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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.

Arizona Academic Standards learning standard: 2.W.8; 2.RI.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 Arizona

In the Arizona Academic 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: Arizona Department of Education

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

    You want to learn about snowshoe hares. Which text should you pick?

    • a cookbook
    • a book about northern animals
    • a book about cars

  2. Question 2

    Your question is “What do owls eat?” Which fact is most useful?

    • Owls sleep in the day.
    • Owls eat mice and insects.
    • Owls are brown.

  3. Question 3

    Which word belongs with the topic “water”?

    • engine
    • stream
    • button

  4. Question 4

    Which fact does NOT help answer “Where do frogs live?”

    • Frogs live near ponds.
    • Frogs have wide mouths.
    • Frogs live in wet places.

  5. Question 5

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

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

  6. Question 6

    Which question starts with “how” and helps you learn about seeds?

    • How do seeds grow into plants?
    • Seeds.
    • Green seeds are here.

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