Dad in the Sand

Essential Question

The essential question of this issue is How do our lives change in the summer? The articles below connect to this theme.

• Big Read: “Dogs to the Rescue,” p. 6
• Past to Present: “The History of Sunglasses,” p. 22
• Fiction: “The Grasshopper and the Ant,” p. 24
• Debate: “Should Kids Have Later Bedtimes in the Summer?,” p. 30
• Poetry: “Dad in the Sand,” p. 32

Through the above texts, students will dig deep into this essential question and make text-to-text connections.

Show “The Big Question” Video (10 minutes)

• Watch “The Big Question: How do our lives change in the summer?” (This video also goes with other stories in this month’s Storyworks 2.)
• After watching, tell students they are going to read a poem about something that happened at the beach.

• You can read the poem to the class first to model fluency and get kids familiar with the language. You can also click the Read Aloud button at the top of the digital issue to hear it read aloud by a professional voice actor.
• Then read the poem chorally as a class.

Pick and choose from a variety of activities:

Discuss the Poem (10-15 minutes)

• Ask: “What is the poem about?” “What is the problem in the poem?” “Can you find the dad in the illustration?”

ELA Focus: Parts of Speech (15 minutes)

• Using the printable “My Sunny Day,” students can fill in the blanks with different parts of speech to create a silly story about a day at the beach.

ELA Focus: Phonics (15 minutes)

• Use the printable “Make a Word Ladder” to give students practice with the ea spelling for the long e sound.

Enrich the Learning: Paired Text Opportunities 

ELA Focus: Sunny Chart (time amount varies)

• Making text-to-text connections builds knowledge and comprehension. We layer Storyworks 2 with many ways for your students to make connections.
• Kids can compare the texts by using our “Sunny Chart” printable. How are the texts alike, and how are they different?

Whole Issue Scavenger Hunt (15 minutes)

• On our website, go to the Resources section of this article. Scroll down to Activities. The scavenger hunt is there.
• This is a self-contained group of slides that guide students on a scavenger hunt through the whole issue. It helps them make text-to-text connections.
• It can be done independently by students at home or during class time.