"What will your child be expected to learn in the second grade? How can you help him or her at home? This book answers these all-important questions and more, offering the specific shared knowledge that hundreds of parents and teachers across the nation have agreed upon for American second graders.
• Favorite poems-old and new, from "Caterpillars" to Gwendolyn Brooks's prizewinning "Rudolph Is Tired of the City"
• Literature-from around the world, with African folktales, American tall tales, European fairy tales, and classic myths from ancient Greece
• Learning about language-the basic building blocks of written English, all explained with a touch of humor and common sense
• World and American history and geography-visit Japan, explore ancient Greece, travel the Underground Railroad with Harriet Tubman
• Visual arts-with activities and full-color illustrations of masterworks by El Greco, Van Gogh, Matisse, and others
• Music-basic theory, great composers, instruments, and fun-to-sing songs such as "I've Been Working on the Railroad" and "Do-Re-Mi"
• Math-challenging lessons ranging from telling time to doing fractions, numbers to 100, and a first look at geometry
• Science-the cycle of life and the seasons, levers and magnets, the wonder of the human body, and more, with lots of hands-on activities and stories about famous scientists"