Second Grade Specials
NFS Curriculum Update :: January, 2014
Art
Second graders will begin the new year learning about the influential African American artist Jacob Lawrence. Lawrence's work has been described as "dynamic cubism" though the artist himself stated he was solely influenced by the sights and sounds of Harlem and by the unique experiences of African Americans. Students will learn to look deeply at art works and draw conclusions about time periods and history through them. We will learn about many import an African american figures and create our own unique pieces of art influenced by this amazing artist.
Library
Second grade begins reading biographies. They will “shop” for a just-right biography to read independently. During the month we will read aloud picture book biographies of artists and eccentrics.
Music
P.E.
In Lower School PE we will continue to develop our physical fitness and work on our muscular strength with a focus on core. The class will proceed with our basketball unit with an emphasis on shooting. We will be using size appropriate balls and baskets so students will be able to focus on the proper techniques of shooting a basketball. We will also play large group games like Pilo Polo and Flag Grab. And we will begin to learn the skills of jumping and jumping rope in preparation for our 3rd annual Jump Rope for Heart event in February.
Science
Second grade started the new year with the Mini Medical School Unit. Students start the unit sharing something they know about how the inside of their bodies work. Students are introduced to the skeletal system by drawing their hand and trying to feel and count their bones. Then, we view a hand x-ray and count the 26 bones in the hand. We look at other x-rays and see many more bones. As scientists we will learn the scientific name of several bones including the cranium, mandible, pelvis, humerus, ribs, phalanges, and femur which will lead to many exciting games of Simon says. We will put together a skeleton puzzle and view what the skeleton looks like as a whole. Students learn that the skeleton protects and supports the body. We learn about cartilage and that an adult has 206 bones while a baby has about 300. We then continue to the circulatory system, talking about what the circulatory system does in the simplest of terms. Students learn that the heart pumps blood and that it is a muscle. They have the opportunity to listen to their heart and their partner’s heart with a stethoscope. Students conclude learning about the circulatory system by recording their resting heart rate and then running in place for 30 seconds to record the running heart rate. We also watch several episodes of Schoolhouse Rock that focuses on the body.
Spanish
Happy New Year! In second grade this month we will work on a culminating project for our Body Parts unit. Students will work on creating an imaginary “person” with unusual numbers of body parts. We will create them and each student will use numbers, body parts vocabulary and the verb “tener” (to have) to describe the quantity of each part their “person” has. We will record these mini-presentations to be shared!