Welcome to Wit and Wisdom Module 2!

With Wit and Wisdom Module 2 just around the corner, it is amazing to reflect on all that our Watertown community has accomplished in Module 1! Each day, students are rising to new heights, making their thinking visible, and working together to persevere within challenging and exciting texts! Keep reading to uncover titles of books, paintings, video resources, and conversation starters to continue learning at home with your child. We are so looking forward to all that Module 2 has in store!

KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS WILL...

READ THE FOLLOWING TEXTS :

Picture Books (Informational)

▪ The Year at Maple Hill Farm, Alice and Martin Provensen

▪ Farm Animals, Wade Cooper

Picture Books (Literary)

▪ The Little Red Hen, Jerry Pinkney

▪ The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Paul Galdone

▪ Three Little Pigs, Raina Moore; illustrations, Thea Kliros

...EXAMINE THE FOLLOWING PAINTINGS:

American Gothic, Grant Wood ▪

The Cornell Farm, Edward Hicks

▪ “Eight-Year-Old Tap Prodigy Little Luke”

▪ Flower Day, Diego Rivera (Painting)

▪ Le Gourmet, Pablo Picasso (Painting)

...EXPLORE THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

What is true about real farm animals?

▪ How do authors create settings?

▪ How do authors create characters?

▪ How do authors create problems and resolutions?

▪ How do authors sequence events?

▪ What makes a good story?

RECOMMENDED TEXTS TO READ AT HOME, ASKING: "What's happening? What does a closer look at the words and illustrations reveal about this text's meaning?"

▪ On the Farm, David Elliott

▪ Giggle, Giggle, Quack, Doreen Cronin

▪ The Little Red Hen, Paul Galdone

▪ The Three Little Pigs, James Marshall

▪ Farm, Elisha Cooper

▪ Big Red Barn, Margaret Wise Brown

▪ Grant and Tillie Go Walking, Monica Kulling

▪ The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, Beatrix Potter

▪ Seed, Soil, Sun: Earth’s Recipe for Food, Cris Peterson

▪ The Little Red Hen, Diane Muldrow

▪ Color Farm, Lois Ehlert

▪ On the Farm, At the Market, G. Brian Karas

▪ Fantastic Farm Machines, Cris Peterson

TO CONTINUE A CONVERSATION ABOUT THE FARM...

Visit a zoo or local farm together. Ask:

▪ What do you notice and wonder about the animals?

▪ How is life on this farm different from or similar to our lives?

▪ Why do you think so many people tell stories set on the farm?

FIRST GRADE STUDENTS WILL...

READ THE FOLLOWING BOOKS :

Picture Books (Informational)

▪ Me…Jane, Patrick McDonnell

▪ Sea Horse: The Shyest Fish in the Sea, Chris Butterworth and John Lawrence

▪ What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?, Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

Picture Books (Literary)

▪ Seven Blind Mice, Ed Young Fables

▪ “The Hare & the Tortoise,” Aesop’s Fables

▪ “The Ants & the Grasshopper,” Aesop’s Fables

...VIEW THE FOLLOWING VIDEOS & PAINTINGS:

▪“Pygmy Sea Horses: Masters of Camouflage,” Deep Look (2014)

▪ Young Hare, Albrecht Dürer (1502)

▪ The Snail, Henri Matisse (1953)

...EXPLORE THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

What lessons can we learn through stories about animals?

▪ How did Jane Goodall make discoveries about animals?

▪ How do sea horses use their unique features?

▪ How do animals use the same feature in unique ways?

▪ How do animals use their unique features in unexpected ways?

▪ What can we discover about animals’ unique features?

RECOMMENDED TEXTS TO READ AT HOME

As you read, discuss: "What’s happening? What does a closer look at words and illustrations reveal about this text’s deeper meaning?":

▪ Olinguito, from A to Z!, Lulu Delacre

▪ The Iridescence of Birds: A Book about Henri Matisse, Patricia MacLachlan

▪ Creature Features, Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

▪ The Circus Ship, Chris Van Dusen

▪ Henri’s Scissors, Jeanette Winter

▪ Sisters and Brothers: Sibling Relationships in the Animal World, Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

▪ How to Clean a Hippopotamus: A Look at Unusual Animal Partnerships, Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

▪ My First Day, Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

▪ The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau, Michelle Markel

▪ Where in the Wild?: Camouflaged Creatures Concealed … and Revealed, David M. Schwartz and Yael Schy

