Curriculum Map 2006-2007      

The Dwight School
Science/Social Studies 2 / Grade 2 (Primary Years Program)  

Content  Purpose/ Objectives  Activities/ Assessments  Resources 
Let's get physical 
(Week 1, 6 Weeks)
Who We Are
Central Idea:
People have a universal need to keep their bodies healthy and active.
An inquiry into:
Keeping a fit body
Finding the right balance between work and play
Components of the food pyramid
How to make positive changes to an unhealthy lifestyle.



 

What are the reasons to maintain good health through regular activity and good nutrition?
Are our personal lifestyles and eating habits as healthy as they could be, or do they need improving?
What are the components of the food pyramid?
Student questions:
1. How do vitamins get in our food?
2. Why does cholesterol affect people badly?
3. Why do people have different diets?
4. Where did the word 'diet' come from?
5. Why is exercise good for your body?
6. How come some sweet things are bad for you, and some can be good for you? (like apples)
7. Why are vegetables so good for us?
8. What is healthier, fruit or veggies?
9. Why do they add certain vitamins into food and not others?
10. Why do some countries have populations that are taller than others?
11. How can you tell you are really healthy?
12. Why does salt come out when you sweat?
13. What kind of things do people do to stay healthy?
14. What can unhealthy or out of shape people do to make themselves healthier?
15. Do different exercises have different effects on your body?
16. What happens if you don't exercise for a while?
17. How many different things can you do to stay fit?
18. How long should you exercise for?


 

Field trip to Union Square Farmers Market (Guided tour)
The students will create their own food pyramids, classifying food groups and creating their own healthy menu.
The students will fill out a booklet of their weekly activities and grade them according to how effective they are in calorie burning.
The students will research what nutrients their bodies need and which foods supply them.
Students will make fruit smoothies from healthy ingredients, choosing names, rating the taste, and planning the marketing of their invention, among other activities.
The students will learn how to plan healthy meals and menus, including ‘shopping’ for ingredients The students will match physical activity to certain needs, i.e., strength building, healthy weight maintenance, having fun, etc
They will fill in blank food pyramids to show their understanding of the food group components.
Experiment with taking pulse rates during different types of activities and comparing results. What do we notice? Hypothesize!
The students will match physical activity to certain needs, i.e., strength building, healthy weight maintenance, having fun, etc
Experiment with taking pulse rates during different types of activities and comparing results. What do we notice? Hypothesize!
French: Ce qu’on mange/ne mange pas en France
Technology: Build food pyramids and label the groups, construct bodies out of different foods using ‘Kidspiration’ program.






 

People, places, audio-visual materials, literature, music, art, computer software, etc.
Pickles to Pittsburgh by Judi Barrett
Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
Rabbit Stew by Donna Kosow
Food and Nutrition For Every Kid by Janice VanCleave’s
Body Battles by Rita Golden Gelman
Why Don’t Haircuts Hurt? By Melvin and Gilda Berger
Stone Soup byMarcia Brown
Pancakes, Pancakes by Eric Carle
Vegetarian Factfinder by Ellen Klavan
Nutrition by Edward P. Ortleb
Food by Piero Ventura
Fruit by Gallimard Jeunesse and Pascale de Bourgoing
Magic School Bus Videos

 


Immigration 
(Week 1, 6 Weeks)
Where We Are in Place and Time
Central idea
To understand how much our present American culture is shaped by those who have
immigrated to this country over the last 200 years.
An inquiry into:
the different periods people immigrated to the US
the reasons why people emigrate/ immigrate
the difficulties people experience while living in a new country
differences in culture
 

Teacher Questions:
Why do people move out of their country of origin?
Why do people come to America?
What is Ellis Island?
What difficulties would people experience by leaving
their country?
What difficulties would people experience by living in a new country?
What contributions have immigrants made to the US?
How is your life influenced by the customs and traditions brought over from other countries with immigrating people?
What problems can develop when people of different cultures live together?
How can we help to decrease these problems?



 

1. By identifying our own personal histories and stories of family immigration through a home-school writing assignment.
2. By understanding key words and vocabulary used in studying the immigration boom of 1892-1924 such as: immigration, Ellis Island, Staircase of Separation, foreigner, tenements, alien, naturalization process, customs, traditions, interpreter, registration, etc.
3. By mapping countries of origin and the routes and methods by which they traveled.
4. Through creative story writing and assigned journal entries reinacting what it would have been like to be an immigrant to New York City.
5. By matching photographs from Immigrant Kids to a given text, answering questions and reflecting on what was read.
6. Through reading fictional stories at home and in school and reflecting on them through written response and drawings.
7. By visiting the Ellis Island Museum and experiencing the same things an immigrant of 100 years ago may have.


