UPVA 2nd Grade | Course Descriptions
UPVA 2nd Grade | Course Descriptions
UPVA 2nd Grade | Course Descriptions
Language Arts 200
English Language Arts 2 central concepts are reading, writing, spelling, speaking, and listening. This year, students begin to transition from learning to read to reading to learn. In this course, students continue to develop their phonemic awareness by learning to recognize word families, word origins, and irregularly spelled words. They also begin to use linking words to connect opinions and reasons and time-order words to signal the order of events. While reading, students work to distinguish fact from opinion, decipher an author’s reason, and identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph text. Students sample multiple genres of literature, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, folktales, and fables, while exploring story elements such as plot, setting, characterization, and the author’s point of view. They also learn to distinguish between the main idea and the theme of a story. Students develop their writing skills by composing narrative, persuasive, and informative essays, as well as creative writing pieces. Additionally, they practice their research skills by finding facts in multiple sources and using them to produce a science report. Students use a dictionary to reinforce phonetic punctuation and spelling and to identify words with multiple meanings.
Math 200
In Mathematics 2, students begin to develop the skills to solve problems mentally and to explain how they solved a problem aloud or through writing. They count to 1,000 and identify even and odd numbers. Students discover multiple strategies for adding and subtracting numbers and determine which strategies work best for various problem types. They work with number lines and use them to represent whole numbers and their sums and differences. In this course, students expand their knowledge of place value to include thousands and use this concept to compare numbers. They use standard units of measurement to express the length of objects in inches, feet, centimeters, and meters. Mathematics 2 introduces digital and analog time and presents students with word problems involving money. In addition to learning monetary values, students also learn to use the dollar and cent symbols appropriately. Students also deepen their understanding of geometric shapes while exploring fractions by dividing shapes into halves, thirds, and fourths. They are introduced to new ways of representing data, including line plots, picture graphs, and bar graphs.
Science 200
Science 2 encourages students to make sense of the world around them by observing and experimenting. Through focused readings and hands-on activities, students explore matter, energy, and physical and chemical changes. They study interdependence in ecosystems, such as the role of bees in pollination and the use and conservation of natural resources. They look beyond food production to the broader purposes of agriculture and recognize the importance of local farms to human society. Students examine the water cycle—including evaporation and condensation—and the life cycles of such living things as frogs, butterflies, and plants. They research topics and formulate questions, make predictions, and then use scientific tools to observe and measure their experiments. By distinguishing fact from opinion and recognizing patterns and cause and effect, students develop the ability to make inferences and communicate their findings.
Social Studies 200
Social Studies 2 empowers students to become productive citizens by developing their knowledge and skills in civics, history, geography, and economics. They deepen their understanding of the U.S. government by explaining the role of the three branches of government and of the U.S. Constitution. Students extend their knowledge of U.S. history to recognize the impact of important figures and movements of the past, and they begin to think like historians by identifying reliable sources, crafting compelling questions, distinguishing fact and opinion, and using timelines to structure series of events. The course highlights the role of international relations, including both alliances and international trade, as well as the importance of geography and regional variations in resources and production. Finally, students learn core concepts of economics, including supply and demand, scarcity, and cost and benefits, as well as the functions of banks, and relate these concepts to individuals and communities.
Art 200
In Art 2, students explore artistic expression of their own personal interests. They learn to organize art into categories and to identify the various methods and materials used to create art. Throughout this course, students expand their artistic vocabulary, using it to describe the works they are studying. They explore the ways in which color can represent mood in artworks and create their own works to express their mood. While learning safe procedures for working with artistic materials, students experiment with mixing colors. In addition to creating artworks that depicts family, school, and community life, students also gain familiarity with works from European and Asian cultures.
Music 200
In Music 2, students explore musical expression. They investigate how musical concepts such as tempo are used to achieve the musician’s expressive intent. Students identify the role and responsibility of a music composer and seek out the connections between music, other arts, daily life, and history. Throughout the course, they perform songs with movements and improvise rhythmic patterns and melodies. They create and record musical ideas through a recording device or on paper. Students learn to identify how personal interests and experiences influence music selection and instrument choice. Through these studies, they evaluate music from the Irish, African, and Japanese cultures. Additionally, they work with standard and iconic notation. Finally, students use the musical skills learned in this course to evaluate recorded music and make suggestions for improvement.