National Standards Alignment — Grade 2
This page shows how the unit Bring the Zoo to You: Habitats, Adaptations, & Our World addresses national standards across Reading, Writing, Speaking & Listening, Language, Science, and Social Studies. Standards are drawn from the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for ELA/Literacy, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and the C3 Framework (NCSS) for Social Studies. Each row names the lessons where the standard is taught. R&W = Reading & Writing; Sci = Science; SS = Social Studies.
What this unit covers, and what it doesn’t
Bring the Zoo to You teaches reading comprehension, writing, grammar, science, and social studies through one theme. It does not include phonics or math. Keep teaching your school’s phonics program and math curriculum every day alongside this unit.
Reading: Literature
ELA · CCSS Reading Standards for Literature · Grade 2
| Standard Code | Standard Language (Grade 2) | How This Unit Addresses the Standard |
|---|---|---|
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.1 | Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. | Students answer discussion questions about key details during each The Wild Robot read-aloud, three times a week (R&W Overview and the Pacing and Discussion Guide). |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.3 | Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges. | Roz’s responses to storms, winter, and the forest animals anchor the The Wild Robot discussions every week (R&W Overview) and connect to the adaptation each week’s science explores. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.10 | By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories and poetry, in the grades 2-3 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. | Partners read a new reader’s-theater Partner Fluency Script each week, and the class follows a grade 2–3 novel, The Wild Robot, across all six weeks (R&W Overview). |
Reading: Informational Text
ELA · CCSS Reading Standards for Informational Text · Grade 2
| Standard Code | Standard Language (Grade 2) | How This Unit Addresses the Standard |
|---|---|---|
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.1 | Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. | Students jot questions with question words in their Research Notebooks (R&W Week 2), run a question focus on animal features (Sci-L3), and answer where, why, and how questions from the readings in SS-L2–L4. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.2 | Identify the main topic of a multiparagraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text. | Students find the main idea of articles and of each section (R&W Week 3), find the facts that support it (R&W Week 4), and name the main idea of the hibernation video (Sci-L7). |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.3 | Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text. | Students put the steps of bear hibernation and a sea turtle’s journey in order (R&W Week 5), and trace how energy moves through a prairie food chain and food web (Sci-L11) and how wolves changed Yellowstone (Sci-L9). |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.4 | Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area. | Students jot bold words with their meanings (R&W Week 2) and add science and geography words to the We Speak Like Experts board throughout the unit. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.5 | Know and use various text features (e.g., captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently. | Students use the table of contents, index, and glossary (R&W Week 1), titles, subtitles, and headings (R&W Week 3), and the table of contents in Bears (Sci-L7). |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.6 | Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe. | Students learn that nonfiction authors write to teach (R&W Week 1) and decide what each type of nonfiction teaches in Authors Teach Their Audience (If You Have Time). Their own articles are written to teach zoo visitors. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.7 | Explain how specific images (e.g., a diagram showing how a machine works) contribute to and clarify a text. | Students explain how diagrams, photographs, maps, and graphs help them learn (R&W Week 1), use the walrus diagram to define blubber (Sci-L5), and explain what maps and photos add to the readings in SS-L1–L4. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.8 | Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text. | Students find the facts that prove the main idea of Anteaters (R&W Week 4, Mini Lesson B) and three supporting facts in each Teacher Table article (Booklet 2). |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.9 | Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic. | Optional lesson only. Students compare what two texts teach about rhinos in Learn From More Than One Source (If You Have Time, R&W Overview). Students research their own animal in at least two books, but no required lesson has them compare the two. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.10 | By the end of year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, in the grades 2-3 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. | Students read leveled science articles and nonfiction books at the Teacher Table with support (Booklets 1 and 2), and read animal nonfiction independently at Read & Research every day (R&W Overview). |
Reading: Foundational Skills
