Grade 2 Read-Aloud

Cycles in Nature: Supplemental Guide 193

Dear Family Member,

During the next several days, your child will learn about different types of cycles that

occur in nature. Your child will be introduced to the reasons why the Earth has seasons

and to the different seasonal changes that affect the life cycles of plants and trees. Below

are some suggestions for activities that you may do at home to reinforce what your child

is learning about cycles in nature.

1. Watch Seeds Sprout

Your child will learn that the life cycle of a plant is from seed to seed. When a plant

begins to grow or sprout from a seed, it is called germination. Watch seeds germinate

using the activity page included with this letter. [Note: Consider using sunfl ower seeds,

pumpkin seeds, lima beans, or pinto beans.] In the boxes at the bottom of the activity

sheet, have your child draw or write what is happening to the seeds.

2. Seasonal Activities

In a few days your child will learn why Earth has different seasons. Ask your child to

explain why there are different seasons. (Earth has different seasons because of its tilt

and orbit around the sun.) Talk to your child about the differences between the seasons

(e.g., what the weather is like, what they wear, holidays your family celebrates). Talk about

things your family likes to do during the different seasons.

3. “Bed in Summer” by Robert Louis Stevenson

You child will hear this poem by a famous American poet, Robert Louis Stevenson.

Read this poem with your child, and discuss how the poet feels about going to bed

during the summer. You may also have your child point out the rhyming words in this

poem.

In winter I get up at night

And dress by yellow candle-light.

In summer, quite the other way,

I have to go to bed by day.

I have to go to bed and see

The birds still hopping on the tree,

Or hear the grown-up people’s feet

Still going past me in the street.

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