Rigorous Word Work instruction in second grade ensures students master the foundational skills they need to become lifelong readers and writers. Students learn the right comprehension strategies for their stage of reading development in small groups through explicit instruction that includes think-alouds, text-dependent questions, discussion, and graphic organizers. In second grade, students are expected to draw meaning using comprehension skills such as connecting ideas, recognizing an author’s intent, and citing text evidence. With careful teacher guidance, second graders learn how to select reading-level appropriate books in a wide variety of genres. Their genuine love for reading is encouraged and cultivated by acknowledging their achievements during a school wide AR party.
Through daily explicit writing process instruction, students learn how to express their ideas effectively in writing and develop critical writing skills in a variety of text types and genres. Students write multiple narratives, informative/ explanatory texts, opinions, and other genres. They practice writing mechanics and genre-specific writing skills.
In second grade math, students continue to develop mathematical practices, procedural skills, and conceptual understanding throughout the year. Each lesson begins with Problem- Based Learning, an activity in which students interact with their peers and teachers to make sense of and decide on a workable solution for a situation. Math instruction focuses on four critical areas:
• extending understanding of base-ten notation,
• building fluency with addition and subtraction,
• using standard units of measure, and
• describing and analyzing shapes.
By the end of second grade, students discover forces and interactions by experimenting with different strengths and directions of pushing and pulling and designing experiments to discover the relationship between speed and direction of an object using force. Students discover waves and the transfer of information by experimenting with light and sound energy. Second grade students learn life cycles and classifications of animals and adaptations for survival. Students use textual evidence to cite ways that the earth is changing and understand the changing surface of the Earth.
Second grade curriculum focuses on life in the United States, including the culture, economics, geography, government and civics, and history of our country by studying their identity as citizens and how our nation operates. Students explore how collaboration and respect for others is necessary to achieve and maintain a functioning society. They analyze the U.S. in economic terms, including: producers and consumers, supply and demand, imports and exports, and why budgets are important. They examine the geography of the U.S. in relation to the world and reinforce their map skills. To develop an understanding of the role of citizens and the U.S. government, students learn about rules, authority, and national symbols. They analyze significant individuals and observances, utilize chronological sequences, and explore primary and secondary texts in the history unit.
Our elementary school provides a warm, friendly, and dynamic environment that fosters critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity, developing a lifelong love of learning. It implements a high-quality curriculum that is aligned with state standards, built on high expectations, highly rigorous, and meets the needs of all students.
