Grade 2 Curriculum









Second grade is a year of growth and change. Children are driven by curiosity and inventiveness and by their delight in practicing and repeating what they know they can do. They are both eager to work with a best friend and drawn to quiet spaces where they can work alone.

Our second grade program is finely tuned to support seven-year-old development. Helping students be successful with small-term projects in the fall enables them to have the confidence to tackle longer assignments later in the year. Individual work areas provide cozy spaces and privacy for those students who like quiet. Larger cooperative work becomes part of the routine after students are comfortable working with a variety of partners. Expectations for self-management and responsibility increase during the year. Regular Morning Meetings, posted schedules, and predictable routines provide the security of a firm and familiar foundation for both connection to the group and increased autonomy.

Language Arts

Reading

The goal of our curriculum is to encourage children to become life-long learners. To that end, we help our students engage in thoughtful conversations about books, ask questions about what they read, explore the answers to open-ended inquiries, and respond to a variety of texts in many meaningful ways, as well as to master the elements necessary for fluent reading.

Second grade is often a time of explosive growth in reading skills. Students who are comfortable with decoding gain an increased fluency that allows them to devote more energy to understanding. Those who have not yet “cracked the code,” find the power that comes from mastering the basics, and they are delighted with their prowess as “real readers.” Children read chapter books, engage in conversations of increasing depth, and pay attention to and begin to apply independently the strategies used by successful readers.

Our reading program is based on thematic and author studies that are integrated with the social studies curriculum. During the course of the year, students are exposed to different authors, themes (tidal pools, immigration) and genres (historical fiction, fairy tales). Examining authors’ writing styles and illustrations enables first graders to find common patterns. Using these patterns is one of the many reading comprehension strategies that help first graders to read independently.

Students select books and other materials appropriate to their own reading levels. Comprehension and response activities, whose difficulty varies depending on the skills on which individual students are working or need a bit more practice to master, focus on second grade language skill requirements.

Second graders participate in whole class, small group and individual reading experiences where they learn comprehension skills, phonetics, and context and sight cues.

Writing

In second grade, writing often surpasses drawing as a way to express ideas. Students write longer stories, often with a beginning, middle, and end, and the story line becomes critical. Our goals are to help second graders understand they have interesting stories to tell and that they can learn how to use writing to share them effectively.

Using the “Writing Workshop” process, students learn a variety of brainstorming activities, become skilled at the process of developing a piece of writing from a “seed” idea, engage in editing and revision conferences with both teacher and other students, and publish and share their finished narratives. We engage in specific types of writing such as research reports, biographies, fairy tales, and poetry.

Conventional spelling emerges with increased frequency in second grade. The transition to increasing phonetic and sight word fluency is supported by the Spellwell program. Students receive a list of words at the beginning of each week and have spelling homework each night and a test at the end of the week.

Math

The math program solidifies and extends second graders’ understanding of both the number system and the relationships among different strategies for solving real world problems. The concept that numbers represent quantities, and the idea that there are patterns and relationships in the number system, are developed through a variety of activities in which students combine, separate, and compare two-digit numbers. Other units in the Investigations in Number, Data and Space curriculum explore estimation, numeration, whole number operations, computation, geometry, measurement, statistics and probability, fractions and decimals, classification of information, and organization of data. In each unit, emphasis is placed on understanding problems, deciding which operation should be used to solve them, solving and representing solutions, and communicating mathematical ideas.

Second graders engage in pair and small group work, individual tasks, and whole class discussions. Students work with concrete materials, games, and story problems. The use of math journals provides regular practice in communicating about mathematics.

Enrichment packets and activities are available for those students who master concepts quickly and are ready to extend their understanding.

Hebrew

In Grade 2, students expand their skills in Hebrew reading, comprehension, and oral and written expression through songs, games, pantomime, and puzzles. Classes use the book series Nitzanim, which has colorful visual appeal and presents Hebrew language through descriptions of everyday activities and events. Hebrew language is also learned through the routines of working with the daily calendar and schedule. Grammatical concepts covered include present tense, infinitives, roots, noun-adjective agreement, and subject/verb agreement. Children write paragraphs on topics such as their families, seasons, and holidays.

