt asking what the prefix over means based on examples in the text.
Lesson 14
Words Starting with q or a
The lesson explicitly teaches context clues ("Context clues are hints..."), and Activity 4.1 has students read lines from a poem, infer meanings for underlined words, and record guesses to be reviewed. Activity 4.2 asks students to find specific words in texts and Activity 4.3 has students identify and underline qu words in a passage, providing opportunities to encounter words in context. Activity 1.3 has students read sight words and use them orally in sentences, reinforcing word meaning through use.