2nd Grade Rooted in Reading is a reading curriculum focused on strengthening reading comprehension through one high-quality read-aloud each week. The teacher reads the book throughout the week and models how to think deeply, ask questions, and monitor comprehension. Students practice skills through interactive notebooks, reading passages, reading response printables, and assessments, with daily activities for vocabulary, grammar, and mentor sentences.

All lesson plans and activities are aligned with the Common Core State Standards and TEKS.

Each Weekly Unit Includes:

• Daily lesson plans for comprehension, vocabulary, and grammar
• Common Core and TEKS alignment
• Questioning cards to deepen thinking
• Reading comprehension activities for interactive notebooks
• Nonfiction reading passage with response questions
• Fiction reading passage with response questions
• Comprehension quiz over the weekly read-aloud
• Vocabulary cards with definitions, chosen for each book
• Vocabulary activities and printables
• Directed drawings and crafts with writing pages that tie back to the read-aloud
• Writing ideas and activities
• Grammar activities with a weekly grammar focus
• Anchor chart ideas and templates for comprehension lessons
• Nonfiction readers

The Book List

Each month includes four weeks of lessons, with one read-aloud per week:

• August: The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig; A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon; Sheila Rae, the Brave and Chester's Way by Kevin Henkes; Edward the Emu by Sheena Knowles
• September: When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant; The Salamander Room by Anne Mazer; Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox; A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker
• October: I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll; Crankenstein by Samantha Berger; Stellaluna by Janell Cannon; Spiders by Gail Gibbons
• November: Turk and Runt by Lisa Wheeler; The Rough-Face Girl by Rafe Martin; Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts; Stone Soup by Marcia Brown
• December: How to Catch Santa by Jean Reagan; Night Tree by Eve Bunting; The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie dePaola; Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve? by Jan Brett
• January: Akiak by Robert J. Blake; Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday by Judith Viorst; Snow Day by Lester Laminack with Brave Irene by William Steig; Martin Luther King Jr. (any biography)
• February: Looking at Lincoln by Maira Kalman; Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson; Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch by Eileen Spinelli; Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine
• March: Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen; Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty; Me... Jane by Patrick McDonnell; That's What Leprechauns Do by Eve Bunting
• April: Catching the Moon by Crystal Hubbard; Salt in His Shoes by Deloris Jordan; Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney; Old Elm Speaks by Kristine O'Connell George
• May: Sharks by Anne Schreiber; Fireflies! by Julie Brinckloe; The Three Little Javelinas by Susan Lowell; Koala Lou by Mem Fox

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Rooted in Reading be my main reading curriculum?
Yes. Rooted in Reading can be used as a supplement or as your main reading curriculum. We always recommend reviewing your state, district, and school requirements when selecting lessons for your classroom.

How many copies of each book do I need?
Just one. Rooted in Reading is built around a teacher read-aloud, so you model fluency, expression, and thinking aloud while students listen and engage with the text.

How are students held accountable for independent reading?
Students should also read books on their own level during guided reading to apply what they learn. The included fiction passages, nonfiction passages, and nonfiction readers work well for independent or partner reading.

How do you take grades?
Grades can be taken on the comprehension quizzes, reading passages, vocabulary activities and assessments, grammar activities, and interactive notebook components.

There are so many activities. How do you fit it all in?
Start with the activities that match your standards and classroom needs, then use the rest during ELA centers or when you have extra time.

Do the books have to be read in order?
No. You can move books around to match your scope and sequence. With 40 weeks of lessons, you will have extra weeks to adjust around holidays or school calendars, including seasonal titles your district may not allow.

Please Note: The picture books are not included and need to be purchased separately. We do our best to choose widely available titles, but we cannot guarantee a book's availability at any given time. We recommend checking Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Scholastic, ThriftBooks, BookOutlet, eBay, AbeBooks, Half Price Books, Better World Books, and your school or public library. You can also request titles through DonorsChoose.