Describe how authors use evidence, then research and write a short report on your own

Learning goal: Describe how an author uses evidence to support key ideas in an informational text, and, with adult support, take part in shared and independent research projects by reading multiple texts on a topic, recording observations and composing short reports using grade-level vocabulary and sentence structure. Along the way, determine the meaning of words and phrases in an informational text using strategies such as context clues, word parts and text features. This lesson teaches Ohio's 2026 English language arts standards for grade 2, first implemented in the 2027-28 school year.

Key words. A key idea is an important point the author wants you to understand. Evidence is the information an author gives to show that a key idea is true. In books for young readers, evidence is usually one of three kinds: examples (real cases, such as a named plant), facts (true statements that can be checked) and observations (what someone saw, counted or measured). An opinion or a feeling is not evidence. "Seeds are amazing" tells you how the author feels; "a dandelion seed has a fluffy top that the wind can carry" is a fact you can check.

Original article — Seeds on the Move

A plant cannot walk. Most plants that grow in the ground stay rooted in one place their whole lives. Yet new plants of the same kind often grow far from the plant that made the seeds. How do the seeds get there? Seeds travel in several ways.

Some seeds ride the wind. A dandelion seed has a fluffy top shaped like a tiny umbrella. When the wind blows, the fluff catches the air and carries the seed away. A maple seed has a thin wing. When it falls, it spins like a helicopter blade, and the spinning slows it down so the wind has time to push it farther from the tree.

Some seeds ride on animals. A burdock seed case is covered with tiny hooks. When a dog or a deer brushes past, the hooks grab its fur, and the seeds are carried until they fall off or are scratched away.

Some animals move seeds in two other ways. Some seeds travel inside animals: birds eat berries, and the seeds inside can pass through the bird's body and drop to the ground somewhere else. Other seeds are carried off and buried: squirrels bury acorns to eat in winter. They do not dig up every one, and a forgotten acorn can sprout into an oak tree.

Some seeds float. A coconut is wrapped in a husk, a thick, air-filled layer on the outside, like a light coat. The husk helps it float in the ocean. It may wash up on a new beach and sprout there.

Wind, animals and water all help seeds travel away from the parent plant.

Word help: sprout — to begin to grow as a new plant. parent plant — the plant that made the seeds.

Original article — What Stuck to Our Socks (an invented class observation, written as an example)

On a dry October afternoon, our class walked across the school's weedy back field. Everyone wore an old sock pulled over one shoe. Back in the classroom, we carefully picked off everything that had stuck to the socks and sorted it on paper plates. We found burs with hooks, flat seeds with tiny barbs and a few seeds with fluffy tops caught in the threads. Some socks had many seeds; the socks of students who walked through the tallest weeds had the most. We put the seeds from three socks in a tray of new, damp potting soil. Beside it we set a second tray of the same soil with nothing added. After two weeks, several small green shoots had come up in the first tray, and the second tray was still bare.

Our observation shows that seeds can travel by hitching a ride on something that brushes past them, even a person's sock.

How each author uses evidence. Look first for the key idea, then list what the author gives to support it. In "Seeds on the Move," the key idea is stated at the start and repeated at the end: seeds travel away from the parent plant by wind, animals and water. The author supports each way with examples: the dandelion and maple for wind, burdock for fur, berries (eaten) and acorns (buried) for animals that move seeds in other ways, the coconut for water. For each example, the author also gives a fact that explains how it works, such as "the fluff catches the air." The examples are organized into paragraphs, one kind of helper per paragraph (wind, animal fur, animals that eat or bury seeds, water), so each paragraph is its own small piece of evidence for the key idea. The animal paragraph names two different ways: a seed that passes through a bird's body is not the same as an acorn a squirrel buries.

In "What Stuck to Our Socks," the key idea comes at the end: seeds can travel by hitching a ride on something that brushes past. The evidence is an observation: what the class did, what they found stuck to the socks, and what happened when they planted the seeds. The planting step matters. Without it, a reader might wonder whether the things on the socks were really seeds. The shoots coming up are evidence that at least some of them were: the class planted only the things they had sorted as seeds, and seeds are what sprout into new plants. The bare second tray matters too: because the same soil with nothing added stayed bare, it makes it unlikely that the shoots came from seeds already hiding in the soil. Evidence like this supports an idea; it does not prove every detail.

A fully worked model: describing how an author uses evidence. Question: How does the author of "Seeds on the Move" support the idea that animals help seeds travel? Step 1, find the key idea: animals carry seeds. Step 2, find the evidence: burdock hooks catch fur; birds eat berries and drop the seeds elsewhere; squirrels bury acorns and forget some. Step 3, name the kind of evidence: examples, each with a fact about how it works. Step 4, say how it supports the idea: "The author gives three animal examples, and each one explains a different way an animal moves a seed, so the reader sees that it happens in more than one way." A description of evidence always has these parts: the idea, the evidence, and how the evidence connects to the idea.

