- Second grade scholars to "Read, Write, Roar".

Today, we're gonna focus on the big question, how can small acts show kindness?

Today, we're gonna work with the suffixes -er and -est.

And we're gonna read a book about kindness.

So go ahead, get your paper, pencil, and let's get started.

(playful music) (lion roars) - [Woman] This program is made possible in part by Michigan Department of Education, the State of Michigan, and the Kresge Foundation.

Additional support for educational programming provided by and by viewers like you.

- Hello word builders.

Thanks for coming to learn with me, Mrs. Z-K. Today, we are going to be working with two suffixes.

These suffixes are known as comparing suffixes.

Yes, we use them when we want to compare things.

A suffix is a meaningful word part that we add to the end or to the back of a word.

This makes a new word with a new meaning.

Our two suffixes today are -er and -est.

E-R is going to say -er.

E-S-T is going to say -est.

Can you say those with me?

- er.

- est.

Nice job scholars.

Well, -er is a suffix that we add when we want to say that there is more of something.

We do this when we are only comparing two things.

We compare one against the other.

The suffix -est means most.

We use this when we are comparing more than two things.

So if you're comparing three things, or five things, or a hundred things, right?

A group of things and you want to say something is the most, you will add the suffix -est.

All right, scholars, I have a few words for us to work with today.

They all have one thing in common, a special spelling rule.

Are you excited?

(laughs) This special spelling rule is called the Y rule.

This is when we have to cross off that Y and change it to an I before we can add our suffix.

So this means if our base word, which all of our base words today will, end in a Y, before you can add your suffix, you're gonna have to change the Y to an I, all right?

So we're going to practice that today.

Let's get started.

Our first word is the word tiny.

Tiny ends in a Y.

We are going to have to change that Y to an I and then add -er.

Let's figure out what our new word would be.

We're going to have tinier.

What word?

Tinier.

Nice work scholars.

Well, what if we want to compare more than two things and we wanna add the suffix -est to the word tiny?

Again, we're gonna have to change that Y to an I and then add -est.

Our word?

Let's figure it out.

Will become tiniest.

What word?

Tiniest.

Yeah, that's when you're comparing a group of things, right?

So I found something tiny around me at my house.

Just a little bit.

Look at that, so tiny.

Can you look around you?

Do you see something that's pretty tiny?

Meaning pretty small.

Is your object tinier than mine?

Or is mine tinier than yours?

I wonder who found the tiniest object?

So interesting.

(laughs) All right, scholars, let's keep it going.

Our next base word is the word noisy.

Oh yeah, that's when it can get really loud, right?

Noisy also ends with a Y.

So we're going to have to change that Y to an I before we can add -er.

Let's figure out what our new word would be.

We're going to have the word noisier.

What word?

Noisier.

Yeah, so if you're comparing two things of something that's a little bit noisier than the other thing, you would be able to use that suffix -er.

Yeah, but what if we wanna compare three things.

We wanna know which one is the noisiest.

We have to write, change that Y to an I before you can add the suffix -est.

And let's go through it.

We have noisiest.

What word?

Nice job scholars, noisiest.

I think some sounds are gonna play.

Can you hear them?

(bell rings) (whistle blows) (lion roars) Which one of those sounds was the noisiest?

Yeah, that lion.

He was pretty loud.

(laughs) All right, our next word is silly.

Silly ends in a Y.

You got it.

So that means when we got to add our suffix -er, we're gonna have to cross off that Y, change it to an I and then add -er.

Let's see if we can figure out how to say our new word.

We have sillier.

What word?

Sillier.

Yeap, that word even sounds a little silly.

(laughs) And then what if we want to compare more than two things?

You're right, we would add that suffix -est.

Let's change our Y to an I and add -est.

Let's figure out this word.

We have silliest.

What word?

Silliest.

Have you ever made faces in the mirror before?

Can you make a silly face?

Yeah?

Is it sillier than mine?

(laughs) I wonder who made the silliest face of all?

Did you see how I used silliest?

Because there is more than just two of us.

And our next word is angry.

Angry also ends with a Y.

You got it scholars.

So you know we're gonna have to change that Y to an I before we can add our suffix.

If we want to only compare two things, we're gonna add the suffix -er.

Let's figure out what our new word is.

We're going to have angrier.

What word?

Angrier.

(growls) I feel like I should say that.

(growls) What if we wanna compare more than two things and we want to say something is the most angry of all?

You got it.

