Allen Say Grade 2 Lesson Plan: Write About It

Grade Levels: 2

In this lesson plan, second graders use BrainPOP Jr. resources to learn about author Allen Say. They explore making connections between themselves and a text. Then they apply their understanding by writing about how they would feel moving to a country where they did not speak the language.

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

Students will:

  1. Build background knowledge: Watch the Allen Say movie.
  2. Think and Do: Write about how they would feel moving to a new country. 
  3. Complete an Assessment: Take the Allen Say Quiz to show what they learned.

Materials:

  • Internet access for BrainPOP Jr.
  • Offline Option: Printout of Write About It 
  • Offline Option: Printout of Quiz

Preparation:

  • Preview the movie Allen Say to plan for any adaptations 
  • Read Allen Say Background Information
  • Assign Write About It (optional)
  • Assign Quiz (optional)

    • Lesson Procedure:

    1. Tap students’ prior knowledge. Prompt them to imagine moving to a new country. Ask: How might you feel? What challenges might you face? 
    2. Watch the Allen Say movie. Click the pause button each time a question appears in Annie’s Notebook and invite students to answer it. Then play to see how Annie answers it.  TIP: The pause button turns red to remind you to pause.   Offline Option: Print out the transcript and Annie’s Notebook for a grown-up to read aloud at home. Suggest that the child play Moby and “Beep” in response to Annie.
    3. Instruct students to open their Write About It assignment. Or, if you are not using the Assignment Builder, show how to open Write About It.  
    4. Hover over the prompt to hear it read aloud: Imagine you are moving to a new country where you don’t speak the language. What would you do? How would you feel?  Direct students to click the Start arrow. When they finish, remind them to click the Submit To Teacher button and/or print out their picture. Offline Option: Students complete their Write About It offline.
    5. Have students open their Quiz assignment. Or, if you are not using the Assignment Builder, show how to open the Quiz. You can choose the Easy or Hard Quiz.
    6. To hear the questions and answer read aloud, show students how to hover over the words. If you assigned the quiz, you will see students’ results in your Dashboard. If not assigned, remind students to click the Submit to Teacher button. Offline Option: Read aloud each question and answer options, repeating as needed.
    Filed as:  Allen Say, BrainPOP Jr., CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.2.2, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.2.4, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.2.2, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.2.5, Lesson Ideas, Lesson Plan, 2