- Emily J.
- Tuesday, March 30, 2021
While this standard can easily be incorporated into thematic units, it can also be weaved into everyday experiences. Anytime your child asks, “why does,” or “what is” is an opportunity to explore a topic in books. Books plus experience are the perfect recipe for growing a reader, learner, and thinker.
How will I know my 2nd grader has met this ELA standard:
My child asks questions that lead to discussions and investigations
My child can develop a plan for collecting relevant information from many sources
My child can select the most important information, revise ideas, tell about conclusions and report what is found
My child thinks about the conclusions and ask new questions to guide further study
My child thinks about and describe the act of learning.
See those little faces pressed against the glass? This enclosure of taxidermy bears fascinated my children. Seeing three types of bears together highlighted key similarities and differences in each bear's physical appearance. This sparked an interesting conversation about bears habitats and survival.
All investigations began with a question or questions to answer. We narrowed our investigation to the two largest bears in the glass enclosure—grizzly bears and polar bears.
1. Question
2. Research
The Who Would Win series is always fan favorite at my house.
While combing through this book and others we gathered from the library, we discovered interesting facts that we talked about together. Polar bear and grizzly bear’s natural habitats are located relatively close to one another. They sometimes even cross paths in the warmer months of the year. We gathered our findings and recorded our results.
Reading books about a topic is the first step to learning more about…(fill in the blank here). We also look for additional materials for research, such as high-quality television programs (like Wild Kratts), field trips to zoos and museums, magazines, and databases.
It’s important to note that some children at this age have better listening comprehension than reading comprehension. They absorb more information through ear-reading than eye-reading. Take opportunities to read aloud to them from books, magazines, or informational kiosks at museums.
3. Selecting and Recording Important Information
Graphic organizers are a handy tool when collecting information and synthesizing ideas. They help children to organize their thoughts visually and break information into smaller chunks. Blank sheets of paper can—at times—be intimating. Graphic organizers also help relieve any hesitation for reluctant writers.
Here’s our example of a Venn diagram that we created together. I drew the diagram on a large sheet of paper (a little smaller than a poster board) to help us fit all the facts on the one page. Large sheets of paper help both my children who have a tendency to want to write large. They have space to write as large and as much as they want.
Reading Rockets has several graphic organizers including this Venn Diagram that we used.
4. Thinking About Discoveries and Conclusions
After the research is complete, ask your child to report on their findings. They could write a paper, prepare a presentation, create a diorama, or do combination of all three. My daughter created a diorama with a paragraph describing how a polar bears adapted to their environment. Her diorama was similar to this one.
Generation Genius has a full lesson on how to create a diorama.
5. Reflect on the thinking process.
The process of asking a question and seeking an answer teaches children to think critically. Conversations and open ended questions encourage children to come to their own conclusions.
Let us help you with your next inquiry. We can find books on any topic. Try Richland Library’s Get Personalized and get recommendations from the Children’s Room.
Do you want to explore more SC Education Standards?
Visit the Richland Library's SC Education Standards page.