Overview: Grade Two
- LANGUAGE ARTS
- CHARACTER EDUCATION
- HISTORY AND SOCIAL STUDIES
- PHYSICAL EDUCATION
- LIBRARY/INFORMATION LITERACY
Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening
Language and literacy development are essential for learning. The TAS standards and benchmarks for language arts outline what students will know and be able to do in language arts at each grade level. We use a balanced literacy approach to engage students in developmentally appropriate instruction. Our program includes:
Talk Strategies: strategies to help children articulate ideas and deepen their thinking in all content areas
Reading Workshop: strategy-based instruction to develop the skills and habits of proficient readers
Writing Workshop: clear, sequenced instruction that teaches students to turn their ideas into powerful written messages across genres and for a variety of purposes
Interactive Read Aloud: a time for students to engage with literature and grow ideas
Word Study: explicit instruction where students develop phonics, spelling, and vocabulary skills
Grammar: standards-based instruction that helps children develop proficiency in their use of English grammar, orally and in writing
We honor the developmental nature of language and literacy development by differentiating instructional strategies and materials.
In Grade two, students will make significant gains as readers and writers. We have designed a series of standards-based units that, while challenging, will create lifelong enthusiasm for reading and writing. These units are:
- Taking Charge of Reading
- Becoming Experts: Reading Nonfiction
- Studying Characters and Their Stories
- Bigger Books Mean Amping Up Reading Power
- Reading Nonfiction Cover to Cover
- Series Book Clubs
- Lessons from the Masters: Improving Narrative Craft
- Information Books: Writing to Teach Others
- Writing Gripping Fictional Stories
- Poetry: Big Thoughts in Small Packages
- Independent Writing Projects
- Writing about Reading
Character education is woven into every subject area and every classroom. Teachers reinforce the TAS values of honesty, respect, responsibility, kindness and courage through classroom discussions, appropriate literature, songs and role play. By modeling and reinforcing the values, we hope that all students develop good habits and demonstrate the values in what they say and do every day.
The lower school counselor, in addition to supporting individual children and parents, teaches a guidance lesson in the classroom once in every ten-day cycle. Lessons are designed to help children strengthen their social skills and better understand the role of emotions in life. Children learn problem solving and conflict resolution skills appropriate for their grade level.
The mathematics curriculum has two major components: Standards for Mathematical Practice and Standards for Mathematical Content. The Standards for Mathematical Practice define what it means to be a mathematical thinker and are addressed at all grade levels of the Lower School. Students will be able to:
- Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them
- Reason abstractly and quantitatively
- Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others
- Model with mathematics
- Use appropriate tools strategically
- Attend to precision
- Look for and make use of structure
- Look for patterns
The Standards for Mathematical Content are the topics addressed at each grade level. Emphasis is placed on a balance of conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and real-world application.Grade two topics include:
- Sums and Differences to 100
- Addition and Subtraction of Length Units
- Place Value, Counting, and Comparison of Numbers to 1,000
- Addition and Subtraction within 200 and Word Problems to 100
- Addition and Subtraction within 1,000 and Word Problems to 100
- Problem Solving with Length, Money, and Data
- Time, Shapes, and Fractions as Equal Parts of Shapes
The major resource for the lower school mathematics program is Eureka Math. Parents can access information about the program at http://greatminds.net/maps/math/home. A strategic approach allows for academic rigor while still meeting the needs of all students.
The lower school Mandarin program is committed to developing students’ Chinese language proficiency and deepening their appreciation for Chinese culture.
There are two tracks in the program, and different courses are offered in both tracks, based on students’ language proficiency levels, designed to meet students’ abilities and needs. In grade two, introductory, bridging, and grade level courses are offered.
The Mandarin Learner Track is for students who study Mandarin as a second language. The goal is to develop students’ listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills with an emphasis on oral proficiency as a tool for meeting age-appropriate functional and informational needs. As the students gain oral skills, they begin to read and write, which sets them on a course for more advanced Mandarin language study. Students in the Learner Track use Pinyin, a Romanization system, to help them learn to read and write traditional Chinese characters.
