Grade 2
English Language Arts
EL Education is the provider of the OUSD ELA curriculum for grades K-5,.* The curriculum is standards-based, and relies heavily on fiction and nonfiction trade books. This curriculum is open access, and full materials are available to view and at the EL Education website.
* OUSD Dual Language schools use the Benchmark Education curriculum for language instruction.
Fall
Schools and Communities
What is school, and why are schools important? Why is it hard for some children to go to school in their communities? How do communities solve these problems so their children can go to school? How are schools around the world different? How are they similar?
Off to Class: Incredible and Unusual Schools around the World by Susan Hughes
The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds
The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown
The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig
Winter
Fossils Tell of Earth's Changes
What do paleontologists do? How do characters respond to major events? What can we learn from studying fossils? How do readers learn more about a topic from informational texts? How do authors write compelling narratives?
Curious about Fossils by Kate Waters
Fossils by Ann O Squire
The Dog That Dug for Dinosaurs by Shirley Raye Redmond
Paleontology: The Study of Prehistoric Life by Susan Heinrichs Gray
Stone Girl, Bone Girl by Laurence Anholt
Fossils Tell of Long Ago by Aliki Brandenberg
Spring
The Secret World of Pollination
How do plants grow and survive? How do pollinators help plants grow and survive? How do we get the fruits, flowers, and vegetables that we enjoy? How do we become researchers and share our learning?
Seed to Plant, by Kristin Baird Rattini
What Is Pollination, by Bobbie Kalman
Plant Secrets, by Emily Goodman
From Seed to Plant, by Gail Gibbons
Math
Eureka Math2 (Eureka Math "Squared") is the adopted OUSD curriculum for elementary schools. The curriculum is aligned to California Common Core standards, which describe what students should know and be able to do in each subject in each grade.
Science
For elementary science instruction, OUSD uses FOSS (Full Option Science System), a research-based science curriculum developed at the Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley. This curriculum emphasizes hands-on activities and is aligned to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The order of the three modules varies from school to school, depending on the rotation of physical science kits at each school site.
Physical Science
Solids and Liquids
How are solid and liquid materials similar and different?
How do the properties of solid and liquid materials relate to how they can be used and how they can change?
Investigations:
Solids
Liquids
Bits and Pieces
Solids, Liquids, and Water
Earth Science
Pebbles, Sand & Silt
What are the properties of rocks and how do they change?
How are small pieces of rock made and moved to change landforms?
How are different sizes of rocks used as resources to make useful objects?
Investigations:
First Rocks
River Rocks
Using Rocks
Soil and Water
Life Science
Insects and Plants
How do organisms live, grow, respond to their environment, and reproduce?
How and why do organisms interact with their environment and what are the effects of those interactions?
Investigations:
Mealworms
Brassica Seeds
Milkweed Bugs