▪ Where Else in the Wild?, David M. Schwartz and Yael Schy

▪ Unusual Creatures: A Mostly Accurate Account of Some of Earth’s Strangest Animals, Michael Hearst

▪ Furs, Fins, and Feathers: Abraham Dee Bartlett and the Invention of the Modern Zoo, Cassandre Maxwell

▪ The Cat and the Bird: A Children’s Book Inspired by Paul Klee, Géraldine Elschner

▪ Lives of the Artists: Masterpieces, Messes (and What the Neighbors Thought), Kathleen Krull

▪ A Bird or Two: A Story about Henri Matisse, Bijou Le Tord

▪ Starfish, Edith Thacher Hurd

▪ Sharks, Kate Riggs

▪ Amazing Animals: Dolphins, Kate Riggs

▪ Gentle Giant Octopus, Karen Wallace

▪ Surprising Sharks, Nicola Davies

▪ The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau, Dan Yaccarino

▪ Big Blue Whale, Nicola Davies

▪ Giant Squid: Mystery of the Deep, Jennifer Dussling

▪ Amazing Animals: Cheetahs, Kate Riggs

▪ Amazing Animals: Elephants, Kate Riggs

▪ Walk with a Wolf, Janni Howker

▪ Biggest, Strongest, Fastest, Steve Jenkins

▪ A Tower of Giraffes: Animals in Groups, Anna Wright

▪ The Happy Lion, Louise Fatio

▪ Unlovable, Dan Yaccarino

▪ Inch by Inch, Leo Lionni

▪ Amazing Animals: Eagles, Kate Riggs

▪ Grasshopper on the Road, Arnold Lobel

▪ Fireflies!, Julie Brinckloe

▪ Bat Loves the Night, Nicola Davies

▪ Yucky Worms, Vivian French

▪ Chameleons Are Cool, Martin Jenkins

▪ The Beetle Book, Steve Jenkins

▪ Behold the Beautiful Dung Beetle, Cheryl Bardoe

TO CONTINUE A CONVERSATION ABOUT CREATURE FEATURES...

Visit a zoo, farm, or pet shop together. Ask:

▪ What do you notice and wonder about the animals?

▪ What are some of the unique features of this animal?

▪ How does this animal use these unique features?

You could ask these same questions at home about a family pet.

SECOND GRADE STUDENTS WILL...

...READ THE FOLLOWING TEXTS :

Picture Books (Informational)

▪ Journey of a Pioneer, Patricia J. Murphy

▪ Plains Indians, Andrew Santella

▪ The Buffalo Are Back, Jean Craighead George

Picture Books (Literary)

▪ John Henry, Julius Lester

▪ John Henry: An American Legend, Ezra Jack Keats

▪ Johnny Appleseed, Steven Kellogg

▪ The Legend of the Bluebonnet, Tomie dePaola

▪ The Story of Johnny Appleseed, Aliki

Poem

▪ “Buffalo Dusk,” Carl Sandburg

...EXAMINE THE FOLLOWING PAINTING:

▪ Among the Sierra Nevada, California, Albert Bierstadt

...EXPLORE THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

How did the actions of American Indians and early Americans impact the prairie in the American West?

▪ What was life like for Plains Indians in the early American West?

▪ What was life like for pioneers in the early American West?

▪ What life lesson can we learn from the story of Bluebonnet?

▪ What life lesson can we learn from the story of Johnny Appleseed?

▪ How do different authors tell the story of John Henry’s life?

RECOMMENDED TEXTS TO READ AT HOME

Ask: What’s happening? What does a closer look at words and illustrations reveal about this text’s deeper meaning?

▪ Sacajawea: Her True Story, Joyce Milton

▪ Bill Pickett: Rodeo-Ridin’ Cowboy, Andrea Davis Pinkney

▪ Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa, Erica Silverman

▪ Cowboys and Cowgirls: Yippee-Yay!, Gail Gibbons

▪ The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush, Tomie dePaola

▪ Maybelle the Cable Car, Virginia Lee Burton

▪ The Trail of Tears, Joseph Bruchac

▪ Locomotive, Brian Floca

▪ How We Crossed the West: The Adventures of Lewis and Clark, Rosalyn Schanzer

▪ Children of the Wild West, Russell Freedman

TO CONTINUE A CONVERSATION ABOUT THE AMERICAN WEST...

Visit the library together. Ask the librarian to recommend a book on the American West, or select one of the titles in the list above. Take a look at the illustrations with your Grade 2 student and ask:

▪ What do you notice and wonder about this illustration?

▪ Who were the early Americans?

▪ How did they live their lives?

▪ How did they deal with the challenges of a developing nation?

▪ What was life like in the American West?

▪ What is your favorite part about being outside during this season?

THIRD GRADE STUDENTS WILL...

READ THE FOLLOWING TEXTS :

Picture Books (Informational)

▪ Moonshot, Brian Floca

▪ One Giant Leap, Robert Burleigh

▪ Starry Messenger, Peter Sís

Picture (Literary)

▪ Zathura, Chris Van Allsburg

Articles

▪ “Galileo’s Starry Night,” Kelly Terwilliger

▪ “Greek Myths,” American Museum of Natural History

▪ “Apollo 11: The Eagle Has Landed,” Leigh Anderson

Stories

▪ “Pegasus and Perseus,” Anonymous

▪ “Pegasus and Bellerophon,” Anonymous

▪ “Callisto and her Son,” Anonymous

...EXAMINE THE FOLLOWING WORKS OF ART & FILMS:

Art

▪Starfield, Vija Celmins

▪ Space Object Box, Joseph Cornell

Film

▪ “CBS News Moon Landing Coverage with Walter Cronkite (7/20/1969)”

▪ “Moon 101,” National Geographic

...EXPLORE THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

▪How did Galileo learn about space?

▪ How did the astronauts of Apollo 11 learn about space?

▪ How do artists and writers help people learn about space?

BOOKS TO READ AT HOME

Ask: What’s happening? What does a closer look at words and illustrations reveal about this text’s deeper meaning?

▪ Reaching for the Moon, Buzz Aldrin

▪ Moonwalk: The First Trip to the Moon, Judy Donnelly ▪

Footprints on the Moon, Alexandra Siy

▪ Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon, Catherine Thimmesh

▪ Voyager’s Greatest Hits: The Epic Trek to Interstellar Space, Alexandra Siy

▪ The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

▪ The Adventures of Tintin: Explorers on the Moon, Hergé

▪ The Moon over Star, Dianna Hutts Aston

▪ Mr. Cornell’s Dream Boxes, Jeanette Winter

▪ Meteor!, Patricia Polacco

▪ Space, Will Osborne and Mary Pope Osborne

▪ The Moon, Seymour Simon

▪ Boy, Were We Wrong about the Solar System!, Kathleen V. Kudlinski

▪ Find the Constellations, H. A. Rey

▪ Next Time You See the Moon, Emily Morgan

▪ The Stars: A New Way to See Them, H. A. Rey

▪ Planets!, Editors of TIME for Kids

▪ Zoo in the Sky, Jacqueline Mitton

▪ The Planet Gods, Jacqueline Mitton

▪ Once Upon a Starry Night: A Book of Constellations, Jacqueline Mitton

TO CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION ABOUT SPACE...

Go outside after dark together. Look up at the night sky and ask:

▪ What do you notice and wonder about space?

▪ What constellations do you see?

▪ Would you travel to space if you could? Why or why not?

RECOMMENDED TEXTS TO READ AT HOME, ASKING "What do you notice and wonder?":

▪ A Life in the Ocean: The Story of Oceanographer Sylvia Earle, Claire A. Nivola

▪ Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist, Jess Keating

▪ Shark Lady: True Adventures of Eugenie Clark, Ann McGovern

▪ Swimming with Sharks: The Daring Discoveries of Eugenie Clark, Heather Lang

▪ Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau, Jennifer Berne

▪ Mary Cassatt: Extraordinary Impressionist Painter, Barbara Herkert

▪ The Great Wave: A Children’s Book Inspired by Hokusai, Veronique Massenot

▪ Ocean: A Visual Miscellany, Ricardo Henriques and Andre Letria

▪ Tentacles!: Tales of the Giant Squid, Shirley Raye Redmond

▪ National Geographic Readers: Weird Sea Creatures, Laura Marsh

▪ Surprising Sharks: Read and Wonder, Nicola Davies

▪ National Geographic Kids First Big Book of the Ocean, Catherine D. Hughes

▪ Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea, Steve Jenkins

▪ Sharks, Seymour Simon

▪ Seymour Simon’s Extreme Oceans, Seymour Simon

▪ Giant Squid, Candace Fleming

▪ Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea, Janet Halfmann

TO CONTINUE A CONVERSATION ABOUT THE SEA...

