Lessons & Units :: Voice 2nd Grade Unit

Lesson 2: Author’s Voice in a Passage

Lesson Plan

Learning Goal
Compare and contrast the author’s voice in two texts using the title and textual evidence.
Duration
Approximately 50 minutes
Necessary Materials
Provided: Direct Teaching Poem, “My Friend, the Snake;” Direct Teaching Poem, “The Scary Snake;” Guided Practice Paragraph, “The Concert;” and Guided Practice Paragraph, "My Moment" Independent Practice Worksheet
Not Provided: N/A

  • Teacher Modeling

    will review how you can identify the author’s voice in a text by paying attention to the words he/she chooses to use to describe or explain a topic. I will reread the poem “My Friend, the Snake” from Lesson 1. I will explain that I know the author likes snakes because he/she uses words such as “beautiful,” “shimmer,” “shine,” and “pretty.” I will read another poem about snakes entitled “The Scary Snake.” I will model comparing the voices of the two poems. I know that the voice of “The Scary Snake” is very different because the author uses words like “scary,” “scaly,” and “scared”. I will explain that the words authors choose, determine the voice of the text.

  • Think Check

    Ask: How did I compare and contrast the author's voice in the two poems? Students should respond that you read the two poems and paid close attention to words that showed how the author felt about the topic. You then compared the author's voice in the two poems.

  • Guided Practice

    will read the two passages “The Concert” and “My Moment” (provided in Books and Passages) and compare and contrast voice in the two texts. We will discuss that the two authors both write about singing in a concert, but by looking carefully at their word choices, we can see that the experiences are very different for the two authors. Voice is very different in the two texts.

  • Independent Practice

    will read two passages, “Swimming” and “Swimming Lessons” (provided in Books and Passages) and identify how the authors feel about swimming. You will compare and contrast the authors’ voices in the two passages. (Student Independent Practice is provided in Teacher and Student Materials below.)

Build Student Vocabulary beamed

Tier 2 Word: beamed
Contextualize the word as it is used in the story “My face beamed with excitement.”
Explain the meaning student-friendly definition) Beaming means smiling with joy. The narrator in the story described his face as beaming with excitement, which means that his smile was full of joy and excitement.
Students repeat the word Say the word beamed with me: beamed.
Teacher gives examples of the word in other contexts I beamed when I found out that I was accepted to college. My husband beamed when we found out that we were going to have a baby.
Students provide examples When have you or someone you know beamed? Why were you (or someone you know) beaming? Start by saying, “I beamed when _____________________.”
Students repeat the word again. What word are we talking about? beamed
Additional Vocabulary Words calmly, flowing

Build Student Background Knowledge

After reading the second snake poem, explain that both snake poems mention that snakes have scales. Have your students imagine moving their whole bodies over rocky and hot terrain. It would hurt! Explain to your class that scales are important to snakes, because they protect them as they move over rough or hot surfaces like tree bark, rocks, and hot, desert sand.

Texts & Materials

Standards Alignment

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