Reading

Unit 1: Launching: Careful Readers Have Good Habits

Launching the Reading Workshop is the initial unit that focuses on setting the groundwork for the important strategies and skills necessary for success in Second Grade reading. The first few weeks focus on Reading Workshop strategies and structures. The next few weeks will be centralized around strategies that support fluency, accuracy, and comprehension. Readers will learn the importance of choosing appropriate texts and how to select books that can be managed on an independent reading level. Readers will finish the unit by learning about the importance of problem solving and how to address situations that will undoubtedly arise as they move into more complex texts requiring higher level skills

Unit 2: Fiction: Readers Think and Talk About Characters

This unit is an in depth study of characters. This unit will examine main characters, analyzing who they are and how they respond to the world around them. Students will also examine story elements such as setting, important events, problem and solution. During this time, readers will also learn how to make predictions, stop and jot, make connections, compare and contrast, notice patterns, and build theories. Students will also learn how to properly interact with their classmates, talking to one another and building upon their conversations by adding additional information. By the end of the unit, students will feel more confident discussing characters and story elements with their peers.

Unit 3: Nonfiction: Informational Strategies and Just Right Books

In this first nonfiction unit of study, students will focus on learning about the world through informational texts. The unit will begin by immersing children in nonfiction books of all topics, by learning how to choose ones that are appropriate as well as creating a plan of action for reading. Students also learn the importance of continuing to read fiction books, in order to maintain and build their fiction reading muscles. Following the immersion bend, students will learn how to work together and share information in clubs/partnerships. By reading multiple books across a topic, students will also learn how to dig deeper into the information presented by using text features to help comprehend topics better. Students will understand how titles, captions, labels, pictures, diagrams, maps, and other text features fit into a text and help readers to learn at higher levels. The unit will culminate with a celebration that allows students to present the information acquired about a specific topic of interest to their peers through writing and a visual project. This will help children continue to learn how to share important information with others.

Unit 4: Fiction: Digging Deeper: Folktales, Fairy Tales, Fables

In this unit, students will be exploring the wonderful fantasy world of fairy tales, folktales, and fables. Students will start out by immersing themselves in these different types of texts, noticing the characteristics of each. They will start to become familiar with typical patterns presented in these types of literature, allowing students to become more comprehensive readers. Diving into these characteristics allow for readers to think about lessons learned, motives, morals, and the author's message. At the same time, students will use this unit to practice fluency and expression. Fairy tales, folktales, and fables are, genuinely, very vivid stories that allow all readers to show animation and expression. Students will practice these skills to help them grow as a reader. Throughout the unit, students will have immersed themselves in multiple versions of the same story and will have the opportunity to compare and contrast stories from different cultures, perspectives, and authors. At the culmination of this unit, readers will have the opportunity to pull together all of the skills they have been acquiring as readers as they are immersed in the theatre standards, allowing them to bring these stories to life in a guided drama experience.

Unit 5: Fiction: Reading and Responding to Chapter Books

This unit begins with reviewing some of the foundational reading skills that students have been working on throughout the year. It allows them to revisit these vital skills and work towards grade level mastery as they become experts in reading chapter books. Students will continue to work on comprehension strategies that allow readers to understand books on a deeper level. Following that, students will spend some time noticing words and their meanings by using the skills in their tool boxes to decode and understand the meaning of different words. This type of review lends itself nicely to the culmination of the unit where students and teachers begin talking and writing about their reading. By the end of the unit, students will become familiar with thinking, talking, and sharing their opinions about books, characters, and everything else in between. We finish the unit celebrating their achievements by sharing their writing about reading with each other by creating a presentation of all they learned to be shared with peers.

Unit 6: Nonfiction: Informational Reading Strategies in a Content Area

This second and final nonfiction unit focuses on reading and writing nonfiction in the content area of Ancient Egypt. The unit will begin with a reintroduction into reading nonfiction as we review strategies for this genre. This time around, students will be focusing on topics in Ancient Egypt and will immerse themselves in a specific area of interest under this subject’s umbrella. Following that, students will progress by gathering information on the topic of choice (within the realm of Ancient Egypt) to further their understanding and enjoyment. The ultimate goal of this unit is to turn all of the information collected into a nonfiction or all about book that focuses on a topic within the subject of Egypt. Students might craft an all about book, either as a physical book or in digital form, on The Great Pyramids, gods or goddesses, The Valley of Kings, mummies and many others. The unit will culminate by publishing and celebrating their nonfiction books. Students will also be encouraged to read just right books on their level so they continue to build foundational reading skills in fiction during this unit, as well.

