2nd Grade - Gateway 2

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria that texts are organized around a topic/topics to build student knowledge and vocabulary which will over time support and help grow students’ ability to comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently.

Instructional materials provide students with the opportunity to build knowledge, vocabulary, and the ability to read complex texts throughout the school year around various topics. Students read texts around a topic and genre study every one to two weeks that help build knowledge. Each week’s topic is supported by texts that connect to the topic and enrich student’s abilities to gain knowledge and vocabulary from the topic. Students read texts about the same topic in their Literature Anthology, in Shared Reading, and in the Interactive Read-Aloud. 

Texts are connected by a grade-level appropriate topic. Examples of these topics include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 5, students learn about families who work together and answer the essential question, “What happens when families work together?” Students read “Families Working Together” and “Why We Work,” which are Time for Kids articles in their Literature Anthology. The Shared Reading is “Families Work!” (Time for Kids). All three expository texts help students understand jobs that families can have in the community. 
• In Unit 2, Week 1, students learn about baby animals and learn how offspring are like their parents. Texts that support this topic include the Literature Anthology stories Baby Bears by Bobbie Kalman, “From Caterpillar to Butterfly” (unknown author), and the Interactive Read-Aloud “Wild Animal Families” (unknown author). Students also engage in the Shared Reading text “Eagles and Eaglets” (unknown author).
• In Unit 3 Week 1, students learn about different ways to help in the community. The Shared Reading is “Lighting Lives” (unknown author), which is a nonfiction narrative about a woman helping people in communities get electricity by using solar power, and the Literature Anthology is Biblioburro by Jeanette Winter, about a man who brings his books into faraway hills to share with those who have none.  
• In Unit 4, Week 3, students learn how the earth changes. Texts include the Shared Reading “Into the Sea” (unknown author) and the Interactive Read-Aloud “Earth Changes” (unknown author). Students also read the texts Volcanoes by Sandra Markle and “To the Rescue” (unknown author) in their Literature Anthology. All of these texts help students understand ways that the Earth changes. 
• In Unit 5, Week 5, students learn about rules and read persuasive texts about the importance of recycling. Texts include the Shared Reading, “The Problem with Plastic Bags” (Time for Kids) and “A Call to Compost,” a Time for Kids article in the Literature Anthology. 
• In Unit 6, Weeks 1 and 2, students learn about how we use money. In their Literature Anthology, students read Money Madness by David A. Adler and “King Midas and the Golden Touch.” For Shared Reading, students also read “Life of a Dollar Bill” (unknown author), which teaches students about how money is made and when it is replaced. 

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria that materials contain sets of coherently sequenced questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language (words/phrases), key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts in order to make meaning and build understanding of texts and topics.

The materials provide opportunities for students to identify key ideas and details, analyze structure and craft in every unit. Students are given retelling cards to retell and answer questions for the Literature Big Book story. Students are introduced to the Strategy and the Skill that they will be working on throughout the week. These strategies and skills contain questions and tasks that helps students to make meaning and build understanding of texts and topics.

For most texts (read-aloud texts K-1 and anchor texts in Grade 2), students are asked to analyze words/phrases or author’s word choice (according to grade level standards). Examples include, but not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 2, Teacher Edition, Whole Group, Text Features, Diagrams and Labels, Reading/Writing Companion, Using the Shared Read, Eagles and Eaglets author unknown, the teacher models how to use the text features to make predictions and gather information. On page 11 of the Reading/Writing Companion, students use those text features (Diagram and Label) to gather information about eagles. This is used again when students read the anchor text and use diagrams and heading to help determine knowledge.
• In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 1, Teacher Edition, Whole Group, Shared Read, Happy New Year by author unknown, the teacher begins by having the students think about the Essential Question, “How are kids around the world different?” The teacher reads the second paragraph and asks the students, “Why does the girl say, ‘We were surrounded by fun!’”? Students then use their Reading/Writing Companion, page 3, to list two details that tell why the girl made that statement.  Continuing with the strategy of Visualize, in the Reading/Writing Companion, page 5, the teacher is asked to “Elicit how a balloon can hang in the air. Then ask: What words help you form a picture in your mind of the moon?” Students then circle words from the text that help them visualize the moon and then answer the question, “What lights up at night?”  

