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Trinity Lutheran School |
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Offering Quality Christian Education Since 1893 |
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Course Description |
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GRADE TWO
BIBLE STUDY: Textbook: Voyages, Exploring God’s World . The Voyages second-grade curriculum is used to help teach students about key concepts of faith such as Law, Gospel, confession and repentance, and forgiveness and grace. All stories and units are presented in chronological order beginning with God’s creation of the world and ending with God’s eternal promises. The lessons are designed to confront us with the Law, which shows us our sin and need for a Savior, lead us to see God’s grade in sending Jesus to save us from sin, death, and the devil, and encourage us as we daily live in Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit. Memory verses are assigned on a weekly basis and recited on Friday.
LANGUAGE: Textbook: A Beka Book Language Series The A Beka Language book is used to teach students grammar. The Language book also integrates creative writing and reading comprehension and aims to teach students to write clearly and concisely and in an imaginative and grammatically correct manner. Key concepts taught include complete sentences, types of sentences, capitalization rules, punctuation, writing interesting sentences and short stories, prefixes and suffixes, compound words, rhyming words, antonyms, synonyms, singular and plural words, singular possessive words, contractions, alphabetizing, and homophones.
READING: Textbook: SRA/Open Court The SRA/Open Court whole language reading series is used. Stories are grouped into the following thematic units: Sharing Stories, Kindness, Look Again, Fossils, and Courage. Along with reading and comprehension, other skills that will be taught include: making predictions, main idea and details, the difference between fact and opinion, cause and effect, comparing and contrasting, summarizing, classifying/categorizing, drawing conclusions and making inferences, author’s point of view, and author’s purpose. Students will increase phonemic awareness through oral blending and segmentation as well as learning weekly vocabulary words from each story. Students will also be taught to recognize folktales, biographies, informational texts, fiction, and non-fiction stories. Skills and concepts will be taught through discussions, worksheets, group activities, and hands-on activities. A comprehension and vocabulary test is given at the end of the week after reading and discussing each story. SRA is an individual reading program. Student development is evaluated and reading levels are established. Students select and silently read a story from the appropriate level. Next, they answer questions about comprehension, vocabulary words, and other word skills, and then grade their work. They chart their progress and meet with the teacher periodically to discuss problems, progress, and moving on to different levels. SRA also has a listening comprehension component. Students listen to one story a week while looking at a picture from the story. They answer literal, inferential, and comprehension questions about the story and put pictures from the story in chronological order. They chart their progress.
SPELLING: Textbook: Everyday Spelling The Spelling workbook consists of 35 units. Students do one unit per week in their spelling books and take a weekly Spelling test pretest and posttest. The spelling test includes a sentence that uses past spelling words and focuses on capitalization, punctuation, and spelling review. Units include key concepts such as: writing enough letters, words with c, k, and ck, beginning blends (br, gr, st, sw), ending blends (mp, nd, nt, sk, st), adding suffixes, short and long vowels, double consonants, digraphs (ch, sh, th, wh, tch, th), vowel sounds, homophones, compound words, and contractions.
PHONICS: Textbook: Modern Curriculum Press Phonics The Phonics curriculum helps students with reading and spelling skills by emphasizing key concepts, providing daily practice with skills and concepts, and providing thinking and decoding strategies. Concepts which will be taught include: short and long vowels, hard and soft c and g, blends, digraphs, diphthongs, vowel pairs, r-controlled vowels, contractions, plurals, suffixes, endings, variant vowels, prefixes, compounds, syllables synonyms, antonyms, and homophones.
MATH: Textbook: Saxon Math Saxon Math utilizes a multisensory approach to teaching and builds on prior learning. New learning is presented in increments, with time provided between increments for practice. Mathematical strands are integrated throughout the year rather than taught in isolated units. There are five instructional components of Saxon: 1. The Meeting – In the morning, students practice skills related to the calendar, counting, patterning, mental computation, temperature, time, money, graphing, writing of numbers, fact families, place value, and problem solving. 2. The Lesson – The Lesson occurs later in the day. New objectives, or increments, are introduced through carefully selected group activities. Children use materials, engage in discussions, work in cooperative groups, and work together to help each other learn. 3. Guided Class Practice and Homework - Each lesson is accompanied by in-class guided practice and independent homework written practice. Each practice includes a short practice of the new objective and a review of previously introduced concepts. 4. Number Fact Practice – Strategies are presented to help students learn the number facts. Children are encouraged to recall the facts through the use of pattern recognition. Students practice facts orally and by using manipulative, fact games, fact cards, and fact sheets. Assessments - Assessments, both oral and cumulative written assessments, are built into the program. Oral assessments occur after every ten lessons and written and fact assessments after every five lessons. All skills assessed have been practiced for at least five days.
HANDWRITING: Textbook: D’Nealian Handwriting Twice a week, students practice handwriting. They are also encouraged to write neatly in all subjects daily. They typically focus on 2-3 letters each handwriting class, and then perform evaluations of the letters at the end of each unit. Additional practice is given when needed.
COMPUTERS: Students enjoy educational games on the computer while learning mouse and keyboard skills
SOCIAL STUDIES: Textbook: Our America Map Skills The Social Studies curriculum lays the groundwork for Christian citizenship by teaching about America’s history. Key concepts include: America’s flag, patriotic holidays, and songs, and the people who built America – Separatists, Native Americans, Colonists, Pioneers, Cowboys, and New Americans. Geography is also taught within the book through map studies in which students learn the location of the seven continents and the fifty states. The Scholastic Skills Book Map Skills is used to teach key mapping concepts and skills, including directions, scale, map symbols, map keys, and globes.
SCIENCE: Textbook: Enjoying God’s World A Beka Book, Discovery Works The Science textbook’s purpose is to stimulate students’ interest in science through a study of the wonders of creation. Students will study about their bodies, different plants and animals, things that work together, things that move, the air around them, the solar system, and our planet Earth. They will also complete a unit on dinosaurs called “Dinosaur Days” using the Discovery Works Science text in the spring. Students will read and complete experiments in their book, as well as participate in various hands-on activities and see demonstrations. Each student will do an individual project on a chosen dinosaur. The project includes completing a webquest, gathering additional sources, researching, writing facts and a journal from the perspective of the dinosaur, and completing a three-dimensional diorama. Students also do many activities involving dinosaurs in class, such as making “fossils,” comparing teeth, examining real fossils, watching segments of the BBC program Walking with Dinosaurs, and taking a trip to the Dinosaur Resource Center in Woodland Park.
ART: Building on first grade experiences, second grade art projects develop good hand and eye coordination while experiment with different mediums. Their projects include seasonal crafts.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION: Physical Education is held twice a week, either outside or in the gym. A variety of games are played to foster team building, gross motor skills, leadership, and to teach students the importance of physical activity in our lives. Students will warm up before each class by running laps and stretching before activities. Each student will have the opportunity to lead the class through their warm-up and stretching routine, which builds leadership skills. Students will be taught the importance of exercising to keep their bodies physically fit and healthy.
SPANISH: Students learn basic Spanish, including names of the colors, animals, holidays, and other phrases.
EXTRAS (PROJECTS): Second grade students participate in several additional activities throughout the school year. Additional activities include 1. Participating in a Christmas program and spring musical. 2. Putting on a Wednesday chapel service for the school and parents. 3. Participating in Lutheran Schools Week: spirit week, mini courses, and roller-skating. 4. Participating in Track and Field Day at Denver Lutheran High School 5. Participating in Fun Olympics, a school wide track and field day that builds unity, teamwork, and leadership as students form teams and participate in a variety of events. Dinosaur Days projects (see Science). |
