Second Grade Curriculum
- Religion 2 Course Plan & Tests (Paid for with enrollment)
- Jesus Our Life, Textbook
- Jesus Our Life, Activity Book (Optional)
- Jesus Our Life, Teacher Manual (Optional)
- The New Saint Joseph First Communion Catechism
Grade Two Religion guides the student through preparation for the reception of the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Communion. The law of God and salvation history are given as background for these Sacraments. The course emphasizes God’s mercy and His inestimable gift of His Son.
The student, if he was in the Kolbe program last year, has already used the First Communion Catechism, but the repetition is good. Using both of these books, the child will be ready to receive his First Confession and First Communion in the spring. It is advisable for you to have a child’s Bible to use in conjunction with the lessons in religion.
- Catholic National Reader 2 Course Plan & Tests (Paid for with enrollment)
- Catholic National Reader, Book Two, Textbook
- Catholic National Reader, Book Two, Study Guide (2 book set)
Second Grade Reading will cover a selection of readings appropriate to the level of the child. The readings will be taken from the Catholic National Reader Book Two, plus material from the Kolbe Academy Recommended Reading List or some other reliable source. The style of presentation in the Catholic National Reader is developed so that the full range of study is contained in each story (phonics, spelling, definitions and ever-increasing vocabulary). All outside reading should be chosen for the quality of content, art (if any is reproduced), and the gradual inclusion of more difficult vocabulary.
Goals of the course include developing in the student a love for reading and appreciation of good literature, recognition of characters, details, relationships, and plots, the ability to retell the story in their own words and write book reports, and the ability to find the moral or objective of the selection.
The Catholic National Reader is quite challenging, so if necessary proceed more slowly than the course plans suggest. It is not unusual for a student to be reading the book that is a year below his grade level.
- Phonics B Course Plan & Tests (Paid for with enrollment)
- Phonics B, Workbook
- Phonics B, Answer Key (Optional)
- Phonics B, Teacher Manual (Optional)
Grade Two Phonics brings the student into the new areas of hard and soft c and g, r controlled vowels, plurals, suffixes, vowel digraphs, diphthongs, prefixes, synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, and syllabication. Phonics B begins with easy material, and the child should be able to read the instructions and follow the directions. At first this may be challenging, but developing this skill at an early age will be of great value as the child progresses academically. Much in the phonics book reinforces what the student learns in English and Spelling.
- English 2 Course Plan & Tests (Paid for with enrollment)
- English 2, Workbook
- English 2, Teacher Manual (Optional)
- Macmillan Children’s Dictionary (Optional)
Grade Two English brings the student to study kinds of sentences and most of the parts of speech in a sentence. The student is met with the requirement to use simple punctuation, capitalize words and become acquainted with synonyms and antonyms, as well as alphabetizing words and classifying objects. The student is also required to develop and practice composition skills including writing book reports.
Most of the tasks in this book are self-explanatory, so very little direction is included. Many of the pages have extra written work recommended to help the student retain what was introduced. The student should be expected to memorize many definitions, words, and lists in this book. A child’s dictionary is recommended for use in English 2.
- Spelling 2 Course Plan (Paid for with enrollment)
- Phonogram Flash Cards
- Macmillan Dictionary for Children (Optional)
Grade Two Spelling develops the student’s capacity to pronounce, spell, use, look up in the dictionary, and understand the definitions of words. Other skills developed are the visual and auditory discrimination of words and becoming familiar with spelling rules that can be applied now and in future spelling.
A child’s dictionary is recommended in the second semester. At first using the dictionary is challenging for most children, but the more it is used the easier it becomes. It is great preparation for the future grades. If your student needs more challenging words, words from The Catholic National Reader can be assigned to supplement the weekly lists.
- Writing Our Catholic Faith: Grade 2 Manuscript Writing
- Writing Our Catholic Faith: Grade 2 Intro to Cursive Writing
- History 2 Course Plan & Tests (Paid for with enrollment)
- Child’s Bible History, Textbook
- Child’s Bible History, Answer Key
The core and meaning of all history is the history of our salvation, so history rightly begins with salvation history. This Grade Two History course is designed to supplement the study of religion by familiarizing the student with the chief figures and events of the Old and New Testament. These include creation and the fall of man, Abraham, Joseph, Moses and the Exodus, and the life of Jesus, and his suffering, death, and resurrection.