For most texts (read-aloud texts K-1 and anchor texts Grade 2), students analyze key ideas and details, structure, and craft (according to grade-level standards). Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 1, Teacher Edition, Whole Group, Shared Read: Reading/Writing Companion, Maria Celebrates Brazil, the teacher models using text evidence to determine character and setting, using illustrations and text. The question on page 3 of Reading/Writing companion asks students to “Draw a box around the characters. Where are they?” On pages 12-13 of the Reading/Writing Companion, students are asked to complete a chart with the character, setting, and events from the places they marked in the text. Later on Day 3 (same unit and week), students are asked to use the same strategy to understand the anchor text Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan, and to use a graphic organizer. 
• In Unit 2, Week 3, Day 1, Teacher Edition, Whole Group, Shared Read: Reading/Writing Companion, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, the teacher models using context clues to determine the meaning of the word delicious. Later in the Reading/Writing Companion, page 44-45, students revisit those vocabulary words that were highlighted in the text during the shared read and use antonyms and synonyms to help determine meaning. The task under “Expand Vocabulary,” also on Day 1, returns to these same vocabulary words within different sentences.
• In Unit 2, Week 5, Anchor Text, Beetles by Monica Shannon, after the students look at the illustrations on pages 156-159, the teacher asks, “What key details do we learn about beetles from the poem and illustrations?” Students are asked to read the prompt, “How do the poets arrange the lines to show different visual patterns in the poems?” Students are asked to talk with a partner about what else they may notice about the visual patterns in the poems. The students are asked to explain why they think the poets used these visual patterns.
• In Unit 3, Week 5, Teacher Edition, Shared Read, Reading and Writing Companion, They’ve Got the Beat! by author unknown, the teacher asks, “What word in the first sentence helps us to understand the meaning of the word chorus? What is a chorus?” After students read the first two paragraphs, the teacher asks, “Where is the chorus from?” The teacher then thinks aloud/models using text evidence. After modeling the teacher asks, “Where has the chorus traveled to sing?” 
• In Unit 6, Week 5, Day 1-5, Teacher Edition, Whole Group, Shared Read, The Ticket by Constance Keremes, the teacher reads the first stanza of The Ticket, and asks, “What word does the speaker use to describe her ticket?  Where can the ticket take her?” Students write the answers to the questions on Reading/Writing Companion page 61.

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria that materials contain a coherently sequenced set of text-dependent questions and tasks that require students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas across both individual and multiple texts.

The materials provide students the opportunity to engage in questioning and tasks that are text-based and build knowledge. Each text set centers around a topic and genre with questions and tasks that ask students to refer to the text to find information and support answers to questions in order to complete tasks. Questions and tasks require connected knowledge and ask students to connect ideas between multiple texts. 

Most sets of coherent questions and tasks support students’ analysis of knowledge and ideas. Materials provide guidance to teachers in supporting students’ literacy skills. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 5, students engage in the shared reading of “Families Work!” (no author), and are asked a series of questions to build knowledge, including, “Why do doctors like Ellen work long hours? What jobs does Steve do to make sure he is ready to fight a fire? If children can get sick at any time, what does that mean for doctors? Why is it important for firefighters to check their equipment?” 
• In Unit 2, Week 1, students engage in the shared reading of “From Caterpillar to Butterfly” (no author), and are asked questions to build knowledge, such as, “Why is a chrysalis important in the butterfly’s life cycle? In the larva stage, what comes out of the egg? In the adult stage, what comes out of the chrysalis?”
• In Unit 4, Week 3, students engage in the shared reading of “Into the Sea” (no author), and are asked a series of questions to build knowledge. These include, “What is the biggest cause of erosion? What can happen when a cliff becomes weak? Why do some buildings get washed away when there is beach erosion?” 
• In Unit 6, Week 1, students engage in a shared reading of “The Life of a Dollar Bill” (unknown author), and are asked a series of questions to build knowledge. “How does the girl receive and use the bill? Why does the man trade in the dollar bill for a new bill? Why does the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing replace the old bill?”

