Second Grade Curriculum
Language Arts:
Reading, writing, listening, speaking, spelling and handwriting are all important components of language arts. Skills and strategies in each area are modeled, taught and practiced, taking into account the unique needs of each learner. Knowledge and skills are acquired through connected experiences between home, school and community. Students read from a variety of texts, including fiction (short stories and whole books), poetry and nonfiction (textbooks, newspapers and magazines). Students read, are read to, and write daily.
Reading:
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Main ideas and supporting details
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Main events or ideas in sequence
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New word pronunciation
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Reading aloud fluently with appropriate expression
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Appropriate techniques for learning new vocabulary
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Character traits, plot and setting
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Distinguishing between fact and opinion
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Using phonic (sounds), syntactic (language) and semantic (meaning) strategies to understand text
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Making predictions and connections
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Asking thoughtful questions
Writing:
An important component of your child's literacy is the writing workshop. During this time students learn and practice the skills of the writing process including planning, drafting, revising, editing and publishing.
The writing workshop portion of our day usually begins with a mini lesson focusing on a particular aspect of the writing process such as choosing a topic to write about or how to revise while writing. Students then have the opportunity to incorporate the information from the mini lesson into their writing.
While students are writing the teacher confers with individuals about their work. These conferences allow a teacher to best meet the instructional needs of each child and help them become a more proficient writer.
The writing workshop concludes with a reflective sharing session. During this time children talk about what they have learned and written.
Word Study:
The goals for the Word Study Curriculum are:
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Learn spelling strategies - Your child will learn spelling strategies that will assist him/her when he/she is trying to spell unfamiliar words. Sounding out a word is only one of several strategies. Other strategies that will be taught are making connections to other words and using a known word to spell an unknown word.
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Learn how to memorize words - Your child will learn how to memorize words that are used in everyday writing from a list of "High Frequency Words." We will support your child in determining which of these words will require additional practice.
Speaking and Listening:
Mathematics:
- Number Sense
- Place Value
- Geometry
- Time
- Money
- Graphing and Data
- Measurement
- Basic Algebra
- Double Digit Addition and Subtraction
Science:
The science curriculum provides opportunities for students to learn science concepts through hands-on activities. Students learn to observe, compare, collect data, organize and analyze information, and communicate what they have learned. The investigations focus on physical and life science concepts. The topics being studied this year are Plants, Weather and Forces and Motion.
Social Studies:
Second graders at Diamond Path study classroom and school communities and have a unit of study on the Anishinaabe people of Minnesota. Mapping skills are incorporated in multiple units of study throughout the year.
Health/Guidance:
Guidance, which is integrated into other curriculum areas, helps establish goals, expectations, support systems and experience for all students. It is designed to enhance student learning by helping students acquire and use lifelong learning skills in three broad areas of development: academic, career and personal/social. The curriculum employs developmentally appropriate strategies to enhance academics, encourage self-awareness, foster interpersonal communication skills and convey life success skills for all students.
Second Graders also spend time learning about bus safety and fire safety.
