Spanish
Spanish is taught in the classroom by yours truly. The curriculum is drawn from my own experiences and various resources. The concepts we will cover this year are:
-numbers -greetings -seasons -school
-colors -family -body parts -calendar
-food
-numbers -greetings -seasons -school
-colors -family -body parts -calendar
-food
Science
Animals & Plants
Students will explore the different animal kingdoms including: fish, birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. They will learn about the characteristics and habitats of these animal groups. We will also learn about plants and their parts. |
Solids and Liquids
Using a Foss Science kit students will have hands on experience experimenting with the different phases of matter. |
Weather
We will discuss and research all types of weather. They will also learn about clouds and the water cycle. |
History
We use the Pearson text which is part of the CORE knowledge program. The units we will cover this year are:
-Geography and Maps -Making the Constituion -The Civil War -The War of 1812
-Immigration and Citizenship -Civil Rights Leaders - Americans Move West
-Geography and Maps -Making the Constituion -The Civil War -The War of 1812
-Immigration and Citizenship -Civil Rights Leaders - Americans Move West
Handwriting
We use D'Nealian handwriting. D'Nealian handwriting makes a nice transition to cursive which we will begin at the end of our 2nd grade year in preparation for 3rd grade.
Religion
We use the Faith and Life Series. It has a heavy emphasis on facts from the Catechesis of the Catholic Church. There is a reading text and a student workbook.
Sacramental preparation takes place throughout the whole year, but is really emphasized in the months prior to receiving the sacrament.
We try and visit the Adoration Chapel once a week. We spend about 10 minutes in quite prayer and meditation.
Once a week we attend Mass.
During Lent we attend Stations of the Cross.
In the classroom we start our day with prayer, pray at lunch, and end our day with prayer. The children are invited to share intentions. We will work on memorizing several prayers throughout the year.
Sacramental preparation takes place throughout the whole year, but is really emphasized in the months prior to receiving the sacrament.
We try and visit the Adoration Chapel once a week. We spend about 10 minutes in quite prayer and meditation.
Once a week we attend Mass.
During Lent we attend Stations of the Cross.
In the classroom we start our day with prayer, pray at lunch, and end our day with prayer. The children are invited to share intentions. We will work on memorizing several prayers throughout the year.
Math
We use the Saxon Math program. The approach of this program is a spiral curriculum. It takes an incremental (little by little) approach to math, introducing a new skill or principle each day, then reviewing these concepts and skills day after day throughout the whole year. Students are working with several different concepts at one time. Throughout the year we build upon these concepts. Students will work with these concepts:
-number sense and numeration -concepts of whole number operations
-whole number computation -fractions and decimals
-money -patterns
-algebra and functions -shapes and spatial relationships
-time and calendar -temperature
-linear measure -weight
-capacity -perimeter, area, and volume
-data analysis and statistics -probability
-developing skills and strategies for problem solving
*There is also a heavy emphasis on the students learning to become fluent with their basic addition and subtraction facts through 20.
-number sense and numeration -concepts of whole number operations
-whole number computation -fractions and decimals
-money -patterns
-algebra and functions -shapes and spatial relationships
-time and calendar -temperature
-linear measure -weight
-capacity -perimeter, area, and volume
-data analysis and statistics -probability
-developing skills and strategies for problem solving
*There is also a heavy emphasis on the students learning to become fluent with their basic addition and subtraction facts through 20.
Language Arts
There are 4 components included in language arts:
grammar, spelling, reading, and writing
Grammar
Each week we will focus on a new grammar skill. They will be learning about punctuation and parts of speech. I use D.O.L. (Daily Oral Language). Students will be expected to incorporate current and past skills in their writing.
Spelling
For the most part phonetic spelling is encouraged for daily work. This is an important step in learning to spell. Always ask your child to sound out words or help them sound them out versus spelling words for them.
The list words are given out on Friday. On Monday I give them a pretest. Students scoring 7 or better will earn EXTRA words to study. On Thursday I will give them the spelling test.
We do not spend a lot of time on spelling words at school, so please make time at home for spelling to ensure your child is successful with spelling tests.
Reading
The reading program has 2 main parts. The first part teaches the foundations of reading by focusing on letter sounds, sight words, and phonetic words. Some students do more with this then others, but it is important for all students to know how to break a part words and sound them out. This is a major reading strategy. For students who read well it may seem easy at times, but remember that it is building the foundation to help them decode words at all reading levels.
The second part of the program is a guided reading approach. Through the use of a text book (Scott Foresman) and through trade books we focus on story comprehension and various other story elements such as: character analysis, vocabulary, chronological order, making inferences, ...
Students who read fluently will also be working on expression and tone when they read.
Writing
Students will be exposed to a variety of writing styles including journaling, structured writing, and creative writing. We journal about our weekends and use writing prompts in our classroom journal. Students become authors and write stories modeled after popular kids' books. They also learn the structure of a paragraph and letter format.
grammar, spelling, reading, and writing
Grammar
Each week we will focus on a new grammar skill. They will be learning about punctuation and parts of speech. I use D.O.L. (Daily Oral Language). Students will be expected to incorporate current and past skills in their writing.
Spelling
For the most part phonetic spelling is encouraged for daily work. This is an important step in learning to spell. Always ask your child to sound out words or help them sound them out versus spelling words for them.
The list words are given out on Friday. On Monday I give them a pretest. Students scoring 7 or better will earn EXTRA words to study. On Thursday I will give them the spelling test.
We do not spend a lot of time on spelling words at school, so please make time at home for spelling to ensure your child is successful with spelling tests.
Reading
The reading program has 2 main parts. The first part teaches the foundations of reading by focusing on letter sounds, sight words, and phonetic words. Some students do more with this then others, but it is important for all students to know how to break a part words and sound them out. This is a major reading strategy. For students who read well it may seem easy at times, but remember that it is building the foundation to help them decode words at all reading levels.
The second part of the program is a guided reading approach. Through the use of a text book (Scott Foresman) and through trade books we focus on story comprehension and various other story elements such as: character analysis, vocabulary, chronological order, making inferences, ...
Students who read fluently will also be working on expression and tone when they read.
Writing
Students will be exposed to a variety of writing styles including journaling, structured writing, and creative writing. We journal about our weekends and use writing prompts in our classroom journal. Students become authors and write stories modeled after popular kids' books. They also learn the structure of a paragraph and letter format.