Throughout the year, students integrate knowledge and ideas across texts throughout the week and at the end of the week. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Week 1, students are given the task of using text evidence to make connections between Baby Bears by Bobbie Kalman and “From Caterpillar to Butterfly” (unknown author), and a photograph on page 24 of the Reading/Writing Companion. Students identify how they are similar and different. 
• In Unit 3, Week 5, students who are in the Approaching Level small group, compare the text “Musical Expression” (no author) with other selections from the unit. Students respond to the questions, “How do the authors help you understand how music can be used to show feelings? How do they show you that you can make music?” Students who are On Level make connections between “Talking Underwater” (unknown author) and “The Sound of Trash” by Susan Evento. All students also have the opportunity to make connections, as they are asked to make connections between the Ukiyo-e print on page 82 of the Reading/Writing Companion with the selections they have read in the unit. 
• In Unit 4, Weeks 3 and 4, students make connections between a photo and caption on page 56 of the Reading/Writing Companion with the selections they have read in order to integrate knowledge. In small group instruction, students who are at Approaching Level make connections between the texts “Glaciers” (unknown author) and “Earthquakes” by Elizabeth Doering in order to build knowledge. Students do the same thing on a different day with the genre passage “Tsunamis" (unknown author). 

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria that the questions and tasks support students’ ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic (or, for grades 6-8, a theme) through integrated skills (e.g. combination of reading, writing, speaking, listening).

Instructional materials provide students opportunities to complete culminating tasks that are related to the text they are reading. Culminating tasks integrate reading, writing, speaking and listening skills and provide opportunities for students to show their knowledge of a topic. 

Culminating tasks are multifaceted, requiring students to demonstrate mastery of several different standards (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) at the appropriate grade level. Examples include, but not limited to:

• In Unit 4, Weeks 1 and 2, students study how children around the world are different.  For the culminating task, students make a chart about a celebration from another place. They use primary and secondary sources to include important details about the celebration. Sentence starters such as, “My celebration is …” and “What I want to know about the celebration" are provided.  Students discuss what sources they might use in their research. They think about which sources are primary and which are secondary sources. 
• In Unit 4, Week 4, Research and Inquiry, students develop a research plan about the water cycle. Students review the research plan on page 71 of the Reading Writing Companion. The teacher models how to create a research plan. Partners write a list of questions about the water cycle to create a research plan. Students create a Two-Pocket Foldable to store their research plans and notes. The teacher reviews students’ research plans with them. Students create a water cycle diagram. The diagram includes labels and arrows to show the order of the cycle. Students spend the next two weeks on this project. 
• In Unit 6, Week 2, Research and Inquiry, students create a flowchart that shows how people are producers and consumers. Students show how people earn and spend their money. Students are given the following guidelines, “Organize events in sequence, or in order. Make a drawing or use a photo to show each event. You may set up the events in a circle. This will show how money circulates, or passes from person to person in a cycle.”
• In Unit 6, Week 3, Research and Inquiry, students think about a plant they know about and write about its parts. Students work with a partner to “Research one type of plant. Record information about its parts. Find out how each part keeps the plant healthy.” Students create a diagram showing the information they collected. 

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria that materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts. 

Instructional materials provide opportunities for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts.  Academic vocabulary supports the text, but most of the time the academic vocabulary is related to the text structures and strategies. Guidance is provided to teachers in the form of videos, articles, and a handbook. The online weekly planner does not provide guidance for teachers to adequately develop academic vocabulary.  Materials provide a vocabulary development component in the Tier 2 Intervention booklet.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In the Instructional Routine Handbook, page 77, teachers are guided through a 4-step routine that can be used throughout the year to introduce vocabulary. 
• Step 1: Introduce (Explain the vocabulary routine) 
• Teacher example, “Today we will learn new vocabulary words. I will say a vocabulary word, define it, and use it in a sentence. Then, I will ask you to use the word in a sentence. The more we practice using the new words, the better readers and writers we will be.”
• Step 2: Model (I Do): Define/Example/Ask
• Teacher example, “I am going to say the vocabulary word so you can hear the correct pronunciation. Then I am going to define it, use it in a sentence.”
• Step 3: Guided Practice (We Do): Students are given opportunities to use and apply words.
• Teacher example, “I am going to describe some things. If what I describe is an example of people cooperating, say cooperate. If it is not, do not say anything. • Two children setting the table for dinner • Two children grabbing the same book • Two children putting crayons back in the box.”
• Step 4: Independent Practice (You Do): ) “Individual turns allow you an opportunity to assess each student’s skill level and provide additional practice for those students who need it." Near the end of each week, students should write sentences in their word study notebooks using the words.
• In Unit 1, Week 3, Teacher Edition, Vocabulary: Words in Context, the teacher uses the routines on the Visual Vocabulary Cards to introduce each word: actions, afraid, depend, nervously, peered, perfectly, rescue, and secret. 
• Actions are things someone or something does.
• When you are afraid, you are scared of something.
•  When you depend on someone, you need or count on them. 
• When you act nervously, you act in a fearful or restless way. 
• Peered means looked hard or looked closely at something.
• When something is done perfectly, it is done in the best possible way. 
• When you rescue something, you save it from danger. 
• A secret is something that is private or not known by many people. 

The teacher explains root words, stating, “When children see an unknown word, they can look to see if it has a root word and an ending such as –s, -es, -ed, or –ing.” The teacher models how to figure out the meaning of the word landed on page 43 of the Reading Writing Companion. Students complete the Reading Writing Companion, pages 43-44, and respond in writing to questions about the words. Partners use root words to figure out the meanings of peered, jumped, and flying on pages 40, 41, and 42 of Little Flap Learns to Fly. Students separate the root words from the endings and use the word parts to determine word meanings. 

• In Unit 2, Week 3, Words in Context, Visual Vocabulary Word Cards: believe is an example of one of the vocabulary words that is used also in the text, The Boy Who Cried Wolf by Author Unknown. “Nobody believes a person who tells lies.”  From the text, Wolf! Wolf! by John Rocco, comes the example, “Those villagers won’t believe you, anyway.”  In Unit 2, Week 3, the vocabulary words are reinforced by the students orally completing each of the cloze sentences to review the words. “To win, you must______ it is possible. (believe). In Writing, Unit 2 ,Week 3, students connect to writing by writing sentences in their writer’s notebook using the target vocabulary.  Students write sentences that provide context to show what the words mean.
• In Unit 3, Week 5, Teacher Edition, Day 1, Shared Read, They’ve Got The Beat!, in the Reading Writing Companion, pages 64-67, students are shown yellow highlighted words as they engage with the text. After reading, the teacher uses the visual vocabulary routine to go over the words in context.  
• Cheered means shouted with happiness or praise. 
• A concert is a performance by musicians or singers. 
• An instrument is a tool used to do or make something. Our movements are our ways of moving.
• Music is the pleasing sounds made by a singer or musical instrument, such as a piano or guitar. 
• Rhythm is the repeating accents of sounds or movements to create a beat.
• Sounds are noises that can be heard. When you understand something you know what it means.  

Students then use the Reading Writing Companion, pages 68-69, to respond to questions in writing about the vocabulary words. Students engage in the Anchor Text, Many Ways to Enjoy Music. The vocabulary words appear in highlighted yellow in the text. 

