Grades 2–3 Text Exemplars
The following text samples primarily serve to exemplify the level of complexity and quality that the Standards require all students in a given grade band to engage with. Additionally, they are suggestive of the breadth of texts that students should encounter in the text types required by the Standards.
Stories
Gannett, Ruth Stiles. My Father’s Dragon. .................................................................37
Averill, Esther. The Fire Cat ..............................................................................................37
Steig, William. Amos & Boris. ..........................................................................................38
Shulevitz, Uri. The Treasure..............................................................................................38
Cameron, Ann. The Stories Julian Tells .......................................................................38
MacLachlan, Patricia. Sarah, Plain and Tall ................................................................38
Rylant, Cynthia. Henry and Mudge: The First Book of Their Adventures .......39
Stevens, Janet. Tops and Bottoms ................................................................................40
LaMarche, Jim. The Raft ....................................................................................................40
Rylant, Cynthia. Poppleton in Winter...........................................................................40
Rylant, Cynthia. The Lighthouse Family: The Storm ...............................................41
Osborne, Mary Pope. The One-Eyed Giant
(Book One of Tales from the Odyssey) ..................................................................41
Silverman, Erica. Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa .................................................................42
Poetry ...............................................................................................................................43
Dickinson, Emily. “Autumn.” .............................................................................................43
Rossetti, Christina. “Who Has Seen the Wind?” ......................................................43
Millay, Edna St. Vincent. “Afternoon on a Hill.” .........................................................43
Frost, Robert. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” ................................44
Field, Rachel. “Something Told the Wild Geese.” ....................................................44
Hughes, Langston. “Grandpa’s Stories.” .....................................................................44
Jarrell, Randall. “A Bat Is Born.” .....................................................................................44
Giovanni, Nikki. “Knoxville, Tennessee.” ......................................................................44
Merriam, Eve. “Weather.” ..................................................................................................45
Soto, Gary. “Eating While Reading.” ............................................................................45
Informational Texts
Aliki. A Medieval Feast .......................................................................................................53
Gibbons, Gail. From Seed to Plant ................................................................................54
Milton, Joyce. Bats: Creatures of the Night ...............................................................54
Beeler, Selby. Throw Your Tooth on the Roof:
Tooth Traditions Around the World ........................................................................54
Leonard, Heather. Art Around the World ...................................................................55
Ruffin, Frances E. Martin Luther King and the March on Washington ............55
St. George, Judith. So You Want to Be President? .................................................55
Einspruch, Andrew. Crittercam ......................................................................................55
Kudlinski, Kathleen V. Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs ..........................56
Davies, Nicola. Bat Loves the Night ..............................................................................56
Floca, Brian. Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 .......................................................56
Thomson, Sarah L. Where Do Polar Bears Live? ......................................................57
Read-Aloud Stories
Kipling, Rudyard. “How the Camel Got His Hump.” ...............................................46
Thurber, James. The Thirteen Clocks ...........................................................................46
White, E. B. Charlotte’s Web ...........................................................................................47
Selden, George. The Cricket in Times Square ...........................................................47
Babbitt, Natalie. The Search for Delicious .................................................................48
Curtis, Christopher Paul. Bud, Not Buddy ..................................................................48
Say, Allen. The Sign Painter .............................................................................................49
Read-Aloud Poetry
Lear, Edward. “The Jumblies.” ........................................................................................49
Browning, Robert. The Pied Piper of Hamelin ...........................................................51
Johnson, Georgia Douglas. “Your World.” .................................................................52
Eliot, T. S. “The Song of the Jellicles.” .........................................................................52
Fleischman, Paul. “Fireflies.” ............................................................................................52
Read-Aloud Informational Texts
Freedman, Russell. Lincoln: A Photobiography .......................................................57
Coles, Robert. The Story of Ruby Bridges .................................................................58
Wick, Walter. A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder ......................58
Smith, David J. If the World Were a Village:
A Book about the World’s People ...........................................................................59
Aliki. Ah, Music! ....................................................................................................................59
Mark, Jan. The Museum Book:
A Guide to Strange and Wonderful Collections ................................................59
D’Aluisio, Faith. What the World Eats ..........................................................................60
Arnosky, Jim. Wild Tracks! A Guide to Nature’s Footprints .................................60
Deedy, Carmen Agra. 14 Cows for America ...............................................................60