What Your 2nd Grader Needs to Know
Way back when I was getting my Master's degree, I became VERY interested in cultural literacy, specifically in using music to assist folks in learning information. I bought two books edited by E. D. Hirsch, Jr. that listed "core knowledge" for specific age groups. I recently saw these books on my shelf and decided to crack them again.
I love these books. I love how they are compendia (please excuse my possible misspelling of the plural of compendium) of general knowledge. In the book for second graders (the grade my sister teachers), the folks who contributed to this idea of core knowledge decided that students should know lots of things. There are stories and poems, myths from Greece and Rome, and some parts of speech. The next section includes world geography, world civilization, and American civilization. Then we come to fine arts. Second graders are supposed to know about musical instruments, melodies, scales, octaves, volume, and different forms of music - patriotic, religious, and popular. Fine Arts includes visual arts (points and lines, perspectives, sculpture and painting, architecture, and light) as well as drama (just basic information in this section including a sample drama). Then we start up the Mathematics section. Math for seven year-olds includes skip-counting, counting to 100, addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, and regrouping. Also included is time, measurement, geometry and fractions, money, and numbers to 1,000. Wait! We aren't finished yet! Second graders also are supposed to know about the life sciences - human body, health, and diet. Then we finish up with information about the physical sciences such as chemistry, engineering, meteorology, astronomy. simple tools, metals, magnets, and light. The book ends up with the stories of specific scientists.
Do you know, my sister addresses almost all of these topics in her classroom. She teaches the typical things, language arts and mathematics, but she also includes visual art and science into her classroom environment. She touches on some of the life science and physical science topics, but has found it a bit difficult to address all of the stuff which is considered "extra" in this day and age. She has stated to me, time and time again, that the month after state testing is the best time of the year as she can teach everything without having to worry about whether she is "teaching to the test."
You may have noticed that music is conspicuously absent from the list of things that my sister teaches in her classroom. She doesn't teach about music, but she does use music for non-musical goals all the time. (Maybe she has been listening to me over the past 40 years...) She has songs for everything - antonyms and synonyms, wiggle breaks, fun moments, math concepts, you name it! She sings with her students often, and they sing along with her. They use their mnemonics during testing - she says she can hear them humming when they reach specific questions in the test period.
I still love the idea of cultural literacy and using music to assist students in learning and retaining information. I am hoping that the recent adoption of the Common Core Standards by most of the states will lead to opportunities to use music to enrich the education of all kids - we will see if that will happen, but isn't it interesting that the trends in education are changing? I cannot wait to see what happens in education the next 20 years or so.
I love these books. I love how they are compendia (please excuse my possible misspelling of the plural of compendium) of general knowledge. In the book for second graders (the grade my sister teachers), the folks who contributed to this idea of core knowledge decided that students should know lots of things. There are stories and poems, myths from Greece and Rome, and some parts of speech. The next section includes world geography, world civilization, and American civilization. Then we come to fine arts. Second graders are supposed to know about musical instruments, melodies, scales, octaves, volume, and different forms of music - patriotic, religious, and popular. Fine Arts includes visual arts (points and lines, perspectives, sculpture and painting, architecture, and light) as well as drama (just basic information in this section including a sample drama). Then we start up the Mathematics section. Math for seven year-olds includes skip-counting, counting to 100, addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, and regrouping. Also included is time, measurement, geometry and fractions, money, and numbers to 1,000. Wait! We aren't finished yet! Second graders also are supposed to know about the life sciences - human body, health, and diet. Then we finish up with information about the physical sciences such as chemistry, engineering, meteorology, astronomy. simple tools, metals, magnets, and light. The book ends up with the stories of specific scientists.
Do you know, my sister addresses almost all of these topics in her classroom. She teaches the typical things, language arts and mathematics, but she also includes visual art and science into her classroom environment. She touches on some of the life science and physical science topics, but has found it a bit difficult to address all of the stuff which is considered "extra" in this day and age. She has stated to me, time and time again, that the month after state testing is the best time of the year as she can teach everything without having to worry about whether she is "teaching to the test."
You may have noticed that music is conspicuously absent from the list of things that my sister teaches in her classroom. She doesn't teach about music, but she does use music for non-musical goals all the time. (Maybe she has been listening to me over the past 40 years...) She has songs for everything - antonyms and synonyms, wiggle breaks, fun moments, math concepts, you name it! She sings with her students often, and they sing along with her. They use their mnemonics during testing - she says she can hear them humming when they reach specific questions in the test period.
I still love the idea of cultural literacy and using music to assist students in learning and retaining information. I am hoping that the recent adoption of the Common Core Standards by most of the states will lead to opportunities to use music to enrich the education of all kids - we will see if that will happen, but isn't it interesting that the trends in education are changing? I cannot wait to see what happens in education the next 20 years or so.
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