We're gonna add the -est.

What do we got to do first?

Change that Y to an I and then add our suffix -est.

I think you're catching on to our pattern here, scholars.

There we go.

Let's go ahead and sound this word out.

We have angriest.

What word?

Angriest.

(growls) Well, can you make an angry face?

Can it be angrier than mine?

Whoa, wipe that off.

Oh, you don't want your face to get stuck like that.

(laughs) Our word is hairy.

Hairy is another base word that ends with Y.

If we want to compare two things.

Yep, we're gonna add that suffix -er.

So let's do that.

What are we gonna do?

Aha.

Change that Y to an I and then add -er.

Let's go ahead and figure that word out.

Hairier.

What word?

Hairier.

You're right.

What if we wanna compare more than two things?

Yes, the suffix -est.

But what do we got to do first?

Change that Y to an I and then we can add -est.

Let's figure out that word.

Hairiest.

What word?

Hairiest.

So I have my friend Bob.

Here he is.

My friend, Bob, is pretty hairy.

Yeah, he's got a nice, hairy beard.

So his brother is not hairy at all.

So that means Bob is hairier than his brother.

You got it.

Yeah, 'cause I'm only comparing two things I use the suffix -er.

But their dad, oh my goodness.

Look at him.

He is the hairiest of them all.

He is the most hairy, right?

And I've compared more than two things.

I'm comparing three of them.

So I use the suffix -est.

So dad is the hairiest.

(laughs) Nice work today, scholars.

Can we go ahead and reread our words?

Well, let's show you how you built upon these words and added suffixes.

Let's read them together.

We got tiny, tinier, tiniest.

Noisy, noisier, noisiest.

(laughs) Silly, sillier, silliest.

(laughs) Angry, angrier, angriest.

You see what I'm doing?

(laughs) Hairy, hairier, hairiest.

Nice work.

All right, scholars.

Well, we're gonna play a little game.

Mrs. Z-K is going to give you some descriptions and I want you to figure out what word I'm talking about.

When you know you're gonna be able to write it down on your paper.

So I'll wait here while you go get your paper and something to write with.

(upbeat music) All right, scholars, so you're ready?

Okay, so I'm gonna give you a little riddle which is going to have descriptions of one of our base words that we worked with today.

When you know what word it is, you're gonna have some time to write on your paper.

Are you ready?

Okay.

Here's the first riddle.

This word is a synonym for small.

Which means it means the same as small.

You could use this word to describe germs.

Which one of our words can mean the same as small and be used to describe germs?

You got it?

Did you write tiny?

Absolutely.

Oh yeah, germs are so tiny you can't even see them with your eyes.

Yes.

(laughs) All right, let's try another one.

This word is an antonym for happy.

This word could describe how you would feel if you dropped your phone in a mud puddle.

Which word would mean the opposite of happy and a feeling that you might get if you drop your phone in a mud puddle?

Write it down.

You got it?

Oh, did you write angry?

Oh yeah, I know I absolutely would be angry if my phone fell in a mud puddle.

Oh yeah.

All right, here's your next one.

This word is an antonym for bald.

Which means it would mean the opposite of bald.

And it could be used to describe a dog.

Which one of our words could be used to describe a dog and mean the opposite of bald?

(laughs) You got it?

Okay, did you write down hairy?

Nice work today, scholars.

Today you read, built, and wrote words.

We worked with the suffix -er, which was a comparing suffix meaning more.

And we use this when we compare two things.

We also worked with the suffix -est, which we learned meant most.

And we know we use this when we wanna compare more than two things.

You also practiced the Y spelling rule.

Yes you did.

And you learned that changing that Y to one I is what you need to do before you can add your suffix.

While you're at home, I wonder if you can find some of these words, with -er and -est.

Maybe you can make your own riddle.

See if someone else can figure out what word you're talking about.

(upbeat music) - Hi, readers and writers, I'm Mrs. Ziegler.

Today, in second grade, we will look at a few parts of the story "Each Kindness" by Jacqueline Woodson.

Talk about how we can show random acts of kindness and write a poem to summarize our learning.

Listen to the end and you'll learn about a fun kindness challenge.

Here we go.

I'm gonna jump to this part of the story right here.

Ms. Albert had brought a big bowl into class and filled it with water.

We all gathered around her desk and watched her drop a small stone into it.

Tiny waves ripple out away from the stone.

"This is what kindness does," Ms. Albert said, "each little thing "we do goes out, like a ripple, into the world."

