Assawompset second-grade teachers describe integrated literacy, science and social studies units to committee

Bethany Pinal, principal at Assawompset Elementary School, introduced a presentation by the school's second-grade team at the school committee meeting on Feb. 5. She said the team used the Wonders literacy program as a spine for connecting reading, writing, social studies and science standards.

Second-grade teachers Becky Sewell, Kathleen Franco, and other team members described a goal set earlier in the year to align at least two Wonders literacy units with social studies and science objectives and to assess those units. The teachers said they correlated lessons and read-alouds to second-grade social studies standards (including locating the seven continents) and used the literacy units to build background knowledge and vocabulary for upcoming stories.

Teachers described a longtime school event called "Holidays Around the World," in which each classroom focuses on a continent and a seasonal celebration; students make passport booklets and rotate to learn about different cultures. They said integrating the literacy and social studies lessons improved connections for students and supported comprehension.

Teachers showed examples of classroom products: vocabulary slides using a seven-step process, Venn diagrams to compare New Year celebrations in different cultures and writing samples that tied science observations to written responses. Pinal and presenters emphasized collaborative planning time and weekly meetings between the principal and the grade team as essential to the project’s success.

The committee moved the team's scheduled presentation to the end of new business after the principals indicated a presenter might arrive late; the motion carried.

No formal committee action on curriculum materials was taken at the meeting; the presentation was informational.