• In Unit 6 Week 3, Vocabulary, on Day 1, students work with the Oral vocabulary Define/Example/Ask routine for the words dense, encircled, magnificent, stunned, and transform. Next, students study different words in context using the visual vocabulary cards and the Define/Example/Ask routine for the words appeared, crops, develop, edge, golden, rustled, shining, stages. Students are also exposed to these words in their reading/writing workshop book on pages 40-41. The students talk with a partner about each word and answer the questions. On Day 2, students review the words. Students expand vocabulary by practicing adding or removing inflectional endings, prefixes, or suffixes to a base word to the end of the weekly vocabulary words. On Day 3, students reinforce weekly oral vocabulary cards by filling in the blanks with a vocabulary word from a clue. Afterwards students complete a fill in the blank sentence activity with the vocabulary words, “Do you think the toy is _____ten dollars? (worth)”On Day 4, students connect their vocabulary to their writing.  The students write sentences in their notebook using the vocabulary to show what the word means through the context of the sentence. On Day 5, students expand their vocabulary with Word Squares, which is a vocabulary word written in one square, a definition of the word in another, an illustration, and a non-example like antonyms.

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria that materials contain a year-long, cohesive plan of writing instruction and tasks which support students in building and communicating substantive understanding of topics and texts.

Materials provide frequent opportunities for students to respond to writing prompts on a variety of texts. Scaffolded instruction is provided through a series of instructional supports like sentence frames, class discussions and shared writing along with teacher think -alouds. The teacher guides children to respond to a prompt, using sentence frames as needed. In Independent Writing, students start by reviewing a student writing sample that includes the weekly writing skill. Students then respond independently to a new prompt, as they practice the skill. 

Materials include writing instruction aligned to the standards for the grade level, and writing instruction spans the whole school year. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 5, Expository Text, Expert Model, Reading Writing Companion, the teacher reviews the features of an expository essay by creating an anchor chart:
• It gives information about a topic, including facts and examples. 
• It may have text features, such as headings, photographs with captions, diagrams with labels, and charts. 
• It uses details to help explain ideas. 
• It has a clear ending, or conclusion.

Students are reminded that Families Working Together begins with a heading that asks a question. The teacher talks about how a specific heading helps readers think about what the text will be about. The teacher then models that the first three paragraphs read like the story of a typical day for Mary and her family. 

• In Unit 3, Week 4, Research and Inquiry, Now and Then, students interview a teacher or older person at school about what their school life was like when they were a child. The students use pages 118–119 in the Reading Writing Companion after the teacher reviews the steps in the research process. The students choose a person and write some questions they would like to ask them about their school experiences. After asking the questions,  the students write about what they learned from the person. Students choose how they are going to present their work. Suggestions are made for a digital recording or a poster.
• In Unit 4, Week 4, Day 6, Writing about the Anchor Text, after taking notes, students are instructed to use their notes to draft a piece. Students learn about topic/opening sentences, indicating that the first sentence should state their main idea, such as ‘The author uses a quote from someone who was there, descriptive language, and text features to help readers understand the power of a volcano’s eruption.’”
• In Unit 5, students write an opinion piece about whether composting should be a law or a choice after reading two arguments that the author shares about composting using their Reading Writing Companion. Students are also asked to reference, “What details did the author give to persuade you?”
• In Unit 6, students focus on a topic and strengthen their writing by revising, editing, and publishing their writing by using their Reading Writing Companion. Students analyze a student model of a research report and use the Literature Anthology, Money Madness, to study research reports and then write a research report about the ways people use banks. Students focus on the topic and strengthen their writing by revising their draft, page 29, with suggestions, such as “work on using long and short sentences.” Students later work with peers to conference about suggestions to revise their work, page 30.  Students edit, proofread, publish and evaluate their work.

