Common Core Curriculum Map Book Study- Second Grade Unit 5: Hand-Me-Down Tales from Around the World!

Happy Sunday everyone!  On Tuesday I announced the kick-off to our book study for the Common Core Curriculum Maps by Teachers, for Teachers for second grade!  Today it is my turn to share with you all unit five that incorporates a wide variety of legends, folktales, and informational books from around the world!  In this unit students read and write opinion and narrative writings through poetry and stories!  Here are the focus standards selected for this unit:
RL.2.2:  Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine their central message, lesson, or moral.
RL.2.7:  Explain how specific images (e.g., a diagram showing how a machine works) contribute to and clarify a text.
W.2.3:  Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe action, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure.
SL.2.3:  Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to clarify comprehension, gather additional information, or deepen understanding of a topic or issue.
SL.2.4:  Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audibly in coherent sentences.

EQ:  How are stories and poems alike?  How are they different?

Here are some suggested works that include literary texts, informational texts, art, music, and media!  I was thrilled when I saw that many of these books and resources,  I have in my own classroom or media center!!!

The unit gives suggested objectives or activities you can do with these awesome resources!   You can have your students read poetry, retell folktales, write imaginary narratives, invite guest speakers from other countries or cultures, compare stories or poems, and memorize poems.

When I was reading the SLP (Sample Lesson Plan) for this unit I found myself getting excited over the idea of using..."The Pied Piper of Hamelin" by Robert Browning.  It is a poem based on a legend in Germany.  It talked about teaching students about legends and using a program called "Comic Life" to create comic strips of the story.  It also discussed how we can teach language skills through this poem (plural nouns).

My favorite, though, was reading that I could use different versions of the story Stone Soup for story comparison! I love using this story with my second graders and will enjoy using venn diagrams to compare and contrast similarities and differences between different story versions.  Click here to get your own copy of a  venn diagram if you'd like to use it! :)  We will also use a 5 W's graphic organizer that addresses who, what, when, where, and why.

The unit goes on to discuss how we can incorporate geography lessons by having students use Discovery World and Around the World Series resources for informational readings.

It continues to give examples of how students can write narratives to relate to other countries (for folktales) all the way to learning about music appreciation through the Russian composer, Sergei Prokofiev and his rendition of Peter and the Wolf.

Again, I highly recommend this book to any K-5 teacher that is starting ELA units for Common Core.  I hope this has been helpful and will get you excited as you plan your future units for your Common Core instruction.  Remember to check back tomorrow with Michelle for ...

 Unit 6:  Taking Care of Ourselves at Teach123! 

 Thanks so much friends and please link up any resources or posts you'd like to share to help us all with this unit! As I make more resources I will share with you as well! Have a great week!-Yvonne :)