Unit 1 Benchmark Advanced concepts
This year, our second grade students will build literacy and language
skills by participating in ten cross-disciplinary units of study in
our Benchmark Advance Program. Each three-week unit will focus
on one topic, and the topics will range from economics to earth
science, history and culture to themes in literature, and much more.
As students read poems, stories, plays, and informational articles,
they will strengthen their reading and writing skills and strategies,
participate in meaningful collaborative conversations, and make
connections to their other content area studies. And we look forward
to sharing their progress with you!
As we start each unit, I will be sending home a letter like this one,
introducing the unit focus and skills your child is learning. I will also
provide suggested activities that you and your child can do together
at home to build on the work we’re doing in class.
In our first unit of study, “Government at Work,” we’ll be learning
about the role that government plays in our lives. For example,
police officers and firefighters help keep us safe, and local workers
help keep parks beautiful and clean. Your child will also be learning
about laws—what they are, why they matter, and what happens
when we break them. The selections include a variety of genres,
such as poetry, historical fiction, and an interview. It’s an interesting
unit to kick off our program, and I hope it will spark some lively
discussions at home.
In school, students are learning new words related to our government. Some of these words are: government, police officer, federal, citizen, law, judge, president, nation, soldiers, court.
You can support your child’s work knowledge by using these words in meaningful contexts as you share everyday experiences, read newspapers and magazines, and view television or movies.
One of the selections we’ll be reading in class
is a procedural text that explains what a
police officer does. Reading such a text and
then putting the steps in order is an important
skill. To review this skill, read simple recipes
or directions with your child. Ask your child to
retell the steps in order.
RRRRReady, Set, Go!
In our phonics instruction, students are
reading many words that begin with blends.
When two consonants are combined and you
can hear the sound that each consonant
normally makes, the combination is called a
blend. Here’s a game you can play to practice.
Get fifteen index cards or cut-out pieces of
paper. Write one letter blend on each card
Then shuffle the cards. Take turns picking a
card from the deck. If you can come up with
a word that begins with that blend, you keep
the card. Keep playing until all the cards have
been used.
UNIT 2
Welcome to our next unit of study, “Characters Facing Challenges.”
Just as in real life, characters in literature are faced with challenges
they must overcome. In fact, that’s the theme of our second unit.
As we read tales and poems from around the world, we’ll be
meeting lonely characters like Princess Willow, Crow, and Toll. Other
characters must deal with a sick dragon or a menacing bear. Then
there’s Jack and the Three Billy Goats Gruff who simply do not have
enough to eat.
In each case, the characters in our selections find a way to solve
their problems. Sometimes, as in the tale of Yeh-Shen, magic comes
to their rescue. However, more often than not the characters learn
valuable lessons. For example, Crow discovers that he can’t boast if
he wants to make friends.
What follows are some activities you and your child can work on
together. I look forward to working together as partners this year.
Should you have any questions about our reading program or about
your child’s progress, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Characters Facing Challenges
Here are some activities designed to continue the
conversation about the challenges and to build on the skills
and concepts your child has learned in school. Hopefully,
you’ll even have some fun, too, as you work together!
Talk It Up!
As you and your child are watching television,
eating dinner, or driving to soccer practice,
talk about different kinds of challenges. You
can bring up the challenges a TV character
might be facing or you can discuss one of the
challenges you’ve faced over the years. Ask
about the issues your child might have with
friends or at school. What would the characters
in our selections do? What lessons can be
applied to your own life?
Don’t Mis(s) Out!
One of the new vocabulary words your child
has learned is
mistreated
. For example, we
read that Yeh-Shen was mistreated, or treated
badly, by her mean stepsisters and stepmother.
Adding the prefix
mis
changed
treat
to mean
“treat badly or incorrectly.” The same prefix
can also reverse or negate the meaning of
a word. Ask your child to puzzle out the
meanings of the following words:
misread,
mishear, misbehave, mistrust, misuse, misplace
.
Can you add
mis
to other words? Don’t be afraid
to make a “mistake”!
What Happens Next?
An important reading skill is being able to make
reasonable predictions, based on information
in a text. To reinforce this skill, read a story
or folktale with your child. Stop after the
introduction and ask your child questions like:
What do you think this story will be about?
What clues can you find to tell you what the
character is like or how the character will solve
his or her problem?
