Second Grade Curriculum (Yellow Room)

• General Goals

• Red Room
• Orange Room
• > Yellow Room <
• Green Room
• Blue Room
• Purple Room

• Art
• Music
• Phys. Ed.
• Spanish

The Yellow Room Curriculum is designed to support and challenge students as they progress academically, to guide them as they further develop socially, and to nurture them as they continue to grow independently. Students are encouraged and expected to participate as part of the Yellow Room community by being themselves, by asking questions, and by sharing their ideas. It is understood that children will participate and contribute in different ways, depending upon individual personalities and comfort levels.

Seven core virtues (borrowed from the Basic School educational philosophy) are emphasized in the Yellow Room. These virtues are honesty, respect, compassion, perseverance, self-discipline, individual and collective responsibility, and the spirit of giving. Throughout the year, Yellow Roomers work together defining and practicing these character traits as they become a more cohesive and interdependent classroom community. The value of character (listening to your moral compass and doing the right thing) is emphasized through modeling, positive reinforcement, shared readings, and community service experiences. Yellow Roomers participate in whole-class conversations, recognizing and discussing examples of the core virtues in the behavior of characters in literature, in each other, and in themselves.

Read Aloud and Quiet Reading Time

Sharing the joy of reading with children is a lifelong gift. Yellow Roomers are read to daily. Reading aloud to children helps them develop increased concentration and attention spans and better listening skills. It also serves as a model in how to read with expression. Shared reading experiences are one of the ways we build community.

Yellow Roomers also engage in daily Quiet Reading Time. Students self-select their reading and read silently for a sustained period of time. This practice encourages the habit of reading for pleasure.

Readers/Writers Workshop

Readers Workshop includes opportunities for independent silent reading, paired reading, reading to younger students, one-on-one and small group guided reading instruction, small group Book Clubs, and whole class shared reading experiences. In addition to reading for pleasure and reading for practice (further developing reading skills and reading comprehension to increase reading confidence and independence) students are also reading to understand others' perspectives and to learn more about the world around them.

During Book Club discussions, students practice formulating questions and ideas and making connections as well as speaking and listening effectively. While Book Clubs are being conducted, other students work from an Independent Menu. Menu activities offer opportunities for creativity and self-expression and are varied based on personal learning styles and interests. The Independent Menu encourages individuals to take ownership of their learning by making their own choices, organizing their materials, and managing their time.

Throughout the year in Writers Workshop, students write entries in their Writers' Notebooks. The WN is a place for students to gather ideas and capture bits of information that interest them. Students are also asked to write entries based on prompts that give them practice in responding to literature, using their senses to help them observe the world around them more closely, exploring and playing with language, and tapping into their memories and minds in order to write with increased meaning. Reluctant writers are gently urged to put their thoughts down on paper while more confident writers are encouraged to add details and to vary their vocabulary in order to express their thoughts more clearly in words. Supporting the theory that students learn to write by writing, the Writers' Notebook provides an avenue for individuals to become more experienced and more confident writers.

Students are then given opportunities to share their writing, both informally with each other and formally by reading their entries in front of the class. This allows students to practice speaking in front of an audience and to build on their skills as active listeners. Additionally, when a student hears aloud what s/he has written, s/he gains awareness and can set specific goals for improving her/his writing.

At times the focus of Readers/Writers Workshop will be genre studies (e.g., alphabet books, myths/legends/why stories, fairy tales). During these studies students will be exposed to multiple examples of a certain genre and will practice writing in that genre. At other times students will read non-fiction resources while researching, writing, and presenting reports to their classmates. Students participate in the annual BNS Authors' Tea by writing personal narratives and reading them in front of an audience of classmates, family members, and friends.

Throughout the year Readers/Writers Workshop will provide opportunities for engagement in a variety of reading, writing, speaking, and listening activities. Student interests and ideas help shape the Yellow Room Curriculum, sometimes leading to students writing and performing their own poetry and plays.

Writing Mechanics

Yellow Roomers also spend time specifically working on spelling and keyboarding skills as well as on handwriting. Students will learn how to correctly form and join cursive letters as an introduction to reading and writing in cursive.

Second Grade Literacy Objectives

• Practice and further develop communication skills
• Demonstrate an understanding of oral and written language structure through conversation, storytelling, writing, and oral dramatic activities
• Expand listening and speaking vocabularies
• Clarify and explain words and ideas orally
• Give and follow oral directions with three or more steps
• Read and follow written instructions independently
• Use oral language to inform, to persuade, and to entertain
• Share stories or information orally with an audience (in both informal and formal settings)
• Participate as a contributor and as a leader in a group
• Paraphrase information shared orally by others
• Identify and use synonyms and antonyms in oral and written communication
• Use knowledge of common vowel patterns, consonants, and consonant blends when reading and writing
• Use knowledge of prefixes, suffixes, contractions, possessives, and abbreviations when reading
• Use knowledge of sentence structure, story structure, and story sequence when reading
• Use pictures, diagrams, titles, headings, and context cues to obtain meaning when reading
• Read fiction, nonfiction, and poetry using a variety of strategies independently
• Reread and self-correct when necessary
• Demonstrate comprehension of fiction and nonfiction selections:
• Relate previous experiences to the topic
• Make predictions; read to confirm their predictions
• Locate information to answer questions
• Paraphrase information found in nonfiction materials
• Describe characters and setting in fiction selections and poetry
• Identify and explain the problem, solution, and main idea
• Write about what is read
• Write stories, letters, and simple explanations
• Generate ideas before writing
• Organize writing to include a beginning, middle, and end
• Revise writing for clarity
• Use available technology
• Edit final copies for grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling
• Use declarative, interrogative, and exclamatory sentences
• Capitalize all proper nouns and words at the beginning of sentences
• Use correct spelling for frequently used words
• Locate information in reference materials
• Use a table of contents
• Examine pictures and charts
• Use dictionaries and indices

