Community Building
We will be learning about our classroom and school community as well as the broader community in which we live. This unit will include the study of rituals and routines in the classroom and school community.  This will be a time to develop relationships with classmates and staff.  We will also create Hopes and Dreams for our school year and discuss how we will help each meet those goals throughout the school year.  We will also be learning to be good citizens in our greater community by studying voting, democracy and how our country began.

Maps Take Us Places
Our geography study will include making and using maps. We will use cardinal directions and map keys. Students will learn about all kinds of maps such as story maps, time lines as a map of history and geographical maps. We will be reading folk tales from around the world and find where they are from on the map.

Solids, Liquids, Gases
We will conduct scientific observations of the weather, learn vocabulary words, learn about the water cycle, and use tools to measure temperature and wind. Second graders will also learn about the properties of solids, liquids and air as they conduct  experiments.  

Plants and Pollinators
This is a study of how new plants are propagated. We will do experiments to see how new plants grow, and write observations of what we see. Students will learn about the interdependence between plants and pollinators through arts-infused activities.  We will take a field trip to the Bell Museum to reinforce our plant and pollinator studies.

All the thematic units are integrated into the academics and arts. The books we read and the projects we do focus on our central theme. Some of our other academic routines include:

Reader's Workshop
This time starts with a whole group mini lesson then moves to small group instruction time to suit your child's individual needs.
   
Math
We will be using the Task, Question, and Evidence process to teach and learn math.  Students will be exploring math concepts and explaining their mathematical thinking with each other.  Part of the second grade curriculum is to learn basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division math facts.  There will be whole group instruction as well as small groups to meet individual needs.

Writer's Workshop
We will have Writer's Workshop every day. This is a time for your child to develop his or her writing skills. Updates about writing will be in our second grade newsletter published throughout the year.

Handwriting
We will be using the Handwriting Without Tears curriculum. It will help children learn how to print neatly, giving them more confidence in writing.

Physical Education
Second graders will have gym class once a week and students must wear tennis shoes. We will let you know when gym days are in the second grade newsletter.

Technology
Second Graders will be working with iPad integrated throughout their learning day.  They will be able to share some of their work with their families through SeeSaw.  If you are not logged in to SeeSaw to see your child's work, please contact your teacher.
       
Habitats
Our Social Studies curriculum includes hands-on, interactive projects and is based in literature. We will be using it throughout the year, integrating it into our thematic units.

Life Cycles
We will read, write and discover life cycles of a variety of animals.  We will observe live meal worms as they grow and change through their life cycle.