We are looking forward to a great year in second grade here at Reedy Creek Elementary! We have been working hard to ensure that your child will receive rigorous, meaningful instruction this year. Our curriculum is always changing and adapting to best meet the needs of our students, so even if you have been a parent of a second grader here before, please take a moment to read through the following curriculum information.

EL Education Curriculum

• The source of our English Language Arts curriculum will be coming from EL Education Curriculum. This is a comprehensive, standards-based core literacy program that engages students through compelling, real-world content. The curriculum is structured around two parts: Content-Based Literacy and Reading Foundations Skills Block. The content-based literacy part consists of four modules taught throughout the year, each diving into a different topic. The modules are made up of three units, each focusing on another strand of the topic. Students will take an assessment at the end of each unit, and create a performance task at the end of each module. Here’s a look at what we will be covering this year:

• Module 1: Schools and Community

• Unit 1: Building Our Background Knowledge: Schools and Their Importance

• Unit 2: Reading and Writing Informational Texts: Challenges in Going to School

• Unit 3: Performance Task: The Most Important Thing About Schools Books

• Module 2: Learning Through Science and Story: Fossils Tell of Earth’s Changes

• Unit 1: Listening for Details: Learning About Paleontologists 

• Unit 2: Reading Informational Texts: Studying Fossils Closely

• Unit 3: Writing Narratives: Becoming Paleontologists 

• Module 3: Researching to Build Knowledge and Teach Others: The Secret World of Pollination

• Unit 1: Building Background Knowledge: Learning About Plants

• Unit 2: Building Research Skills: Researching Pollinators

• Unit 3: Speaking and Listening: Sharing Our Research About the Secret Life of Pollinators

• Module 4: Providing for Pollinators

• Unit 1: Pollinator Characters Who Work Hard to Help Others

• Unit 2: Reading and Writing Opinions: Helping Pollinators

• Unit 3: Taking Action Through Literacy and Artwork: Helping Butterflies

Letterland

We will be covering the Reading Foundational Skills Block through Letterland. Each week, students will learn and practice a new phonetic skill. These skills and patterns are crucial in learning to read and spell. Students will be assessed on the phonetic skill at the end of each week using a spelling assessment. Each week we will include in our newsletter which spelling pattern we are focusing on for the week and examples of words that use that pattern. However, we will NOT be sending home a list of words that will be tested. This is to ensure that students are learning the skill and not memorizing the words, and is a Wake County initiative. 

Math 

We will be covering a total of 9 math units this year, each covering a set of standards. Students will be assessed throughout and at the end of each unit.

• Unit 1: Building a Mathematical Community While Working with Numbers Within 20

• Unit 2: Adding and Subtracting Within 100

• Unit 3: Skip Counting in Multiple Context

• Unit 4: Understanding Place Value to Read, Write, and Compare Numbers

• Unit 5: Adding and Subtracting Within 1,000

• Unit 6: Working With Linear Measurement

• Unit 7: Data and Two-Step Problem Solving

• Unit 8: Problem Solving with Money

• Unit 9: Reasoning with Shapes

Social Studies/Science

We will be alternating between teaching social studies and science units throughout the year, beginning with social studies. In social studies we will be covering:

• Civics and Government

• History and Culture

• Economics

• Environmental Literacy 

• Geography

In science we will be covering:

• Matter Properties and Change

• Force and Motion

• Earth Systems, Structures, and Processes

• Structures and Functions of Living Organisms

• Evolution and Genetics