History and Social Science Standards

2.T3.1: Investigate reasons why people migrate (move) to different places around the world, recognizing that some migration is voluntary, some forced (e.g., refugees, people driven from their homelands, enslaved people). 

This standard was addressed in Lesson 3, where we read The Journey by Francesca Sanna and How Many Days To America? by Eve Bunting and wrote a reflection about “Why do people need to move?” We connected reasons for immigration, including refugees, to Thanksgiving as it was coming up. 

2.T3.2: Give examples of why the United States is called “a nation of immigrants”. 

We covered this standard in the opening lesson where we read Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers and “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus. This discussion around what immigration is, how America is truly “a nation of immigrants,” and what the Statue of Liberty stands for, was important to guide our unit.

2.T3.3: Conduct interviews with family members, neighbors, friends, or school staff to discover where their families came from, how and why they moved to where they now live, and when and why their families came to Massachusetts. 

Before starting this unit, students took home two surveys/interviews. One was for the student to complete with a parent or family member’s help and one was for the student to use as a set of questions to ask their family member of choice. This also allowed me to get a sense of the cultures my students were a part of and connect and involve parents in their student’s learning. 

2.T3.4: Identify what individuals and families bring with them (e.g., memories, cultural traits, goods, ideas, and languages or ways of speaking) when they move to a different place and identify the significant impacts of migration; identify elements that define the culture of a society (e.g., language, literature, arts, religion, traditions, customs); explain how the community is enriched by contributions from all the people who form it today.

This standard was addressed in many of the lessons including Lessons 2, 4, and 5. These lessons focused around defining the elements of culture and finding them in texts as well as diving into the specific aspects of the dominant cultures in our classroom. 

English Language Arts and Literacy Standards

2.RL.1: Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

During read alouds, students are expected to grasp a general understanding of the who, what, where, when, why, and how of the story to then dive deeper in enrichment activities following the read aloud. 

2.RL.7: Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.

Students use illustrations and print during the read alouds to understand the stories. 

2.RL.10: Independently and proficiently read and comprehend literary texts representing a variety of genres, cultures, and perspectives and exhibiting complexity appropriate for at least grade 2.

Our read aloud texts reflect many different cultures and perspectives around immigration and cultural depictions. Students use these texts to complete a numerous amount of activities including reflections and research. 

2.RF.4: Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

We had multiple read alouds and worksheets requiring comprehension. 

2.W.7: Participate in shared research and writing projects.

Lessons 2, 4, and 5 required collaborative efforts in both researching and recording information. 

2.W.8: Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

Students had to record findings when identifying culture in familiar texts and share out information about their cultural element in the later lessons. 

2.SL.1: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

In Lessons 2, 4, and 5, students worked in groups of four to answer common questions and share ideas. 

2.SL.2: Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

In Lessons 1, 2, and 3, students had to use read alouds to gather information and ideas around culture and reasons for migration. 

2.SL.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.

When collaborating, students must formulate questions to deepen their understanding around the topic as needed. 

2.SL.6: Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification.

In response to their peers and teachers, students must be able to explain their thinking and clarify their thoughts when needed. 

2.SL.3: Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.

Students must use their listening skills to adsorb information and ideas from their peers and teachers, they must read texts and worksheets, they write responses, and they speak when sharing and collaborating with each other. 

2.L.1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking; retain and further develop language skills learned in previous grades.

When speaking, students focus on being coherent and building their literacy skills around grammar and word use. 

2.L.4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 2 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies.

In all lessons, but particularly Lesson 1, students were tasked with defining and familiarizing themselves with new vocabulary in order to understand the meaning of a poem. 

2.L.6: Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, activities in the grade 2 curriculum, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using adjectives and adverbs to describe.

Students were expected to use words such as researcher, researching, immigration, immigrants, culture, and other specific vocabulary like Adinkra cloth, in their responses both verbal and written.