Literacy Curriculum

Guiding Principles for Literacy

• 1) An effective English language arts and literacy curriculum develops thinking and language together through interactive learning.
• 2) An effective English language arts and literacy curriculum draws on literature in order to develop students’ understanding of their literary heritage.
• 3) An effective English language arts and literacy curriculum draws on informational texts and multimedia in order to build academic vocabulary and strong content knowledge.
• 4) An effective English language arts and literacy curriculum develops students’ oral language and literacy through appropriately challenging learning.
• 5) An effective English language arts and literacy curriculum emphasizes writing arguments, explanatory/informative texts, and narratives.
• 6) An effective English language arts and literacy curriculum holds high expectations for all students.
• 7) An effective English language arts and literacy curriculum provides explicit skill instruction in reading and writing.
• 8) An effective English language arts and literacy curriculum builds on the language, experiences, knowledge, and interests that students bring to school.
• 9) An effective English language arts and literacy curriculum nurtures students’ sense of their common ground as present or future American citizens and prepares them to participate responsibility into our schools and in civic life.
• 10) An effective English language arts and literacy curriculum reaches out to families and communities in order to sustain a literate society.

Benchmarks

Second Grade Benchmarks

       Reading - Foundation Skills, Literature and Informational Text

• Knows and applies grade level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words
• Reads with accuracy and fluency to support comprehension
• Reads grade level high frequency words
• Asks and answers questions “W” questions to demonstrate understanding of the text
• Identifies main idea and key details of various genres
• Demonstrates an understanding of characters, setting, and plot
• Uses a variety of strategies to interpret the text
• Identifies the author’s purpose
• Identifies and explains what dialogue adds to text
• Reads prose and poetry appropriate for the grade level

           Writing

• Writes opinion pieces on topics or texts supporting point of view with reasons and information
• Writes informative/explanatory pieces to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly (including poems)
• Writes narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events Participates in shared research and writing projects
• Speaking and Listening
• Participates and contributes to collaborative discussions in a focused and clear manner
• Asks and answers questions to seek help, get in-formation, or deepen understanding of text or information presented orally
• Speaks audibly and expresses thoughts, feelings, and ideas

            Math

• Operations and Algebraic Thinking
• · Represent and solve problems involving addition and subtraction.
• · Add and subtract within 20.
• · Work with equal groups of objects to gain foundations for multiplication.
• Number and Operations in Base Ten
• · Understand place value.
• · Use place value understanding proper-ties of operations to add and subtract.
• Measurement and Data
• · Measure and estimate lengths in standard units.
• · Relate addition and subtraction in length.
• · Work with time and money.
• · Represent and interpret data.
• Geometry
• · Reason with shapes and their attributes.