Unit 7: Fiction: Book Clubs

In the book club unit, students will learn how to choose just right series books on their level to read with a partner or a book club. Within this unit, students will begin to explore series that they know and love and series that are not familiar to them. As they move through the unit, students will begin to notice different patterns within that series, focusing on characters, problems, and settings. Once they finish a series, students will choose another series to read. Students will continue to notice patterns as well as talk about their findings with their partners/book clubs. At the completion of the unit, students will celebrate all of their new learning by continuing to read series books. They will also celebrate by sharing their book recommendations with others.

 

Writing

Unit 1: Narrative: Launching Writing Workshop/ Personal Narrative

In the beginning of the year, it is important that the students review the routines and structures of Writing Workshop. Students will learn how to generate ideas from their own life experiences, which will eventually become a personal narrative. They will learn the difference between a “big moment” and a “small moment” (seed idea) story as well as the steps that should be taken in order to develop a story. Students will learn to create a strong lead and an effective ending. They will also write with dialogue, thoughts, details, and feelings in order to enhance their writing. Students are learning to revise their own writing by using checklists and rubrics to assess their writing. Students will learn to write independently, using the skills learned in class. They will use the knowledge they gained from this writing piece and will transfer those skills to later pieces.

Unit 2: Narrative: Realistic Fiction

Students will expand their knowledge of narrative writing by writing another narrative piece in which they create a realistic character with a believable problem/issue. The students will immerse themselves in realistic fiction stories to explore the characteristics of a realistic fiction story and gather ideas from them. They will draw and use graphic organizers to plan the structure of their realistic fiction story to make sure they stay focused on their ideas. Students will elaborate their stories by bringing their characters to life when adding thought, action, and dialogue. In these stories, students will explore different ways to write a strong lead and end their stories with a sense of closure. Students will learn to self- assess when they revise and edit. They will select their best work to revise, edit, and publish.

Unit 3: Informational: Expert Books on a Variety of Topics

This unit welcomes second graders into the world of nonfiction writing by encouraging them to explore all the topics they are an “expert” on. Students will learn that they can take anything they know a lot about (soccer, dogs, an ice cream shop) and write chapters that will teach their readers about the topic. Students will make connections to the nonfiction books they read by categorizing and organizing their information into chapters. Students will learn how to write a topic sentence for each chapter and how to provide a concluding statement. This unit will boost student confidence as they write with pride on topics they are an “expert” on.

Unit 4: Opinion: Persuasive Letters and Other Texts

Students will express their opinions through writing. Students will be exposed to a variety of opinion and persuasive writing through texts, articles, etc. Students will “notice” various opinion features about certain types of texts. Students will learn to clearly state an opinion through providing specific reasons to support their opinion. By doing this, the students will write opinion pieces to attempt to get the reader to feel or believe the same way. Students will be introduced to the components of writing a letter, in order to write persuasive letters with evidence/reasoning to convince readers of their belief.

Unit 5: Opinion: Book Reviews

Students will make a connection to what they are reading by forming opinions about the books they have read. Students will think deeply about a book they love and ask themselves why they feel that way. They will learn to clearly state their opinion and provide supporting reasons by using text evidence. By doing this, the students will draft convincing book reviews that attempt to get the reader to feel or believe the same way they do. Students will explore the components of book reviews by writing a strong summary, stating their opinion/ feelings about the book, providing examples that support their opinions and feelings, and giving a recommendation. Students will use strong conventions (punctuation, capitalization, and spelling) to complete their book reviews.

Unit 6: Informational: Expert Books on Ancient Egypt

To make an interdisciplinary connection, this unit can be connected to the Oradell Public School Social Studies Unit 4; Cultures and Perspectives of the World. One of the suggested topics to study is “Ancient Egypt” based on the resources available in the school. However, each teacher may choose to have the students research on a variety of topics based on interest and/or resource availability. Other suggested topics can include: Plants, Geography/Landforms, Ecosystems, etc. This unit will tie into the reading unit “Informational Reading Strategies in the Content Areas.” The students will work in small groups to connect their close reading to informational writing. They will take their new knowledge of an area within the topic to create a writing piece to teach others. Students will reference back to the previous nonfiction unit to continue using nonfiction features to strengthen their writing.

Unit 7: Poetry: Big Thoughts in Small Packages

This unit will deepen children’s understanding of poetry. Students will learn that poets are sparked by objects or feelings that they translate onto paper. Students will also learn and craft poems through repetition, metaphor and language. Students will be able to recognize poetry in their own lives by exploring objects and memories.

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Math

Unit 1: Number Sense and Place Value (GoMath Chapters 1 and 2)

In this unit, students will extend understanding of base-ten notation by using place value to find the values of numbers and describe numbers in different ways. Teachers will begin modeling a 2-digit number with base-ten blocks to build understanding that a 2-digit number can be named in its expanded form as the sum of its tens and ones.

