Social Studies and Science 

Social Studies

**Incorporating All Content Areas


                This year, our curriculum will be centered around COMMUNITY and this quote: 

                      "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."                                                                                                                                             Margaret Mead


Social Studies is uniquely designed for second-grade students to learn about our local community.  The goal is to make real-world connections, core to learning, structured collaboration, and student-driven.  The overarching goal is that each unit allows students to learn about and share what they have learned with projects, showing their deeper understanding of the content.  With that said, what will this look like in our high-ability classroom?  Steve Jobs stated, "If you are working on something exciting you care about, you don't have to be pushed.  The vision pulls you."  When my crew steps into the Diner each day, I hope to have an "energy" to learn, as I have never had before. 

We will kick off each unit of study with a community-focused topic. Within each topic, there are five questions they will answer to gain a stronger understanding of how they fit into our community.  The first week is the kick-off week, with a basic foundation of background knowledge presented.  Then, for the next five weeks, there is a new question to research that helps bring that topic into focus. They will take this new knowledge each week and write a paragraph for each question.  Then, at the end of each unit, they will share this knowledge with a project. 

The final goal is for students to walk away with much more awareness and understanding of the world they are traveling through.  Along the way, there will be research, debate, conversations, collaboration, productive failure, minds changed, and ultimately, a greater understanding that life looks different from various perspectives.

My crew will focus on feathering out the Social Studies questions and have the opportunity to take on a role as a part of the unit we are studying.  The best part?  They truly look at their world with new eyes.  The goal is always to see all angles of a situation and support your thinking and that of others. 

Units of Study


Science (Class Play)

Again, Science appears throughout the day in Language Arts in the Diner, specifically during Science and Nonfiction Research. Making connections is the heart and soul of learning, and those connections organically happen in Science.  

Units of Study

Our Science aims to create a space to enhance our visual understanding of the nonfiction topics we are researching in class. Each unit is filled with hands-on learning to improve our understanding of the concepts we are learning.  Our class plays support each unit topic.  The kids love the plays!


C.L.A.S.S.

(Connected Learning Assures Successful Students)

Our Yearlong Theme is:  Community

        Every nine weeks, we will be connecting our learning with four overarching CONCEPTS: