Year 2
Team A
Who We Are
Where We Are in Place and
Time
How We Express Ourselves
How the World Works
How We Organize Ourselves
Sharing the Planet
Me, Myself and I
Once Upon a Time Long Ago
Plug In
Wood and Paper
Working Together
Home Sweet Home
Central Idea: Each person
develops and understands
similarities and differences that
cause uniqueness
Inquiry Into:
* The ways in which each person
is unique and special
* Developing and understanding of
self and others
* Developing an appreciation of
self and others
Families Near and Far
Team B
Central Idea: Families are the basic
structure of every society
Inquiry Into:
* Various roles and responsibilities
of family members
* Changes that occur in families
* Various sizes/compositions of
families
* Basic needs of all families
* Influence of our ancestors on our
families
Let’s Go to Europe
Team C
Central Idea: The world is made
up of many countries whose
geography shapes the history and
culture of the people
Inquiry Into:
* People demonstrate a connection
to their environment through
culture and geography
* How personal perspective can
influence how you interpret the
world
Central Idea: Traditional literature
(nursery rhymes, fairy tales) explains
about times long ago
Inquiry Into:
* Genre traits of traditional literature
* Evidence of historical time periods
* Modern versions of traditional time
periods
Historical Detectives
Central Idea: Humans, throughout
time, use the process of historical
inquiry to help explain the world
Inquiry Into:
* Understanding general chronological
events
* An exploration of historical events
(student driven)
* Process of historical inquiry
(questioning, hypothesizing, analysing)
Unwelcome Visitors?
Central Idea: Colonization impacts the
newcomers, indigenous populations,
and environments
Inquiry Into:
* Ramifications of foreign invasion
into a thriving indigenous society
* The possibility of two vastly
different cultures co-existing peacefully
* Dying cultures and languages
* Limited resources and community
sharing
Central Idea: Readers use schema to
interpret what is read
Inquiry Into:
* Schema
* Types of connections
* Responding to literature using
connections
Rhythm, Rhyme, and Repetition
Central Idea: People use poetry as a way
to express ideas
Inquiry Into:
* The form which makes poetry unique
* The purposes for which people read
and write poetry
* The idea that poetry can be interpreted
and meaning can be expressed in
different ways
Wonderful World of Writers
Central Idea: Recycling creates new
forms of objects that have new
properties
Inquiry Into:
* Properties of wood (changing of
wood)
* Properties of paper (changing paper)
* Paper and wood construction
What’s the Big Attraction
Central Idea: All materials are affected
in some way by a magnetic field but not
all materials react the same way
Inquiry Into:
* Magnetic attraction
* Magnetic polarity
* Practical uses of magnets
Sun, Moon, and Planets
Central Idea: People reflect on life
experiences to analyse and write stories
Central Idea: Change distinguishes
different phases of physical objects
Inquiry Into:
* Elements of purposeful, effective
writing
* Recognizing author’s styles
Inquiry Into:
* Changes to the sun
* Moon phases
* Planets
Central Idea: Working together as a
community of learners impacts success
Central Idea: Animals require a
particular habitat for survival
Inquiry Into:
* Schedule and routines
* Behavioral expectations
* Caring for our physical environment
(materials and classroom)
Inquiry Into:
* Structure (adaptations) of a variety of
animals
* Interactions animals have with their
surroundings
* Proper care and feeding of classroom
animals
Community of Learners
Central Idea: A sense of community
provides support for learning
Inquiry Into:
* The traits of a learning community
* How who we are as individuals
contributes to the learning community
(similarities and differences)
* The positive and negative
consequences of the choices we make
* The rights and responsibilities of
members of a learning community
Ameritowne
Animals in Danger
Central Idea: Although extinction can be
a natural event, the high rate of
extinction today results from human
activity
Inquiry Into:
* Animals that are endangered
* Factors that contribute to the
endangerment
* What can we do
Plants and Animals
Central Idea: People demonstrate
choices based on needs and wants and
the interdependence of community life in
a free enterprise
Central Idea: Systems are created to
organize and classify all living things
based upon their physical characteristics,
needs, and environment
Inquiry Into:
* The effect of free enterprise including
consumers, producers, supply, demand,
and banking
* The economic cycle
* The interdependence of people in a
community
* How citizens participate in
government and the purpose it serves
Inquiry Into:
* Classification of plants and animals
* Interdependence between plants and
animals within the food web
* Analyzing the impact of humans upon
the Colorado environment