Language arts is the preface to all learning.  Students should be encouraged and excited to read, yet be challenged enough to keep reading.  The example lesson plans were from a second grade shared reading program.  The students wrote a point of view response to the "Ticky Tacky Doll" and a report style response to "The Magic School Bus: The Eye of the Hurricane."  

Math should be a hands on exploration of mathematical concepts.  Especially in the younger years, where students have a difficult time understanding the abstract.  To help students understand the concepts of Equivalent Fractions and Liquid Capacity, the students were able to reinforce what they were learning through the use of manipulatives, and apply these concepts to everyday life.

Science can be an excellent motivator to encourage students to read, question and investigate.  However, it often is one aspect of the curriculum that gets overlooked, as if we have time.  Science and social studies should be one of the first activities planned; the hands on activities that are natural to science could lead to endless possibilities for learning.  Included are aspects of the Weather Unit, which includes second grade lesson plans for  "The Water Cycle" and "Weather Stations", and the Weather Murals. as well as my mini unit on Rocks, which covers size, color, weight, and weathering and erosion.

Social Studies is our opportunity to learn and share our cultural histories with others in our learning community.  Social studies encompasses the learning about our past, ourselves, and our community; local and global.  In one second grade we created our "Mystery Community Worker" and in the other, learned about the First Thanksgiving in our mini unit, and even prepared an authentic feast.