Lower School
Second Grade Curriculum

LANGUAGE ARTS

The second grade language arts curriculum continues to focus on developing independent readers.

Readers’ Workshop

Each student progresses at his/her own rate while reading a variety of genres, authors and independent book choices. Daily multi-structure instruction continues to be given in order to address all reading levels. Students continue to do daily work in leveled based small-guided reading groups. Daily independent reading time in school is increased to a minimum of 20 minutes, while the teacher confers individually with students. Children are encouraged to read for a half-hour every evening at home. Full class lessons continue to support the development of basic reading strategies, while placing an emphasis on developing strong comprehension skills. Through the use of high quality literature, such as C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the teacher models and the children practice comprehension skills, such as making book to self-connections and identifying author styles. This makes such a classic story not just joyful and memorable, but an educational experience that lays the foundation of strong, sophisticated comprehension skills that will develop throughout Lower School.

Reading Goals:

• Acquire an enlarged bank of words, which are recognized when encountered in different contexts, e.g. in a book or chart and become adept at decoding multi-syllabic words out of context.
  
• Read aloud from familiar stories and poems with fluency and appropriate expression.
  
• Read silently with sustained concentration.
  
• Listen attentively to stories and discuss setting, story line, characters and other significant details.
  
• Begin to deduce and infer meaning from text.
  
• Begin to make appropriate use of resources and reference books from the classroom and the school library.
  
• Explore a variety of literary genres including mysteries, biographies, realistic fiction, non-fiction and various author studies.
  

Speaking and Listening Goals:

• Relate real or imaginary events in a connected narrative that conveys meaning.
  
• Ask relevant questions.
  
• Respond to questions and comment critically on discussion topics.
  
• Listen attentively, with an increased attention span, to both children and adults.
  
• Take into account audience and purpose when speaking.
  
• Sustain a conversation with a variety of audiences, e.g. teachers, peers, parents.
  

Writers’ Workshop

The writing program stresses creative expression through short compositions, memoirs, research projects and poetry. Spelling, punctuation and handwriting are learned and applied in the revision and editing process.

Writing Goals (including handwriting and spelling):

• Write sentences independently, using capitals, periods and correct end marks.
  
• Write complex stories that demonstrate sequential order, increase in detail, and a clear ending.
  
• Begin to revise and edit writing with the help of teachers and other children.
  
• Begin to use a range of forms including letters, narratives, recounts and poetry.
  
• Produce consistent, clear and legible manuscript handwriting.
  
• Begin to make use of common spelling patterns in order to spell simple, polysyllabic words.
  

MATHEMATICS

Learning Objectives: Second Grade Mathematics

By the end of second grade, we expect students to develop and apply concepts in the following areas:

Number and Operation Sense

• Reading and writing numbers and number words to 20
• Comparing and ordering numbers using the concepts before, after, and between
  
• Comparing numbers to 20 using the symbols < and >
  
• Learning sums to 12 using related facts and other strategies
  
• Finding sums of three numbers by grouping addends
  
• Relating addition and subtraction
  
• Subtracting from numbers to 12 using related facts and other strategies
  
• Writing addition and subtraction fact families
  
• Counting on and using the order property to find missing addends
  
• Solving problems by using guess and test
  
• Solving problems by choosing the operation
  

Place Value to 100

• Identifying each place and value in numbers to 99
• Relating 10s and 1s to 2-digit numbers
  
• Reading and writing numbers and number words through 99
  
• Writing the expanded form of 2-digit numbers
  
• Comparing 2-digit numbers and numbers 10 more or 10 less
  
• Ordering numbers to 100
  
• Identifying and describing even and odd number patterns
  
• Counting by 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, and 10s
  
• Making and interpreting pictographs and bar graphs
  
• Learning ordinal numbers to 31st
  
• Rounding numbers to the nearest 10 on a number line
  
• Identifying and extending number patterns
  
• Solving problems by drawing a picture
  
• Solving problems by using a graph
  

Addition and Subtraction: Facts to 18

• Learning sums of 13, 14, 15, and 16 using related facts and other strategies
• Learning to subtract from 13, 14, 15, and 16 using related facts and other strategies
  