ELA · CCSS Reading Foundational Standards · Grade 2
| Standard Code | Standard Language (Grade 2) | How This Unit Addresses the Standard |
|---|---|---|
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.4.A | Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding. | At Read & Research, students read with a purpose: to answer their research questions and fill their Research Notebooks (R&W Overview). |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.4.B | Read grade-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings. | Partners reread a new Partner Fluency Script four times with expression at the Finish It & Fluency station every week, using the routine taught on Launch Day (R&W Overview, R&W Week 1). |
Writing
ELA · CCSS Writing Standards · Grade 2
| Standard Code | Standard Language (Grade 2) | How This Unit Addresses the Standard |
|---|---|---|
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.2 | Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section. | Students write a topic sentence and supporting facts (R&W Week 5), then add a concluding sentence and publish their animal article, which stands beside their diorama in the class zoo (R&W Week 6). |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.5 | With guidance and support from adults and peers, focus on a topic and strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing. | At the Teacher Table, students revise with transition words, added details, precise adjectives, and compound sentences (R&W Week 6). |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.6 | With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers. | Optional extension only. In the Zookeeper Green-Screen Video extension, students turn their published articles into short videos filmed “inside” their dioramas (Sci-L12). |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.7 | Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., read a number of books on a single topic to produce a report; record science observations). | Students research one animal in several books and websites (R&W Weeks 2–4), turn their notes into a paragraph (R&W Week 5), and record observations on science record sheets (Sci-L4–L6). |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.8 | Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question. | Students gather facts on sticky notes in their Research Notebooks (R&W Week 2) and answer “Where does my animal live, and what is its habitat like?” (R&W Week 4, SS-L5). |
Speaking & Listening
ELA · CCSS Speaking and Listening Standards · Grade 2
| Standard Code | Standard Language (Grade 2) | How This Unit Addresses the Standard |
|---|---|---|
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.1 | Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups. | Partner and class discussion runs through nearly every lesson: solving pet problems (Sci-L1), sharing questions about animal features (Sci-L3), comparing results (Sci-L4, L6, L9, L11), building on predictions (SS-L1–L3), checking each other’s biome choices (SS-L5), and planning maps in teams (SS-L4, L6). |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.2 | Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media. | Students describe key details from the mimicry slideshow and videos (Sci-L8) and the decomposers video (Sci-L10). |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.3 | Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to clarify comprehension, gather additional information, or deepen understanding of a topic or issue. | Partners ask and answer questions about each other’s animals in the Zookeeper Talk Rehearsal (Zoo Week), and visitors question the zookeepers about their animals at the class zoo. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.4 | Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audibly in coherent sentences. | Students read their published articles aloud at the Author Celebration (R&W Week 6) and explain their animal’s adaptations to visitors as zookeepers after practicing in the Zookeeper Talk Rehearsal (Zoo Week). |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.5 | Create audio recordings of stories or poems; add drawings or other visual displays to stories or recounts of experiences when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings. | Students add a drawn text feature to their articles (R&W Week 6), build a diorama to display with them (Sci-L12), and, as an optional extension, record zookeeper videos with a green screen. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.6 | Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification. | Students answer booklet questions in complete sentences at the Teacher Table (R&W Overview) and practice full-sentence answers to visitor questions, such as “That’s a great question. I learned that…” (Zookeeper Talk Rehearsal). |
Language
ELA · CCSS Language Standards · Grade 2
| Standard Code | Standard Language (Grade 2) | How This Unit Addresses the Standard |
|---|---|---|
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.1.A | Use collective nouns (e.g., group). | Optional lesson only. Students learn animal group names, such as a dazzle of zebras and a pod of dolphins, in Herds, Pods, and Tricky Plurals (If You Have Time, R&W Overview). |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.1.B | Form and use frequently occurring irregular plural nouns (e.g., feet, children, teeth, mice, fish). | Optional lesson only. Students practice animal plurals like mice, teeth, feet, geese, and fish in Herds, Pods, and Tricky Plurals (If You Have Time, R&W Overview). |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.1.E | Use adjectives and adverbs, and choose between them depending on what is to be modified. | Students brainstorm adjectives at the Teacher Table (R&W Week 4) and revise with precise adjectives (R&W Week 6). |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.1.F | Produce, expand, and rearrange complete simple and compound sentences (e.g., The boy watched the movie; The little boy watched the movie; The action movie was watched by the little boy). | Students expand kernel sentences and write compound sentences at the Teacher Table (R&W Weeks 1–3) and combine related facts into compound sentences in their drafts (R&W Week 5). |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.4.A | Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase. | Moon group only. Moon teams use context clues to figure out bold words in their Teacher Table articles (R&W Week 4). |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.4.D | Use knowledge of the meaning of individual words to predict the meaning of compound words (e.g., birdhouse, lighthouse, housefly; bookshelf, notebook, bookmark). | Optional lesson only. Students split animal words like anteater, rattlesnake, and rainforest to predict their meanings in Animal Compound Words (If You Have Time, R&W Overview). |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.4.E | Use glossaries and beginning dictionaries, both print and digital, to determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases. | Students use glossaries to find word meanings (R&W Weeks 1–2) and check starfish and jellyfish in a glossary or dictionary (If You Have Time). |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.5.B | Distinguish shades of meaning among closely related verbs (e.g., toss, throw, hurl) and closely related adjectives (e.g., thin, slender, skinny, scrawny). | Students replace plain adjectives with more precise ones, such as big, huge, and enormous, on the Week 6 slides and in their own articles (R&W Week 6). |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.6 | Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using adjectives and adverbs to describe (e.g., When other kids are happy that makes me happy). | Students use We Speak Like Experts words, like habitat, adaptation, and ecosystem, in their articles and zookeeper explanations (R&W Overview). |
Science
NGSS · Life Science, Earth Science, and Engineering Design
| Standard Code | Standard Language | How This Unit Addresses the Standard |
|---|---|---|
| NGSS · 2-LS4-1 | Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats. | The unit’s anchor standard. Students compare what habitats provide (Sci-L2), test adaptations with beaks, blubber, and camouflage (Sci-L3–L6), explore hibernation and mimicry (Sci-L7–L8), study ecosystems and food webs (Sci-L9–L11), and design a habitat diorama (Sci-L12). |
| NGSS · 2-ESS2-2 | Develop a model to represent the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water in an area. | Students name landforms and bodies of water on the class world map (SS-L2), then show the land, water, and landforms of their animal’s home in a diorama (Sci-L12). |
| NGSS · 2-ESS2-3 | Obtain information to identify where water is found on Earth and that it can be solid or liquid. | Students find oceans, rivers, lakes, and polar ice on the class world map and sort them as liquid or frozen on the Where Is the Water? chart (SS-L2). |
| NGSS · K-LS1-1 (foundation) | Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive. | Students sort pet supplies to find the pattern that every animal needs food, water, and shelter (Sci-L1). This kindergarten standard is the foundation for the unit. |
| NGSS · K-ESS3-1 (foundation) | Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants or animals (including humans) and the places they live. | Students build a hibernation den (Sci-L7) and a habitat diorama (Sci-L12) as models of how a place meets an animal’s needs. |
| NGSS · K-2-ETS1-1 | Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool. | Students define the problem of elk crossing a new road and plan a wildlife crossing (SS-L4), and define what a hibernating hedgehog needs before building its den (Sci-L7). |
| NGSS · K-2-ETS1-2 | Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem. | Students sketch and build a model habitat that meets their animal’s needs (Sci-L12). |
| NGSS · K-2-ETS1-3 | Analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs. | Students compare how well three gloves keep out the cold, first by feel and then with a thermometer (Sci-L5), and compare how each tool “beak” performs at seven food stations (Sci-L4). |
Social Studies: Civics
C3 Framework · Dimension 2 (Civics) · K–2 Indicators
| Standard Code | Standard Language | How This Unit Addresses the Standard |
|---|---|---|
| C3.D2.Civ.9.K-2 | Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions while responding attentively to others when addressing ideas and making decisions as a group. | Students discuss how to group exhibits, listen to classmates, and vote on the zoo layout (SS-L6). |
| C3.D2.Civ.10.K-2 | Compare their own point of view with others’ perspectives. | Partners compare road plans for Willow Creek and weigh what people and elk each need (SS-L4). |
| C3.D2.Civ.11.K-2 | Explain how people can work together to make decisions in the classroom. | Teams plan their sections of the visitor map, test it with pretend visitors, and approve it together (SS-L6). |
Social Studies: Geography
C3 Framework · Dimension 2 (Geography) · K–2 Indicators
| Standard Code | Standard Language | How This Unit Addresses the Standard |
|---|---|---|
| C3.D2.Geo.1.K-2 | Construct maps, graphs, and other representations of familiar places. | Students design, test, and approve a visitor map of the class zoo (SS-L6). |
| C3.D2.Geo.2.K-2 | Use maps, graphs, photographs, and other representations to describe places and the relationships and interactions that shape them. | The class world map is used in every lesson: predicting where animals live (SS-L1–L2), comparing seasonal photos (SS-L3), reading the Willow Creek planning map (SS-L4), placing each student’s animal by biome (SS-L5), and grouping exhibits (SS-L6). |
| C3.D2.Geo.3.K-2 | Use maps, globes, and other simple geographic models to identify cultural and environmental characteristics of places. | Students use the world map and climate and landform clues to identify where the snow leopard, puffin, and toucan live (SS-L2), and match their own animal to its biome (SS-L5). |
| C3.D2.Geo.4.K-2 | Explain how weather, climate, and other environmental characteristics affect people’s lives in a place or region. | Students explain how snow and the seasons affect travel and work in Denali (SS-L3). |
| C3.D2.Geo.5.K-2 | Describe how human activities affect the cultural and environmental characteristics of places or regions. | Students explain how a new road and a wildlife crossing change Willow Creek for people and for migrating elk (SS-L4). |
| C3.D2.Geo.6.K-2 | Identify some cultural and environmental characteristics of specific places. | Students describe the climate, landforms, plants, and animals of Denali (SS-L3) and of their own animal’s biome (SS-L5). |
Social Studies: Inquiry and Taking Action
C3 Framework · Dimensions 1, 3, and 4 · K–2 Indicators
| Standard Code | Standard Language | How This Unit Addresses the Standard |
|---|---|---|
| C3.D1.1.K-2 | Explain why the compelling question is important to the student. | When the driving question poster goes up, students share why the question matters to them (Sci-L2). |
| C3.D1.4.K-2 | Make connections between supporting questions and compelling questions. | At the Week 3 check-in, students connect what they have learned to the driving question and fill in the Where I Am With Our Big Question mid-unit reflection (R&W Week 3). |
| C3.D1.5.K-2 | Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions. | Students choose books, articles, and websites that will help answer “Where does my animal live, and what is its habitat like?” (R&W Week 4). |
| C3.D3.1.K-2 | Gather relevant information from one or two sources while using the origin and structure to guide the selection. | Students use text features to find facts about their animal in two or more sources and record them in their Research Notebooks (R&W Weeks 2–4). |
| C3.D4.2.K-2 | Construct explanations using correct sequence and relevant information. | Students explain how their animal is adapted to its habitat in their articles and zookeeper talks (R&W Week 6, Zookeeper Talk Rehearsal). |
| C3.D4.5.K-2 | Ask and answer questions about explanations. | Partners give their zookeeper talks explaining how their animal is adapted to its habitat, and the visitor asks a question that the zookeeper answers (Zookeeper Talk Rehearsal). |
| C3.D4.6.K-2 | Identify and explain a range of local, regional, and global problems, and some ways in which people are trying to address these problems. | Students learn how wildlife crossings keep migrating animals safe (SS-L4) and how bringing wolves back helped Yellowstone (Sci-L9). |
| C3.D4.8.K-2 | Use listening, consensus-building, and voting procedures to decide on and take action in their classrooms. | Students listen to each other’s ideas and vote on how to group the exhibits in the class zoo (SS-L6). |
Grade Adaptability
Bring the Zoo to You is designed with flexible entry points that let teachers adjust depth, pacing, and expectations while staying aligned to grade-level standards. The leveled Teacher Table booklets (Heart, Star, and Moon) already build in three levels of support. Below is a grade-band overview of how the unit meets expectations from Grades 1–4.
Grade 1 · Building Foundations — Read animal books aloud and share-read the articles. Students draw and label their notes, write one topic sentence and two facts, and focus on naming an animal’s needs and one adaptation. Use the Heart booklets and the world map to name continents and oceans.
Grade 2 · Deepening Understanding — Teach the unit as written: independent nonfiction research, a complete paragraph with a topic sentence, supporting facts, transitions, and a conclusion, and explanations of both physical and behavioral adaptations.
Grade 3 · Expanding Analysis and Explanation — Students research in more sources, write two or more paragraphs, compare how different animals adapt to the same habitat, and explain cause and effect in food webs and in the Yellowstone story. Use the Moon booklets and add a second text feature to each article.
Grade 4 · Applying and Synthesizing — Students write a multi-paragraph report with a works-cited list, connect adaptations to how animals’ bodies are built to survive, and justify the zoo map with evidence about habitat, climate, and human impact. Encourage original diagrams, and present the green-screen zookeeper video extension to every student.