Oral Language
Teaching Strategy:
Time:
Materials:
Grouping:
Assessment:
Model Inviting Others to Give Opinions (see page 9) Model an invitational stance and friendly tone when asking questions and inviting opinions. one 30-minute lesson or two 15-minute lessons
- Real World Texts Card # 14, and/or digital version to use on the interactive whiteboard partner, whole class, and small groups
Grade Two Oral Language Assessment Scale (see pages 30−31)
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Show students the Frog Life Cycle card and give them time to quietly observe
Let’s take a close look at this diagram. What is it showing us? What are you basing your opinion on?
• what is being shown. Invite them to think about what this card is showing them.
After students have had time to closely analyze the diagram, have them share their thinking in groups of three. Before students break into these small groups, model how they can make sure everyone is given the opportunity to share their opinion.
People like to join in discussions when they feel welcome. When you have finished sharing your idea, you can invite others to talk by saying,
“What did you notice about the diagram?” or “Do you have any ideas you want to piggyback onto mine?”
Demonstrate respectful listening that shows interest in what the speaker has to say and a friendly tone when you are giving your own opinion or inviting others to give their opinion.
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Offer prompts to stimulate discussion:
- What can you tell by looking at this diagram?
- What is the importance of the numbers in this diagram?
- Can you think of any other life cycles you know?
- Are life cycles always circular? What would happen if it was drawn in a straight line?
- What clues did you use to help you analyze this diagram?
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Point to the numbers on the diagram and ask students what each number tells the reader.
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Ask students what would happen if there were no numbers on the diagram.
Could you miss an important part of the life cycle without the numbers? Would you know where the life cycle begins if there were no numbers? Have students turn to a partner and share their thinking.
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Once partners have both had a chance to share their thinking, have a few students share with the larger group. This is a great time to model inviting others to give opinions.
You may conclude the lesson at this point and do the second part the next day, or you may decide to continue and do Connecting and Predicting as part of the first lesson.
Camilla, that was great sharing.
You looked closely at the diagram to form your opinions. Would anyone like to add to what Camilla said or piggyback on her thinking? It is important to share our own thinking but we also learn even more when we listen to the ideas of others.
Tip:
If you decide to do Connecting and Predicting on the second day, begin your lesson by reviewing the diagram with the students.
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Ask students to think about connections they may have had when looking at the diagram. Prompts might include:
- Did this diagram remind you of something?
- What other life cycles are similar to the frog’s life cycle? How are they similar?
- How does a diagram help you visualize the life cycle of a frog?
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Take this opportunity to talk about the types of connections with students.
You could say, “Connections can take many forms. We can have a connection to something we have experienced. For instance, when I was your age, we used to catch tadpoles in the pond by our house. This is a text-to-self connection.
We can also have connections to something we have read. Remember when we were reading that book about the life cycle of a butterfly? I can make a connection from that book to the diagram we are analyzing. This is a text-totext connection. Finally we can make connections to the world. Maybe there was a news report about how the life cycle of the monarch butterfly is being affected by global warming or loss of habitat. This is a text-to-world connection. Now that we know the types of connections we can have, I want you to turn to a partner and share what connections you have. Remember that it is important to share your thinking and invite the opinions of others, too.”
© 2014 Scholastic Canada Ltd. Literacy Place for the Early Years—Grade Two 231

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Have students think about what happens if one part of the life cycle is disturbed.
Possible questions to promote deeper discussions include:
- What effect would that have on the frog?
- How would fewer frogs affect the ecosystem it is a part of?
- What would happen if this were to continue year after year?
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Brainstorm with students possible scenarios that may occur.
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Write the names of the different stages of the life cycle on sticky notes. As a group, discuss the names of the different stages and have a student place each label in the correct stage of the life cycle.
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Use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the life cycle of a frog to the life cycle of another animal such as a butterfly.
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Provide students with pictures of a frog’s life cycle. Have students glue the pictures in the correct order, labelling the different stages.
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Provide students with a collection of frog information from books, magazines, websites, etc. Have students research and write a report about frogs.
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Have students research the number of endangered or extinct frogs in the world.
Ask them to prepare a speech to share about how these frogs have become endangered and ways that we can help these amphibians.
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Take a field trip to an aquarium to further study frogs.
232 Literacy Place for the Early Years—Grade Two © 2014 Scholastic Canada Ltd.