• Finding sums of three numbers by grouping addends
  
• Relating addition and subtraction to find addition and subtraction facts to 18
  
• Finding patterns in addition by making a table
  
• Checking subtraction by adding
  
• Adding three or four numbers using various strategies
  
• Exploring and applying the four meanings of subtraction
  
• Counting up on a number line to subtract
  
• Counting on to find missing addends
  
• Using patterns to complete addition and subtraction facts
  
• Mastering knowledge of fact families through 18
  
• Solving problems by eliminating extra information
  
• Solving problems by writing a number sentence
  

Money and Time

• Recognizing the value of coins and a dollar bill
• Counting on by pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters
  
• Finding the value of groups of coins and bills
  
• Equalizing groups of coins
  
• Comparing money amounts by trading
  
• Counting up to make change
  
• Identifying the place value of money amounts
  
• Identifying activities that take about 1 minute, 1 hour, or 1 day
  
• Telling time to the hour, half hour, quarter hour, and five-minute intervals, using analog and digital clocks
  
• Finding elapsed time
  
• Reading and making a calendar
  
• Solving problems by using logical reasoning
  
• Solving problems by using a model
  

Addition of Two-Digit Numbers

• Adding 2-digit numbers without regrouping
• Using mental math strategies to add
  
• Adding tens and ones, regrouping ones
  
• Using the order property to check addition
  
• Adding money amounts less than one dollar with regrouping
  
• Adding up to three 2-digit numbers with regrouping
  
• Choosing mental math or pencil and paper to add
  
• Solving problems by finding hidden information
  
• Solving problems by asking a question
  

Subtraction of Two-Digit Numbers

• Subtracting 2-digit numbers without regrouping
• Using mental math strategies to subtract
  
• Subtracting tens and ones, with regrouping
  
• Subtracting money amounts less than a dollar with regrouping
  
• Using addition to check subtraction
  
• Choosing mental math or pencil and paper to subtract
  
• Computing a series of operations in order from left to right
  
• Rounding to estimate sums and differences of 2-digit numbers
  
• Practicing addition and subtraction with and without regrouping
  
• Solving problems using two steps
  
• Solving problems using a model
  

Geometry, Fractions, and Probability

• Identifying space figures
• Sorting space figures by their attributes
  
• Identifying faces, corners, and edges of space figures
  
• Tracing flat surfaces of space figures to make plane figures
  
• Classifying plane figures by straight and curved sides
  
• Identifying the number of sides and corners of closed figures
  
• Identifying congruent figures
  
• Identifying lines of symmetry
  
• Identifying slides and flips
  
• Separating a plane figure, naming the result, and determining congruence
  
• Recognizing the meaning of 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, 1/6, 1/7, 1/8, 1/9, 1/10 of a whole
  
• Using pictures to estimate the fractional part of a whole
  
• Identifying and writing a fraction for more than one part of a whole (non-unit fractions)
  
• Identifying fractional parts of a set
  
• Predicting outcomes based on probability
  
• Investigating certain and impossible outcomes
  
• Investigating more likely and least likely events
  
• Solving problems by finding patterns
  
• Solving problems by drawing a picture
  

Measurement

• Estimating and measuring length in inches
• Measuring length in half inches
  
• Estimating and measuring length in feet and yards
  
• Choosing foot or yard as the better unit for an estimate
  
• Exploring equivalencies of cups, pints, and quarts as unit for measuring capacity
  
• Choosing cup or quart as the better unit for an estimate
  
• Exploring equivalencies of quarts and gallons as units for measuring capacity
  
• Estimating and measuring weight in pounds
  
• Estimating and measuring length in centimeters, decimeters, and meters
  
• Exploring equivalencies among centimeters, decimeters, and meters
  
• Choosing centimeters, meters, or decimeters as the better unit for an estimate
  
• Adding inches or centimeters to find the perimeter of a figure
  
• Using square units to estimate and measure area
  
• Using kilograms for measuring mass
  
• Choosing grams or kilograms as the better unit for an estimate
  
• Using liters for measuring liquid capacity and choosing the better estimate
  
• Reading a thermometer in degrees Fahrenheit
  
• Choosing the appropriate temperature in degrees Fahrenheit for given activities
  
