Grade 2 Experience

The International School of Brussels

THE GRADE 2 EXPERIENCE

Key Developmental Milestones Being the oldest students in the Early Childhood Centre, Grade 2 provides our students a range of meaningful leadership opportunites as they build on their deep understanding of how their actions affect others and begin to explore how their actions can serve as a model for others. Having become more competent readers, writers and mathematicians the students have opportunities to use these skills in meaningful projects that aim to lead and help others.

Personalising Learning In the Lower School at ISB we embrace the unique potential within each learner tailor educational experiences to individual strengths, interests & pace empower learners to explore their passions integrate technology seamlessly cultivate critical thinking, and collaborate across diverse perspectives develop learners who confidently navigate the complexities of our world

Character Standards

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BECOMING INTERNATIONAL CITIZENS

ISB believes that in order to be International Citizens, successful in and out of school, students need to learn and develop social and emotional competencies.

These competencies are grounded in our Character Standards.

GRADE 2 SOCIAL STUDIES & SCIENCE INVESTIGATIONS Sound and Light

Our Action

Plants

Description

Understanding how sound and light are created and modified

Understanding that our actions can have a positive or negative impact on the communities that we are part of

Understanding the basic needs of plants and how they change and reproduce.

Connected Disciplines

Science- Physical Sciences

Social studies- Collaboration and Citizenship

Science- Physical Sciences

Conceptual Understandings

Learning Engagements

Learners understand that: Sound is produced by a range of vibrating sources and the way we sense the sounds (pitch, volume etc) depends on the nature of the vibrations.

Light is produced by a range of sources and can be sensed and used in a variety of ways.

Understanding the properties of sound and light allows us to manipulate these phenomena and interact with them. Light is a powerful tool for exploring the universe around us. Through this unit, students explore different sources of light, both man-made and natural. They will conduct research into the different ways in which humans and other living things use light.

Understanding the properties of sound allows us to manipulate and create sounds for a purpose.

During this unit, students explore the phenomena of sounds and its impact on their environment. Students are engaged in a range of hands-on experiments that help them develop and test theories about how sound is produced and how volume and pitch are adjusted. As part of their scientific investigation, learners will have multiple opportunities to focus on simple cause and effect relationships.

Learners understand that: Rights only work when we also live up to the relevant responsibilities.

Groups can collaborate to make rules but that sometimes they are given by those in authority.

Scarcity of resources means we have to make decisions about how to allocate them and the resulting impact on the communities sharing the resources.

In a group we can help each other to achieve a goal sometimes better than we could on our own.

Leaders have power over a group and that ideally this entails responsibilities to the group.

As part of being local and global citizens we have a responsibility to understand how our actions may impact others and the role of collaboration in finding effective solutions and paths forward. Understanding what it means to collaborate and developing our competencies in this area allows us to harness the power of different perspectives in order to achieve the best result possible. Empathy and diverse perspectives play an important role in developing sustainable and authentic solutions to local and global problems and issues. Through this unit students will engage in a design cycle and commit to action and service. Learners will explore relevant information from sources involving other people (eg. texts, interviews etc.).

Learners understand that: Living things (plants) have basic survival needs including food, water and shelter, which are met by their environment (adaptation).

Living things (plants) grow, change and have offspring similar to themselves (life cycles).

Living things (plants) have a variety of external features (classification).

Plants play an important role in the health of our planet. By understanding how they grow and what they need to survive we can contribute to a healthy planet. As part of this unit students think and act as scientists as they learn about the different parts of a plant and how these features help it survive in their natural habitat. Learners also conduct handson experiments to help them understand the effects that changing a variable such as the amount of sunlight or water, would have on a plant. Students continue to develop their observational skills from prior units to learn about the life cycle of a plant.

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BECOMING A MATHEMATICIAN The ISB Mathematics programme is designed to develop a deep understanding of mathematical concepts while nurturing critical thinking skills and problem-solving abilities.

STEM: Mathematics

Strand

Operations & Algebriac Thinking

Areas of Focus & Development

Represents and solves problems involving addition and subtraction Uses addition and subtraction within 100 to solve one- and two-step word problems Adds and subtracts within 20 Recalls addition and subtraction facts within 20 Determines whether a group of objects (up to 20) has an odd or even number of numbers Works with equal groups of objects to gain foundations for multiplication Uses addition to find the total number of objects arranged in rectangular arrays with up to 5 rows and up to 5 columns; writes an equation to express the total as a sum of equal addends Recalls multiplication facts with fluency

Numbers & Operations in Base 10

Understands place value Recognises that the three digits of a three-digit number represent amounts of hundreds, tens, and ones Counts within 1000; skip-counts by 5s, 10s, and 100s Compares two three-digit numbers based on meanings of the hundreds, tens, and ones digits, using >, =, and < symbols to record the results of comparisons Reads and writes numbers to 1000 using base-ten numerals, number names, and expanded form Uses place value understanding and properties of operations to add and subtract Adds and subtracts within 100 using strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction Mentally adds 10 or 100 to a given number 100-900, and mentally subtracts 10 or 100 from a given number 100-900 Sequences three-digit numbers to 1000, identifying the number before or after a given number in this range

Geometry

Reasons with shapes and their attributes Recognises and draw shapes having specified attributes, such as a given number of angles or a given number of equal faces Identifies triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, hexagons, and cubes Partitions a rectangle into rows and columns of same-size squares and count to find the total number of them Partitions circles and rectangles into two, three, or four equal shares, describe the shares using the words halves, thirds, and describe the whole as two halves, three thirds, four fourths

Measurement & Data

Mathematical Processes

Measures and estimates lengths in standard units Measures the length of an object by selecting and using appropriate tools such as rulers, meter sticks, and measuring tapes Estimates lengths using units of centimeters, and meters Measures to determine how much longer one object is than another, expressing the length difference in terms of a standard length unit Relates addition and subtraction to length Uses addition and subtraction within 100 to solve word problems involving lengths that are given in the same units Works with time and money Tells and writes time from analog and digital clocks to the nearest five minutes, using a.m. and p.m Solves word problems involving dollars and coins Represents and interprets data Draws a picture graph and a bar graph (with single-unit scale) to represent a data set with up to four categories. Solve simple put-together, take-apart, and compare problems using information presented in a bar graph

Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others Model with mathematics Attend to precision

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BECOMING A READER AND WRITER

Reading

Strand

Acuracy and Fluency

Reads M level texts accurately Uses a range of strategies to decode text to read (sounding out, skip and return, chunking, decoding of complex spelling patterns)

Concepts About Print

Draws on context, phonics and sight words when reading Recognises a wide range of sight words

Comprehension Stragegies

Strand

Text Types & Purposes

Writing

Areas of Focus & Development

Makes meaning of information Uses a range of strategies to comprehend unknown words Retells stories sequentially Responds to and makes personal connections with facts, characters and situations while reading Infers the meaning of unfamiliar concepts, words, and story themes Distinguishes between important information and interesting details Identifies the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe Generates questions before, during and after reading texts

Areas of Focus & Development Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words ( eg. because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.

Write informative / explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.

Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure.

Write for familiar and some less familiar audiences, selecting print and multimodal elements appropriate to the audience and purpose, selecting print and multimodal ( visual and audio) elements appropriate to the audience and purpose.

Vocabulary Use

Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase Determines the meaning of the new word formed when a known prefix is added to a known word (e.g., happy/unhappy, tell/retell) Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root (e.g., addition, additional) Use knowledge of the meaning of individual words to predict the meaning of compound words (e.g., birdhouse, lighthouse, housefly; bookshelf, notebook, bookmark) Use glossaries and beginning dictionaries, both print and digital, to determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases Identify real-life connections between words and their use (e.g., describe foods that are spicy or juicy).

Distinguish shades of meaning among closely related verbs (e.g., toss, throw, hurl) and closely related adjectives (e.g., thin, slender, skinny, scrawny) Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using adjectives and adverbs to describe

Conventions of Standard English

Uses articles, collective nouns, irregular plurals and reflex pronouns accurately Controls simple tense, verb groups and subject-verb agreement Uses adverbs and adjectives Produces simple and compound sentences Capitalised holidays, product names and geographical locations Uses full stops, question marks, exclamation marks, apostrophes and commas correctly Spells words at a developmentally appropriate level based on the Common Core expectations

Production of Writing

With guidance and support from adults and peers focus on a topic, and strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing, such as for spelling, sentence boundary punctuation and text structure With guidance and support from adults, explore a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing ( including visual and audio elements), including in collaboration with peers

STEM: Design & Technology

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CORE LITERACIES

As a 1:1 device school, quality technology is available for all students. With extensive design resources such as 3-D printers, laser and vinyl cutters, green screen studios, v-Rex robotics, and a VR suite, Elementary students use one of the best DesignTech spaces in Belgium.

