Second Grade Curriculum Guide

Curriculum Guide

Second Grade

253.265.2150
gigharboracademy.org
6820 32nd St NW, Gig Harbor, WA 98335

Gig Harbor Academy
Gig Harbor Academy is committed to providing the highest quality
education to all students. One way to provide a quality education is with
an effective curriculum that reflects high standards and high expectations.
Thus, GHA has developed rigorous content standards aligned with
national guidelines. But even the most rigorous standards cannot make
schools and students successful without the support of parents.
Each grade level’s curriculum guide is designed to inform parents of
GHA’s expectations for students in the major curriculum areas: reading/
writing, mathematics, and science. These expectations are aligned with
the curriculum that is used by the classroom teacher for daily instruction.
These curriculum guides also provide examples of what your child should
know and be able to accomplish upon completion of each academic year.
GHA believes in educating the whole child, therefore these expectations
are the foundation upon which we build the educational experience for
each student.
Because of learning styles and differences, we know that not all children
reach the same expectations at the same time. If at any time you wish
to talk about your child’s educational progress, classroom teachers are
always available to speak with you directly. GHA believes that all children
can learn if parents and schools work together.

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Second Grade Curriculum Guide

Reading Writing and Speaking

GHA’s English Language Arts Learning Expectations are adapted from
three professional organizations: National Council of Teachers of English
and International Reading Association’s document, NCTE/IRA Standards
for the English Language Arts, and the National Association for the
Education of Young Children’s document, NAYEC Position Statement
and Standards.
Reading continues to be a priority in second grade as students are
immersed in an environment filled with fiction and nonfiction texts.
Students will learn to use a combination of strategies when reading and
begin to read familiar selections with fluency and expression. They will
also engage in a variety of oral activities to develop an understanding
of language structure, thereby enhancing their ability to communicate
effectively.

Balanced Literature

Gig Harbor Academy employs a balanced literacy approach to reading
and writing acquisition. A balance literacy program contains all of
the components necessary for students to master written and oral
communication. It includes teaching phonics, spelling patterns, grammar
and writing skills, reading and comprehension strategies, presentations,
performances, and much conversation and discussion about reading and
writing. In the classroom, there is direct and indirect reading and writing
instruction, through modeled, shared, guided and independent reading
and writing experiences. Children are given direct instructional support
and a variety of daily reading and writing experiences that promote
student engagement in the complex process of becoming independent
readers and writers.

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In a balanced literacy classroom, teachers provide Individualized support
through conferencing that may include re-teaching and prompting
for reading and writing behaviors as young children begin to read. As
children mature in their reading abilities, Thinking Map and Story
Mapping enables students to think about how the different story elements
work together such as Characters– Setting– Problem– Main events–
Resolution. Character Sketching helps students focus on how the main
character’s personal traits often direct the action of the story. Children are
given ample opportunities for group discussions which encourage their
engagement. Under the guidance of the teacher, students help each other
to unravel confusing concepts.
A key component of a balanced literacy program entails scaffolding
instruction in order to make learning to read and write less problematic
for all children. One example of scaffolding is guided reading where the
teacher works with a small group of students that are on the same reading
level or have similar instructional needs. Students usually has their own
texts and the teacher works with the students on skills and strategies.
Guided reading includes mini-lessons with a targeted focus that meets a
specific need of a particular group of students.
A mini-lesson could include phonics, spelling skills, comprehension
skills/strategies, or grammar. The class will regroup during sharing
time to discuss what they practiced, learned, or did independently, with
partners or in groups. During shared reading time, the teacher will often
assess what students have learned and give them time to reflect on their
own learning. This develops responsible learners and accountability.
Second grade students begin to understand and enjoy books that are
considerably longer and more complex in plot, syntax, and structure.
When reading, students will begin to apply comprehension strategies
such as, identifying main ideas, making and confirming predictions, and
formulating questions about what they are learning.

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Second Grade Curriculum Guide

Second grade students will be given daily opportunities to write and will
be expected to revise selected pieces and share them with others. When
students write, the instructional emphasis will be on having a beginning,
middle, and end. At the sentence level, they will be expected to begin to
elaborate on their ideas and use basic conventions. Students will write
stories, research paragraphs, and simple explanations; apply simple
grammatical principles to writing, and locate proper information in
reference materials, both in books and online.

Reading

Students link sounds to letters or letter clusters in reading.
• Go beyond just using skills to hear and say separate sounds in
words or using patterns to decode words.
• Look for beginning, middle, or end similarities and differences to
identify letter-sound relationships.
• Use meaning cues (context), sentence cues (grammar), and letter/
sound cues (phonics) and patterns to understand words.
• Read aloud with fluency, expression, and appropriate pace.

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Students understand the plot and character development from a reading
and retain the information.

• Summarize and retell story events in sequential order and make
predictions based on text.

• Use age appropriate higher-level abstract thinking skills such as
interpretation, comparison, and evaluation to understand the
differences in plot and character development.

• Respond to literature through discussion and writing.
Students read age appropriate material across academic areas such as
science, math, and social studies.

• Read books having several chapters and will use their reading skills
across other academic areas during the school day.

Writing

Students use specific criteria to decide what to write about –what is
important to them, what they know something about, what will yield a
good product, and what will reach their audience.

• Write longer and more detailed sentences at this level. They will
decide what to write about and revise their own writing. They will
write for a variety of purposes and audiences.

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Second Grade Curriculum Guide

Students learn to write as a way to communicate with others and as a way
to demonstrate understanding of a topic.

• Explore different kinds of writing including literature, narrative
reports, and informational writing (i.e., demonstrate organizational
skills to communicate facts and details correctly, write in first and
third person, learn to tell not only what happened to a character but
also why.)

Students develop fluency as a writer.
• Correctly use periods, capital letters, quotation marks, exclamation
marks, and question marks more frequently.
• Apply spelling strategies to spell unfamiliar words, use correct verb
tenses and plurals, and vary sentence patterns and length in writing.
• Draft, rewrite, and publish their own writing complete sentences
and coherent arguments.
• Capably write both short developmentally appropriate book reports
and short stories.

Speaking

Students will listen and speak attentively and respectfully with each other
and their teacher.

• Participate in small group discussions sharing ideas and opinions.
• Learn to use information in order to form and or/support opinions.

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Mathematics

GHA math standards are adapted from the National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics (NCTM), Principles and Standards for School Mathematics.
The second-grade math curriculum extends the study of number and
spatial sense to include three-digit whole numbers and solid geometric
figures. Students will continue to learn, the basic addition facts through
the tens table and the corresponding subtraction facts, order and group
numbers, fraction concepts, place value, and number patterns. They will
also begin to use U.S. customary and metric units of measure; create and
interpret picture and bar graphs, and begin to understand the meaning
of multiplication. While learning mathematics, students will be actively
engaged using concrete materials and appropriate technologies.
Mathematics has its own language of specialized vocabulary and language
patterns which will be integrated into classroom instruction. Students
will begin to use correctly the concepts, symbols, and vocabulary of
mathematics. Problem solving has been integrated throughout the math
curriculum at GHA and, in all grades; the development of problem-
solving skills is a major goal.

Numbers and Operations

The focus of instruction in the number and operations strand is to promote
an understanding of counting, classification, whole numbers, place value,
fractions, number relationships (“more than,” “less than,” and “equal to”),
and the effects of single-step and multistep computations. Computation
and estimation instruction in second grade revolves around modeling,
discussing, and recording a variety of problem situations. This approach
helps students’ transition from the concrete to the symbolic in order to
develop meaning for the operations and how they relate to each other.

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Second Grade Curriculum Guide

Students estimate, calculate, and develop strategies for solving addition
and subtractions problems based on number relationships.

• Count forward and backward 1-100 and beyond, beginning at any
number, count by 2’s, 5’s, 10’s, 25’s and 100’s and name the pattern,
read 2, 3, and 4 digit numbers and identify place value, understand
concepts and use symbols for grater than, less than, and equal to,
and read and write money amounts in decimal notation.

• Understand and use number line and number grid as tools for
problem solving.

• Know addition and subtraction facts to 20 and complements of 10.

Algebra

The focus of instruction in second grade algebra is to observe, recognize,
create, extend, and describe a variety of patterns. Students will experience
and recognize visual, kinesthetic, and auditory patterns and develop
the language to describe them orally and in writing as a foundation to
using symbols. They will use patterns to explore mathematical and
geometric relationships and to solve problems, and their observations
and discussions of how things change will eventually lead to the notion of
functions and ultimately to algebra.

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Students generate a pattern to determine a rule.
• Represent information using words, numbers, and symbols, i.e.,

sorting, comparing, and classifying objects in a collection according
to a variety of attributes and properties, creating repetitive patterns
and communicating about these patterns in their own language,
recognizing the same pattern in different representations, etc.
• Identify and complete simple numerical patterns on a numbers
grid, and identify numbers as odd or even.

Geometry

Second grade students will begin to systematically represent and describe
their world as they learn to represent plane and solid figures through
drawing, block constructions, dramatization, and verbal language. The
focus of instruction is on observing, identifying, describing, comparing,
and contrasting solid objects and their faces, sorting objects and ordering
them directly by comparing them to one another, and exploring symmetry,
congruence, and transformation.
Students identify and describe various transformations (flip, rotate, sides
of various shapes, etc.).

• Identify polygons, know basic characteristics and reproduce basic
2-dimensional shapes with a template or geoboard.

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Second Grade Curriculum Guide

Measurement

Measurement instruction at this level focuses on developing the skills
and tools needed to measure length, time, temperature, and money.
Instruction at this level will use concrete materials that focus on measuring
and estimating real objects.
Students make and use various estimates of measurement.

• Tell time to nearest hour, half-hour, and 5-minute intervals,
demonstrate calendar concepts and skills, and use a ruler, tape
measure, meter stick, and thermometer accurately.

Data Analysis and Probability

The focus of probability instruction at this level is to help students begin to
develop an understanding of the concept of chance. They experiment with
spinners, two-colored counters, dice, tiles, coins, and other manipulatives
to explore the possible outcomes of situations and predict results. They
begin to describe the likelihood of events, using the terms impossible,
unlikely, equally likely, more likely, and certain.
The focus of statistics instruction at this level is to help students develop
methods of collecting, organizing, describing, displaying, and interpreting
data to answer questions they have posed about themselves and their
world.
Students collect, record, and interpret, data using a bar graph and tables.

• Compare quantities from a bar graph and table.
• Begin to use formal information presentations, i.e., picture graphs,

bar graphs, pictographs, etc.

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Science

GHA follows the Next Generation Science Standards developed by The
American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Science
Teachers Association, and National Research Council.
The learning expectations in second grade help students formulate
answers to questions such as: “How does land change and what are
some things that cause it to change? What are the different kinds of land
and bodies of water? How are materials similar and different from one
another, and how do the properties of the materials relate to their use?
What do plants need to grow? How many types of living things live in a
place?” Students are expected to develop an understanding of what plants
need to grow and how plants depend on animals for seed dispersal and
pollination.
Students are also expected to compare the diversity of life in different
habitats. An understanding of observable properties of materials is
developed by students at this level through analysis and classification of
different materials. Students are able to apply their understanding of the
idea that wind and water can change the shape of the land to compare
design solutions to slow or prevent such change.
Students are able to use information and models to identify and represent
the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water in an area and where
water is found on Earth. In second grade, students are expected to
demonstrate grade-appropriate proficiency in developing and using
models, planning and carrying out investigations, analyzing and
interpreting data, constructing explanations and designing solutions,
engaging in argument from evidence, and obtaining, evaluating, and
communicating information.

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Second Grade Curriculum Guide
Matter and Its Interactions

• Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different
kinds of materials by their observable properties, i.e., color,
texture, hardness, and flexibility. Patterns could include the similar
properties that different materials share.

• Analyze data obtained from testing different materials to determine
which materials have the properties that are best suited for an
intended purpose, i.e., strength, flexibility, hardness, texture, and
absorbency.

• Make observations to construct an evidence-based account of
how an object made of a small set of pieces can be disassembled
and made into a new object, i.e., blocks, building bricks, or other
assorted small objects.

• Construct an argument with evidence that some changes caused by
heating or cooling can be reversed and some cannot, i.e., reversible
changes could include materials such as water and butter at different
temperatures, irreversible changes could include cooking an egg,
freezing a plant leaf, and heating paper.

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Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

• Plan and conduct an investigation to determine if plants need
sunlight and water to grow.

• Develop a simple model that mimics the function of an animal in
dispersing seeds or pollinating plants.

Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity

• Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity
of life in different habitats, i.e., the diversity of living things in each
of a variety of different habitats.

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Second Grade Curriculum Guide

Earth’s Place in the Universe

• Use information from several sources to provide evidence that
Earth events can occur quickly or slowly, i.e., events and timescales
could include volcanic explosions and earthquakes, which happen
quickly and erosion of rocks, which occurs slowly.

Earth’s Systems

• Compare multiple solutions designed to slow or prevent wind or
water from changing the shape of the land, i.e., different designs of
dikes and windbreaks to hold back wind and water, and different
designs for using shrubs, grass, and trees to hold back the land.

• Develop a model to represent the shapes and kinds of land and
bodies of water in an area.

• Obtain information to identify where water is found on Earth and
that it can be solid or liquid.

Engineering Design

• Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a
situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can
be solved through the development of a new or improved object or
tool.

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Social Studies

Social Studies at Gig Harbor Academy has inquiry at the heart of
instruction. Teachers use questions to spark curiosity, guide instruction,
and deepen understanding of topics being investigated. Each inquiry unit
takes root in a compelling question that draws from one or more of the
social studies disciplines of civics, economics, geography, and history.
Children are naturally curious about the complex world they inhabit. But
they quickly become disengaged when instruction is not engaging nor
meaningful. Intentionally teaching social studies in an inquiry approach
and having compelling questions drive student investigations builds
critical thinking, problem solving, and participatory skills that makes
learning not only more engaging but also more relevant.
Second grade begins with a social studies inquiry unit titled “Community
History” this is an exploration into the concepts of time, continuity, and
change in a community with the dual purpose of establishing students’
understandings of the passage of time and explaining why the past matters
today. The inquiries compelling question “If we live in the present, why
should we care about the past?” taps into a common student assumption
about the authority of the present and its existence independent of past
events and contexts.
One way to explore present circumstances is through an examination
of the short- and long-term effects of the past. The constructs of cause
and effect are complex, chiefly because multiple causes may be associated
with one event, just as multiple effects can be tied to a single cause.
Through identifying the relationship of cause and effect, students learn
to recognize how continuity and change over time help us understand
historical developments in our present communities.
Three supporting questions that students will investigate are, “what’s
the difference between a cause and effect?” “How have events from
the past changed our lives in the present?” and “How do people today
solve problems created in the past?” In order to answer these questions,
students have to gather and evaluate information, develop answers using
evidence, and then communicate their conclusions.
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Second Grade Curriculum Guide

Spanish

The ultimate goal of Spanish at Gig Harbor Academy is students’
acquisition of the speaking skills needed to interact in Spanish in real-
life situations. The curriculum is organized around broad themes such
as family members, greetings, animals, alphabet, shapes, and colors.
This allows students to connect the language they are learning to
meaningful content. Lessons in Spanish are planned to include a wide
range of culture-rich, age-appropriate activities, such as singing, dancing,
rhyming, playing Spanish educational games, and using iPads with
students working independently, in pairs, and in groups.
Spanish class incorporates materials that encourage young students’
interaction and involvement with the language, including stuffed
animals, puppets, storybooks, videos, and games. Students are engaged
in activities, such as storytelling, that emphasize the gradual acquisition
of language rather than the memorization of vocabulary and rules. Also,
incorporated into lessons are cultural activities, such as introducing the
foods, music, and dance that are enjoyed in Spanish speaking countries.
Spanish is used in the classroom as much as possible both by teacher and
student. If a student asks the meaning of a word in the foreign language,
the teacher uses both gesture and description to explain the word, rather
than reverting to English.

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Most students at Gig Harbor Academy are beginners to Spanish and have
had no previous instruction in the language. It is our intent to teach Spanish
in an engaging and fun way so that students, over time, will develop the
ability to do such things as greet and respond to greetings, express likes
and dislikes, make requests, and begin to provide information. We do
this through various topics such as family, shopping, directions, food and
customs, places and events. As a culminating educational experience, all
students participate in an annual Spanish festival performance.

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Second Grade Curriculum Guide

Art

Gig Harbor Academy has implemented an approach to education referred
to as Discipline Based Arts Education. (DBAE). DBAE is an approach
developed by The Getty Center for Education in the Arts. DBAE continues
to be an outstanding framework which insures that all students receive an
excellent and ongoing study of the arts. It also involves the integration
of visual art into any curriculum in order to enhance overall learning.
DBAE presents a time proven art curriculum involving the following four
components: aesthetics, art criticism, art history and art production:

Art Production:

The production of art guides students through higher levels of thinking,
imagination, and contemplation. The production of art conjures
imaginative and critical thinking processes. The production of art
expresses our deepest understanding of our visual world. The creation of
art in any form is the expression of the heart, mind, spirit, and hand. Art
helps children understand other subjects more clearly – from math and
science, to language arts and geography…and much more.

Art History:

Art history has given us a peek into an understanding of past cultures
and times. By studying art history we begin to realize the connections
which help us make sense of the world. Not only do students begin to
understand art history, they begin to connect the dots relating to our
physical, spiritual, and soulful life on this planet.

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Art Criticism/Analysis:
One may look inside of oneself and love a particular piece, and another
may not. Analysis and criticism simply speaks about it. There is a
difference between liking a work of art and understanding its relevance to
the big (art world) picture. This process involves higher levels of thinking.
Art criticism and analysis often goes hand in hand with the beginnings
of aesthetics.
Aesthetics:
The values and ideas of “what is beautiful” is a highly personal one. Students
begin to understand the relationship between what is personally beautiful
and what is more beautiful as a collective society. Critical thinking skills
are used in aesthetics as we endeavor to design and create our personal
environments as well as to personally respond to architecture and public
spaces.
All grade levels work with a variety of materials and methods which are
age appropriate. By the completion of 5th grade, all GHA art students
have a solid foundation in visual art which well prepares them for middle
school art classes.

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Second Grade Curriculum Guide

Physical Education

The physical education program at Gig Harbor Academy is a
comprehensive and skills-based curriculum. The program helps students
develop locomotor skills, balance, spatial awareness and manipulative
skills. Students engage in a wide variety of outdoor activities, sports,
and challenges that will increase their physical, social, teamwork and
cooperation skills. The goal is to provide a safe, fun and motivating class
that will encourage all students to want to participate , have fun and try
their personal best. In addition, positive sportsmanship is taught and
encouraged throughout the year.

The physical and health curriculum exposes students to relevant issues,
with the goal of promoting healthy choices while helping students
understand the benefits of lifelong physical activity. Focused fitness
activities help teach students the importance of physical health and
daily nutrition. Gig Harbor Academy students are offered differentiated
instructional strategies that create a safe and inclusive environment
ensuring that all students are successful.