Math

BNS utilizes the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project curriculum, Everyday Mathematics, for grades K-5. Everyday Mathematics is a spiraling curriculum -- it introduces new concepts, then revisits these concepts at different points throughout the year and in subsequent years. A monthly Game Day also serves to develop basic skills and to reinforce previously learned concepts. Students receive direct group instruction on mathematical concepts, then apply and practice these concepts using manipulatives. Students are encouraged to share their problem solving strategies orally in order to secure their new learning. By listening to each other's strategies and processes, students become aware of new ways to approach and solve problems. Students then work on practice pages in their math journals to reinforce their understanding of these concepts. During this time, individuals receive further instruction one-on-one as needed. Additional lessons and practice in mathematical concepts are integrated throughout the rest of Yellow Room curriculum where relevant.

Second Grade Math Concepts

• Complete number sequences; identify and use number patterns to solve problems
• Compare numbers; write the symbol < > =
• Construct fact families for addition and subtraction
• Complete frames and arrows diagrams with one rule
• Find equivalent names for numbers
• Show P, N, D, or Q for a given amount
• Read F on a thermometer
• Identify 3-D shapes, such as rectangular prisms, cylinders, pyramids, cones, and spheres
• Find common attributes of shapes
• Identify 2-dimensional shapes
• Solve stories about multiples of equal groups
• Model multiplication problems with arrays
• Add three 1-digit numbers mentally
• Measure to the nearest inch and centimeter
• Solve number grid puzzles
• Plot data on a bar graph
• Shade a specified fractional part of a collection
• Give the fraction name for the shaded part of a collection
• Solve addition and subtraction number stories
• Use the trade-first method to solve 2-digit subtraction problems
• Add three 2-digit numbers mentally
• Know all addition and subtraction facts
• Make ballpark estimates of exact answers
• Identify parallel and nonparallel line segments
• Draw line segments
• Devise and use strategies for finding sums and differences of 2-digit numbers
• Estimate approximate costs and sums
• Solve frames and arrows problems having 2 rules
• Make change
• Tell time to 5-minute intervals
• Identify place value in 2-digit and 3-digit numbers
• Find the median (middle value) of a data set
• Compare fractions
• Understand fractions as names for equal parts of a region or set
• Recognize equivalent fraction names
• Understand that the amount represented by a fraction depends on the size of the whole

Theme Studies

During theme studies, students explore their own backgrounds, experiences, and family traditions while also learning about different cultures and ways of life worldwide. Participating in field trips and community service projects increases students' awareness of and connection to the people and places that make up their local environment. Theme studies also help Yellow Roomers gain a greater understanding of the natural world and of the concept of change as they conduct experiments, make detailed observations, draw conclusions, and read and present data.

Second Grade Themes

Communities and Cultures	Living Systems
Maps and U.S. Geography Historical Figures in America Government and Citizenship Economic Concepts and Choices American Indians Pilgrims Concepts of Change Ancient Egypt Ancient China Magnets	Habitats Interdependence of living organisms and their surroundings Effects of weather and seasonal changes on animals, plants, and their surroundings States of Matter Life Cycles (mammals, butterflies, frogs, flowering plants)

Yoga

Yellow Roomers practice yoga for about fifteen minutes three days a week. Yoga practice serves to calm and center individuals while also connecting us as a community. In addition to reminding them to slow down and breathe, yoga helps children develop better body awareness, self-control, flexibility, and coordination. Yellow Room Yoga includes several minutes of relaxation while students listen to music or meditate during guided relaxation.

Art, Music, Spanish, and Physical Education

Students receive regular instruction in Art, Music, Spanish, and Physical Education. These subjects are taught by specialists who are employed by BNS. Curricula information for these subjects is available on the BNS website: http://www.new-school.org.

Assessment

Students' understanding of math concepts will be evaluated formally with a beginning and end-of-year Everyday Mathematics assessment. Students will demonstrate their problem-solving skills as well as their on-going understanding of math concepts in regular Everyday Mathematics assessments (both formal and informal).

Students will be given a Qualitative Reading Inventory, or QRI, twice during the year to assess their reading levels and comprehension. Students' reading progress will be continually assessed in the classroom. Students' increased understanding of writing structure, spelling, and mechanics will periodically be assessed through students' writings. Students' understanding of science and social studies concepts will be assessed informally during discussions and in-class activities and occasionally in traditional test form.

Parent-teacher conferences are held three times during the school year to review students' progress and to discuss continuing goals.

Note: The Virginia Standards of Learning for second grade have been incorporated into the Yellow Room Curriculum.