Coding

Design Technology

Digital Citizenship

Exploring a range of software and tools to develop coding skills and mathematical/computational thinking: Beebots Osmo Lightbot Spritbox

Through projects during the year, students are introduced to the different design tools at ISB and the design process.

We emphasise using technology responsibly and effectively for communication, collaboration and creation. Becoming proficient and postive members in a digital world is a primary goal.

Within Design units at ISB, students follow the Stanford University Design School model

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BECOMING AN INDEPENDENT LEARNER Transferable skills, also known as portable or universal skills, can be applied across various subjects and situations. These skills are not tied to specific disciplines but rather can be adapted and transferred from one context to another.

Transferable Skills

Strand

Collaboration

Thinking

Areas of Focus & Development

Grade Level Focus Skills

How can I actively listen to others?

How do I share my ideas and build on the ideas of others?

How do I work together to achieve our shared goals?

What do I think I already know about this topic?

How can I decide if information is helpful and accurate?

How does information from different sources connect to each other?

Research

What questions do I have?

How can I find the best evidence for my questions?

How can I organise and record my information?

SelfManagement

How do I set effective goals and where am I now in achieving them?

How do I feel and what is contributing to how I feel?

Do I need support?

REASON ACROSS MULTIPLE EXAMPLES compare multiple examples / cases / contexts to identify patterns, trends and possible generalisations apply generalisations in new contexts, considering possibly unique aspects of the context as well as possible misconceptions RETHINK UNDERSTANDING rethink understanding to effectively take account of new information

RECORD EVIDENCE SYSTEMATICALLY: reorganise evidence collected from multiple sources in ways that help identify relationships between pieces of information so that patterns, trends and connections can be identified

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LANGUAGES PROGRAMME

Languages Pathways

Students, who have demonstrated proficiency in English, access our French language. Additional languages are offered as part of the ISB+ programme, based on demand. ISB follows the Common European Framework for Languages.

English Proficiency

French Foundations A1 Intermediate A2 Inedpendent B1 / C1

Grades 5 & 6 Science & Social Studies in French option

ISB+ Plus Languages Open to all regardless of English Proficiency

HOME LANGUAGE CLASSES Students who speak Hebrew, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, or Swedish have access to one hour a week of a home language class. For Prekindergarten and Kindergarten this has an oral language focus, for students in Grade 1 and 2 this has a focus on early literacy skills.

Hebrew

Spanish

Japanese

Korean

Dutch

Swedish

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SPECIALIST PROGRAMME Specialist programmes at ISB are essential components of a well-rounded education. These programmes enhance problem-solving, critical thinking, decision-making, team work, and self expression.

Visual & Performing Arts

Physical Education & Health

Each programme is taught by a Specialist in the respective field.

Games

The Physical Education and Heath programme focuses on the following areas: Motor Skills & Movement Patterns Concepts, Principles, Strategies & Tactics Understanding Healthy Lifestyles

The Arts programme focuses on the following areas: Creating & Performing and Responding & Connecting to visual & musical artworks.

Ball Skills

Movement and Dance

The Grade 2 Physical Education (PE) programme introduces children to a variety of PE units designed to prepare them for the Elementary School PE curriculum. Emphasising collaboration and teamwork throughout the year, students engage in diverse activities aimed at fostering group dynamics.

Within our initial unit, "Me & We," students delve into different approaches to teamwork and cooperation. Subsequent units focus on the development of ball skills, beginning with fundamental techniques such as catching, throwing, and dribbling by both hand and foot. Progressing further, students advance to striking activities like badminton to refine their coordination and precision.

During the game unit, students analyse strategies to enhance their gameplay, promoting critical thinking and tactical decision-making. As a highlight of the programme, second graders are introduced to rock climbing, where they encounter bouldering activities, fostering physical agility and problem-solving skills in an exhilarating environment.

Our Basic Movement unit gives the children the opportunities to continue developing body awareness and general coordination and also creativity through expressive movement to music and some dance elements, and to further explore the various gym equipment.

At the end of the year, we benefit from the outdoor activities such as using the forest, the track for track and field activities and more games!

