• Religion Curriculum

  In Second Grade, the children will continue their faith journey begun at home with their parents.  Children will focus on participation in the Mass and the reception of the Sacraments of Eucharist and Penance.  The Ten Commandments will be studied as children learn to make Gospel inspired choices in preparation for the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.  The lives of Mary and the Saints will be explored. Emphasis will be placed on each person’s call from God to serve others.  Children will pray as Jesus did, both alone and as part of a community.  Our curriculum follows the Diocese of Metuchen’s guidelines which are aligned with National Benchmarks and Standards.  Our Religion program is incorporated in every aspect of our school life.

  Language Arts Curriculum

  The Second Grade Language Arts program continues to develop lifelong readers and writers.  Through the use of all genres of literature, students will grow as independent readers and writers, appreciating word choices, style and purpose. Increased use of vocabulary, continued practice of spelling and grammar will be used to enhance daily creative and informational writing. As established by the New Jersey State Education Standards, students will concentrate on reading for detail, supporting detail, sequence of events, using context clues for word meaning, and using information for research and reflection. Handwriting will progress from the printed word to cursive.
  
   

  Math Curriculum

  In Second grade, math instruction is focused on four areas: extending the understanding of base-ten notation; building fluency with addition and subtraction; using standard units of measure; and describing and analyzing shapes.  Students will use a variety of activities to count by five, tens, and multiples of hundreds.  Students will extend their understanding of base-ten to numbers up to 1000.  They will use this knowledge to develop fluency when adding and subtracting with 100.  Second grade students will use measurement tools to measure and estimate lengths in standard units as well as work with time and money.  Students will reason with shapes and their attributes to describe and decompose shapes.
   

  Science Curriculum

  The Second Grade Science Program is based on the guidelines set forth by the Next Generation Science Standards.  The students will study the effects of wind and water erosion on land and look at solutions to slow or prevent such change. Different types of soil will be identified. Students will be able to identify and represent different landforms and bodies of water found on Earth.  They will develop an understanding of what plants need to grow and their dependence upon animals for seed dispersal and pollination. Students will be able to compare the diversity of life found in different habitats including life cycles. The sun, moon, planets, and stars will be explored, including the phases of the moon and order and characteristics of the planets.  Properties of matter will be classified and students will learn some ways matter can be changed.  Different forms of energy will identified and explored.

  Social Studies

  In Second grade, students continue to learn the basic concepts of government, citizenship, geography, economics, and history.  They will learn about the Early Americans, Westward Expansion, the Colonists, folk heroes and folk tales, traditions of families and the different cultures of the world.  Children will use a variety of projects and activities to bring the beginnings of history to life.