Second Grade
"Seven-year-olds want to know how everything fits. We feed that hunger with stories, patterns, and the steady joy of getting a little better at something every single day."
Veronica Simms
First Grade Teacher
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Second graders want to know how everything fits together, and I use that curiosity as the engine of our classroom. Teaching has always been my passion, and the small class size at The Academy lets me meet each child exactly where they are, building the kind of relationship that helps a seven-year-old take risks and grow. I use many different approaches so that every student in my room finds a way to succeed, whether we are strengthening reading fluency, extending our writing, or practicing the math facts and patterns that a strong foundation depends on. My students are old enough now to work with real independence and young enough to still find wonder in nearly everything, and I plan our days to honor both. We read widely, we write with more structure and voice than the year before, and we begin to notice the connections that run between our subjects. My goal is for each child to leave second grade a little more capable, a little more confident, and still delighted by the act of learning.
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Reading
Students in second grade will continue to develop their literacy skills as they learn more complex vocabulary and read the more rigorous text in a variety of genres including fiction, non-fiction, biographies, fantasy, and poetry. Students will become more independent, fluent, and thoughtful readers. They will expand their reading comprehension skills as they discuss and write about themes and understandings in the stories we read. Students will also have an opportunity to present monthly reading projects focusing on different skills and genres.
Writing
Students in second grade will become more experienced writers by writing more detailed, lengthy, and varied pieces. Students will write opinion, narrative, and informative pieces. They will also write creative stories, poetry, and a biography report. Second graders will take part in and become familiar with the writing process through brainstorming, drafting, editing, publishing, and sharing. We will spend significant time emphasizing the concept of story structure. Daily editing exercises, spelling, and grammar lessons will help reinforce and contribute to their writing skills.
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Second grade students will develop a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts and improve their problem-solving skills. Students will also focus on learning vocabulary and developing a variety of creative and practical strategies for problem solving. Students will continue to develop a deeper understanding of and skills with place value, addition and subtraction, geometry and measurement, time, money, fractions, probability, and multiplication and division concepts. Second Graders will learn to think like mathematicians and apply mathematics to real world problems.
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Students will explore an exciting and diverse world, including cultures from America and around the world. Students will learn about different communities, geography, history, government, and economics. Students will learn to connect ideas and lessons we learn in class to our world today. Weekly current events projects will provide students with an opportunity to not only improve their public speaking skills, but also to be informed and develop a deeper understanding of the news events happening around the world today.