Mrs. Beaupied (1/2)
Ms. Jimenez
Mrs. Fosser 
Mrs. Hurtado
Ms. Sanchez
Mrs. Sleeper
Ms. Castillo

Welcome to second grade! This year your child will use exploration and hands-on activities, technology, learning stations, and literature to help instill a true love of learning.  Our goal is to provide these experiences in a positive child-centered environment.

ENGLISH/LANGUAGE ARTS 

Our students will receive integrated instruction in reading, writing, speaking and listening skills, and social studies during a two-hour instructional period.

Reading

Students will read selections from our new reading series Reading Street.  Selections will be 50% fiction and 50% informational text.  Reading instruction will emphasize these skills:

• phonics
• word recognition
• fluency
• comprehension
• collaboration

The reading block will include whole class instruction, small group guided reading, and literacy stations.  In second grade, there is the expectation that students will become independent readers.  Children will be reading more complex text with purpose and understanding.

WRITING

Students will compose opinion pieces, narratives, and informative/explanatory texts.  Writing will be integrated across the curriculum in social studies, science and math.

SOCIAL STUDIES

Social studies instruction will be within the language arts block.  Stories from the reading series will include community and history selections.  Social Studies Weekly magazine will be used in class to supplement the reading text.

MATH

Our new math curriculum is the McGraw Hill My Math program.  This program is aligned with the Common Core standards.  In Grade 2, instructional time will focus on four critical areas:

• extending understanding of base-ten notation
• building fluency with addition and subtraction
• using standard units of measure (inches and centimeters)
• describing and analyzing shapes by examining sides and grades

We will also have daily Every Day Counts Calendar Math instruction.  Students will use hands-on activities to increase their understanding of math concepts.  The Common Core instruction allows for a more focused and deep study of the grade level skills.

SCIENCE

Through the National Geographic Science curriculum, we help children acquire knowledge of the world around them.  Students will conduct hands-on investigations and guided inquiries.  In second grade children will practice scientific observation and inferring.  The six units of study are as follows:

• habitats
• life cycles
• rocks and soil
• matter
• weather
• force
• motion