|
CLASSROOMS/K-5 CURRICULUM
GRADE 2 - MRS. SHEDIAC
Link
to Mrs. Shediac's Google Website
Konnichiwa! After traveling throughout the world for most of the school
year, the Second Graders have arrived safely in Japan! Through many handson
projects and activities, the students will be learning about the geography
and culture of this
country, including some of the special holidays celebrated in Japan. The
children will learn about the home and school lives of their peers in
Japan and therefore, how children on the other side of the world are both
similar and different from
themselves. By the time you read this article, all Second Grade students
will have taken a trip to the Children’s Museum to visit the Japan
House and to participate in a Japanese art project called suminigashi,
the ancient art of Japanese paper marbling. Make sure you ask your child
about this experience.
In early May Painted Lady caterpillars arrived in the Second Grade classrooms.
In addition to reviewing what live animals need in order to survive, the
students are learning the phases that these creatures will pass through
before they develop into butterflies. Through close and careful observation,
the children will learn the body parts of the caterpillars and hopefully
have the chance to see them molt at least once before they form a chrysalis.
By the end of the month, we hope to see
many beautiful Painted Lady butterflies emerge!
In math, the Second Graders are beginning the final topic of the year-
data collection and graphing. As a culminating activity, the children
will develop a survey question for their classmates and after collecting
the data, they will be required to show the information in at least two
different graphs. The three types of graphs we will focus on are bar graphs,
pictographs and line plot graphs. Of course, the end of the year also
brings much review in the math curriculum. Please continue to play math
games with your child to reinforce the basic facts, and find “real-life”
situations in which to apply mathematical concepts and procedures.
The Second Graders are now expected to use their “voice”
when writing a narrative story. This month they will practice this in
addition to applying all the other skills which allow them to create their
best writing: developing just one topic, adding important details, incorporating
interesting vocabulary and including proper conventions, such as capital
letters, punctuation and proper spelling.
Please spend time practicing the Second Grade trick words/word wall words
at home so that your child will be ready for next year.
In our study of Japan, the students will learn about the tradition of
the “kamishibai man,” who traveled from village to village
on a bicycle equipped with a stage on which he told classic stories using
picture scrolls. In reading groups and through read-aloud, we will expose
the students to a wide variety of classic Japanese children’s stories.
By the end of the year, each class will have the chance to create
stories in the “kamishibai” form, either as a whole class
or individually. We are looking forward to a busy month!
see website above
SPECIALIST SCHEDULE:
Monday - Art
Tuesday - Gym (Sneakers required)
Wednesday - Music
Thursday - Gym (Sneakers required)
Friday - Library
Curriculum Outline
MATHEMATICS
TERC Investigations in Number, Space and Data investigations.terc.edu/
exposes students to mathematical concepts through a problem solving approach
and the extensive use of manipulatives. Supplemental materials are used
to teach concepts not covered in TERC. Math will be taught in a 60 minute
block each day. Friday math centers will be used to reinforce and review
skills year round.
The concepts will be taught in units – not necessarily in this
order:
Mathematical Thinking at Grade Two:
(Introduction)
Coins, Coupons and Combinations:
(The Number System)
Does it Walk, Crawl or Swim?
(Sorting, Classifying Data)
Shapes, Halves and Symmetry:
(Geometry and Fractions)
Putting Together and Taking Apart:
(Addition and Subtraction)
How Long? How Far?
(Measurement)
How Many Pockets? How many Teeth?
(Representing Data)
Timeline and Rhythm Patterns:
(Representing time)
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
English Language Arts is broken down into three areas – Writing,
Reading, and Handwriting. These are integrated throughout all curriculum
areas.
Writing
Writing encompasses all areas of the curriculum throughout day. We integrate
best teaching practices from a variety of programs to provide children
with the tools and techniques to become skilled and creative writers.
Phonics, spelling, punctuation and capitalization are practiced in every
piece of writing.
Lucy Calkins Model for Writing Workshop
This model incorporates a ten minute mini-lesson of direct explicit instruction
followed by 40 minutes of focused writing time 2-3 times per week.
The Six Traits of Writing
This program works in congruence with the “Lucy Calkins” program
and all other classroom writing. The term trait in the context of this
title refers to a characteristic or quality, which defines writing. The
six traits are:
1. Ideas
2. Organization
3. Voice
4. Word Choice
5. Sentence Fluency
6. Conventions
The emphasis of both programs is that children, who become good self-editors
and revisers, will ultimately become better writers.
Reading
Through flexible guided reading groups (small homogeneous), literature
groups, shared reading, reader’s theatre, and teacher read-alouds,
we hope to achieve the following goals:
- To develop the appropriate strategies in the following areas: prediction,
self-correcting, using context, demonstrating fluency and expression,
and phonemic awareness
- To improve comprehension by recalling events sequentially, summarizing
content effectively, participating in literature discussions, participating
in shared and independent reading experiences and responding to literature
- To develop simple study skills through activities that require students
to follow simple directions, locate parts in a book, use the dictionary
and simple charts and graphs
- To expose the children to many different genres for personal pleasure
and worldly knowledge
Phonics
Fundations is an adaptation of the Wilson Reading System authored by
Barbara A. Wilson. It is a systematic, sequential, multisensory method
of teaching reading and writing. The main elements of the program are
phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, and fluency. Six new second grade
spelling words are introduced with each new unit and are reinforced with
activities adapted from the Rebecca Sitton Spelling program.
Handwriting
The goals for the Zaner-Bloser handwriting method are:
- To reinforce proper manuscript motor patterns for making letters and
numbers learned in kindergarten and first grade
- To practice accuracy in letter formation, legibility and neatness
- To introduce proper cursive motor patterns later in the school year
TECHNOLOGY
The goals for second grade are:
- To continue to develop keyboarding skills
- To introduce simple word processing skills
- To begin independent use of the computer with educational mathematics,
reading games, activities and exercises, etc.
- To introduce the internet as a research tool
SCIENCE
The goals of the science curriculum are based on the Massachusetts state
frameworks.
The integrated thematic science units taught at Stratton are:
Life Cycles:
- Frogs and Toads
- Butterflies
Earth Science:
Physical Science:
SOCIAL STUDIES
Some of the integrated thematic units taught at Stratton are:
- Geography and map skills
- Continent Studies
- Early explorers
- Japan
HEALTH
Open Circle
This is a grade-differentiated social competency curriculum being incorporated
throughout all elementary schools in the town of Arlington.
The main goals of the program are:
- To create a common language across grade levels
- To provide a forum for the discussion of issues
- To create a classroom community based on respect for the individual
and the entire group
- Learn problem solving skills to be applied both in and out of the
classroom
The Great Body Shop
All grades will cover similar topics at a level that is developmentally
appropriate for them.
The main goals of the program are:
- To reinforce the concept of basic nutrition, dental health, physical
exercise and the five senses
- To introduce the children to some environmental issues
- To discuss the concepts of disease prevention
|
