Curriculum

Literacy Workshop

Reading and Writing

We will be using the Lucy Calkins Units of Study curriculum for both Reading and Writing Workshops. The workshop model is a teaching method that focuses on the strengths and needs of each individual student. Students receive teacher-led instruction on specific literacy skills and strategies, and they then have time to practice these skills independently while the teacher confers with individual students and small groups.

The Units of Study for Reading are:

• Second Grade Reading Growth-Spurt - In this unit, students learn to take charge of their reading by drawing on everything they know to help figure out challenging words, understand the author's craft, and understand the key ideas and concepts in the books they read.

• Becoming Experts: Reading Nonfiction - In the second unit, students will learn that books can be their teachers! Students will learn about both new and familiar topics as they explore nonfiction texts and work on word solving strategies, comparing and contrasting strategies, and vocabulary development.

• Bigger Books Mean Amping Up Reading Power - This unit will help students learn key reading strategies to build three foundational literacy skills - fluency, comprehension, and understanding figurative language.

• Series Book Clubs - In this final unit, students will work and explore texts in a book club setting. Students will study the author's craft to help understand the ways in which authors use word choice, figurative language, punctuation, and even patterns to construct a series and evoke feelings in readers.

(Units of Study for Teaching Reading, Grade 2 - Lucy Calkins, Teachers College Reading and Writing Project)

The Units of Study for Writing are:

• Lessons From the Masters: Improving Narrative Writing - In this first unit, students will learn how to create engaging narratives by stretching out small moments and writing in detail.

• Lab Reports and Science Books - The second unit uses engaging nonfiction texts to help students design and write about experiments and other scientific information.

• Writing About Reading - This unit helps students read closely and gather evidence from their reading to develop and write persuasive arguments.

• Poetry: Big Thoughts in Small Packages - This final unit allows students to explore the world of poetry. Students will learn to use line breaks to express the meaning and rhythm they want to create, and use visualization and figurative language to make their writing more concise and powerful!

(Units of Study in Opinion, Information, and Narrative Writing - Lucy Calkins, Teachers College Reading and Writing Project)

Math Workshop

We will be using the workshop model and the MyMath curriculum for math instruction. The workshop model focuses on the strengths and needs of each individual students, and allows the teacher to tailor instruction to individuals and groups of students. Students receive teacher-led instruction on specific mathematical skills, strategies, and concepts, and they then have time to practice these skills independently while the teacher confers with individual students and small groups.

The Units of Study for Math are:

• Chapter 1 - Apply Addition and Subtraction Concepts - The first unit focuses on basic strategies for adding and subtracting numbers within 10, including counting on, making a 10, and using fact families.

• Chapter 2 - Number Patterns - This unit focuses on recognizing number patterns and skip counting.

• Chapter 3 - Add 2-Digit Numbers - The third unit focuses on using place value strategies to add double-digit numbers with and without regrouping.

• Chapter 4 - Subtract 2-Digit Numbers - This unit focuses on using place value strategies to subtract double-digit numbers with and without regrouping.

• Chapter 5 - Place Value - In the fifth math unit, students will learn about the values of each digit within a number. They will be able to use the place values of each digit to build decompose numbers within 1,000.

• Chapter 6 - Add 3-Digit Numbers - This unit builds upon the last few units, teaching students to add 3-digit numbers with and without regrouping.

• Chapter 7 - Subtract 3-Digit Numbers - This unit builds upon the last few units, teaching students to subtract 3-digit numbers with and without regrouping.

• Chapter 8 - Money - This unit teaches students to identify common U.S. coins, count a group of coins, and solve word problems involving money.

• Chapter 9 - Data Analysis - This unit focuses on graphing and data. Students will learn to create graphs and tables to represent data, and answer questions by analyzing data.

• Chapter 10 - Time - This unit teaches students to tell time to the nearest 5 minutes.

• Chapter 11 - Customary and Metric Length - This unit focuses on measuring length using both customary and metric units. Students learn to estimate lengths, measure lengths, and answer word problems involving distance and length.

• Chapter 12 - Geometric Shapes and Equal Shares - This final unit teaches students to recognize basic 2D and 3D shapes and identify their attributes. Students also learn how to divide, or partition, shapes into equal shares and represent these shares using basic fractions.

(McGraw Hill - MyMath - Grade 2)

Science

We will be using the FOSS Third Edition science curriculum. FOSS is an inquiry-based, hands-on program that engages students in the study of the concepts and practices of science.

The Units of Study for Science are:

• Solids and Liquids - This initial science unit provides students with basic foundations in physical science. Students will learn about the three types of matter and their properties. Through hands on experiments and observations, students will develop and understanding of how materials are similar and different, and how the properties of materials relate to their use.

• Pebbles, Sand, and Silt - This unit focuses on earth science, and will help students develop basic foundational understandings about earth materials. The unit deals with the observable structures and properties of earth materials, weathering and erosion, natural sources of water, and how to represent the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water on Earth.

• Insects and Plants - This unit focuses on life science, and introduces students to the structure and function of living things. Students will learn about the growth and development of plants and animals, interactions between organisms and their environment, and biodiversity of organisms on land and in water.

(FOSS Next Generation - 2nd Grade)

Social Studies

The Units of Study for Social Studies are: