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PlayOwl

English · Grade 2

Characters, Plot and Central Message

Through two original stories, Ruby's Bridge and the fable Beaver and Otter, children describe how characters respond to challenges, see how a story's beginning sets up the action and its ending wraps it up, work out the central message or moral, and notice that different characters see events differently, reading each character's lines in a different voice.

  • 4 lessons
  • About 90 minutes
  • Story elements check: 7 questions
  • Ways to answer: choose an answer, highlight a text, match pairs, sort into groups and write a short answer
See plans Included with Family, Teacher and School plans. Open in PlayOwl

What learners will discover

  • Describe how characters respond to major events and challenges, using details from the story.
  • Explain how the beginning of a story introduces the characters and problem and how the ending concludes the action.
  • Recount a story, including a fable, and determine its central message, lesson or moral.
  • Recognise that characters can have different points of view, and read their dialogue in different voices.

Lessons

  1. How characters respond 4 steps2 practiceabout 22 min
  2. Beginning and ending 4 steps2 practiceabout 20 min
  3. Fables and morals 4 steps2 practiceabout 24 min
  4. Different points of view 5 steps3 practiceabout 22 min
  5. Story elements check 7 questions at the end

Keep exploring

Games to practice with

  • Memory LanternsFlip glowing lanterns to find pairs that belong together.
  • Word WorkshopBuild the word for each picture, one sound at a time.
  • Sentence TheatreYour words direct the show: change a word and the stage changes too.

More 2nd grade reading

Guides for grown-ups