Writing instruction supports students’ growth in writing skills over the course of the school year. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1 Week 4, Write to the Prompt, the teacher guides students to review their notes and plan their writing. The students reread the prompt, “Describe how where Pip lives affects what he does.”  Students write a draft using evidence from the text and making inferences. Students are encouraged by the teacher to use supporting details from the text to tell more about Pam’s plan. Sentence frames are available if needed for the students to use. “Before Pam’s plan, the girls ____. After Pam’s plan, the girls _____.”
• In Unit 1, Week 5, Day 2, Respond to the Shared Read, teachers help students use sentence starters to stay focused on the prompt. Students may use the sentence starters in the Quick Tip on Reading/Writing Companion, page 74. The partners use the sentence starters to focus on how the author shows how families work and make choices about spending the money they earn.
• In Unit 2, Week 5, Independent Writing, Anchor Text, Fun With Maps by author unknown, students write about the anchor text using the prompts, “Why does the author show different kinds of maps? What does this help us to understand about maps?” Students look for clues in the text and maps and take notes in their writer’s notebook to respond to the prompt. Students write a response to the prompt as a draft, using evidence from the text. Sentence frames are available if needed for the students to use. Students work over three days to write the rough draft, proofread, revise, edit, publish, and evaluate their work.
• In Unit 4, Week 1, Reading Writing Companion, students use a model and revise their work using the skill of voice. Students are asked to use describing words to explain a character’s feelings. 
• In Unit 5, Week 5, Shared Read, Respond to Reading, after students read the text, The Problem with Plastic Bags by author unknown, they respond in writing to the shared read. The teacher reads aloud the prompt, “How does the author persuade you to agree or disagree with a ban on plastic bags?" As students analyze the text, the teacher prompts them to locate evidence by saying, “Here the author states an opinion and then presents facts, examples, and a chart. Use these text features to determine if the author persuades you to agree or disagree.” Using the Reading Writing Companion, page 70, students use the text evidence to respond to the sentence starter. 
• In Unit 6, Week 3, Anchor Text, Respond to Reading, Write About the Author Text, after reading the story, The Contest of Athena and Poseidon by Pamela Walker, students respond to the prompt, “How does the author use dialogue to help you understand why the citizens choose Athena as their patron?” Students reread the text to see how the author uses dialogue to help answer the prompt. Students use the provided sentence starter in their Reading Writing Companion, page 52, to respond to the prompt.

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria that materials include a progression of focused, shared research and writing projects to encourage students to develop knowledge and understanding of a topic using texts and other source materials.

Grade 2 materials provide opportunities for students to participate in research projects using a five-step research guidelines. The first step is to choose a topic; the second step is to write a question; the third step is to find information; the fourth step is to draw and/or write about what they learned; and the final step is to present the research. Every two weeks beginning in Unit 1, Week 1, students are provided with one research and inquiry opportunity.  The research projects help students further develop their knowledge and understanding of the topic addressed throughout the week. The teacher is provided with support and guidance in the Instructional Routines Handbook for how to present the research process to students. A scoring rubric is also provided to the teacher in the Instructional Routines Handbook. 

In the Instructional Routines Handbook, teachers are provided information on how to guide students through the Research and Inquiry process. A sample rubric is also provided with a 4-point rating scale.  The research process routine instructs the teacher to:

• Set research goals and introduce the project, as well as clearly identify the research focus and end product.
• Identify sources such as texts read in class, digital media, print sources  and/or interviews with experts.
• Find and record information by guiding students as they search for relevant information from sources.
• Organize and help students review and analyze the information they have gathered. Students should identify the most useful information, use a graphic organizer to sort and clarify categories of related information, and identify any areas where they need further information.
• Synthesize and present research by planning how to best present their work. Students may include audio and/or visual displays to enhance presentations, check that key ideas are included in the presentation, and rehearse the presentation.

Research projects are sequenced across a school year to include a progression of research skills. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, students research the study skill of internet searches using keywords. The teacher explains key points about keyword searches. The teacher models how to conduct a search using keywords. The teacher then reviews the Reading/Writing Companion, and students think about how they can use keywords to learn about family celebrations in Brazil. 
• In Unit 2, Weeks 3 and 4, students research the wolf food chain. With a partner, students read a paragraph about citing sources before researching wolves and what they eat. Students draw a food chain diagram and label it. 
• In Unit 4, Weeks 3 and 4, students work with a partner to conduct research about how the Earth changes. Students conduct research and then complete a drawing with captions about how the Earth changes. 
• In Unit 5, Week 5, students research recycling with a partner and create a recycling chart with the headings: paper, plastic, and metal. Students use sources to find information about what types of objects can be recycled in each section and they make a drawing of an object from the chart that can be recycled. 
• In Unit 6, Weeks 1 and 2, the teacher explains that there are many ways to present information and the students discuss ways to share and present information. Then students conduct research to create a flowchart that shows where money comes from and where it goes, and how people earn and spend their money. 

