2nd Grade
Summer Reading Packet
Parents and Guardians:
· All texts mentioned are available at the Kent Island public library.
· This is designed as one book per week in the summer (a total of 8 weeks).
· This packet was created using lessons on achievethecore.org.
· These questions were authored, edited, and reviewed by a team of teachers to ensure alignment to the Common Core.
· These texts and questions were designed to be used as a read aloud. Read the texts with your child, taking turns reading or rereading familiar lines.
· There is a variety of readers in each grade level; if these are too easy for your child, try the next grade; if it’s too hard, then try the grade below. The most important thing is just to get your child reading and thinking about their reading!
· The questions are just an idea of how to have a conversation about the text. Feel free to ask other questions and have other discussions outside of the recommendations in the packet.
· If you have any questions or concerns over the summer, please feel free to contact me at .
TABLE OF CONTENTS
v Weather Words and What They Mean
o by Gail Gibbons ………………………………………….. pgs 4-6
v A Butterfly is Patient ………………………… pgs 7-13
o by Dianna Hutts Aston
v A Drop of Water
o by Walter Wick ……………………………... pgs 14-15
v Knots on a Counting Rope………..……… pgs 16-19
o by Bill Martin Jr.
v Mr. Popper’s Penguins ……………………… pgs 20-26
o by Richard and Florence Atwater
v My Side of the Mountain…………………… pgs 27-31
o by Richard and Florence Atwater
v Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters
o by Barack Obama ……………………………………….. pgs 32-34
v The Great Kapok Tree…………………… pgs 35-38
o by Lynne Cherry
Weather Words and What They Mean
By Gail Gibbons
nonfiction
1. On page 1, what did you learn from the illustrations?
2. On page 2, what is weather made up of?
3. On page 2, what causes temperature change?
4. On page 3, explain what air pressure is.
5. Look at the picture on page 5. Describe what is happening in the picture.
6. On page 6, how is temperature affected by sunrise and sunset?
7. On page 7, how does the temperature change with the season?
8. From pages 8 and 9, create a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting high pressure and low pressure.
9. On page 13, how does a cloud form?
10. From pages 17 and 18, describe the different ways rain comes down.
11. Look at the illustration on page 19. Describe what a flood is.
12. From page 22, how is a rainbow formed?
13. How are snow crystals formed?
14. Select three of the weather words from the list: temperature, air pressure, wind, clouds, rain, snow, dew and frost. Write an explanation of each word, in your own words, using illustrations and evidence from the text.
ANSWER KEY
1. The weather changes daily. It can be sunny, rainy, hot and snowy. Weather words explain what the weather is like outside.
2. The weather is made up of temperature, air pressure, and how much moisture is in the air and how fast the wind is moving.
3. The position of the sun is what causes temperature change.
4. Air pressure is the force produced by the weight of the air pressing down in the earth.
5. The leaves are blowing because it is windy.
6. When the sun rises in the morning the air becomes warmer and the temperature comes up. When the sun sets, the air becomes cooler and the temperature goes down.
7. In the summer, the sun is high in the sky. The days are warm and longer. In the winter, the sun is low in the sky. The days are cold and shorter.
9. When water evaporates from rivers, lakes and oceans, it is called vapor. It moves up with the warm air and forms little drops of water or ice crystals.
10. Drizzle: light rain
Shower: steadier rain
Rainstorm: heavy rain
11. A flood is an overflowing of water on land.
12. A rainbow is formed when sunbeams shine through drops of rain. The light breaks into seven colors.
13. Snow crystals are formed when water freezes inside of clouds.
14. Temperature is how the air feels outside. The position of the sun causes the temperature to change. When the sun rises, the air becomes warmer. When the sun is high in the sky, the days are longer and warmer. In the winter, the sun is low in the sky. The days are colder and shorter. Air pressure is the force produced from the weight of the air pressing down on the earth. High pressure is when the air is usually cool and dry. That is considered a fair day. Low pressure is when the air particles are farther apart and the air is usually warm and moist. These are often bad weather days. Rain forms when clouds are heavy with water vapor. The tiny water drops join and become bigger. When they are heavy enough, they fall. Sometimes it rains just a little. That is called a drizzle. A shower is a brief rainfall while a rainstorm is where there is lots of rain and wind. This can cause a flood. Thunderstorms are rainstorms accompanied by thunder and lightning.
A Butterfly is Patient
By Dianna Hutts Aston
nonfiction
1. On page 2, what does it mean to be patient? Why did the author choose the word patient? How does a butterfly demonstrate patience?
2. On pages 3 and 4, why did the author choose the word creative? How does a butterfly demonstrate how it is creative?
3. Complete this chart:
Characteristic / Why did the author choose this word? / How does the butterfly demonstrate this characteristic?patient
creative
4. Why did the author choose the word helpful? How does a butterfly demonstrate it is helpful?
5. Why did the author choose the word thirsty? How does a butterfly demonstrate it is thirsty?
6. Complete this chart.
Characteristic / Why did the author choose this word? / How does the butterfly demonstrate this characteristic?helpful
thirsty
7. After reading pages 7 and 8, the author writes, “To protect means to keep something safe.” Why did the author choose the word protective? How does a butterfly demonstrate it is protective?
8. After reading page 10, why did the author use the word poisonous? How does a butterfly demonstrate it is poisonous?
9.