Working out word meanings in an informational text. Informational texts use words a reader may not know yet. Three strategies help, and each can be tried in "Seeds on the Move." Context clues: the article says "A coconut is wrapped in a husk, a thick, air-filled layer on the outside, like a light coat." The words around husk (wrapped, on the outside, like a coat) tell us it is the thick outer covering around the coconut seed. Word parts: in "Most plants that grow in the ground stay rooted in one place," the base word root plus the ending -ed tells us the plant is held in place by its roots. Text features: the Word help box under the article defines sprout ("to begin to grow as a new plant"), so a reader who stops at "a forgotten acorn can sprout into an oak tree" can look down and check. After using any strategy, put the meaning back into the sentence and reread to make sure it fits.

From reading to research. Research means asking a question and finding answers by gathering information and thinking about it. Information can come from texts, from people, or from your own observations and tests. In this project, as the standard asks, you will read more than one text and observe for yourself. A shared project is done by the class together with the adult: the class chooses a question, reads texts together and records notes on one chart. An independent project is one you do yourself, with an adult nearby to help when needed. This lesson does both. First the class does the shared project on how seeds travel, using the two articles above and a teacher-selected library book. Then each student chooses one way seeds travel and does an independent mini-project.

Recording observations. An observation is recorded in words, drawings or numbers, right when you see it, and it says only what you saw. "The maple seed spun three times and landed near my foot" is an observation. "The maple seed wanted to fly far" is not; seeds do not want things. A safe observation for this lesson: drop two real maple seeds from the same height over a table: one whole seed, and one whose wing an adult has snipped off. Record which one falls more slowly and how each one moves. Do this several times, because one drop can be a fluke.

Composing a short report with grade-level vocabulary and sentence structure. A short report has a title, an opening sentence that names the topic, three or four sentences of facts and observations, and a closing sentence. Use the topic's words: seed, parent plant, travel, carry, sprout, observation. Use complete sentences, and vary them: simple sentences ("A maple seed has a wing."), sentences joined with and, but or because ("The seed with no wing dropped straight down, but the whole seed spun."), and a sentence that begins with a time or place phrase ("In our test, ..."). Say where each fact came from: "The article says..." or "In my test, I saw...".

The misconception, and why it is wrong. Many young writers think that copying sentences from a book is research. Copying repeats someone else's words and does not show what you found out or understood; research means asking a question, gathering information (in this project, from more than one text and from your own observation), choosing the facts that answer your question, and writing what you learned in your own words. Another common mistake is to treat "I think it is cool" as evidence. Evidence must be something a reader can check.

Worked example 1 — evidence in the first article. Question: What evidence supports the key idea that wind carries seeds? Evidence: the dandelion's fluffy top catches the air; the maple seed spins, which slows its fall so the wind can push it. Kind: examples with explaining facts. Description: "The author uses two wind examples and explains how each seed's shape helps the wind carry it."

Worked example 2 — evidence in the second article. Question: How does the class know the things on their socks were seeds? Evidence: they planted the seeds from three socks, and after two weeks several green shoots came up. Kind: observation. Description: "The planting observation supports the idea that the things on the socks were seeds: the sorted seeds were planted, shoots came up, and the tray of the same soil with nothing added stayed bare."

Worked example 3 — a short independent report. Question chosen: How does a maple seed travel? Sources: "Seeds on the Move" and the class library book; observation: five drops of a whole maple seed and of a maple seed with its wing snipped off, from the same height. Report: How a Maple Seed Travels. A maple seed can travel away from its tree. The article says it has a thin wing. In my test, the seed with no wing fell straight down every time, but the whole seed spun each time and fell more slowly. Because it falls slowly, the wind has more time to push it. A maple seed's wing helps it travel. Check: title, topic sentence, a fact from a text, an observation, a because sentence and a closing sentence.

Representation task — the evidence chart (shared): With the class, make a chart with three columns: Key idea, Evidence, Kind of evidence (example, fact or observation). Fill one row for each way seeds travel from "Seeds on the Move," one row for "What Stuck to Our Socks" and one row from the library book. Circle any row where the author gives an opinion instead of evidence.

Independent performance — a mini research project: Choose one way seeds travel (wind, fur, animals eating or burying, water). Success criteria: (1) you write your research question; (2) you read at least two texts (one article above plus one library book or adult-selected source) and write two facts in your own words with the source named; (3) you record at least one observation of your own in words, a drawing or numbers (a seed-drop test, a sock walk with an adult, or looking closely at seeds with a hand lens); (4) you write a short report with a title, a topic sentence, facts and an observation, and a closing sentence; (5) you use at least three topic words and at least one sentence joined with because, and or but; (6) you tell one way an author you read used evidence. The adult records any help given with reading or writing.