Second Grade

• Second Graders study Baptism and prepare to receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist.
• Students learn the parts of the Mass and begin to pray the rosary.
• Students continue to practice known prayers and learn new ones, such as the Act of Contrition.

• The language arts program integrates a phonics-based reading and writing program.
• Guided reading, silent reading, and group discussion are used to build a love of reading.
• Students begin learning the writing process and editing skills. They incorporate an increasing vocabulary, apply word analysis to spell/define words, and extend patterns found in written and spoken language.
• They spell frequently encountered multi-syllabic words and other words using structural cues.
• Students compare & contrast texts, and learn how to choose skill-level books.
• Students practice summarizing skills, using identification of beginning, middle, and end.
• Students use more complex sentences, commas, contractions, capitalization, and correct verb tenses.

• Concepts are developed using concrete manipulatives and examples from the real world.
• Students learn concepts such as place value, equal sets, fact families, & common fractions.
• They use bar graphs, line graphs, and tables to analyze data.
• Students learn suitable units of measurement, calendar, time, temperature, weight, and volume.
• They add/subtract three digit numbers, with and without regrouping using a variety of strategies, work story problems with two digits, and compare numbers up to 1,000.

• Students learn about the physical properties of matter.
• Students experiment with states of matter, including solids, liquids, and gasses.
• Students learn and create research projects about birds.
• Students learn about rocks and minerals.
• They learn major landforms and bodies of water found on Earth. They focus on water in its three states and the motion of water over land.
• Students investigate forces, work, and simple machines
• Students learn and experiment with sound and light.

• Second Graders learn social studies through the context of “The Local Community.”
• In history, students use a timeline of local events to demonstrate chronological thinking. They learn about important people using biographies and autobiographies.
• In geography, they use maps to learn symbols, labels and legends. Students learn about landforms & regions.  Students learn how their community is part of a larger region such as a county.
• In civics, students explore the US government. They learn how a person’s culture and traditions affect them.
• In economics, they learn how the economy affects their community, and make connections between local business and the economic wants of other businesses.    

Second Graders attend weekly classes in Art, Library, Music, Spanish, Physical Education, and Technology.