Curriculum / ELA / 2nd Grade / Alternate Unit 3: Lessons from Anansi the Spider / Lesson 2
ELA
Alternate Unit 3
2nd Grade
Lesson 2 of 19
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Describe Spider by describing how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
Book: The Adventures of Spider: West African Folktales by Joyce Cooper Arkhurst — "How Spider Got a Thin Waist"
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Tasks that represents the peak thinking of the lesson - mastery will indicate whether or not objective was achieved
What challenge does Spider face? How does he respond? What does this show about Spider’s personality?
An example response to the Target Task at the level of detail expected of the students.
Questions about the text that will help guide the students understanding
What does the description “jumped for joy” mean? Why was Spider’s heart jumping for joy?
Did Spider deserve to attend the feast? Why or why not?
Do you think Spider’s idea was brilliant? Why or why not?
Model fluent reading: “Watch me as I read this page fluently. Notice how I read the words with expression. What did you notice about how I read?”
The author says, “His waistline was thinner than a needle!” What does this description mean? How did his waistline become so thin?
Literary terms, text-based vocabulary, idioms and word parts to be taught with the text
deserve
v.
to earn something because you worked for it
brilliant
adj.
very smart
greedy
wants to eat a large amount of food
Suggestions for teachers to help them teach this lesson
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L.2.6 — Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using adjectives and adverbs to describe (e.g., When other kids are happy that makes me happy).
RL.2.2 — Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine their central message, lesson, or moral.
RL.2.3 — Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
Standards that are practiced daily but are not priority standards of the unit
L.2.4.a — Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
RL.2.10 — By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories and poetry, in the grades 2—3 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
SL.2.1 — Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
SL.2.2 — Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.
Lesson 1
Lesson 3
Explain why people in West Africa tell folktales about Spider by making inferences about key details that support the central message of a story.
RL.2.1 RL.2.2
L.2.6 RL.2.2 RL.2.3
Discussion & Writing
Recount “How Spider Got a Thin Waist” and determine the central message or lesson.
RL.2.2 SL.2.1 SL.2.2 SL.2.4
Retell “Why Spider Lives in Ceilings” and determine the central message or lesson.
RL.2.2 RL.2.5 RL.2.9 SL.2.1 SL.2.2 SL.2.4
Writing
Construct better and more informative sentences by using question words to add more details.
L.2.1.e L.2.1.f
Explain if Spider had been helpful or not by explaining how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
L.2.6 RL.2.2 RL.2.3 RL.2.9
Retell “How Spider Got a Bald Head” and determine the central message or lesson.
Retell “How Spider Helped a Fisherman” and determine the central message or lesson.
Explain what lesson Spider learned and how he learned it by recounting stories and determining their central lesson.
Retell “Why Spiders Live in Dark Corners” including the central message or lesson.
Explain why Spider decided to throw the pot on the ground by describing how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
Retell “How the World Got Wisdom” and determine the central message or lesson.
RL.2.2 RL.2.5 SL.2.1 SL.2.2 SL.2.4
Argue if Spider has more positive or negative traits by defending claims or opinions to content-related questions.
L.2.6 RL.2.3 RL.2.9 SL.2.1 SL.2.2 W.2.1
3 days
Perform a reader’s theater version of Anansi by reading with sufficient accuracy and fluency.
RF.2.3 RF.2.4 RL.2.4 SL.2.4
Narrative Writing – 4 days
Write a trickster tale featuring Spider that includes details about a beginning, middle, and end.
L.2.2.c L.2.6 W.2.3 W.2.5
Assessment
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