Did you know that reindeer have four stomachs?
Did you know reindeer change colors–blue in the winter and yellow in summer?
Did you know some reindeer have a red nose but it's very rare?
Did you know when reindeer are born they can run 47 mph?
These are just some of the fun facts about reindeer Anne Byrne’s second graders have learned in their research for their non-fiction writing unit.
“We wrote a non-fiction book about reindeer,” said Jacob Hindin. “It's harder in second grade because we work independently and write everything on our own. We even have to spell on our own. For example, I didn’t know how to spell the word ‘special’ so I looked it up in the dictionary.”
“We used fact sheets to do our research,” said Elizabeth Caceres. “I started out my chapter on habitats with a question, “Have you ever been to the Arctic Circle?”
“Did you know that reindeer have two coats of fur to keep them warm and their hooves are shaped like a shovel to help them find food?” asked Pela Navals.
In second grade, students are expected to focus on identifying and writing basic facts about a topic, using simple sentence structure, incorporating text features like headings and labels, and organizing information in a logical sequence, while also ensuring proper capitalization and punctuation. Students in Anne Byrne’s class have exceeded expectations.
“My favorite part of writing a book is to teach our readers,” said Jake Zhang, “like, did you know reindeer are herbivores? They eat blueberries in the summer.”
“I can’t wait to read my book to my mom. She doesn’t know about reindeer,” said Scarlett Orellana Rayes.
“I am happy with the way my book came out,” said Reed Radonski,” I had no idea that a reindeer could swim in the water and run when they are only two hours old!”
