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
Second 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
Second graders continue to build their literacy skills as they learn more complex vocabulary and read more rigorous texts across a variety of genres, including fiction, nonfiction, biography, fantasy, and poetry. They become more independent, fluent, and thoughtful readers, and they expand their comprehension as we discuss and write about the themes and ideas in the stories we read. Each month, students present a reading project focused on a different skill or genre.
Writing
Second graders become more experienced writers by producing longer, more detailed, and more varied pieces: opinion, narrative, and informative writing, along with creative stories, poetry, and a biography report. They take part in the full writing process, from brainstorming and drafting through editing, publishing, and sharing, and we spend significant time on story structure. Daily editing exercises, spelling, and grammar lessons reinforce it all.
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Second graders deepen their understanding of mathematical concepts and sharpen their problem-solving skills, learning the vocabulary of math and a range of creative and practical strategies. They build skill with place value, addition and subtraction, geometry and measurement, time, money, fractions, probability, and the beginnings of multiplication and division. Along the way, they learn to think like mathematicians and apply math to real-world problems.
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Second graders explore cultures across America and around the globe, learning about communities, geography, history, government, and economics, and connecting what we learn in class to the world today. Weekly current events projects give them a chance not only to improve their public speaking but also to stay informed about what's happening in the world.