 

Ellis Island by R. Conrad Stein
Ellis Island By Patricia Ryon Quiri
Ellis Island by Catherine Reef
Ellis Island by Leonard Everett Fisher
How My Family Lives in America by Susan Kuklin
Dan Thuy’s New Life in America by Karen O’ Connor
The King Of Prussia And A Peanut Butter Sandwich by Alice Fleming
Ellis Island and the Peopling of America by Virginia Yans
I was dreaming to come to America by Veronica Lawlor
Who Belongs Here? An American Story by Margy Burns Knight
Dia’s Story Cloth by Dia Cha
How Many Days to America? By Eve Bunting
Where Did Your Family Come From? By Melvin and Gilda Berger
The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco
Watch The Stars Come Out by Riki Levinson
I Hate English by Ellen Levine
When Jessie Came Across the Sea by Amy Hest
The Long Way to a New Land: Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say




Stage 1: What is our purpose?
A concise description of the central idea to be addressed and the scope of the inquiry.

a) Central idea
To understand how much our present American culture is shaped by those who have
immigrated to this country over the last 200 years.
b) An inquiry into:
the different periods people immigrated to the US
the reasons why people immigrate
the difficulties people experience while living in a new country
differences in culture




 


folktales tell 
(Week 1, 6 Weeks)
How We Express Ourselves
Folktales, both oral and written, universally express cultural inheritance and values.
An inquiry into:
Story telling
Folktales from all over the world
The use of folktales to transmit cultural values and core beliefs

 

What are folktales? Why are they important?
How can you tell where each story takes place?
Are there any folktales from your countries?
What is a moral? Do all folktales have morals?

 

By reading different Cinderella tales from around the world
By reading different folktales from around the world
By researching cultural and traditional values from the countries the stories originated from
By identifying similarities and differences in folktales from different countries by using a Venn Diagram
By graphing results
French: French folktales
Art: Make their own creation - myth or mask

Students will be assessed through rubrics on their oral presentation.
Students will comment on their results of their graphs
Students will create their own folktale
Students are able to list similarities and differences among folktales from around the world
Journal writing-responses to folktales

Student self-assessment:

They will be able to critique their own work.


 

Raisel’s Riddle by Erica Silverman
The Way Meat Loves Salt by Nina Jaffe
The Korean Cinderella by Shirley Climo
The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo
Muforo’s Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe
Yeh Shen by Ai-Ling Louie
Cendrillon by Robert D. San Souci
The Golden Sandal by Rebecca Hickox
The Persian Cinderella by Shirley Climo
Baba Yaga and Vasilissa The Brave by Marianna Mayer
Vasilissa The Beautiful by Elizabeth Winthrop
Sootface by Robert D. San Souchi
The World Book Encyclopedia Volumes 3,4,6

 


our dynamic planet 
(Week 1, 6 Weeks)
How the World Works
The world is not static, but it is constantly changing, at times dramatically, due to natural forces. Over time humans have developed effective ways of understanding these phenomena.
An inquiry into:
How natural forces have shaped our planet (earthquakes, volcanoes, etc.)
The characteristics of these natural forces.
The similarities and differences in the behavior, cause and effect of these forces.
How modern science enables us to understand, monitor, and predict these events.

 

hquakes hquakes What is the structure of the earth?
What are the theories about how the earth formed?
What are the causes of earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis?
How has science advanced to help us understand & predict these changes & events?

 

By creating a working model of a volcano and drawing a labeled diagram of it’s features
By exploring the big bang theory through readings and videos
By making puzzle maps of the movement of the earth’s crust in the past and in the projected future from a teacher-created worksheet
By using new vocabulary and key words: inner core, outer core, mantle, crust, plate, continent, rock, directions, latitude, longitude, legend, etc.
By investigating and identifying the three main types of rocks, comparing their melting and solidifying properties and emulating this process using food items in microwave (predicting, recording, and discussing results)
Learning from primary and secondary sources about experiences of natural disasters (surviving relatives & newspaper clippings)
By going to the Natural History Museum where they will answer teacher-created questions and watch the Big Bang movie
Watching documentaries on volcanoes and other natural events
Organizing resources as well as time to complete personal research project on chosen natural force, and use variety of mediums to display information (text, illustrations, diagrams, charts )
Lang. Arts: Sorting key words from topic according to syllables, making group glossaries
Employing a variety of writing techniques – instructional, imaginative, cloze procedure – to show their understanding of important information throughout the unit
By reading non-fiction text and creating newspaper headlines to match the event researched
Technology: Using the internet to further learning process
French: Volcanoes and earthquakes in French – simple vocabulary
Art: Landscape and basic atmospheric perspective
Music: Learning and performing a song about the movement of the Earth’s plates

Peer assessment -

Students will research a topic of their choice pertaining to one of the earth’s phenomena.
The report will be presented to the class and will be assessed by a peer-created rubric.

Teacher assessment –

Students will complete quiz questions relating to studied topics, including vocabulary & definitions.

Students will complete a worksheet on the Earth’s layers using cloze procedure to make sense of teacher-created sentences and drawing their own diagrams to show understanding.

Student self-assessment –

Student will choose a piece of work from their folder that they feel fulfills best the criteria on a rubric created as a class group.


