Second Grade Mentor Texts and Poems
Used to Teach Thinking Strategies and/or Common Core
Title and Author
Grade Level: 2nd grade
Thinking Strategy
Common Core
Chrysanthemum
Metacognition (only)
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible…
Metacognition
Sequencing Events
Thundercake
Metacognition, Schema
Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse
Metacognition, Schema
(only)
Metacognition, Schema
Articles from Primary Toolkit (Ladybugs,
Spiders, Helen Keller)
Wemberly Worried
Metacognition
Sequencing Events, Text
Connections (only)
Character Traits, Plot, Setting,
Text Connections
Character Traits, Plot, Compare
and Contrast (with Lily’s Purple)
Text Features
Schema
Text Connections
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible
Schema
Text Connections
Owen
Schema
Oliver Button is a Sissy
Schema (only)
Text Connections, Compare and
Contrast with “Julius, Baby..”
Text Connections
Mrs. Millie Picks a Pumpkin
Schema
Sequence of Events, Plot
“Spiders” article from Primary Toolkit
Metacognition
Text Features
“Dozen Dragons” poem
Visualizing
Poetry Elements
Marty and the Mango
Questioning
Plot
“Totem Poles, Family Stories” article
Questioning
Text Features
“Pow!Wow!Wow!”
Questioning
Text Features
Julius, Baby of the World
Legend of the Indian Paintbrush
Questioning
Poetry Writing, Plot, Character
Traits
“Somewhere Over the Rainbow”
Visualizing
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Metacognition
Rhyming Words
The Mitten
Sequencing of events, Unknown
vocabulary
Grandfather Twilight
Metacognition,
Questioning
Questioning
Biggest, Fastest, Strongest
Questioning
Text features
Meeting the Supercroc
Questioning
Text Features
Stellaluna
Inferring
Plot, Character Traits
“Things” poem from Primary Toolkit
Inferring
“The Day of the Dead” article
Inferring
Shoes From Grandpa
Inferring
Click, Clack, Moo!
Inferring
Three Little Pigs
Inferring
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
Inferring
Cinderella
Inferring, Questioning
Bigfoot Ella
Inferring, Questioning
Cinderhazel
Inferring, Questioning
Text Features
Plot, Cause and Effect, Letter
writing
Character Traits, Plot
Character Traits, Point of View,
Compare and Contrast (with
original version)
Fairy tales, point of view, plot,
characters and setting
Fairy tales, point of view, plot,
characters and setting
Fairy tales, point of view, plot,
characters and setting, compare
and contrast
Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters
Inferring, Questioning
The Lorax
Inferring, Questioning
Horton Hears a Who
Inferring
Fairy tales, point of view, plot,
characters and setting, compare
and contrast
Cause and Effect, Character
Traits
Character Traits, Plot, Setting
Horton Hatches the Egg
Inferring
Character Traits, Plot, Setting
Stinky Cheese Man
Inferring
Fractured Fairy tales
Superstorms
Inferring
Text Features
“Wolves” article
Determining Importance
Text Features, Main Idea
“My Puppy is Born” article
Determining Importance
Text Features, Main Idea
Dig, Wait, Listen
Determining Importance
The Great Kapok Tree
Frog and Toad are Friends
Determining Importance
(only)
Schema
Text Features, Sequence of
Events
Sequence of Events, Main Idea
The Polar Express
Questioning
The Bubble Factory
Visualizing
Night in the Country
Visualizing
A Bad Case of the Stripes
Schema, Visualizing
Sequence of Events
Charlie the Caterpillar
Inferring
Mr. Putter and Tabby
Schema
Plot, Characters, Character
Changes over time
Text Connections
The Relatives Came
Schema
I wanna Iguana
Schema
Text Connections
Sequence of Events
Text Connections, Details in
writing
Text Connections, Letter Writing