• Choosing the appropriate unit of measurement or measuring tool
  
• Finding relationships between area and perimeter
  
• Solving problems by using a map
  
• Solving problems by finding missing information
  

Place Value and Addition to 1000

• Reading and writing numbers and number words through 99
• Recognizing the place value of numbers to 999
  
• Writing the expanded form of 3-digit numbers
  
• Counting on by 1s, 10s, and 100s
  
• Adding 3-digit numbers with regrouping
  
• Using mental math strategies to add
  
• Adding 3-digit numbers, regrouping ones
  
• Adding 3-digit numbers, regrouping tens
  
• Adding 3-digit numbers, regrouping twice
  
• Adding 3-digit dollar amounts without regrouping
  
• Adding 3-digit dollar amounts, regrouping pennies as dimes or dimes as dollars
  
• Adding 3-digit dollar amounts, regrouping pennies and dimes
  
• Solving problems by making an organized list
  
• Solving problems using a graph
  

Multiplication and Division

• Developing an understanding of the meaning of multiplication
• Multiplying groups of 2, 3, 4, and 5
  
• Using the order property to learn related multiplication facts
  
• Separating groups of 2, 3, 4, and 5
  
• Exploring the division concept of separating with leftovers
  
• Exploring the division concept of sharing with leftovers
  
• Exploring related multiplication and division facts
  
• Solving problems by making a table
  
• Solving problems by writing a number sentence
  

Place Value and Subtraction to 1000

• Comparing and ordering numbers to 1000
• Subtracting 3-digit numbers without regrouping
  
• Using a mental math strategy to subtract
  
• Subtracting 3-digit numbers, regrouping the tens
  
• Subtracting 3-digit numbers, regrouping the hundreds
  
• Subtracting 3-digit dollar amounts, regrouping dollars as dimes or dimes as pennies
  
• Estimating by rounding to the nearest hundred or dollar to find sums or differences
  
• Solving problems using logical reasoning
  
• Solving problems using information from a table
  

Moving on in Math

• Telling if a given value solves a number sentence
• Using guess and test to find the value of a symbol in a number sentence
  
• Equalizing both sides of a number sentence
  
• Using order of operations to find the value of expressions
  
• Extending place value to 9999
  
• Reading and writing 4-digit numbers
  
• Adding 4-digit without regrouping
  
• Subtracting 4-digit numbers without regrouping
  
• Solving problems by using guess and test
  
• Solving problems by using logical reasoning (mathematical analogies)
  

SOCIAL STUDIES

World History Study
China

Content Understandings

Students Will:

•    Read historical Chinese narratives, myths, legends, biographies, and autobiographies to learn about how historical figures live, their motivations, hopes, fears, strengths, and weaknesses.
•    Be exposed to social and economic characteristics such as customs, traditions, family structure, jobs, education, gender roles, foods, and religious and spiritual beliefs that distinguish the Chinese culture.
•    Focus on Chinese accomplishments and contributions.
•    Be exposed to simple timelines that display important events in the countries history.
•    Understand the countries calendar year including seasonal changes.
•    Gather and present important events about the nature of the culture.
•    Investigate roles and contributions of key individuals and groups that helped shape the country.
•    View the country through exposure to are, writing, music dance, and artifacts.
•    Study the physical makeup of the country including wildlife and habitats.
•    Identify the country on a map.
•    Draw a simple map of the country.
•    Study and sample Chinese foods and traditional recipes.
•    Capture the essence of the country.
•    Compare and contrast China and America.


World History Museum

Throughout the year the second grade class will be collecting and creating artifacts, writings, pictures, etc. to build a museum of China.  The museum will have a permanent place in the classroom and will act as a continuous point of reference throughout the school year.  The museum should also contain reference materials that allow the students access to information and pictures of the country that they can access on their own time.

World History Books

Students will be constructing a world history book throughout the year-long project.  The books should contain writings, pictures, maps, etc. encompassing all they have learned throughout their country study.  The books should be bound and highly presentable.

SANSKRIT

The study of Sanskrit in the Second Grade continues with a review of the entire alphabet to assure greater familiarity and a reading level of recognition of the individual letters.  When the alphabet is secure, the course moves on to deal with the application of vowels sounds to the consonants.  In addition, the difference between long and short vowels is learned both orally and in writing.  A greater emphasis is placed on beautiful writing.