Syllabus

Reading Grade 2 and 3

Mykal Hawkins

2025-2026 school year

Course Description Grade 2:

In 2nd Grade Reading, students will build on foundational literacy skills to become more fluent, independent, and expressive readers. Using a mix of literary and informational texts, students will learn to use text evidence to support their ideas, make inferences, and understand the deeper messages within stories. The curriculum will focus on improving reading comprehension, expanding vocabulary, and applying phonics and word analysis strategies to decode more complex words. Students will engage in independent reading, shared reading, and book clubs to build stamina and develop a lifelong love of reading.

Grade 3: 

This course focuses on transitioning students from "learning to read" to "reading to learn" by developing comprehension skills in both fiction and nonfiction texts. Key skills include identifying main ideas and supporting details, understanding character and plot, using context clues for vocabulary, and distinguishing between literal and nonliteral language. Students will also engage with different text features and learn to make inferences and cite evidence from the text

Contact information:

Mhawkins@brookelandisd.net

Best way to contact: email or Remind.

To establish Remind connection, please email me.

Course Overview Grade 2

• Phonics and word recognition: Strengthening decoding skills with letter-sound relationships, blending sounds, and learning common prefixes, suffixes, and irregularly spelled words. 
• Reading comprehension: Understanding and analyzing texts by identifying the main idea, key details, characters, and plot, and answering questions like "who, what, where, when, why, and how". 
• Fluency: Reading aloud with accuracy, appropriate speed, and expression. 
• Vocabulary: Expanding word knowledge and using context clues to understand new words. 
• Text features: Learning to use features in nonfiction texts, such as captions, bold print, and glossaries, to find information. 
• Genre and text structure: Understanding different types of texts, such as poems, stories, and informational articles, and how they are structured. 
• Comparison and synthesis: Comparing multiple texts on the same topic and drawing information from different sources

Course Overview Grade 3

Transition:

The course bridges the gap from "learning to read" to "reading to learn" by focusing on comprehension of more complex texts. 

Reading to Learn

Students build knowledge through informational and narrative nonfiction texts, learning to find the main idea and supporting details. 

Reading for Pleasure

Students are encouraged to read a wide range of literature for both information and enjoyment. 

Key Topics

Comprehension and Analysis:

• Summarizing fiction and nonfiction 
• Identifying the main idea, supporting details, and key events 
• Analyzing plot, setting, and characters in fiction 
• Making inferences and drawing conclusions from the text 
• Differentiating between fiction and nonfiction genres 

Vocabulary and Language

• Determining the meaning of unknown words using context clues, dictionaries, and glossaries 
• Understanding and using figurative language, such as similes 
• Understanding the impact of prefixes, suffixes, and other word parts 

Fluency and Decoding

• Reading with expression and accuracy 
• Using advanced decoding strategies for multisyllabic words 

Critical Thinking

• Identifying the theme or central message of a story or text 
• Using textual evidence to support ideas 
• Comparing and contrasting different texts 

Classroom Expectations and Policies

• Be kind and respectful.
• Listen when others are speaking.
• Try your best.
• Raise your hand to speak.

Behavior Policy

Students will be issued behavior “marks” on their behavior calendar for any infractions. They will receive consequences for these marks, like walking for a certain amount of time during recess, missing recess, or silent lunch.

If a student receives 3 marks in one day, or 5 in one week, they will be assigned after school detention. If behavior issues persist, they will be sent to the principal and may be assigned more serious consequences.

Absences and Late Work

Students have three days after an absence to make up the work that they missed. After this time, they may be given a grade of 0 for that assignment. It is the student’s responsibility to take care of any make up work on returning from an absence.

Grading Policy

daily work: 40%

tests: 60%

If a student makes below a passing grade (70) on an assignment, they are allowed to correct this assignment up to 70%. They have three days to do so, after which the original grade will be kept.

Required Materials

• pencils
• highlighter
• binder
• backpack
• plastic folder
• school-supplied text book