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2nd grade · English Language Arts · Unit 12 of 12

Media Detectives

Purposes, parts and who made it

What your child practices

Children compare ads, signs, posters, books and videos, tell what each one is for, notice the choices their makers made, and pick good sources for a research question.

Alabama Course of Study content standard: 2.31; 2.46; 2.R4 · gathering information to answer questions and naming what a text or message is for

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Every message has a purpose: to sell, to teach, to tell news or to entertain.
  2. Videos use pictures, words and music to show feelings.
  3. People can feel differently about the same message, and that's okay.

Example: How are a toy ad and a book about bears different? The ad wants you to buy the toy. The book teaches you about bears. Answer: the ad wants to sell; the book teaches

Media Detectives in Alabama

In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 12 of 12 in 2nd grade English Language Arts, after Asking Questions and Finding Facts.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Where can you find answers about your town's history?

    • the town library
    • a cartoon
    • a cereal box
    • a toy store ad

  2. Question 2

    Ana reads two books about whales. Why is that smart?

    • one book is enough
    • to skip reading
    • she can check facts in both
    • she likes heavy bags

  3. Question 3

    Who chooses the music in a cartoon?

    • the characters
    • the viewers
    • the TV
    • the people who make the cartoon

  4. Question 4

    An ad for juice shows kids playing soccer. Why?

    • to show a map
    • so you link the juice with fun
    • to tell the time
    • to teach soccer rules

  5. Question 5

    You want to learn how bees make honey. Which source is best?

    • a science book about bees
    • a honey ad
    • a jar label
    • a cartoon bee song

  6. Question 6

    Which question helps you research?

    • Is my shirt blue?
    • Do I like pandas?
    • Pandas are cute.
    • What do pandas eat in the wild?

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