Fun in the Sun with Your Son
In our phonics instruction, students are learning
about homophones or words that sound the
same but have different meanings—for example,
sun
and
son
or
two, too,
and
to
. Here’s a game
you can play to practice. Get twenty index
cards, write one of the homophones below on
each card, then shuffle the cards and play a
game of concentration. Lay them out on surface,
and try to match the homophones.
Sample list of homophones: sun—son, eight—ate,
wear—where, hear—here, hare—hair, see—sea,
are—our, dear—deer, there—their, mail—male
UNIT 3
Welcome to our next unit of study, “Plants and Animals in Their
Habitats.”
In our third unit, we will be learning about how living things survive.
As we read different kinds of texts, both fiction and nonfiction, we’ll
be looking at habitats around the world. Your child will read about
everything from coral reefs to deserts, from wetlands to the frozen
tundra and from grasslands to the tropics. In addition, your child will
be introduced to animals like the scorpion, sea turtle, leopard lizard
and the Monarch butterfly.
In each case, we will be focusing on the essential question: How
do living things get what they need to survive? It’s a fascinating
question that scientists have been exploring for ages, and I hope it
will generate some interesting discussions at home as you and your
child work on some of the following activities together.
Should you have any questions about our reading program or about
your child’s progress, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Plants and Animals in Their Habitats
Here are some activities designed to continue the
conversation about how living things survive and to
build on the skills and concepts your child has learned in
school. Hopefully, you’ll find these activities enjoyable and
educational.
See It Live!
It’s not just in the wilderness that habitats can
be found. A city park is a habitat and so is a
suburban backyard. Wherever you live, find a
habitat to explore with your child. Look at grass
growing between the cracks in a sidewalk, a
squirrel scurrying up a tree or even a spider
building a web in an attic. Together with your
child, talk about how a living thing gets what it
needs to survive.
Hot or Cold?
In our reading material, your child learned
about different habitats, including the tundra
and the rain forest. Look at the list of words
below and ask your child to assign each word to
either the tundra or the rain forest.
barren
cold
damp
warm
rainy
snowy
harsh
blubber
thick fur
jaguar
monkey
penguins
seals
macaw
Just the Facts, Ma’am!
An important reading skill is being able to make
note of the main idea and supporting details of
a text. To reinforce this skill, read an article on
the Internet or in a newspaper together with
your child. Ask him or her to tell you what the
article is about. Can your child relate two or
more details or facts from the story?
String It Along!
In our phonics instruction, students are learning
to distinguish between long and short vowel
combinations, such as
man
and
mane
. Say a
three-letter word like
rat
. Can your child add
an
e
at the end to make a new word with a long
vowel sound? How about
hat
? Keep on going!
Below is a list of words to help you get started.
rat—rate, hat—hate, mat—mate, fat—fate, mad--
made, fad—fade, glad—glade, hop—hope, mop--
mope, tap—tape
UNIT 4
Welcome to our next unit of study, “Many Characters, Many Points of
View.”
In life as in literature, a story can change dramatically depending
on who’s telling it. That’s the main idea behind our fourth unit of
study, “Many Characters, Many Points of View.” To explore this theme,
your child will be reading several tales, legends, poems, and pieces
of realistic fiction. In each case, we will be looking at the point of
view. For example, in “The Blind Men and the Elephant,” five blind
men each examine an elephant to learn more about it. The man who
touches the elephant’s trunk decides it’s just like a snake, whereas
the man who touches its tail concludes an elephant is like a rope.
As the rajah explains afterwards, each man sees only part of the
elephant. To get the whole picture, they have to put the pieces
together.
As we read our selections, your child will be asked to compare the
points of view of different characters. We will also be studying
how characters change their points of view as a story progresses.
I hope you’ll agree that the skills we’re learning will not only help
your child become a better reader but also provide him or her with
valuable insights into the world around us.
Many Characters, Many Points of
Views
Here are some activities designed to continue our
exploration of how a story changes depending on who tells
it. I hope that you’ll find it enjoyable to build on the skills
and concepts your child has learned in school.
He Said, She Said!
In real life, too, stories change depending on
who tells them. Think of how any well-known
fairy tale would be different if told from
another point of view! Read or tell one of those
tales to your child. And then change the point
of view and make up a new story together. For
example, retell Cinderella’s story from one of
her stepsisters’ points of view or Little Red
Riding Hood’s story from the wolf’s.