Torah

The goals of our program are to develop a love of Torah study and to relate daily experiences to issues that emerge from the Torah narratives. Second graders learn selections from six Torah portions in the Book of Genesis, using an abridged text in modern Hebrew. Themes discussed include the values of faith in God, generosity, hospitality, justice, compassion, and strong family relationships, as well as the mitzvot of tzedakah, hachnasat orhim (welcoming guests), brit milah (circumcision), and bikkur holim (visiting the sick). Torah study emphasizes the relationship between God and the Jewish people, as a community and as individuals.

The grade-level event is a play called Family Journeys, which integrates the story of our Biblical ancestors with the General Studies unit on immigration. Students dramatically depict scenes in English and Hebrew and sing songs in the languages of their ancestors.

Tefillot (Prayers)

We aim to provide students with the language and opportunity to express their spiritual needs and relationship to God. Children learn to recite and understand selected prayers and to develop kavannah–a connection to the spirit of the prayer experience. Second graders assume greater independence as hazzanim (prayer leaders) and enrich their repertoire of prayers with additions such as the blessings before and after the Shema as well as the Gevurot and Kedusha blessings of the Amidah.

Holidays and Shabbat

Second graders learn history, mitzvot, and customs in order to strengthen their sense of Jewish identity and solidify their understanding that they have a vital place in the chain of Jewish tradition. Preparations for holidays and Shabbat include hands-on activities involving all of the senses, as well as stories, songs, prayers, and blessings. Children learn to recite the entire Kiddush for Friday evening. Every Friday we celebrate Hachanah l’Shabbat, getting ready for Shabbat, closing our week as a classroom community.

Science

Second graders are natural scientists, with a boundless curiosity for the physical and natural world around them. Our science program takes advantage of this curiosity by setting up experiments, situations, and activities so students can ask questions and discover the answers for themselves through their own investigations. For example, a unit on rocks and minerals guides children to uncover ideas about sizes of rocks, composition, weathering, and wave action. Second graders may help their teacher figure out how to separate sand from rocks and devise tools and machines to make this job easier.

Science process skills – the tools that scientists use every day – are the backbone of our science curriculum. Because we provide students with these tools, our classes help children learn much in addition to science content. We capture children’s minds and imaginations with the beauty, the wonder, and the amazing events that occur around us every day.

Arts

Visual Arts

The Lower School art program is dedicated to enhancing students’ observation skills, imagination, and visual perception. Students learn to look more carefully at their world, to internalize what they see, to trust their own experiences, and to represent their unique expressions creatively.

Students are exposed to a wide variety of art materials. Elements of form, color, line and texture are explored through many modalities and techniques, and are often given historical context as students learn about the art of the great masters and from different cultures. Each grade has an opportunity to discover the joy of different artistic genres: children sculpt, paint, draw, print, create collages, and make prints. Students apply authentic art techniques in dry brush, wet on wet, Asian brush work, or pallet knife to materials including watercolor paper, rice paper, clay, canvas board, and papier mache.

Grade 2 projects include: Japanese fish rubbings, clay dreidls, and Chagall inspired background scenery for Family Journeys presentation.

Music

Second graders explore the musical elements of tempo, timbre, melody, harmony, and rhythm, as well as topics in music history, culture, style, and dynamics. Children actively listen in order to hear similarities and differences in folk music. They learn about the forms of music that thrived in the baroque, classical, and romantic periods, as well as those that are present in modern music. A focus on diasporic Jewish musical traditions is evident in the musical component of the Grade 2 play Family Journeys, which incorporates English, Hebrew, and Yiddish songs as well as songs from other cultures.

Performing Arts

Dance and drama are an integral part of the program, interwoven into the daily lives of our students. Students perform skits, prepare for milestone events, use creative movement to interpret tefillot, and learn Israeli folk dances. Second graders dance their way through the year at hachanah l’Shabbat programs, and they share their growing performance skills at the Hanukkah breakfasts and at Grandparents’ and Special Visitors’ Day.

Physical Education

Second graders continue to work on large motor skills at appropriate developmental levels, both in exercises and in the context of more formal game instruction. As they play, students share space and equipment and learn the skill of working within a team. All games are chosen and managed in ways that enhance students’ interpersonal skills. In the gymnastics unit, they explore movement through turning, twisting, rolling, balancing, transferring weight, jumping, and landing.

Library

Second graders become more reflective about their books and ideas. During library classes, they articulate ideas and questions that are raised by books. They become active, thoughtful listeners who pay increased attention to details, images, and emotions. They retell stories and synthesize their ideas while recommending or criticizing the books they have read.

[back to top]