Unit 2: Addition and Subtraction (GoMath Chapters 3 to 6)

In this unit, students will focus on the relationship between addition and subtraction and the importance of place value when adding and subtracting. Subtraction, like addition, is effectively addressed through modeling. Students will model with mathematics, with tools such as base-ten blocks or write equations to represent a problem situation involving subtraction. As students deepen their understanding of subtraction, they will learn multiple ways to regroup numbers prior to learning the standard algorithm. Students will also work with addition and subtraction problems in real-world contexts to help solve them. The real-world contexts help children make sense of the operations.

Unit 3: Measurement and Data (GoMath Chapters 7 to 10)

In this unit, students will work with the concepts of money and time which offer demanding problems for children to explore and solve. When they discuss situations, they will consider how hours and minutes are related, or how the values of coins are related. They will also work with the standard and Metric systems of measurement. They will choose an appropriate measuring tool that will make the measure meaningful, practice measuring by looking for the mark that represents the zero, and align the left edge of the object with the zero mark on the ruler.

Unit 4: Geometry and Fractions (GoMath Chapter 11)

In this unit, students will identify and work with both two dimensional and three dimensional shapes. They will also divide a whole into equal parts which is key to understanding and naming fractions.

 

Social Studies

Unit 1: Leaders in Government

Describe who the leaders are local, for their state, and nationally by identifying who they are and what roles they play. Investigate the roles and responsibilities of leaders and citizens by understanding the services they provide. Identify needs within their communities by looking at what issues need to be addressed and contact the town mayor via email to identify the issue(s) and solution(s). Describe how individuals and groups make decisions by looking out for the common good. Recognize individuals that are authority figures. Cite evidence of how rules are made to keep everyone safe, resolve conflicts and treat people fairly and responsibly. Recognize how character traits influence people's needs and productivity within their communities through the use of a variety of sources and examples. Discuss Hawaiian values as a model for civic rules and responsibilities. Describe how budgeting plays a role in the economics (saving, spending, acquiring debt, investing, etc.) of their community

Unit 2: Geography

Review the difference between rural, suburban, and urban communities. Explain the different physical and human characteristics that might make a location a good place to live (e.g., landforms, climate and weather, resource availability).  Identify and describe the properties of a variety of maps and globes (e.g., title, legend, cardinal directions, scale, symbols) and purposes (wayfinding, thematic). Investigate the relationship between the physical environment of a place and the economic activities found there. Use technologies to understand the culture and physical characteristics of regions. Investigate a global issue such as climate change and its significance, and share information about how it impacts different regions around the world. Identify characteristics of climate change and its impact on communities.

Unit 3: Communities and Resources

Explain the impact that decisions about savings, debt, and investment can have on individuals' lives. Describe the goods and services that individuals and businesses in the local community produce and those that are produced in other communities.  Identify the ways in which people exchange(d) goods and services today and in the past (e.g., purchase, borrow, barter).  Describe how supply and demand influence the price and output of products. Identify examples of human capital, physical capital, and natural resources that contribute to favorable economic conditions. Cite examples of products that are produced domestically and sold abroad and produced abroad and sold domestically.

Unit 4: World Perspectives

Use primary sources representing multiple perspectives to compare and make inferences about why there are different accounts of the same event. Consider how individuals have various perspectives. Act as historians to analyze a variety of sources describing the same event and make inferences about why the accounts are different (e.g., photographs, paintings, cartoons, newspapers, poetry, novels, plays). Use historical data from a variety of sources to investigate the development of a local community (e.g., origins of its name, originating members, important historical events, and places). Collect data and consider sources from multiple perspectives to become informed about an environmental issue and identify possible solutions.

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Science

Unit 1: Physical Science: Structure and Properties of Matter

In this unit of study, students explore and compare the diversity of life in different habitats. They develop an understanding of what plants need to grow and how plants depend on animals for seed dispersal and pollination. Students learn about cause-and-effect relationships and how an organism’s structures are related to the function that each structure performs. Developing and using models plays an important role in students’ understanding of structure/function relationships.

Unit 2: Earth Systems: Processes That Shape the Earth

Students look for patterns as they identify where water is found on Earth and explore the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water found in an area. Students also develop models to identify and represent the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water in an area.

Unit 3: Life Science: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems

In this unit of study, students explore and compare the diversity of life in different habitats. They develop an understanding of what plants need to grow and how plants depend on animals for seed dispersal and pollination. Students learn about cause-and-effect relationships and how an organism’s structures are related to the function that each structure performs. Developing and using models plays an important role in students’ understanding of structure/function relationships.