Grade 2 Team

Grade Leader – Janis Fathman

Tel: 781-786-5400

Teachers –   Anna Winchell, Janis Fathman, Heather Lambo

Grade 2 Curriculum

Reading:  In second grade, students move from a focus on decoding print to a focus on meaning. Students take charge of their reading, drawing on everything they know to figure out hard words, understand author’s craft, and build big ideas about the books they read. In nonfiction texts, they learn about familiar topics and grow understanding of new topics while working on word solving, vocabulary development, and comparing and contrasting information across texts. At the end of the year, students work within book clubs to study author’s craft to understand ways authors use word choice, figurative language, punctuation, and even patterns to construct a series and evoke feelings in readers.

Writing: In second grade, students learn to craft powerful true stories based on their own small moments. In the second unit, students study nonfiction texts and learn to write nonfiction chapter books. In the next unit, kids craft persuasive arguments based on text evidence. Finally, students explore language by writing poetry.

Phonics:  Second grade phonics builds on the basic skills that were learned in Kindergarten and first grade and progresses further into the study of word structure. Second graders identify parts of words (syllables, basewords, suffixes); identify all six syllable types: closed, vowel-consonant-e, r-controlled, vowel digraph/diphthong, and consonant-le; know and apply grade-level phonics and word-analysis skills in decoding words; read and spell words with common prefixes ( eg. un-, dis-, non-); read and spell the first 200 high frequency words including irregular words. These skills are closely connected to the learning in both reading and writing workshops.

Math: Second-grade students explore big ideas that include: extending understanding of the base-ten number system, building fluency with addition and subtraction, using standard units of measure, and describing and analyzing shapes.

Science: Students  explore the word “interdependence” throughout the year.  They continue using the science practices through exploration, observation,  data collection & analysis and recording of information in their science journals.  They engage in units about pollinators and caterpillars.  Through an integrated science/social studies unit, students explore the impact of  friction while learning about Antarctica, discover how an ecosystem can get out of sync by investigating the impact of the cane toad in Australia, and how growing trees can lessen earth changes caused by wind and water by learning about Wangari Maathai when exploring Africa.   

Social Studies: Social Studies is organized around an in-depth study of three continents.  Students analyze landforms and water on maps to determine what areas are habitable to live in.  They explore human interactions with the land and why humans migrate from one area to another. Prior to this study, students learn about economic interdependence and  participate in the annual Bristol Lodge Food and Supplies Drive.

Grade 2 Homework: (designed to take about 20 minutes)

Reading Contract begins October 1. Children must read at least 4 nights.

Math Homework begins October 15. Math will come home on Wednesday.

All weekly homework must be returned to school every Friday.