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2nd grade · English Language Arts · Unit 11 of 12

Asking Questions and Finding Facts

Ask good questions, choose texts and learn topic words.

What your child practices

Using what you know, asking basic questions, choosing texts and facts for a purpose, and using topic words.

Alaska content standards learning standard: W.2.8; RI.2.1 · asking questions and choosing a text that answers them

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Start with a question, like “What do owls eat?”
  2. Choose a text about your topic, like an information book.
  3. Topic words belong together: planet and star go with space.

Example: Your question is “What do owls eat?” Which fact is most useful? “Owls eat mice.” or “Owls have feathers.” Your question is about food. Only one fact tells what owls eat. Answer: Owls eat mice.

Asking Questions and Finding Facts in Alaska

In the Alaska content standards, this is unit 11 of 12 in 2nd grade English Language Arts, after Text Features and before Media Detectives.

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: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development

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

    A glossary in a book tells you…

    • where to buy it
    • who wrote the book
    • what special words mean

  2. Question 2

    Which words belong with the topic “space”?

    • desk and chair
    • spoon and fork
    • planet and star

  3. Question 3

    Who might know a lot about the history of your community?

    • a stranger on a boat
    • a stuffed toy
    • an Elder or a long-time neighbor

  4. Question 4

    You see a word in bold in a nonfiction book. What might it mean?

    • it is an important word
    • it is a name
    • it is a mistake

  5. Question 5

    What is a topic word for a text about plants?

    • wheels
    • pillow
    • roots

  6. Question 6

    After reading, you can share a new word you learned by…

    • hiding it
    • crossing it out
    • using it in a sentence

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