The Mandarin Heritage Track is for students whose first language or strong additional language is Mandarin. The goal is to develop and enhance students’ overall language proficiency while focusing on reading and writing to build a solid foundation in literacy skills. Students in the Heritage Track use Zhuyin, Bopomofo Phonetic Symbols, to help them learn to read and write traditional Chinese characters.
Highly engaging and rigorous, the program is developmentally appropriate and provides an enriching experience for all young scientists. The processes and skills of science are emphasized within the context of ‘doing’ science in real life situations using live specimens, suitable technology, and hands-on materials. The curriculum is built on the California State Science Standards and Benchmarks. The FOSS (Full Option Science System) science program serves as the core resource.
- In grade two, students will study the following concepts: Pebbles, Sand, and Silt
- Rocks are made of minerals
- Rocks are broken down over time to create soil
- Balance and Motion
- Objects move in different ways
- Everything is affected by gravity
- Insects move through different life cycles
- Scientists learn about the living world by comparing and contrasting
Grade two students further their programming and building skills through the LEGO Education WeDo Construction Sets. The focus is on the building components of the robot and how the individual pieces help the overall design and purpose of the robot.
ENGINEERING IS ELEMENTARY
Engineering is Elementary (EiE) teaches the students the engineering design process which involves defining a problem, generating ideas, selecting a solution, making the item, evaluating it, and presenting the results. Our EiE unit this year is:
Designing Walls & Spinners
HISTORY AND SOCIAL STUDIES
The purpose of our social studies program is to cultivate global citizens by ensuring students have knowledge of history, governmental systems, economics, culture, geography, and religion. Our history and social studies program is designed to ensure that students have the necessary tools and understanding to become effective problem-solvers, critical thinkers, and decision-makers in an ever-changing, interconnected world. In grade two, students will study the following units:
Main Street: Understanding Goods and Services
Students learn about the role of businesses in the community and learn how to deal with a variety of problems that businesses face.
Solving Problems in the Park
This unit provides children with an array of problems to solve in the creation and maintenance of a park. When children are confronted with bullies, they learn strategies for responding and keeping the park a safe place for everyone.
Participating in our Community (Service Project): Students from each classroom discuss the importance of helping others within our community. Students gather supplies to support a family in need in the Taipei area.
Music students sing, play pitched and un-pitched percussion instruments, dance, do creative movement, improvise, and learn to read and write music. We use experiences with language, body percussion, instruments and movement to help students develop their musical skills and understanding.
Each quarter we work on developing three specific drama skills through a selection of fun theater games: Cooperation/Collaboration, Physical Expression, Speech, Vocal Expression, Concentration, Imagination, Stage Skills, Characterization, Listening, Timing, Trust, and Self-Discipline. In addition, at various times in the year, we will use themes from homeroom classes, rhymes, songs, fairy tales, folk tales, myths, poetry or inspiration from music and literature to develop short drama projects. These pieces may be shared in the form of audio recordings, video, informal in-class presentations, and public performances.
In Grade Two Physical Education, the students study units in the areas of manipulative, movement, fitness, aquatics and personal/social development. Manipulative involves the development of skills in throwing, catching, striking, kicking and dribbling such as hitting a stationary target with an overhand throw and striking a ball with a lightweight racket. Movement involves the development of skills in spatial awareness, locomotor and non-locomotor such as creating pathways around objects and balancing on a variety of body parts. Fitness involves both the study of concepts and skills. Aquatics is a swim development program based on individual needs. Personal and social development is a reflection of the TAS values in action through physical education.
The focus of the lower school program is age appropriate, carefully sequenced skill development in a spirit of cooperation.
The art curriculum lays foundational skills through exploration, discovery, creativity, and amazement in visual media by teaching art history, art production, art criticism, and aesthetics at a developmentally appropriate level. The program is carefully sequenced to ensure each year builds on the previous year’s skill development and knowledge. At each level the foundational skills of basic drawing techniques, color mixing, principles of design, and critiques are built upon, while integrating STEAM concepts. Learning a design process with these basic art skills gives students the tools, experience, and confidence to develop and present their creative ideas. In addition to drawing, painting, printmaking, and ceramics, a variety of other media and concepts are explored throughout the year.