Second Grade
Second grade is a time of increasing independence, growth, and accountability. Students are acquiring new skills as well as solidifying and becoming fluent and confident in the application of exisiting skills. Thematic units including studies of insects, nutrition, space, and Global Studies, drive cooperative learning and critical thinking. Cross-disciplinary explorations encourage students to integrate their reading, writing, mathematical, and social skills to deepen and share their understanding.
Goals
- to become effective team members and confident independent thinkers
- to demonstrate personal responsibility
- to develop problem solving and critical thinking skills
Highlights
- Pike Place Market field trip integrating nutrition and Seattle history studies
- students work together to research and create an insect field guide that includes life cycle and habitat
- study of the solar system and outer space, including a field trip to the planetarium
Literacy takes advantage of second graders’ increasingly functional skills to use reading and writing for comprehension, communication, expression, and presentation of information and ideas. Writer’s workshop, word work, poetry, research writing, and reader’s theater all help students build vocabulary, deepen comprehension, and develop their voice as speakers and writers. Listening and speaking skills are further deepened through morning meetings, sharing and reflections, and presentations.
Math asks students to explore problems in depth, organizing and expressing their thinking through words, numbers, and pictures. The logic of numbers is emphasized, as students learn that all number facts are related in a systematic way. Students work on developing number sense, visualizing and describing geometric relationships, and collecting and analyzing real data. Daily math routines and games in class and at home provide students practice with targeted skills. Second graders work with the Bridges in Mathematics curriculum.
Social Studies first delves into the history of Seattle. Students look back at the city in the 1800s, creating timelines and biographies from their research. Next, the scope broadens to Global Studies, encompassing one broad region of the world each year in a school-wide investigation of how where and when you live affects how you live.
Science is inquiry-based and hands-on. Students learn about insects and their characteristics. They also study nutrition, understanding healthy meals through knowledge of food groups and basic nutritional needs. A science unit on space focuses on studying systems and how parts interact with a whole. Along with constructing models of the solar system, students learn that what we know is changing constantly, thanks to current-day discoveries, advances, and inventions in technology.
Character education guides second graders to be contributing members of their community, at a classroom level and beyond. Cooperative learning is part of many projects. Students are expected to demonstrate conflict resolution skills and show empathy and respect for others. Service learning projects include garden work with Seattle Tilth and fifth grade “buddies,” community service in the neighborhood, and student-initiated projects.