Common Core State Standards (CCSS): CALIFORNIA STANDARDS

Introduction
States’ standards provide a basis for assessing states annually. Examples of states standards include the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) (including national or State) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB). These standards are important in enhancing performance of students in high schools so that they can join College. It is therefore important for teachers to have knowledge of these standards so that they gain awareness on what their students needs to learn in order to meet the requirements. California has adopted Common Core State Content Standards that are used to promote achievement of K-12 students. It has defined the skills, concepts and knowledge that every student must obtain in each grade level from kindergarten through to grade 12 (Hiebert & Mesmer, 2013).
What I want My students to Learn
The grade 2 standards provide teachers with guidance on how to teach students and offer them a world-class education in various subjects. I want my students in second grade to learn science, math, social studies, and English language Arts. In this grade, students are taught basic concepts such as reading, grammar, subtraction and addition, and introduction to weather (Hiebert & Mesmer, 2013).
The aim of learning English language arts is to promote the students vocabulary development and to improve their fluency in English language. Language development and fluency are important aspects because it would enhance the social competence of students, and enable them to effectively structure grammatical sentences both in spoken and in writing. The English language arts will be learned through word analysis such as selecting letter patterns and make the students interpret them into verbal language using word parts. Additionally, language arts will be taught by engaging students in reading comprehension, analyzing their reading and responses to literature, make them write sentences and develop a paragraph. Also, the students will gain knowledge of language arts through listening and responding to oral communication correctly. In reading, students will be made to perform different tasks involving use of fictional and non-fictional texts. They will as well read character traits, story elements, main details and features of basic texts. Basic grammar that is taught in second grade includes adjectives, verbs and subjects. Writing grammar helps to inform students and allow them to express their personal ideas (Umansky, Reardon, Hakuta, Thompson, Estrada, Hayes & Goldenberg, 2015).
Moreover, the students will study mathematics to enhance their recognition of various mathematical applications that are important in academic progress. The students will different mathematical concepts including number sense, algebra and functions, measurement and geometry, statistics, data analysis and probability, as well as mathematical reasoning. Learning mathematical idea will provide students with an idea of place value, simple multiplication idea and the relationship of numbers in addition and subtraction. Furthermore, learning mathematics will enhance the ability of students to measure quantities of correct units. They will be able to classify shapes appropriately and observe their relationship by using their geometric characteristics. Consequently, learning mathematics will enable students to effectively collect and analyze data and validate their answers. The mathematical ideas will be cultured through counting, reading, writing whole numbers, solving simple math problems, measuring length of objects, and calculations (Umansky, Reardon, Hakuta, Thompson, Estrada, Hayes & Goldenberg, 2015).
Additionally, the students will study social studies because it will allow them to explore the lives of individuals who provide meaning in their lives. They can understand these people by observing their actual lives or by reading historical stories of heroes in society. It will provide students with the ability to differentiate things that took place in the past from those that occurred recently. They obtain this knowledge by tracking the family history of an extraordinary person either from primary or secondary sources. Also, they can make comparison or differentiate between their everyday lives and those of their parents or grandparents. Learning social studies as well promotes students’ ability to express their map skills. For instance, they can demonstrate their skills by providing a description of environments, places and people. Moreover, social studies provide students with knowledge on the different government institutions and their functions in America as well as those in other countries. It will promote their understanding of how American and other nations around the globe make and implement laws, and how to punish offenders. In addition, they will be able to provide a description of ways that different groups and nations interact to address global problems such as treaties, military force and diplomacy. Additionally, learning social studies enhances comprehension of students’ basic concepts of economics and roles of people in the economy.  For example, the students will have the ability to explain the comparison and contrast between food production and consumption in the present society and those in the past. Similarly, they will be able to explain how limited recourses impacts on consumption and production. Accordingly, learning social studies will allow students to have knowledge on significance of a person’s actions and their traits and also understand ways that previous icons such as Abraham Lincoln have impacted on their lives (Dolman, 2016).
The students will study science including physical, life and earth sciences as well as investigation and experimentation. In physical science, students will be provided with basic understanding of ways that motion of objects can be observed and measured. For example, it will provide them with insights on how to change the movement of something by either pulling or pushing. In earth sciences, students will be introduced to weather system and planets and the different materials that the earth is made off. This will provide students with awareness on how to compare physical properties and understand how fossils are and how they were made. In life sciences, students will be introduced to nutrition, plants and animals. They are provided with the information of how organisms reproduce offspring, the stages of life cycles, characteristics of organisms and the influence of the environment on those traits (Umansky, Reardon, Hakuta, Thompson, Estrada, Hayes & Goldenberg, 2015).
Conclusion
California’s Common Core State Content Standards has promoted provision of world class education to students within the state. It consists of clearly outlined knowledge, concepts and skills that teachers must ensure each student. Second grade students can be taught on basic concepts of various subjects such as science, math, social studies, and English language Arts. For instance, students learn how to read, grammar structure and writing, subtraction and addition and introduction to weather patterns and the planet. Teaching students the basic concepts of these subjects would enhance their knowledge and skills and thus improve their academic performance. Additionally, it will provide them with good grades that ensure they join high school and college and become important people in the society.

References
Dolman, A. (2016). Using primary sources with an inquiry-based curriculum to enhance engagement in social studies in a second grade classroom (Doctoral dissertation, California State University, Northridge).
Hiebert, E. H., & Mesmer, H. A. E. (2013). Upping the ante of text complexity in the Common Core State Standards examining its potential impact on young readers. Educational Researcher, 42(1), 44-51.
Umansky, I. M., Reardon, S. F., Hakuta, K., Thompson, K. D., Estrada, P., Hayes, K., … & Goldenberg, C. (2015). Improving the Opportunities and Outcomes of California’s Students Learning English: Findings from School District-University Collaborative Partnerships. Policy Brief 15-1. Policy Analysis for California Education, PACE.