Visit the local zoo or aquarium. Ask:

▪ What do you notice about the environment?

▪ What do you wonder about the animals?

FOURTH GRADE STUDENTS WILL...

READ THE FOLLOWING TEXTS :

Novel

▪ Hatchet, Gary Paulsen

Short Story

▪ “All Summer in a Day,” Ray Bradbury

Scientific Account

▪ Mountains, Seymour Simon

▪ SAS Survival Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Surviving Anywhere, John “Lofty” Wiseman

Poems

▪ “Dust of Snow,” Robert Frost

▪ “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” Robert Frost

OUR CLASS WILL EXAMINE THIS ARCHITECTURE

▪ Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright

...EXPLORE THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

▪ How does the setting affect the characters or speakers in the text?

▪ What makes a mountainous environment extreme?

▪ How does setting influence character and plot development?

▪ How does a challenging setting or physical environment change a person?

RECOMMENDED TEXTS TO READ AT HOME

Ask: What's happening? What does a closer look at words and illustrations reveal about this text’s deeper meaning?

▪ Guts: The True Stories Behind Hatchet and the Brian Books, Gary Paulsen

▪ Grand Canyon, Jason Chin

▪ Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95, Phillip Hoose

▪ Hurricanes, Seymour Simon

▪ A Girl Named Disaster, Nancy Farmer

▪ The Sign of the Beaver, Elizabeth George Speare

▪ Navigating Early, Clare Vanderpool

▪ My Side of the Mountain, Jean Craighead George

▪ The River, Gary Paulsen

▪ Island of the Blue Dolphins, Scott O’Dell

▪ Brian’s Return, Gary Paulsen

▪ Brian’s Winter, Gary Paulsen

▪ Brian’s Hunt, Gary Paulsen

▪ The Wild Robot, Peter Brown

▪ Falling Water: The Building of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Masterpiece, Anna Egan Smucker and Marc Harshman

▪ Time of Wonder, Robert McCloskey

TO CONTINUE A CONVERSATION ABOUT EXTREME SETTINGS..

Visit the library or go online at home. Search for some images of extreme environments, such as the Canadian wilderness, Mono Lake, Octopus Springs, Killington (Vermont), Grenada, Southern Belize, or Iceland.

▪ What do you notice and wonder about this region?

▪ What do you think life is like there?

FIFTH GRADE STUDENTS WILL...

READ THE FOLLOWING TEXTS :

Novel

▪ The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster

...EXAMINE THE FOLLOWING WORKS OF ART & VIDEOS:

▪ The Persistence of Memory, Salvador Dalí (Art)

▪ Time Transfixed, René Magritte (Art)

▪ “Who’s on First?” Bud Abbott and Lou Costello (Video)

...EXPLORE THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

▪ How can wordplay create confusion and humor?

▪ How can writers use wordplay to develop a story’s settings and characters?

▪ How can writers use wordplay to develop a story’s plot?

▪ How is The Phantom Tollbooth a story of transformation?

RECOMMENDED TEXTS TO READ AT HOME

Ask: What is happening? What does a closer look at words and illustrations reveal about this text’s deeper meaning?

▪ The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus, Jen Bryant and Melissa Sweet

▪ A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams, Jen Bryant and Melissa Sweet

▪ Noah Webster: Weaver of Words, Pegi Deitz Shea

▪ The Dreamer, Pam Muñoz Ryan and Peter Sís

▪ The BFG, Roald Dahl

▪ Rain Reign, Ann M. Martin

▪ Lemonade and Other Poems Squeezed from a Single Word, Bob Raczka

▪ C B D!, William Steig

TO CONTINUE A CONVERSATION ABOUT LANGUAGE...

Playing with words together is a lot of fun. Try word games like this one at home.

Hink Pink: One person thinks of two rhyming words, such as “fat cat” or “lead bed.” That person shares a clue so his or her partner can guess the rhyming words, such as “a large feline” (fat cat) or “a heavy sleeping place” (lead bed).

A few to get you started:

▪ Soaked animal in the house (wet pet)

▪ Seafood dreams (fish wish)

▪ Playground at night (dark park)