Visual Arts

Performing Arts

Music

Our Visual Arts programme for students in Kindergarten through Grade 2 offers a vibrant canvas for exploration across a rich tapestry of artistic expressions, spanning from sculpture and construction to painting, drawing, textiles, and digital art. Guided by a curated study of diverse artists, our students embark on a journey of discovery, unlocking a spectrum of techniques and igniting their imaginations to boundless creative horizons.

Within our ECC common space and Chateau, an ever-evolving gallery showcases the masterpieces crafted by our students, created individually or collaboratively. Through collaborative efforts with both on-campus artists and off-campus excursions, including our artist-in-residence programme, our students are immersed in a dynamic exchange of creative perspectives, drawing inspiration from the visions of others.

Our school forest not only provides a stunning backdrop to their learning experience but all provides our students with a unique en plein air experience enriching their artistic journey.

In this dynamic programme, students explore elements of drama, movement, singing, and storytelling, igniting their imagination and fostering creativity through immersive role-play and narrative exploration. Guided by the pedagogy of Mantle of the Expert, the curriculum intertwines with units of inquiry, empowering students to embody various roles—be it intrepid explorers, inquisitive scientists, or astute detectives—as they embark on quests to unearth imaginary islands and explore enchanted forests. Through these adventures, students not only build their confidence as presenters and performers but also develop vital collaboration and leadership skills, and have a chance to engage their imaginations in playful and challenging ways. Students have the opportunity to showcase their skills and understanding, in culminating performances both in the classroom and for broader audiences within the ISB community.

Expanding the building blocks learned in kindergarten, students explore, play, and create with small percussion instruments as well as barred instruments such as xylophones. Moving to all musical styles from jazz to fijiri opens students’ musical worlds as they actually understand music through their bodies. Combining all these musical elements, each 1st grade class harmonises with a 2nd grade class in the spring concert where they experience the joy of performing and sharing their music. Students feel a sense of accomplishment as they later watch their performance and remember how they improved each week.

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FIELD TRIPS & HOME LEARNING

Field Trips

In the ECC we integrate meaningful experiences into the learning programme by taking the students on a number of excursions through the year. Early in the year, our Grade 2 students connect with a local artist in Boitsfort who leads the classes through personalised lessons on using everyday and recycled materials into art. Students bring these tips and ideas back to the classroom to design and create winterthemed art pieces for their winter market fundraiser. Later in the year the Grade 2 students connect with a local farm and greenhouse. There they can ask questions about the different plants as well as choose some interesting plants to study back at school. The final experience of the year is to The Meise Botanic Gardens where the students learn about a wide variety of plants and habitats.

Home Learning Grade 2- 20 minutes

Reading is the top priority assignment for home. All students should spend at least 20 minutes per evening reading independently or with a parent.

Other activities may also be periodically assigned as relevant to support and extend learning taking place during the school day. These assignments will be limited in time and have a clear purpose. Examples may include interviewing family members as connected to a unit of study, writing to develop fluency, practicing mathematics skills for independent mastery, reviewing language vocabulary, etc.

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SUPPORTING LEARNERS

English Language Development The English Language programme provides services to multilingual learners by supporting their development of English language skills and access to academic learning. Through either the Foundational (for beginning English learners) or Intermediate (for students with a solid foundation in English) programmes, students are well

Student Services

supported in their developing English reading, writing, listening and speaking.

Learning Support ISB provides services for students with learning needs. We provide a whole range of levels of support, making sure that every child gets what they need to be successful. The teaching teams decide on the most appropriate level of support to help each student access academics and develop foundational skills.

Individual Learning Plans (ILPs) are developed for students who require moderate levels of support to help track and describe their progress towards specific goals. Speech and Language Therapy and Occupational Therapy services are also availalbe on our campus.

High Ability Enrichment & Extension: through accelerated targets, alternate texts or specially designed tasks that increase depth of knowledge, students have opportunities to work with peers of similar abilities and have direct instruction and feedback on growth and areas for further development.

Partnerships: ISB works in partnership with organisations such as the Center for Talented Youth (John Hopkins University), Stanford University & Northwestern University where qualifying students have the opportunity to access courses to further develop areas of high ability and interest. These courses take place outside of school hours, but time in-school may be provided on a case-by-case basis.

Counseling Counselling Services are available to all students on a short-term and needs basis. Although we do not provide long-term therapeutic support, our Counselor can make recommendations to other professionals in Belgium and abroad.

Additionally our Counselor leads our in class social skills lessons, and leads parent workshops, book clubs and shares timely and pertinent resources with families around common issues and parenting challenges.