Gillispie’s Grade 2 teachers take advantage of their students’ newfound internal motivation. Children at this level take their work seriously and are therefore given the opportunity to work more independently (in Tile Math, for example). The Pair-It readers match fiction and nonfiction so as to best engage all readers, and writing assignments become more sophisticated throughout the year. Children practice public speaking at their Biography Fair in the gym. Global understanding is fostered with a study of the North American continent. The second grade California state learning standard about the city/community of San Diego is enhanced by use of the Houghton Mifflin text and materials. Science becomes a specialty class for children in Grade 2, who now have access to the lab and its multiple resources.
Key programs and texts: Everyday Mathematics; Steck-Vaughn Reading; Learning Headquarters Writing; Word a Day Vocabulary; DGP Grammar; Houghton Mifflin Social Studies; Continent of geographic study – Europe; Second Step; Handwriting Without Tears
Second Grade Curriculum Benchmarks
By the end of second grade, your child will be able to–
Language Arts
- Read aloud grade level texts fluently and with expression.
- Ask questions about reading; demonstrate comprehension in multiple ways.
- Distinguish main ideas and supporting details in text.
- Differentiate between fact and fiction.
- Identify character, setting, and plot in books and own stories.
- Describe characters, cause and effect, and probable outcomes in fiction.
- Speak comfortably and clearly in front of an audience.
- Demonstrate that writing is a process: brainstorm, draft, and revise.
- Edit for correct capitalization and punctuation.
- Identify parts of speech and sentence at second grade level.
- Organize writing by sequence and topic.
- Write for multiple purposes and audiences.
Mathematics
- Use place value for whole numbers to one thousand.
- Order whole numbers to 1000.
- Translate fractions into pictures and vice versa.
- Solve two-step addition and subtraction equations and word problems.
- Solve addition and subtraction problems with one – three digit numbers.
- Solve problems using coins and bills.
- Estimate and measure objects; select appropriate measuring tools.
- Identify and show time to the quarter hour using analog, digital, and written form.
- Describe and extend geometric patterns; demonstrate geometric vocabulary (e.g. symmetry, congruency; face, corner, sides).
- Determine values in simple equations 5= ___ + 2 and ___ – 1 = 3.
- Interpret data from numerous graphics.
Social Studies
- Identify examples of good citizenship.
- Explain that each person in the United States has three governments, and give examples of people who work in each (e.g. local: police, state: highway workers; national: military).
- Compare school rules to local laws.
- Compare and contrast basic land use in urban, suburban, and rural environments.
- Create a representational community.
- Locate Europe and their surrounding waters and major lakes, rivers, and mountain ranges.
- Discuss how resources in Europe affect production and consumption.
- Summarize ways geography shapes culture in Europe.
- Compare what we need with what we want.
- Read biographies report on notable Europe.
- List and describe examples of cultural traditions in Mexico and Canada.
- Determine characteristics of a “good neighbor” in classrooms, neighborhoods, and countries.