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria that materials provide a design, including accountability, for how students will regularly engage in a volume of independent reading either in or outside of class.

Grade 2 materials provide opportunities for students to read independently in and out of class. The materials include routines for choosing a book, how to build classroom and school libraries, independent reading journals, and teacher and student conferences as well as rubrics. Many opportunities for independent reading and books for students to read independently are included within the reading class time. Materials include a School-to-Home letter each week that provides limited information for parents to have their children read.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In the Instructional Routines Handbook, pages 109-127, teachers are provided with support on how to foster independent reading routines in the classroom. This section of the handbook gives routines for how to choose a book, how to build a classroom library, independent reading journals as well as teacher and student conferences. On page 112, a teacher-student conference routine is presented.
• Make a positive observation about the student’s reading or book choice. Regularly conferring with students about their Independent Reading is a great way to informally assess their progress, model social-emotional learning skills, build your classroom culture, and instill habits of learning. 
• Talk about how the reading is going. Why did you choose this particular book or genre? Why did you abandon this book? How is your current book going? Are you using Thinking Codes and are they helping? What strategies are you using and what ones do you need help with? How are you solving problems as you read? Who is your favorite character and why? What is your favorite part so far and why? 
• Ask the student to read aloud for a minute or two. This will help you assess their accuracy, fluency, and comprehension. 
• Highlight a student strength. I really like the way you used context clues to figure out what that word means. And adding that word to your writer’s notebook is a good idea. 
• Suggest a specific goal the student can work on. When you have an opinion, make sure to find text evidence to support it.
•  Record notes from your conference. Conference forms to use with the students are provided on pages 121 and 122. 
• In the Instructional Routines Handbook, page 111, a six-step procedure is given to the teacher to guide students through the independent reading process. The handbook states, on page 110, that a second grade student should be reading for 10-20 minutes independently each day.
• 1. Select a book that interests you. Check the book to make sure it’s the one you want to read. See the Five Finger Rule on page 120 as one way to help students check how difficult a book is. See the Additional Strategies on pages 113–119 for more ways to help students choose a book. 
• 2. Read the book each day during Independent Reading time. Use the skills and strategies you’ve been working on. 
• 3. Think about what you’re reading. You can use Thinking Codes to record your thoughts or write about them in your writer’s notebook. 
• 4. Record what you’ve read at the end of each Independent Reading session. Keep track on your Reading Log. There are many suggestions for keeping students accountable for their independent reading in the Additional Strategies section. Using a Reading Log is just one way. 
• 5. Share your opinion of the book when you’re done. Tell a friend, write a review, make a poster, or ask your teacher for ideas. 
• 6. Begin again! Time to pick a new book!
• In the Instructional Routines Handbook, a Reading Log is provided. The log asks students to document the date they read a book, title, genre, their opinion of the book using three faces (smile, straight, sad faces), how hard the text was to read on a scale of C: Complex, E: Easy to me or JR: Just Right, and the final column asks students to put a check mark if they are still reading, an A if they abandoned the text, or an F if they finished. 
• On the ConnectED Student Edition, there is a section labeled School-to-Home Link. Within this section, there are family letters for each week that support student comprehension and vocabulary with different activities. For example, the comprehension section states, “Your child will read a short story and then compare and contrast characters and settings.” Also on this site, students have access to the leveled readers as well as additional student reads that include, articles, time for kids and readers theaters that they could read or have read to them. Lexile levels range for various texts.
• The School-to-Home Connection is a letter sent home with students each week. For example:
• In Unit 2, Week 5, Resources: School to Home, Family Letter “Comprehension: Key Details Your child will read each sentence and circle the picture that shows one of the details from the sentences.”
• In Unit 6, there is a unit bibliography for students to discover books outside of the classroom. It states, “use these and other classroom or library resources to ensure children are reading independently outside of class.”