Lessons & Units :: Drawing Conclusions 2nd Grade Unit

Lesson 4: Text–to–World Connections

Lesson Plan

Learning Goal
Identify and describe connections between a text and the world.
Approximately 50 minutes
Necessary Materials
Provided: Direct Teaching Passage, “African American Leaders” and Guided Practice Passage, “American Symbols”
Not Provided: Skill & Strategy Reading Passages (see website), lined paper
  • Teacher Modeling

    will explain to students that good readers not only make connections between themselves and other texts when they read, they also make connections to what they know about the world. I will read the passage “African American Leaders” (provided in unit) aloud. As I read I will stop and make connections to what I know about the world that help me understand the passage better. For example, I know that after slavery was abolished, African Americans were still not treated fairly. They did not have the same rights as white people for many, many years. African Americans were not allowed to eat at the same restaurants, use the same restrooms, or drink out of the same water fountains as white people. Many people, such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr., worked hard to get equal rights for African Americans. This information isn’t in the passage. But thinking about what I already know about the topic helps me understand this passage better.

  • Think Check

    Ask: How did I use information outside of the text to understand the text better? Students should respond that as you read, you thought about information you already knew about the topic in order to understand the text better.

  • Guided Practice

    will read the passage “American Symbols” (provided in unit) aloud. We will stop and chart what we know about the world that helps us understand the passage. For example, I know that when an animal is close to becoming extinct, one way the government protects the animal is to make it illegal to hunt or kill the animal. In the passage, it says that the bald eagle was protected. That must mean that it was illegal to hunt or kill the bald eagle.

  • Independent Practice

    will read a passage provided by the teacher. You will write a couple of sentences describing what you already know about the world that helped you better understand the passage. Note: You will need to select an appropriate Concepts of Comprehension© Reading Passage (provided on website) for the Independent Practice.

Build Student Vocabulary character

Tier 2 Word: character
Contextualize the word as it is used in the story In Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, he said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
Explain the meaning student-friendly definition) A person’s character is a set of qualities that makes that person unique. When Martin Luther King, Jr. said that he wanted his children to be judged by their character, he meant that he wanted them to be judged by their unique qualities, not the color of their skin.
Students repeat the word Say the word character with me: character.
Teacher gives examples of the word in other contexts She has an honest character because she always tells the truth. I noticed his good character when he helped the hurt animal.
Students provide examples How would you describe your character? Tell me about it by saying, “My character can be described as _______.”
Students repeat the word again. What word are we talking about? character
Additional Vocabulary Words equally, treated

Build Student Background Knowledge

After reading the section of the passage about Condoleezza Rice, explain to students that the President of the United States chooses people to fill the "cabinet"—a group of people who advise the President on important issues. The Secretary of State is one person in the cabinet. The Secretary of State is in charge of working with other countries to build friendships, trade agreements (where the countries agree to buy and sell goods from each other), and work toward peace around the world. To become Secretary of State, you must learn a lot about other countries in the world.

Texts & Materials

Standards Alignment


User Comments

The informational texts are great to use for the different comprehension strategies.

It's great

I love these lessons. My students stay engaged!!!!