Grade 3

aloud with fluency and expression. Students continue their phonics instruction using Wilson’s Fundations curriculum, now placing a greater focus on the increasing complexities of phonemic awareness in multisyllabic words. In addition, students learn from a coherent set of evidenced-based mini-lessons, interactive and shared read alouds, and small guided reading groups rooted in the Fountas and Pinnell curriculum. Students learn about a variety of genres, and they continue to grow the tools needed to make book choices appropriate to their individual reading levels.

The writing program provides opportunities for students to explore and create a variety of writing styles including persuasive, informative, narrative and creative. In writer’s workshop, students continue to use the writing process of brainstorming, planning, drafting, conferring, revising, editing, and publishing. In addition, grammar instruction emphasizes how to properly expand and enrich one’s writing, and over the course of the year, print and cursive handwriting skills are developed using D'Nealian handwriting books.

Mathematics

The Singapore Math approach continues to foster the development of each child’s number sense through an understanding of place value and the relationships between parts and their whole, as well as a concrete, pictorial, and abstract understanding of addition and subtraction with numbers up to 1,000. Students learn to break numbers into decomposed parts or “friendlier numbers” to build their mental math strategies. Students are also introduced to basic multiplication and division. The helpful tool of model drawing, a pictorial tool to solve word problems, is studied in depth as students continue to develop their problem-solving abilities. Units on lines and surfaces, shapes and patterns, time, and money are also studied through real-world applications.

Social Studies

The second grade social studies curriculum starts with lessons that continue to build personal identity, as well as social identity with a growing awareness of our greater community. Students learn about their school from a historical perspective, exploring the history and the architecture of the Otto Kahn and James Burden mansions, in which our school resides. In connection with the Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts programming, students then explore the architectural elements of other buildings in their own neighborhood. An immigration unit focuses on the rich cultural diversity of New York City, as well as immigration into New York through Ellis Island during the late 1800s, early 1900s, and today. Each year, students interview adults in our Sacred Heart community who share their personal immigration stories and answer questions about their experiences. A brief study of mapping skills precedes the explanation of public transportation in the city. In the culminating unit, students explore the five boroughs and focus on specific landmarks in each borough. To end their boroughs study, students work in teams to recreate important landmarks with recycled materials. Lessons are supplemented with curricula from Learning for Justice which focuses on identity, diversity, justice, and action. Experiential class trips to key New York City sites including Ellis Island, the Transit Museum, and the Tenement Museum promote student learning and a deeper understanding of the history of New York.

Art

Students continue to explore drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, and mixed media to develop skills in using a wide variety of art tools. Students create art from their imaginations and observation, in which color mixing and analysis are a strong focus. Integrated art projects emerge from their studies in science and social studies. The final STREAM project focuses on creating a 3D diorama of an animal and its habitat. Students further develop their understanding of the element of space with an emphasis on composition. Throughout the year, students study and learn about works by artists from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds. Learning and sharing continue through art exhibits, reflections, and class discussions.

Creative Drama

As the students mature and start to have greater control of movement and voice, they begin activities that enhance comfort, confidence, and performance skills through musical theater. Students also begin to collaborate with their peers to create original work. They improvise, create scenes, and share their efforts and talents both in class and in fully staged performances. The spring semester culminates in an informal sharing of their musical theater unit.

French and Spanish

Second grade students continue exploring their target language and respective cultures. Students improve their oral language skills and aural comprehension through the use

of music, kinesthetic activities, interactive technology, stories, games, and celebrations, as well as spend more time developing their reading and writing skills.

Library

The second grade library curriculum promotes increasing independence in students using the library and locating different types of library materials. Many hands-on activities enable students to discover how libraries are organized and how materials can be found. Students learn to use print and digital forms of reference materials such as dictionaries and encyclopedias, which act as a foundation in the research process. Students further their research skills through an integrated STREAM project about animals. The students begin a unit on folktale types and use this knowledge during writer’s workshop to write pourquoi tales based on their specific animal. At the end of the year, students learn to analyze books by writing “Itty Bitty Booktalks.”

Music

All second grade students learn how to play the recorder at an introductory level. Students begin to learn to formally read music. The award winning computer program MusicAce is used to reinforce theory, reading, and aural skills. Students develop healthy and natural vocal production, which culminates in Christmas and spring performances. Musical preparation for First Communion is an important part of the spring curriculum.

Physical Education

Students in second grade work toward greater mastery of basic motor skills, hand-eye and foot-eye coordination, ball handling, dance concepts, and swimming techniques. During team sports the students work on soccer, volleyball, and throwing/catching a softball. They become aware of the fundamental skills of all three sports and the vocabulary/terminology associated with them. They primarily work on individual and partner skills in order to gain confidence and develop their ability. Dance education is focused on introducing students to a variety of dance styles, including modern, ballet, kathak, and musical theater. In each unit, students explore different lenses for creating dance including inspiration from nature, storytelling, and visual arts. In the pool, students learn basic water safety skills (treading water and floating) as well as the long axis swimming strokes of freestyle and backstroke. Through an interdisciplinary mermaid unit, students learn surface dives, dolphin kick, and foundations of synchronized swimming. Students also learn how the body works in relation to the particular sport. They learn the muscles associated with each and why the body reacts in certain ways to certain activities. Nutritional tips are also provided throughout. Safety in physical education is emphasized throughout the year, and students discuss and develop specific behaviors and attitudes about competition, teamwork, and good sportsmanship along with game play.

Positively Me!

Positively Me! is a program of mindfulness, emotional intelligence, leadership, study skills, healthy habits, executive function, and character development. This program connects to our mission of focusing on the whole child and nurturing each child’s gifts. The skills being taught connect to our research on skills that students will continue to need in the future. The goal of the program is to promote self-esteem and the social skills that are foundations for all healthy behavior. In second grade, students continue to grow in self-awareness and practice grounding themselves so that they can feel empowered to ask for what they need academically, socially, and emotionally. Focus is also placed on executive function skills such as planning, organizing, and staying on task.

Religion

Students in second grade learn about and discuss the stories of Jesus in the Bible. Through reflection, literature, discussion, art projects, and drama activities, the values of Jesus are more immediate to everyday life. The religious studies program also prepares the students for the Sacrament of the Eucharist. They develop a sense of belonging to God’s family by exploring their relationship with Jesus and the Christian community. For eight weeks leading up to Communion, parents, teachers, and students collaborate in preparation for the celebration.

Science

Second grade science is all about water. Our first unit kicks off with a study of local water through deepening our understanding of how hurricanes (like Hurricane Sandy) can cause flooding. Students describe where our water comes from, how flooding can be measured, and how landforms might impact flooding. In our second unit, students discuss interactions between plants and animals and learn about the different biomes. Students develop models of a variety of ecosystems to show how living and non-living things interact. This unit leads to a STREAM project during which students create models of their own