Then Ms. Albert, let us each drop the stone in as we told her what kind things we had done.

Joseph had held the door for his grandmother.

Kendra helped change her baby brother's diaper.

Even mean old Andrew had done something.

"I carried teacher's books up the stairs," he said.

And Ms. Albert said it was true.

I stood there, holding Ms. Albert's rock in my hand, silent.

"Even small things count," Ms. Albert said gently.

I couldn't think of anything and passed the stone on.

Maybe you can relate to her.

Sometimes it can be hard to show kindness, right?

Here's what Ms. Albert says, "Each kindness makes "the whole world a little better."

So even though it can be hard sometimes to show kindness, even the little things make a difference.

You never know how your smile or your words will affect someone.

Each kindness matters.

That's the lesson of this story.

Now that we have listened to part of that story and reviewed the message of kindness and how our actions matter and ripple out, it's time to do some writing.

I'll wait for you while you get something to write with like a pencil, or a marker and something to write on like a piece of paper or a notebook.

(playful music) (lion roars) Today, we're going to write a poem about how we can show kindness.

We're going to organize our thoughts into an acrostic poem.

An acrostic poem is a poem of words or phrases that describe a topic word.

The topic word is written vertically, up and down.

And each line of the poem starts with the letters of the topic word.

Our topic is going to be kindness or simply how to be kind.

Let's start by writing the word kind like this.

We'll start with K on the first line, I on the second line, N on the third line, and D on the fourth line.

You have that set?

Great.

Now we need to brainstorm some ideas of how to show kindness or be kind.

Let's start with the letter K. K, what is a word that starts with K?

Kids.

Here we go.

K is for kids.

Write along with me.

Kids.

What can kids do to be kind?

Can you think of an action word?

I know, they can share.

Kids sharing.

I'm gonna change it to sharing.

Kids sharing.

Now, what is something that kids have to share?

And sometimes it can be hard, but it's really kind to do.

That's it.

Toys.

Kids sharing toys.

Toys.

There's our first line.

Our second letter is I.

Let's think of a word for I. I got it.

Including.

Including.

Including others.

Write along with me.

Others.

Including others.

When is it important to include others?

I bet you can think of a lot of times.

How about when we play?

Including others when we play.

Great job with that second line.

Our next letter is N. What can you think of for N?

So far we have two action words.

I see kids sharing.

Sharing is an action word.

Has the -ing.

And we have including.

That's another action word.

I wonder if you could think of an action word for N that shows how to be kind.

(upbeat music) Welcome back.

What did you come up with?

Here's what I wrote.

N is for noticing when someone is sad.

Great job.

And now we're on our last letter of our poem, the letter D. I'm gonna give you some time to write your own ideas while I write my own.

(playful music) (lion roars) What did you come up with?

Here's what I wrote.

I thought of another action word, doing.

D is for doing nice things for others.

There are so many ways to be kind.

I bet you came up with some great ways on your own.

Now, let's take a look and reread the poem we created together.

Are you ready?

From the top.

Here we go.

Kind.

K is for kids sharing toys.

I is for including others when we play.

N is for noticing when someone is sad.

And D is doing nice things for others.

Great job.

I bet your poems were wonderful and describe different ways to spread kindness.

You did a fabulous job writing an acrostic poem that summarizes your learning of how to show kindness.

Now, I have a challenge for you that I think would be a fun way to spread some kindness and cheer.

It's pretty simple.

And maybe you've heard of it.

It's called kindness rocks.

Here's how it works.

First, you need to find a rock, any rock, any size, any shape, but something that maybe you could write on.

And you're going to decorate it and write a message that will spread some joy and kindness.

Here's some examples.

This one says, you're a star.

This one says, sparkle on.

Here are two more examples of some kindness rocks.

Very simple, not as colorful.

Love and smile.

Then take your kindness rocks and go out into your community or your school and hide it somewhere for someone else to find.

You are sure to brighten their day.

You did a great job reviewing the message of our story "Each Kindness".

And writing a poem to summarize your learning.

Remember that we can all show kindness and that each kindness, no matter how small, makes a difference and makes the world a better place.

Thank you so much for being with us today and join us again on the next "Read, Write, Roar".

(upbeat music) - [Woman] This program is made possible in part by Michigan Department of Education, the State of Michigan and the Kresge Foundation.

Additional support for educational programming provided by and by viewers like you.

(upbeat music)