From: "The Rushia's" <lopi7@nh.ultranet.com> 
 

Here's a sample lesson plan. This was made for several teachers who had not done 4 blocks before. Hope it helps! Paula 

Harcourt Brace Signatures Series - Gr. 2 

THIS IS THE WAY WE GO TO SCHOOL 

Lesson Plan  
 

Guided Reading 

Ask the children to share the way they travel to school and write on chart paper. Then ask the students if they know of any other means people use to travel. Add to the list. Pointing to the globe, share that the story they will be reading talks about ways that children all over the world travel to school. Now thinking worldwide, can the students predict any other ways people might travel to school? 

Take a picture walk using the big book. As you look at each page be sure to name the following words: cable car, ferry and trolley. 

Before reading aloud, set the purpose for reading. Ask the children to see if they learn from the story ways to travel to school that we did not put on our chartpaper. After reading we will add to the list. Read aloud the big book This is the Way We Go to School. As you read there are several opportunities to model some reading strategies for the children. Model a think aloud strategy of looking at the picture before reading the text and predicting what the text will be about. A great time to model using the picture is after reading the text about the "El", think aloud about what type of travel this may be using the picture clue and how using the picture can help understand what unfamiliar words may mean. 

If time permits, return to the chartpaper or begin with this lesson on the second day. Ask the children to share ways they recall children traveled to school in the story that was not originally brainstormed by the group and add responses to the list. 

Reread the book asking the children to share in the reading. Set the purpose to think about why the author wrote this story. After reading, share their ideas. Discuss the map on p. 34-35, and how the numbers on the map correspond to the list. Identify the continents and help children find where Brentwood is located. Who from the story lives closest to Brentwood? Who lives the furthest from us? Also discuss p. 36 which tells where the students actually live. 
 

Have the children read in their individual copies of the book with a partner. Set a purpose for reading: find the most interesting way to travel and how each child would best like to travel to get to school. The children should practice pantomiming their preferred way of travel while waiting for groups to finish. Regroup and discuss the ways children most found interesting and why and then each child can pantomime their favorite way to travel to school while their classmates guess.  

*An additional activity, depending on how quickly the lesson goes each day, is to have the children categorize the ways children go to school (by foot, wheels, water, air). I would probably do this whole group on the board or overhead. 
 
 

Working With Words Block 

Word Wall Words: 

school, two, slow, car, line 

Chant, stomp, pound, hop, cheer and then write the words each day. 

On the Back Activities: 

1. Practice handwriting formation, check with teacher model. You could do this putting the words in alphabetical order. 

2. Five words with the -ar pattern far, star, jar, par, scar 

3. Rhymes: Which word on the front will help you to spell: pool, spine, crow, spar, stool? Write the new words. 

4. Endings: cars, schools, lines, slows, slowing 

5. Cross Checking: Decide which word from the front makes sense in each sentence and write it, 

*At this point in the year there aren’t enough words on the word wall to do Be A Mind Reader, but as early as the second week you could add that activity. 

Additional Activities 

1. Guess the Covered Word-  

Michael likes to play baseball. 

Mrs. Carson likes to jog. 

Lisa would like a pet. 

Jeff likes to play with his dog. 

*Choose simple sentences initially. 

2-3. Making Words (2 days - one to make words, one to sort) You may be able to do this in one day once all of the group is used to the activity. For this lesson see attached page. The seven letter word is "friends". 

4. Rounding up the Rhymes 

Use the story This is the Way We Go to School. By now the children should have read this story a couple of times. Read each page again, encourage the children to listen for and identify rhyming words. Write the rhyming words on the overhead or index cards if you will be using a pocket chart. (i.e. slow, grow; fast, past; far, car; Perry, ferry; Jill, hill; cool, school; chain, train) If the rhyming pairs do not have the same spelling pattern discard them. Remind the children that not all words that rhyme follow the same spelling pattern. After gathering sets of rhyming words begin the transfer step, helping the children to learn that they can figure out how to read and spell new words if they already know rhyming words. For reading transfer, write several new words (plain, throw, blast), ask the children to read the words and identify the rhyming word from the story on the pocket chart that helps them read the new word. For spelling transfer, say a new word "mast". Have the students decide which word from the pocket chart it rhymes and use the rhyme to spell it. Write it on an index card and place it next to fast and past. Give several other examples (stain, fill, merry).