Grade 2 Curriculum

2013-2014
Primary Curriculum List

These are the materials I use on a daily (or almost daily) basis! Our method is school-at-home, so we try to purchase materials that follow the common core standards.

PHONICS
MCP Phonics, Level B, completed
MCP Phonics, Level C
The Modern Curriculum Press Plaid series works! A wide variety of exercises keeps the lessons from being repetitive. It's inexpensive and it makes learning to read fun. My absolute favorite phonics program, we were turned onto the series by a master reading teacher.

READING COMPREHENSION
Reading, Grade 2 (Spectrum)
We use this book strictly for reading comprehension. Students read a story, then answer a series of questions. The stories get progressively harder throughout the book. Although there are some grammar and phonics questions, it is primarily a comprehension workbook.

GRAMMAR/LANGUAGE ARTS
Scholastic Success With Grammar, Grade 2
This book is brief and concise, but has the easiest and best explanations for grammar rules!

WRITING
Writing Curriculum Week-By-Week Lessons, Grade 2
This is by far the most amazing series for teaching writing! Each month has daily journal prompts and a longer weekly writing assignment. There are instructions for HOW to teach writing to different learning styles, directions for each weekly lessons, and supplemental forms in the index for brainstorming pages/ commonly misspelled words/ techniques for better writing, and more!

SPELLING
Spelling, Grade 2 (Spectrum)
There are a variety of exercises, but we use the book primarily for the weekly word lists.

MATH
Spectrum Math, Grade 2, completed
Spectrum Math, Grade 3
Spectrum Math books teach the common core standards in way that is easy to understand. Skills are taught in a logical order, with each skill building on the next.
Kumon Addition & Subtraction, Grade 3
Unlike the Spectrum books, Kumon workbooks concentrate on only one set of skills. The problems start easy and then progressively get more difficult. We love the way this book has improved her speed and accuracy in adding and subtracting. These books have no instruction, only math problems. You'll need to provide explanations and teach your child how to add and subtract.
Kumon Word Problems, Grade 2
Word problems threw my student for a loop until we bought this book. By the fifth lesson, her word problem skills had improved dramatically!

SCIENCE
McGraw Hill Science Grade 2
The pictures in this book are amazing! The book is written in an easy to understand format so that the child can read independently. There is an activity for each lesson and a test/assessment at the end of the chapter. My child enjoys this book and always wants to do more than one lesson.
Enchanted Learning
This is an affordable subscription site with a variety of lessons for different subjects. I personally LOVE their science activities the best.

SOCIAL STUDIES/GEOGRAPHY
Social Studies : People and Places
People and Places is written so that the students can read the book independently. We wish their was more about other cultures, countries, and civilizations ~ so we supplement with other materials.
Beginning Geography, Grades K-2
This is an easy, fun introduction to geography. Much of the book concentrates on reading maps.

VOCABULARY
240 Vocabulary Words Kids Need to Know: Grade 3: 24 Ready-to-Reproduce Packets That Make Vocabulary Building Fun & Effective

Lessons are short and fun. Madeline really enjoys working on her vocabulary!