Reading stories: details, morals, and how characters respond (grade 2) · lesson

Who, what, where, and why

💡 Good readers find the details that answer who, what, where, when, why, and how.

The setting is where it happens. The problem is what goes wrong.

Go back to the words to check each answer.

🧠 How to think about it

What problem do the goats have? The bridge fits only one goat. That is the problem.

🏡 Try it at home

After a story, ask who, what, where, and why. Look back to check.

💡 A fable is a short story that teaches a lesson, called a moral.

The goats could fight and both fall. Or they could work together.

Working together worked. That is the moral.

🧠 How to think about it

Ask: what did the characters do that worked? What would have gone wrong?

🏡 Try it at home

Tell a time you worked together with someone. What was the lesson?

💡 Characters show who they are by how they handle a problem.

The goats looked down at the river and stopped.

Then one lay down so the other could step over.

🧠 How to think about it

Find the problem. Then find what the character does next. That is the response.

🏡 Try it at home

Talk about a problem from your day. How did you respond?

💡 Pictures show which part of the story you are in.

Name each thing in the picture.

Then find the part of the story that has all of them.

🧠 How to think about it

The picture has a mitten and four animals. That is when the animals are inside.

🏡 Try it at home

Pick a picture in a storybook. Tell what part of the story it shows.

💡 The same tale can be told in two ways with different endings.

In both tellings, a boy drops a mitten and animals crawl in.

In one, an ant bursts it. In the other, a bear sneezes.

🧠 How to think about it

Check each event in the first telling. Then check it in the second. Same or not?

🏡 Try it at home

Tell a fairy tale you know. Then change the ending together.