Characteristic / Why did the author choose this word? / How does the butterfly demonstrate this characteristic?protective
poisonous
scaly
10. Pick two characteristics of a butterfly that you think are important. Then, write a paragraph with at least five sentences describing the characteristics of the butterfly you selected. Use evidence from the text to explain why your butterfly’s characteristics are important. This paragraph should represent your best written work.
ANSWER KEY
1. A butterfly is patient because it has to transform from an egg, to a caterpillar, to a butterfly.
2. A butterfly is creative because it “creates” a chrysalis.
3.
Characteristic / Why did the author choose this word? / How does the butterfly demonstrate this characteristic?patient / A butterfly has to wait / Hides in an egg until it chews free
creative / A butterfly makes a chrysalis / -As a caterpillar, eats leaves to molt- creating new skin
-Creates a chrysalis to protect itself during metamorphosis
4. A butterfly is helpful because it pollinates flowers.
5. A butterfly is thirsty because it needs to drink and eat
6.
Characteristic / Why did the author choose this word? / How does the butterfly demonstrate this characteristic?helpful / A butterfly helps plants / -Butterflies help pollinate plants so they can make seeds by carrying pollen from plant to plant
thirsty / A butterfly needs to drink and eat / -Butterflies taste with their feet
-Butterflies sip nectar with a proboscis
-Some butterflies get their nourishment from rotting fruit or from pond/lake water
7. A butterfly is protective because it protects itself from predators by scaring them away using eyespots or hissing sounds, and by hiding using camouflage.
8. A butterfly is poisonous because it has wings that tell predators they are poisonous and that some butterflies eat poisonous plants when they are caterpillars and become poisonous as adults.
9.
Characteristic / Why did the author choose this word? / How does the butterfly demonstrate this characteristic?protective / A butterfly protects itself from predators / -Some wings have eyespots that might scare away predators
-Some wings help camouflage to hide from predators
-One butterfly makes a hissing sound by rubbing its wings together
poisonous / Some butterflies can make predators sick if they eat them / -The color of the wings tell predators the butterfly is poisonous or bad tasting
-Some butterflies eat poisonous plants when they are caterpillars so that they will be poisonous as adults
scaly / A butterfly has scales on its wings / -Shiny, powdery scales cover the wings so that they are not see-through
-Some patterns attract mates
-Dark scales absorb heat which keeps the butterflies warm enough to fly
10. Sample answer: Two characteristics of a butterfly that I think are important are that it is patient and helpful. The author describes the butterfly as patient because it has to wait a long time to change from an egg, to a caterpillar, to a chrysalis, and finally to a butterfly. It takes 38 days for a butterfly to change from an egg to a butterfly. It is important that a butterfly is patient because this allows it to complete its lifecycle. I also think it is important that a butterfly is helpful. The author says a butterfly is helpful because it flies from flower-to-flower and transfers pollen. When a butterfly gets nectar, pollen sticks to its body and moves to other flowers in a process called pollination. It is important that a butterfly is helpful because it helps flowers make seeds.
A Drop of Water
A Book of Science and Wonder
By Walter Wick
nonfiction
1. On page 7, what is a water droplet made up of? What are words that the author uses to describe molecules?
2. Define evaporate.
3. Using the pictures on pages 24-25, what does the author mean by “The molecules accumulate?”
4. Complete the chart.
Cause / EffectLiquid
Solid
Vapor
5. What causes the change in water molecules-solid, liquid, and vapor?
6. How does water change overtime? Use pictures and words to show your thinking. Make sure to include as many vocabulary words as you can. Be prepared to share and justify your thinking.
ANSWER KEY
1. A water droplet is made up of tiny particles. The words the author uses to describe molecules are smaller bits and tiny particles.
2. Evaporate means to change from a liquid or solid state into vapor.
3. Molecules stick (collect) on the glass and more droplets form.
4. Chart corresponds with the answer to question number 5.
5. Water molecules change from a liquid to a gas in the process of evaporation and from a liquid to a solid or from a gas to a liquid in the process of condensation. This cycle occurs when adding or subtracting heat from the water molecules.
6. A Proficient Response: The response shows a clear understanding that water changes states or forms overtime. The response includes that adding heat can cause water to change its state. The student is able to use, connect and explain vocabulary words: solid, liquid and gas (water vapor). The response includes pictures and labels that enhance the description.
An Advanced Response: The response shows a clear understanding that later changes states or forms overtime and the student is able to use advanced detail and explanations beyond the expectations of the grade level. In addition to the usage of vocabulary listed above, the student is able to accurately use and explain how the process of evaporation and condensation effects the changes in water.
Knots on a Counting Rope
By Bill Martin Jr.
fiction
1. After reading page 2, how do you know the boy has heard the story before?
2. What are the clues the author gives to let us know that there might be trouble?
3. After reading page 3, what words and phrases does the author use to describe the wind? How do those words make you feel?
4. After reading page 4, what happens to the wind as soon as the boy is born? What is this a sign of?
5. After reading page 5, what happened when Grandfather first took the boy outside?
6. What did the horses give the boy? Why do you think the author chose to devote 2 pages to the blue horses?
7. After reading pages 8 and 9, what did they name the boy? Why was the name special? How can a name give you strength?
8. After reading page 10, why can’t the boy see blue? How does the boy “see” blue? How does the boy feel about blue?
9. After reading page 11, what was the weather like the night the boy’s horse (foal) was born? What happened just as the foal was born?
10. After reading page 15, how does telling the story again and again continue to make the boy stronger?