2nd Grade

Language Arts, Foreign Language: Latin, Science, and History

Language Arts

Reading, Grammar, Spelling, & Vocabulary

• Choose from one of the following:

  • Logic of English Essentials 1-7 Set

  • Logic of English Essentials 8-15 Student Workbook

  • Logic of English Essentials 8-15 Teacher’s Guide

Cursive

• New American Cursive 1 by Memoria Press

• New American Cursive 2: Quotations from Famous Americans by Memoria Press

Writing

• People and Places in our Community by The Institute of Excellence in Writing

• Additional writing projects provided by Peace Hill.

Literature

*Listed in the order they will be read

• Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne

• The Milly-Molly- Mandy Storybook by Joyce Lancaster Brisley

• The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

• Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

• Baby Island by Carol Ryrie Brink

• Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

• At-Home Free Read Suggestions:

  • Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol

  • Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat

  • The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit

  • Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield

  • Farmer Boy (or other books from the Little House series) by Laura Ingall’s Wilder

  • Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

  • Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater

  • Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney

  • Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen

  • The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting

Foreign Language - Latin

Primary Stage Latin 1

• Song School Latin Book 1 by Amy Rehn (Classical Academic Press) (not approved with some charters)

Science - Early Modern Era

Includes discoveries, scientists and related experiments from the Early Modern Era. Core curriculum provided by Peace Hill. All materials are included in the materials fee. “At-Home” nature study supplies can be found on the supplies list.

• 2nd Grade At-Home Living Science Read-Aloud Books: 

  • The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton Burgess (free version here)

  • Birds of the Air by Arabella B. Buckley (free audio version here)

  • Trees and Shrubs by Arabella B. Buckley

  • Insect Life by Arabella B. Buckley (free version here)

History - The Early Modern Era

• Story of the World, Vol. 3: Early Modern Times by Susan Wise Bauer

• Choose ONE of the two activity book options: 

• Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Activity Book 3: Early Modern Times by Susan Wise Bauer

• Story of the World Volume 3 Student Pages

• Historical fiction (read-aloud) books - choose 4: Students will have a fun assignment on a historical fiction book each quarter, so plan ahead. 

  • Illustrated Adventure Stories by Lesley Sims

  • Miguel’s Brave Knight: Young Cervantes and His Dream of Don Quixote by Margarita Engle

  • The Chocolate Tree: a Mayan Folktale by Linda Lowery, Richard Keep, Janice Lee Porter

  • The Rain Player by David Wisniewski

  • The Boy Who Held Back the Sea by Thomas Locker

  • The Boy and the Dike: A Dutch Folktale by M. J. York

  • Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates by Mary Mapes (family read aloud)

  • Always Room for One More by Sorche Nic Leodhas

  • Katie in Scotland by James Mayhew

  • Mr. Fawkes, the King and the Gunpowder Plot by Tom and Tony Bradman

  • Northwest Passage by Stan Rogers

  • The Thundermaker by Alan Syliboy

  • Under a Prairie Sky by Anne Laurel Carter

  • Night of the Ninjas: Magic Tree House #5 by Mary Pope Osborne

  • The Perfect Sword by Scott Goto

  • The Strongest Boy in the World by Jessica Souhami

  • The Turtle Ship by Helena Ku Rhee

  • Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein

  • Finding Providence: The Story of Roger Williams by Avi

  • Sarah Morton’s Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl by Kate Waters

  • Samuel Eaton’s Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim by Kate Waters 

  • Thanksgiving on Thursday by Mary Pope Osborne

  • Amistad Rising: A Story of Freedom by Veronica Chambers

  • Africa Dream by Eloise Greenfield

  • Circle Unbroken by Margot Theis Raven

  • In the Time of the Drums by Kim Siegelson

  • A Donkey Reads by Muriel Mandell

  • The Green Musician by Mahvash Shahegh

  • The Kind Old Lady by Meimanat Mirsadeghi

  • The Knight, the Princess, & the Magic Rock: A Classic Persian Tale by Sara Azizi

  • The Persian Cinderella by Shirley Climo

  • The Rich Man and the Parrot by Pippa Goodhart

  • The Hungry Coat by Demi

  • The Glass Mountain by Diane Wolkstein

  • The Pied Piper of Hamelin by Robert Browning

  • The Golem’s Latkes by Eric A. Kimmel

  • The Boy from the Dragon Palace by Margaret Read Macdonald

  • The Boy of the Three-Year Nap by Dianne Snyder

  • The Crane Girl by Curtis Manley

  • Yuki and the One Thousand Carriers by Gloria Whelan

  • The Great Race by Christopher Corr

  • Little Monk and the Mantis: A Bug, A Boy, and the Birth of a Kung Fu Legend by John Fusco

  • The Paper Dragon by Marguerite W. Davol

  • How Ganesh Got His Elephant Head by Harish Johairi and Vatsala Sperling

  • Tigers at Twilight by Mary Pope Osborne

  • Jack and the Beanstalk by Nina Towe

  • Rex and the Royal Prisoner by Kate Sheppard

  • The Baker’s Boy and the Great Fire of London by Tom and Tony Bradman

  • The Fly on the Ceiling by Dr. Julie Glass

  • King Louie’s Shoes by D. J. Steinberg

  • The Potato King by Christopher Niemann

  • The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm: the Complete First Edition by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm

  • Tapenum’s Day: A Wampanoag Indian Boy in Pilgrim Times by Kate Waters

  • Hiawatha and the Peacemaker by Robbie Robertson

  • Hornbooks and Inkwells by Verla Kay

  • I, Galileo by Bonnie Christensen

  • Starry Messenger by Peter Sis

  • Newton’s Rainbow by Kathryn Lasky

  • Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave by Marianna Mayer

  • The Fool and the Flying Ship by Arthur Ransome

  • The Sea King’s Daughter: A Russian Legend by Aaron Shepard

  • Shoemaker Martin by Leo Tolstoy

  • The Great Tulip Trade by Beth Wagner

  • Hana in the Time of the Tulips by Deborah Noyes

  • Folktales from Turkey by Serpil Ural

  • The Greedy Sparrow: An Armenian Tale by Lucine Kasbarian

  • The Hungry Coat: A Tale From Turkey by Demi

  • Cinnamon by Neil Gaiman

  • Grandma and the Great Gourd by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

  • The Last Dragon by Susan Miho Nunes

  • Where the Winds Meet: Mongolia by Mi-hwa Joo

  • Favorite Children’s Stories from China & Tibet by Lotta CarswellHume, Lo Koon

  • Children of the Dragon: Selected Tales from Vietnam by Sherry Garland

  • To Swim In Our Own Pond: A Book of Vietnamese Proverbs by Ngoc Dung Tran

  • Vietnamese Children’s Favorite Stories by Phuoc Thi Minh Tran

  • Korean Children’s Favorite Stories by Kim So-un

  • Gulliver’s Travels: Voyage to Lilliput by Jonathan Swift

  • Pirates Past Noon by Mary Pope Osborne

  • Freedom at Any Price: March 1775-April 19, 1775 by Amanda Stephens

  • We are Patriots: Hope’s Revolutionary War Diary by Kristiana Gregory

  • Gingerbread for Liberty! by Mara Rockliff

  • Duel! Barr and Hamilton’s Deadly War of Words by Dennis Brindell Fradin

  • Sailing the Unknown: Around the World with Captain Cook by Michael J. Rosen

  • Dog of the Sea Waves by James Rumford

  • Where the Forest Meets the Sky by Jeannie Baker

  • Down and Out Down Under by Geronimo Stilton

  • Moi & Marie Antoinette by Lynn Cullen

  • Redoute: The Man Who Painted Flowers by Carolyn Croll

  • A Royal Ride: Catherine the Great’s Great Invention by Kristen Fulton

  • The Tale of the Firebird by Tatiana Popova

  • Cleonardo, The Little Inventor by Mary GrandPre

  • Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride by Marjorie Priceman

  • Leather Shoe Charlie by Gyeong-hwa Kim

  • The Making of Monkey King by Robert Kraus

  • A Time of Golden Dragons by Song Nan Zhang and Hao Yu Zhang

  • The Mystery in the Forbidden City by Harper Paris

  • Who Stole Mona Lisa? by Ruthie Knapp

  • I, Crocodile by Fred Marcellino

  • Clang! Ernst Chladni’s Sound Experiments by Darcy Pattison

  • Tap-Tap by Karen Lynn Williams

  • The Banza: A Haitian Story by Diane Wolkstein

  • Janjak and Freda Go to the Iron Market by Elizabeth Turnbull

  • Painted Dreams by Karen Lynn Williams

  • A Big Cheese for the White House by Candace Fleming

  • Thomas Jefferson’s Feast by Frank Murphy

  • The Crossing by Donna Jo Napoli

  • Swamp Angel by Anne Isaacs

  • An American Army of Two by Janet Greeson

  • Laura Secord: A Story of Courage by Janet Lunn

  • The Town that Fooled the British: A War of 1812 Story by Lisa Papp

  • The Gold Coin by Alma Flor Ada

  • Up and Down the Andes by Laurie Krebs

  • When the Viceroy Came by Claudia Burr, Krystyna Libura, and Maria Cristina Urrutia

  • Juan’s Sweet and Spicy Memory by Hee Jung Yoon

  • The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie dePaola

  • A Library for Juana: The World of Sor Juana Ines by Pat Mora

  • Mystery of the Thief in the Night: Mexico 1 by Janelle Diller

  • The Princess and the Warrior: A Tale of Two Volcanoes by Duncan Tonatiuh

  • Big Jabe by Jerdine Nolen

  • Long Road to Freedom by Kate Messner

  • Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson

  • The Talking Eggs: A Folktale from the American South by Robert D. San Souci

  • The Village That Vanished by Ann Grifalconi

  • Galimoto by Karen Lynn Williams

  • Gift of the Sun: A Tale from South Africa by Dianne Stewart

  • The Herd Boy by Niki Daly

  • Marriage of the Rain Goddess: A South African Myth by Wolfson

  • Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale by John Steptoe

  • Where Are You Going, Manyoni? by Catherine Stock

  • The First Strawberries: A Cherokee Story by Joseph Bruchac

  • Ruby’s Wish by Shirin Yim Bridges

  • Little Pear by Eleanor Frances Lattimore

  • Voices of the Alamo by Sherry Garland

  • Blood in the Water: A Story of Friendship During the Mexican War by Pamela Dell

  • Ka the Falcon by Bruce Gilberd

  • Taniwha by Mike Johnson

  • Rata and Waka by Jephson Gibbs

  • Chang’s Paper Pony by Eleanor Coerr

  • The Legend of Freedom Hill by Linda Jacobs Altman

  • Wagon Train by Sydelle Kramer

    NOTE: If your student is with a charter that will not accept the historical era we are in this year for this grade, consider using your funds to purchase California Studies Weekly - Second Grade for $29.95, a simple, weekly magazine-style curriculum that can be completed at home on the side and will provide weekly options for samples.

See the course descriptions for each grade!