Attracting Opposites
In our reading material, your child was
introduced to several new vocabulary words,
including the words below. Talk about each
word with your child. Help him or her to come
up with an antonym for each one. Which words
might be useful when it comes to making new
friends? Which might be hurtful?
admired
encourage
boasted
insulted
Prove It!
An important comprehension skill is being able
to find specific words or pictures that can
answer a question or prove a point. As you
read any story with your child, stop and pose
a question like: How do you know Cinderella’s
stepmother is mean? Or why didn’t the
villagers help the boy when the wolf appeared?
Encourage your child to point to specific details
from the story.
Tongue Twisters
In our phonics instruction, students are
reviewing initial consonants like
m
or
b
. To
reinforce this skill—and, hopefully, to have some
fun—make up tongue twisters with your child.
Feel free to make them as silly as you can! For
example,
Billy believes baseballs taste better
before brunch.
Or
Mama makes mostly meatballs,
mangos, and macaroni
. .
UNIT 5
Welcome to our next unit of study, “Solving Problems Through
Technology.”
In this unit, we’ll be reading about famous inventors like Thomas Alva
Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and George Washington Carver, as
well as lesser-known figures like Mary Anderson, who invented the
first windshield wiper.
As we read our selections, we will be studying the impact of
different inventions, and we’ll also be looking at how various
inventions helped people solve problems. It’s an exciting unit that
will hopefully make inventions—and inventors—come alive for our
children, and help them look at the world about them with fresh
eyes. Maybe your child will become the next inventor to solve a
problem through technology!
Solving Problems Through Technology
In this unit, we read about inventions and think in depth
about the question “Where do ideas for inventions come
from?” Here are some activities designed to continue the
conversation about inventions, inventors, and technology.
I hope you’ll not only build on the skills and concepts your
child has learned in school but also enjoy the process of
learning together.
Who Made That?
Compared to the lives of our grandparents and
great-grandparents, our own lives are full of
technological advances. Together with your
child, look around your home and community.
Think about all the devices that save time or
effort or that make our lives more enjoyable.
Pick one and research it together on the
Internet. Find out how it came to be.
Accidents Can Happen Happily
In this unit, we read about how some inventions
can be discovered by “accident.” In fact,
accident
is one of our vocabulary words.
Discuss with your child how
accident
can mean
an unfortunate incident that results in damage
or injury. It can also be an event that happens
by chance.
Getting Down to Basics!
For this unit, we will be reading several
informational texts. An important
comprehension skill is to be able to summarize
the important facts and details, especially when
reading for information. To review this skill,
read any nonfiction text with your child—it
could be a newspaper article or a poster for an
upcoming event. Ask your child to sum up what
he or she has read.
Oooh Boy!
In our phonics instruction, students are reading
many words with vowel sounds of
oo
and
oa
.
Here’s a game you can play to practice. Get ten
index cards or cut-out pieces of paper. On each
card, draw a picture of one of the following
words. On the other side of each card, write the
corresponding word. Ask your child to sort the
pictures into two piles: One for
oo
sounds, and
the other for
oa
.
boot
spoon
goose
moose
spoon
moon
goat
boat
toad
load
UNIT 6
Welcome to our sixth unit of study, “Tales to Live By.” In this unit,
we’ll be reading tales from around the world and discussing the
lessons each tale teaches us. Some tales, like “King Midas,” might be
familiar to your child, but others he or she will be reading for the
first time. Selections include realistic fiction and poetry as well as
folktales, and we will be meeting characters like Ant and Elephant,
Mercury and Fox. As we compare and contrast characters and
stories, we’ll be exploring themes of honesty, kindness, greed, and
truth.
“Tales to Live By” is a rich and interesting unit, and I hope it will
provoke many thoughtful conversations in school and at home. I hope
you’ll find the time to work on some of the activities on the following
pages, and as always, should you have any questions about your
child’s progress, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me.
Tales to Live By
In this unit, we read tales from around the world and
think in depth about the question “What can different
cultures teach us?” Here are some activities designed to
continue the conversation about the tales we’ve read and
to build on the skills and concepts your child has learned
in school. Hopefully, you’ll even have some fun, too, as you
work together!
Telling Tales
Is there a tale from your own culture that you
can either read or relate to your child? What
lesson does it teach us? How is it similar to
the tales your child read in class? How is it
different?
Act It Out!
