September 2012
Dear 2nd Grade Parents,
We are beginning our first unit of inquiry for the year, How We Express Ourselves. The central idea for this unit is illustrators use pictures to convey meaning. During the next four weeks, your child will inquire about artwork in children’s literature, connections between story and illustrations, and illustration techniques and the qualities of writing they suggest.
The students will also learn about some elements of art: line, color, shape, space, value, and texture. We will spend time looking at work by Mondrian, Van Gogh, and Matisse as well as books illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats, Kevin Henkes, Patricia Pollacco, and others. We’ll use Caldecott winners and wordless books to act as mentor texts, too. By the end of the unit, your child will have written, illustrated, and published a multi-page personal narrative.
While reading storybooks with your child at home, you can support their learning by asking questions similar to those written below:
How do the illustrations and the words work together to show meaning? Is there anything happening in the illustrations that isn’t happening in the words? Do illustrations ever stand alone, without words? If so, how do they show meaning? What do you know or feel from looking at the pictures alone?
During this unit, we will focus on the concepts of form, connection, and reflection. Students will be using their thinking and communication skills as they strive to be creative with their own illustrations as well as become more appreciative and enthusiastic about storybooks and the meaning conveyed through their pictures.
Thank you for your consistent help and support!
Sincerely,
2nd Grade Teachers