This Bible history course should be used to reinforce what is learned in religion class with an emphasis on God’s plan for salvation. Students should get an understanding of the genealogy of the people of the Old Testament in relation to the coming of Our Savior. They will then begin to make the connections between the Old Testament, the New Testament, and our own times. Bible history does not need to be done every day and can be eliminated if the student is being challenged by the basics in the other subjects.
- Geography 2 Course Plan & Tests (Paid for with enrollment)
- Daily Geography Practice 2, Workbook
- Daily Geography Practice 2, Teacher Edition (Optional, but strongly recommended)
- World Globe (Not carried by Kolbe, but strongly recommended)
Apply the geography lessons to the world around the child: The World in Spatial Terms, Places and Regions, Physical Systems, Human Systems, Environment and Society, The Uses of Geography.
Topics covered in second grade:
- Using a Globe
- Directions on a Map
- Using a Map Key
- Using a Map Grid
- Picturing a Place
- Picturing the United States
- Street & road
- World & population
- Land & water
- Rural, suburb, city, & state
- Park, weather, & desert
- Using Various Maps
- Neighborhood Plan
FAMILIES HAVE TWO OPTIONS FOR SECOND GRADE MATH
Mathematics (Option 1: Singapore®)
- Singapore Math 2 Course Plan & Tests (Paid for with enrollment)
- Primary Mathematics 2A, Textbook
- Primary Mathematics 2A, Workbook
- Primary Mathematics 2A, Home Instructor’s Guide
- Primary Mathematics 2B, Textbook
- Primary Mathematics 2B, Workbook
- Primary Mathematics 2B, Home Instructor’s Guide
In Primary Mathematics Grade 2 curriculum students will use and apply mathematics in practical, real life situations as well as within the discipline of mathematics itself. The curriculum will cover a wide range of situations from routine problems to problems in unfamiliar contexts to open-ended investigations that will make use of relevant mathematical concepts. In this curriculum the student will experience a concrete introduction to a concept, followed by a pictorial representation, followed by the abstract symbols. In this way students will be able to master each concept
Mathematics (Option 2: MCP)
- MCP Math B Course Plan & Tests (Paid for with enrollment)
- MCP Math B, Workbook,
- MCP Math B, Teacher Resource Manual (Optional)
Grade Two Mathematics continues the activities of first grade in the area of inductive and deductive activities. The book begins with review of concepts that the student has already learned. It then continues with problem solving, 3-digit place value, time and money, addition and subtraction of 2 and 3-digit numbers, geometry and fractions, measurement, and multiplication through 5×5.
FAMILIES HAVE TWO OPTIONS FOR SECOND GRADE SCIENCE
Science (Option 1: Harcourt)
- Harcourt Science 2 Course Plan & Tests (Paid for with enrollment)
- Harcourt Science, Grades 1/2 Textbook*
- Harcourt Science, Grades 1/2 Workbook (Optional)*
*Harcourt Science Grades 1/2 is used in both 1st and 2nd grade
Second Grade Science continues the basic introduction to the life, earth, and physical sciences. The most important part of teaching science in the early years is helping the student see the wonders of God’s world, and making him unafraid of the subject when he pursues science in more depth later. Children learn more from doing the experiments and investigations alongside the reading of the textbook.
The Harcourt Science series has the availability of several online learning tools to anyone who purchases the textbook. The first is provided by the publisher, Harcourt. Another website is provided by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). The online resources are a wonderful addition to the activities provided within the text itself. Topics covered include habitats in Life Science, the Solar System and weather in Earth Science, and energy, as forces and motion, and as hearing and sound in Physical Science.
Science (Option 2: Science & Living in God’s World)
- Science and Living in God’s World 2 Course Plan & Tests (Paid for with enrollment)
- Science and Living in God’s World, Grade 2 Textbook
- Science and Living in God’s World, Grade 2 Answer Key (Optional)
- Science Experiments Recipe Book (Optional)
Grade Two Science has the observation of physical phenomena as its focus. Topics covered include the dependence of animals on plants for food, insects, rocks and soil, the sun, plants and seeds, and travel. The most important part of teaching science in the early years is helping the student see the wonders of God’s world, and making him unafraid of the subject when he gets into serious science in later years. Emphasis should be on experiments to facilitate this. Children learn more from doing experiments than they do from books. It is recommended that you obtain Kolbe’s science experiment book, Mr. Wizard, or any other science experiment book to use in conjunction with Science and Living in God’s World. Science, like history, does not need to be done every day and can be set aside if the student is being challenged by the basics in other subjects.