Second Grade Curriculum

In second grade General Studies, students continue to develop their phonics, reading, writing and math skills. They begin to explore new topics in social studies and science. Students continue to work on their phonics skills using Wilson Fundations®, now focusing on more advanced spelling patterns. Students become more independent readers and further develop their comprehension skills while reading a variety of fiction and non-fiction texts. Students continue to apply their literacy skills during social studies. In second grade, students conduct an in-depth study of the history of Westchester Day School, focusing on time, continuity, and change. They research the school community past and present, learn how the school functions (laws, voting, and rules), conduct alumni interviews, and create personal and school timelines. In science, students investigate animal classification and habitats, determine what seeds and plants need to grow and thrive, explore maps, landforms, and bodies of water, design solutions to slow erosion, classify materials by their properties, and explore solid and liquid states of matter. Second graders begin to learn how to use texts as research materials. In math, using TERC Investigations, they work with numbers within 20, 100, and 1,000, including place value, addition, and subtraction, and they study money and time, length and measurement, bar graphs and picture graphs, and shapes and arrays. In Judaic Studies, our children continue to use iTaLAM and L'havin U'Lehaskil to build on the foundational skills learned in first grade. They are introduced to more formal Chumash study, culminating with receiving their first Chumash at their Chag HaTorah milestone ceremony. Students learn more about each holiday and learn about the Parsha weekly.

Students study Parshiot Lech Lecha and the first half of Vayera and learn to daven Shmoneh Esrei. In literacy, students write opinion pieces, informative texts, and narratives, and apply The Writing Revolution strategies to develop complete sentences and organize ideas into paragraphs. Small, targeted reading groups continue to build decoding and comprehension skills. Specials include STEM, Art, Music, Physical Education, and Grow Torah in our teaching garden.