 

Rand McNally Picture Atlas of Prehistoric Life by Robert Wood
Are There Diamonds in My Backyard? Time-Life for Children
Planet Earth by Kathryn Senior
Why Do Volcanoes Blow Their Tops? By Melvin and Gilda Berger
Earth Science Library Volcanoes and Earthquakes by Martyn Bramwell
The Earth and How it Works by Steve Parker
Volcanoes: Earth’s Inner Fire by Sally M. Walker
Volcano: The Eruption and Healing of Mount St. Helens by Patricia Lauber
1000 Facts about The Earth by Moira Butterfield
Geysers: When Earth Roars by Roy A. Gallant
Volcanoes and Earthquakes by The Nature Company Discoveries Library
Ice and Earth by Nikki Bundey
Earthquakes by Sally M. Walker
Powerful Waves by D.M. Souza
Planet Earth by Martin Redfern
The Magic School Bus Blows its Top Video
TV Documentary on volcanoes

 


Inventions 
(Week 1, 6 Weeks)
How We Organize Ourselves
From the beginning of time, people have been inventing new things in an effort to better equip and understand the world around them.
An inquiry into:
The different types of inventions and their purposes
The people behind inventions, their lives and their motivation and incentive to become inventors
The impact of certain inventions on individual and communal life

 

What is an invention?
What are some of the earliest inventions and who were the inventors?
How have inventors improved society and our lives?
Who are some of the women inventors and their inventions?
What is a patent and how do you go about obtaining one?

 

By reading about inventions and inventors through selected books,
as well as searching for information on the Internet
By completing daily ‘guesstimates’ as to the invention dates of everyday items, and helping to construct a timeline of guesses in order to become more aware of the concept of longer periods of time
By examining the evolution of specific inventions through time
(ex. the wheel, electricity, light bulb, airplane) and creating a timeline documenting this evolution
By working in groups to research the lives of a selection of inventors and to present the findings to the class in booklet form:
Robert Goddard
Elijah McCoy
C.J. Walker
Alexander Graham Bell
By researching an A-Z of African American inventors during Black History Month, and realizing their important contribution to the world we live in today
By listing inventions that are in their homes and in their classrooms and showing the impact they have on the environment and themselves
By creating an advertisement for an existing invention, with the proviso that it has just been invented and needs to be ‘sold’. What are the life-changing properties of this invention?
By inventing something that has never been created before or improving something already invented
Students will create a new invention or improve on something already invented, assessed by student-created rubric.
Students will be assessed on vocabulary and key words related to inventions and inventors through a teacher- created test.
Students will create a timeline showing inventions throughout history.
Student self-assessment:
Students will research and compile information for a group-project, which will be critiqued using a group-created rubric and a teacher-created rubric.
French: French inventors
Art: Leonardo da Vinci


 

People, places, audio-visual materials, literature, music, art, computer software, etc.
Brainstorm! The Story of Twenty American Kid Inventors by Tom Tucker
Inventions and Discoveries by World Book
Pioneers of Discovery by Richard Rennert
Ancient Egypt Discoveries and Inventions by Jane Shutter
53 1/2 Things That Changed the World and Some That Didn’t by David West
What Happened Next? Great Discoveries by Philip Steele
The Real McCoy: The Life of an African-American Inventor by Wendy Towle
The Children’s Atlas of Scientific Discoveries and Inventions by Andrew Dunn
The Kids’ Invention Book by Arlene Erlbach
Mistakes That Worked: 40 Familiar Inventions and How They Came To Be by Charlotte Foltz Jones
Ancient Greece Discoveries and Ideas by Jane Shutter
Women Inventors by Jean F. Blashfield
Telephones, Televisions, and Toilets by Melvin and Gilda Berger
Great Inventions by Richard Wood
Inventions by Time Life Books


 


How We Share the Planet 
(Week 1, 6 Weeks)
How We Share the Planet
Central Idea:
All animals have a universal need for shelter.
An inquiry into:
How climate, location and materials affect the structure of shelters
The impact of the human population on animals’ environment

 

Teacher Questions:
a) What is adaptation?
b) How are animals classified?
c) What is the difference between a biome and an ecosystem?

 

Watching the Eyewitness Video series
Researching on the internet
Researching by using different books on habitats and biomes
Going to the Natural History Museum
Making a mobile to show known facts about chosen animals from a variety of habitats.
French: Animal habitats vocabulary
Students’ ability to identify the different biomes around the world.
Assessment of research project using a rubric on oral presentation of animal and habitat.
Students’ ability to list reasons why certain animals have become extinct and or endangered.
Checklists










Student self-assessment:
1. Self-reflections
2. Student-prepared rubric to assess their research projects.
3. Self evaluation
4. Portfolio


 

. WHAT RESOURCES WILL WE USE?
People, places, audio-visual materials, literature, music, art, computer software, etc.
National geographic.com
Enchantedlearning.com
Wild Fact File
Zoo Books
Eyewitness Video Series
The World Book Encyclopedia
Ask Jeeves for kids.com
Yahooligans.com
Natural History Museum field trip
Bronx Zoo field trip
Google.com

 

Updated: Wednesday, January 03, 2007
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