Curriculum Used in our Combined First and Second Grade
SCIENCE: Astronomy!
Explore the vastness of the universe with us!. Study the basics of the field of astronomy, the sun, moon, planets, asteroids & meteors, the Kuiper Belt and Dwarf Planets, galaxies, and more through conversational lessons and plenty of hands on projects that will keep your student interested and engaged for each two week lesson!
Topics Covered Include:
Explore the vastness of the universe with us!. Study the basics of the field of astronomy, the sun, moon, planets, asteroids & meteors, the Kuiper Belt and Dwarf Planets, galaxies, and more through conversational lessons and plenty of hands on projects that will keep your student interested and engaged for each two week lesson!
Topics Covered Include:
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What is Astronomy?
The Sun Mercury Venus Earth The Moon Mars |
Space Rocks!
Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Stars, Galaxies, and Space Travel |
Social Studies
Witness the rise and fall of ancient empires as your student discovers a condensed version of history from the earliest nomads in 5000BC through 1600AD. What terrible secret was buried in Shi Huangdi’s tomb? Did nomads like lizard stew? What happened to Anansi the Spider in the Village of the Plantains? Who discovered chocolate? What happened to the Giant Fovor of the Mighty Blows? And why did the Ottoman Turks drag their war ships across dry land? Using visual, auditory, and kinetic learning in our project based approach, your student will find out the answer to these and more!
Witness the rise and fall of ancient empires as your student discovers a condensed version of history from the earliest nomads in 5000BC through 1600AD. What terrible secret was buried in Shi Huangdi’s tomb? Did nomads like lizard stew? What happened to Anansi the Spider in the Village of the Plantains? Who discovered chocolate? What happened to the Giant Fovor of the Mighty Blows? And why did the Ottoman Turks drag their war ships across dry land? Using visual, auditory, and kinetic learning in our project based approach, your student will find out the answer to these and more!
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Topics Covered Include:
The Earliest People The Egyptians The First Writing The Old Kingdom of Egypt The First Sumerian Dictator The Jewish People Hammurabi and the Babylonians The Assyrians The First Cities of India The Far East: Ancient China Ancient Africa The Middle Kingdom of Egypt The New Kingdom of Egypt The Israelites Leave Egypt The Phoenicians The Return of Assyria Babylon Takes Over Again Life in Early Crete The Early Greeks Greece Gets Civilized Again Medes and Persians Sparta and Athens Rome's War with Carthage The Aryans of India |
The People of the Americas
The Rise of Rome The Roman Empire The Greek Gods The Wars of the Greeks Alexander the GreatThe glory that was Rome The early days of Britain Christianity comes to Britain The Byzantine Empire The medieval Indian Empire The Rise of Islam Islam Becomes an Empire The Great Dynasties of China East of China The Bottom of the World The Kingdom of the Franks The Islamic Invasion The Great Kings of France The Arrival of the Norsemen The First Kings of England England After the ConquestKnights and Samurai The Age of Crusades A New Kind of King |
The Diaspora
The Mongols Devastate the East Exploring the Mysterious East The First RussiansThe Ottoman Empire The End of the World France and England at War War for the English Throne The Kingdoms of Spain and Portugal African Kingdoms India Under the Moghuls Exploring New Worlds The American Kingdoms Spain, Portugal, and the New World Martin Luther's New Ideas The Renaissance Reformation and Counter Reformation The New UniverseEngland's Greatest Queen England's Greatest Playwright New Ventures to the Americas Explorations in the North Explorations in the North Empires Collide |
Language Art and Reading
At the Lab School we make sure each child progresses at the level he/she is comfortably ready for. We use centers and the Daily Five method to ensure your child is getting time specifically set aside for his/her level of instruction in reading. Language Arts will be combined as much as possible and work will be expected at the appropriate level. We will also be exploring at least one chapter book together each month. Feel free to visit our list below to see what your child will discover as we add these chapter books to our picture books!
Please see the information below for each level as it pertains to your child.
Please see the information below for each level as it pertains to your child.
1st Grade: |
2nd Grade: |
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Phonics instruction continues as your first grade student builds his or her reading skills. This year reading fluency increases and comprehension skills develop. Building upon what your student already knows, they will also:
Reading Skills will move on from simply sounding out word to reading phrases and complete sentences and comprehending/discussing what is being read. Students will be introduced to:
Grammar instruction will begin this year. In addition to memorizing a minimum of 6 poems, your student will cover:
Chapter books we will be exploring together this year: Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden Dominic by William Steig Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater The Chocolate Touchby Patrick Skene Catling The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein Ribsy by Beverly Cleary The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes Freckle Juice by Judy Blume The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White Mrs. Piggle Wiggle by Betty MacDonald Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown |
We continue the phonics journey in second grade with reading practice and comprehension awareness. This year your student will learn to:
HandwritingWriting skills, Penmanship:
(for information on why we teach cursive, please visit our "about us" or "curriculum" page) As your student continues their writing instruction, new information learned will include: Learn formation for remaining 14 capital letters Paragraphs and poems Halfway through the year, your student will shift focus and begin work on learning the writing process: read and gather, think and plan, write and rewrite, check and polish, share results, use proper punctuation and capitalization; simple sentence structure; recognize difference between phrases and sentences; fill in missing words in sentences; write sentences using suggested words; choose titles; develop stories using assigned themes; solving riddles; sequencing; writing a process summary, starting/concluding sentences; writing friendly letters Compositions include these themes: Animal, historical, seasonal, character building, plants, school, ocean, "how to" |