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Technology

The objective of technology enrichment at Gig Harbor Academy is two-
fold, digital citizenship and creating information:

Digital Citizenship:

Digital citizenship is the appropriate, safe, and responsible use of
technology. In the lower grades we ask questions such as, “How do you
safely go places on the computer?”, “What can you do when someone
is mean to you online?”, “How can you use the alphabet to find things
online?”. In the upper grades, questions such as, “Which keywords will
give you the best search results?”, “What kinds of responsibilities does a
good digital citizen have?” are asked.

Bridging the Gap Between Consumption and Creation:

At Gig Harbor Academy we wish to teach creation rather than only
consumption of information. Even our youngest children have now been
raised with electronic devices and use them intuitively. However as adults
we daily use computers to write documents, organize data, and automate
tasks. Our technology program is designed to bridge that gap between
consumption and production, and do so in an exciting and meaningful
way.
To that end there are a number of fundamental concepts to outline
and build upon step-by-step. Among these are articulating a problem,
expressing a concise and specific solution, then developing a logical and
elegant procedure to carry out that solution. We will explore how large
problems can be broken down to simple tasks and handled in turn or in
parallel through teamwork.
At Gig Harbor Academy there are several devices and robots available
that allow for the introduction and exploration these ideas with even
some of the youngest students. Scratch, an environment developed by
scientists at the MIT Media Lab is utilized. Students can program and
share interactive media such as stories, games, and animation.
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Second Grade Curriculum Guide
As children explore Scratch, they learn to think creatively, work
collaboratively, and reason systematically. They also use math and language
in a meaningful and motivating context, supporting the development of
early–childhood numeracy and literacy.
In the upper grades structured languages are introduced, where specific
commands or phrases are used to accomplish the solutions we have
designed. Students work hands-on with core computational concepts
such as iteration and conditionals, and math concepts such as coordinates,
variables, and random numbers. When students learn about variables in
traditional math classes, they usually feel little personal connection to the
concept. But when they learn about variables in Scratch, they are used
immediately and meaningfully, whether they control the speed of an
animation, or keep track of the score in a game they are creating.
As they learn about the process of design a student will start with an idea,
create a prototype, debug it when things go wrong, get feedback from
others, then revise and redesign it. This spiral leads to new ideas, which
lead to new projects, and so on. Designing animation, games, or stories
through Scratch enables students to express themselves more fully and
creatively, develop as logical thinkers, and understand the workings of new
technologies they encounter everywhere. The problem-solving habits
they develop will help them achieve and overcome throughout their lives.

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Music

The objective of the Gig Harbor Academy music program is to develop
joyful musicians who are confident and accurate singers, controlled and
accurate rhythmic performers, and inquisitive listeners who are sensitive
to the expressive and historical qualities of music.
In each class, students are given the opportunity to: sing focusing on
tune, pitch, and expressiveness; read: developing skills from identifying
notation symbols to reading complex notation; listen: to quality music
of many genres and cultures; move: reinforcing beat, and form, and
exploring Laban’s themes of movement; and to play instruments:
improving instrumental technique from shakers and sticks to drums and
pitched percussion, to ukulele and recorders.

Beginning in preschool, GHA students are introduced to a variety of ways
to make music with their voices and bodies through stationary gross-
motor movement, locomotor movement and lots of vocal exploration.
From prekindergarten to first grade, students follow the First Steps in
Music curriculum and participate in a “musical workout” of eight different
activities in each class. Second through fifth grade classes are guided by
the Conversational Solfege curriculum and focus on reading notation as
they improve their musical skills. Fourth and fifth grade classes also add
recorders and The Complete Recorder Resource to their music classes to
increase their technical abilities and study music theory in greater depth.
The music program also includes two large music performances each year,
plus several opportunities to perform musical selections at our “Colors”
all-school gatherings and other school events.
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Empowering every child
through joyful discovery

Gig Harbor Academy
6820 32nd Street NW, Gig Harbor, WA 98335

253-265-2150
www.gigharboracademy.org