JUNE 2025 - Grade 2

2nd Grade

Ms. Salmon & Ms. Miso

Ms. Ross

Ms. Anderson

June 2025

Unit of Inquiry

Unit Theme: How the World Works

Description: An inquiry into the understandings of the world and phenomena through: patterns, cycles, systems

Central Idea: Human and environmental needs lead to change and transformation in the world over time.

Unit Description

This unit focused on students looking at the world through the lens of change. They will closely look at events over time and think deeply about the global impact it has had over time.

Learner Profiles

LP: How (change) has a global impact over time periods (change)

LP: How people adapt to meet their needs across different environments (change)

LP: How natural and human-made systems are connected and affect the way we live (connection)

Specified Concepts

Change

Transformation: in this unit, students are learning about how things around them can transform over time through physical properties, feelings, events, or new information.

Connection

Relationships: in this unit, students will learn about how actions of any individual element affects others.

Approaches to Learning

Communication Skills

In this unit, students will develop their ability to communicate effectively through listening, speaking, reading, and writing. When listening, students are expected to engage actively by gathering information, asking relevant follow-up questions, and showing respect for others’ ideas. As speakers, they will work on expressing their thoughts clearly and sharing opinions in a logical and respectful way.

Students will also communicate their learning through reading and writing. As writers, they will be expected to support their ideas with evidence and choose appropriate writing techniques based on their audience and purpose. As readers, students will read critically, with a focus on comprehension, analysis, and making connections to the central idea and lines of inquiry.

Learner Profile of the Month

Thinker

Students this month were thinkers in different ways. Students took their time to develop ideas using the "peel the fruit" visual thinking routine. This routine supported students thinking deeper and deeper about texts that were read aloud in class. Students took the time to analyze the events in different stories in a meaningful way. This connected with their current IB Unit because they were able to change their ideas about stories as they looked deeper into a text.

Images Below...

Pillar of the Month

Citizenship

This month students learned what it meant to be a good citizen in and out of the classroom. This included being kind to one another, helping out a friend in need, or cleaning up a mess so that others would not have to. It was imperative that students understood that their actions affected everyone within our school community. Students have also worked really hard on making sure that they are looking at the actions of others and understanding characters deeper.

Images Below...

Below, you’ll see student work from an activity that connects directly to the concept of citizenship. In this lesson, students analyzed a character’s thoughts, feelings, and actions to determine the theme of a text. This literary exploration supported students in understanding how individual choices can impact others, which is a key idea in developing responsible citizenship.

By focusing on how one character’s behavior influenced the people around them, students engaged in thoughtful discussions about cause and effect, empathy, and accountability. They reflected on how the story might have changed if the character had made different choices, helping them see the connection between literature and real-world decision-making.

Through this process, students practiced perspective-taking and communication skills while deepening their understanding of how actions shape communities—both in stories and in life.

Thinking Skills

Peel the Fruit

To the left, you’ll find examples of the Visual Thinking Routine "Peel the Fruit." This strategy supports the development of critical thinking by encouraging students to record their ideas before engaging in a group discussion.

The first image displays a classroom visual of the routine, outlining the steps students follow to explore a text more deeply. Having this routine visible supports all learners by making the thinking process clear and accessible.
The second image breaks the routine into specific steps, guiding students as they analyze a story layer by layer. The routine starts from surface-level understanding and moves towards deeper meaning and inquiry.
The third image showcases student thinking in action. After reading a text, students wrote down their questions and insights. The teacher then used student-generated questions to facilitate a rich class discussion, encouraging students to listen, reflect, and respond to one another’s ideas.

This routine fosters inquiry, communication, and reflection, which are the core components of the IB Primary Years Program.