In our reading material, your child was
introduced to several new vocabulary words
including the three verbs below. Active, vivid
verbs such as these make stories more exciting.
Go over the meaning of each word and then
take turns acting them out.
pummel
(strike or beat repeatedly)
stumble
(trip or fall)
dodge
(duck or sidestep)
Like, Unlike
Being able to compare and contrast is an
important reading comprehension skill your
child is learning this year. Together with your
child, select two different people, places,
holidays, or objects. Then have your child tell or
draw how they are alike and different.
Change It Up!
In our phonics instruction, students are reading
words with a digraph, or combination of two
letters that makes a single sound. Examples
include
ch, th,
or
sh
. In each case, the two
letters combine to make one sound. Here’s a
game you can play to practice. Start with a
word like
chin
. Challenge your child to change
the beginning digraph to make a new word
like
thin
. How many new words can you make?
Below is a list of words to start with.
thin (chin, shin), shop (chop), there (chair,
share), cheap (sheep), these (cheese)
UNIT 7
Welcome to our next unit of study, “Investigating the Past.”
In this unit, we’ll be learning about historical figures like Helen Keller,
Harriet Tubman, and Alexander Graham Bell. We will be discussing
how historians study primary sources like photographs, diaries, and
artifacts to learn about the past. In fact, many of our selections are
in the form of diary entries. For example, we will be reading diary
entries about traveling the Oregon Trail and digging for dinosaur
bones. And just like historians, we will be studying the information
we gather and we’ll be drawing conclusions as well.
“Investigating the Past” is a worthwhile unit that will introduce your
child to concepts and events in our past, and I hope you’ll enjoy
continuing the conversation with your child. As always, should you
have any questions about our reading program or about your child’s
progress, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Investigating the Past
In this unit, we read about people and events in the past,
and we think in depth about the question “How does
understanding the past shape the future?” Here are
some activities designed to continue the conversation
about history and to build on the skills and concepts your
child has learned in school. Hopefully you’ll even have
some fun, too, as you work together!
His Story, Her Story, Our Story
In this unit, your child is learning that
primary sources like interviews, diary entries,
photographs, and artifacts can help us learn
about the past. Perhaps you have some old
family pictures that you can look at with your
child. What details can you spot in the picture
that help tell us about the times and the
people? Examine the picture itself—is it in black
and white? Color? What condition is it in?
Adding Adjectives
In this unit, your child learned several new
vocabulary words, including two adjectives--
ambitious
and
exhausted
. Encourage your child
to use these two words in his or her everyday
language. For example, ask your child if she
is “exhausted” after a soccer game. When he
does a good job on his homework, tell him he is
“ambitious.”
In Conclusion . . .
Good readers think about the descriptions and
hints an author provides so that they can draw
conclusions about what the author means. In
fact, drawing conclusions is one of the skills
we’ve been working on this year. To practice
this skill, watch a scene from a movie with
your child. Then ask her to draw conclusions
about what a character is thinking or feeling.
Encourage your child to base those conclusions
on facts from the movie.
Watch “our” Words!
In our phonics instruction, students are reading
words that end in
our
. This letter combination is
pronounced “or” or “ow-er,” depending on the
word. You can play a game to help your child
master this phonics skill. Get ten index cards
or pieces of paper. On each, write one of the
our
words below. Place the cards face down
and try to match one “ow-er” or “or” word with
another.
our
tour
four
sour
flour
scour
pour
your
dour
hour
UNIT 8
Welcome to our next unit of study, “Wind and Water Change Earth.”
In this unit, we’ll be studying earth science and forces of nature.
Through a series of poems, realistic fiction, newspaper articles,
opinion essays, and informational texts, we will learn new concepts
like erosion and weathering. We’ll be reading about volcanoes,
tornados, and blizzards as we learn about the effects wind and
water have on mountains, shorelines, and the world around us. As we
read and look at pictures of the Grand Canyon, we’ll see “a sculpture
that has been carved over five million years by the mighty forces of
nature.”
In addition to learning new concepts, we will also be thinking
critically about different issues. Our selections include opinion essays
on questions like: Should communities damaged by a hurricane
rebuild? Are zoos good homes for animals?
“Wind and Water Change Earth” is an informative and interesting
unit, and I hope you’ll find time to continue our discussions at
home. As always, should you have any questions about our reading
program or about your child’s progress, please don’t hesitate to
contact me.
Wind and Water Change Earth
In this unit, we read about forces of nature, and we think
in depth about the question “How do we react to changes
in nature?” Here are some activities designed to continue
the conversation about the concepts in earth science
your child has learned and to build on the reading skills
we are working on in class. Hopefully you’ll even have
some fun, too, as you work together!
Water, Wind and Water
It’s not just the Grand Canyon that has been
affected by water and wind. Look around your
home and community. What effects of water
and wind can you find? Has the shoreline
changed? Is a river overflowing its banks?
What about the buildings or signs you see? How
many examples of erosion or weathering can
you find?
Pile It Up!
As we read about earth science, we learned
several vocabulary words, including the ones
below. You can support your child’s word
knowledge by sorting the words into three
categories: 1) weather 2) landforms 3) natural
or man-made processes.
pollution
eruption
dunes
dunes
erosion
canyon
mountains
tornado
volcano
blizzard
One, Two, Three!
The ability to summarize the key ideas or facts
of a text is a very important skill, and it’s one
that we have been working on in this unit. To
help your child practice this skill, read a text or
view a movie together. Take turns summing up
the most important facts or events of different
chapters or scenes.
Aw, Gee!
In our phonics instruction, students are reading
many words with the “aw” sound. To help
your child gain fluency reading this letter
combination, you can try the following activity.
See how many words with an “aw” sound you
can come up with by brainstorming together.
Look around the house, open up a book. Keep on
going! If you can find more than ten, consider
yourselves both experts! (Below is a list to help
you get started.)
draw
claw
straw
crawl
paw
UNIT 9
Welcome to our ninth unit of study, “Buyers and Sellers.” In this unit,
your child will be introduced to elementary concepts in economics.
For example, we’ll be learning about all the steps that are needed to
produce everyday objects like a baseball bat or pizza box. We’ll also
read about farmers’ markets and the notion of bartering. In addition,
your child will meet characters who go into business and yet eat
away most of their profits. Our selections include several procedural
and informational social studies texts along with folktales, poems,
fantasy, and realistic fiction. “Buyers and Sellers” is an interesting
unit about a subject close to our lives, and I hope it sparks some
lively discussions at home.
Should you have any questions about our reading program or about
your child’s progress, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Buyers and Sellers
In this unit, we read about economics and think in depth
about the question “How do the goods we make, buy, and
sell connect us?” Here are some activities designed to
continue the conversation about concepts in economics
and to build on the skills your child has learned in school.
Hopefully you’ll even have some fun, too, as you work
together!
Where’d That Come From?
Economics plays a huge part in our lives every
single day, and there are many opportunities to
continue the discussion with your child. In the
grocery store, you can look at different goods
and wonder aloud together at the route they
traveled to get onto the shelves. Or your child
can set up a lemonade stand, and together you
can figure out how to price the drinks so she
can make money.
Picture That!
In school, students are learning new words
related to our unit. Some of these words are:
declared, delectable, delighted, eerie, factory,
impressed, product, raid, resources, towered
To support your child’s work knowledge,
consider the following activity. Make a small
booklet of 10–12 pages. On each page, write one
of the vocabulary words. Brainstorm together
about how to represent each word. Then draw
pictures—or cut them out of magazines or print
them from the Internet.
Cause and Effect
Several of the selections we’ll be reading in
class are examples of procedural text. For
example, the selection “From Pine Tree to Pizza
Box” explains the steps involved in turning a
tree into a product. You can practice identifying
steps in a process—an important reading
skill—with your child by pointing out examples
of procedural text in their daily lives, such as
recipes and directions. Then challenge your
child to put steps in order by explaining to
you how to play her favorite game, make her
favorite recipe, etc.
Sound Match
In our phonics instruction, students are learning
that the
c-e
or
c-i
combination is pronounced
with a soft
c
, as in
nice
or
city
. To help your
child with this skill, try the following activity. On
plastic discs, tape a variety of consonants and
vowels. In addition, make others with
c-i
,
c-a
,
c-e
, and
c-o
combination. Take turns drawing
five chips plus one with a
c
-vowel combination.
See what words your child can make with a
hard
c
or soft
c
. Below is a list of words for
reference.
city
face
mice
juice
rice
crayon
come
cat
cone
call
Topic Connection
Vocabulary Connection
Comprehension Connection
Phonics Connections