At a Glance: Second Grade at St. Peter s School Second Grade Special Events, Traditions and Celebrations People Magazine The Second Grade is responsible for producing a People Magazine. This magazine reports interviews, completed by the Second Grade, with members of the faculty. The magazine includes pictures and typed reports. Colonial Times Job Fair Each Second Grade student researches a particular occupation associated with the study of Colonial times. Each student dresses up in his/her Colonial Time s outfits and then speaks about the trade of study. The fair is shared with the School community. Study of Historic Philadelphia Making great use of our historic location, our Second Grade takes various walking tours during their study of historical Philadelphia. The following is a sampling of typical locations we visit (this varies by the year): Independence Visitor s Center Independence Hall and Liberty Bell Franklin Court Pennsylvania Hospital Learn to Grow program about 18 th Century Herbal Remedies and Medicine Physick House Powel House Betsy Ross House Christ Church and Burial ground Colonial Times Field Trips Supporting the Second Grade study of colonial times is a tour of colonial art at the Philadelphia Art Museum.
Wagner Institute/Insectatarium Supporting the science studies in Second Grade, the class visits the Wagner Institute and Insectatarium. Second Grade Curriculum Details Art Painting/Recognizing Color o Review of previously learned concepts about colors and work on more complex projects Drawing o Self portraits o Human figure drawing o Sequential drawing o Composition Clay sculpture o Learn the coil pot technique and make a container Papier Mache/sculpture o Papier mache rain stick Mixed Media o 3-D sculptures using mixed media o Collages Wire and Foam 3-D sculpture Wood Sculpture Print making Paperwork Weaving, Stitchery and Embroidery o Sew objects onto burlap o Learn how to weave yarn o Weaving yarns onto a small cardboard loom o Weaving beads onto a bead wooden hand held loom Artist Series o Learning sequential drawing by creating own picture books French Grammar o Placement of adjectives o Gender o Accent marks and spelling o Plurals o Articles o Basic sentence structure o Je m appelle/il s appelle/ Elle s appelle o Possessive adjectives o Pronouns Vocabulary
o Space o Family o Town o Beach o Review of colors o Numbers to 39 o Review of greetings/farewell o Holidays o Winter sports o Café foods and drinks o Fruits and vegetables o Dairy products o Bakery goods o School supplies o French Alphabet o Weather o Classroom commands o Shapes o Songs Culture o French holidays and traditions o Francophone world introduction (countries and country flags) o Basic geography of France o Introduction to Paris monuments o French food o French currency o Introduction to Claude Monet and his art o Introduction to some French inventions o Introduction to Joan of Arc and Louis XVI/French Revolution o Mardi Gras, Poisson d avril o Introduction to the importance of Le Marché in French culture o Introduction to French History and Influence in the Philadelphia area Technology and other resources o Introduce the use of technology by accessing educational and cultural websites to enhance classroom-based language instruction o Use of story books, magazines and songs to reinforce language skills, and teach about current events and culture Language Arts Spelling o Words each week to learn common rules o Weekly spelling tests Vocabulary o Robust words each week o Weekly robust vocabulary assessments Grammar and Mechanics o Weekly lessons from StoryTown o Weekly grammar assessments
Writing o Letters o Poetry o Fiction o Writing for the Wall o Journal writing Handwriting o D Nealian manuscript is practiced and reinforced Declamation o Poems are memorized and recited publicly each month Literature Building inflection, fluency, pace, voice modulation, and word recognition skills while reading a variety of genre, including: o Fiction and non-fiction o Biographies o Readers theater o Folktales o Expository titles Extend knowledge of Basic Sight Words o Creating word families and word patterns o Decode regular words o Build speed in immediate word recognition o Identify nouns, verbs, adjectives, antonyms and synonyms, and suffixes o Words I use when I write Review story elements o The main idea o Story sequence o Inferences o Lesson or purpose o New information o Compare/contrast characters, other titles, and/or personal experience Answer question in complete sentences with details (adjectives) o Edit work for omissions, capital letters, and punctuation Math Addition and subtraction of two and three-digit numbers o With and without regrouping Identifying Place value o Numbers to 1,000 Money o Recognizing the monetary value of coins Tables and Graphs o Identifying and creating bar, pie, pictographs and line graphs Time o Identify time on analog and digital clocks Writing number sentences o Identifying the appropriate math operation to solve the problem
Geometry o Solid figures and plane shapes Music Singing o Sing in unison, in canon and partner songs Playing Instruments o Students use Orff instruments and can bring in their own instruments for projects and performances Music literacy o Read and write half notes, ties, fermatas o Do and re are learned through Kodaly method and Orff process Movement o Interpret music through creative movement, dance, and dramatic play Listening o A variety of music from international folk to classical music is used in the classroom Improvising and composing o Students create music and lyrics using games and small group projects. Form o Identify forms such as AB Performances: o Declamations o Celebration of Light o Grandparent s Day and Graduation o Students have the opportunity to perform in recitals o Present English Country and international folk dancing at May Day Science Earth Science/Air and Water o Study the properties of air o Use basic weather tools to gather information o Observe movement of objects in the air Life Science/Insects o Observe and compare insect structures and behaviors o Compare and contrast darling beetles, milkweed bugs, wax moths, silkworm moths, painted lady butterflies and crickets o Record findings and pose questions to be resolved o Field trip to the Insectarium and Wagner Institute Thinking Processes o Beginning organizing o Comparing o Communicating o Observing o Journaling o Investigating
o Weekly use of National Geographic Kids Magazine Social Studies Historical Philadelphia o Ben Franklin o Betsy Ross Colonial Time Map Skills Modern Philadelphia Seasonal events and celebrations Field trips to historical Philadelphia Sports Fitness o Exercises and Stretching o Jump Rope o Walk/Walk backwards o Running/Distance Running o Jumping/Skipping/Galloping o Relays o Presidential Fitness Challenge 200m run, 400m run, ½ mile run, mile run, pull-ups, sit-ups, pushups, shuttle run o Track and Field 220m, 440m, mile run, broad jumps, hurdles Manipulative Skills o Ball activities o Baseball/Softball Throwing, catching, hitting, base running o Soccer/Basketball Dribbling, passing, shooting o Parachutes o Beanbags o Hula Hoops o Scooters o Floor Hockey o Volleyball o Lacrosse Technology Office Tools o Microsoft Word o Keyboarding skills Design/Multi-Media Projects o KidPix Research o Science and Social Studies websites including FossWeb.com o Language Arts and Math games