Second Grade

During literacy, students work in skill-based groups on the five essential components of reading, which are phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Our literacy block brings time for reading with a teacher, independent reading, read-aloud, and word work. Students engage in spelling and phonics activities using a direct, explicit, and multi-sensory approach.

Second Graders are truly beginning to see themselves as writers, exploring a wide range of genres and styles of expression. Students learn to understand and apply techniques they discover in the work of published authors. They write narratives about their own experiences in the “small moments” unit and learn to formulate and express an opinion in a formal debate with classmates. They explore and write different types of poetry and also delve into informational writing, describing an area of their own expertise. Second Graders practice nature writing throughout the year, spending time in nature on Outdoor Ed expeditions or on campus as they focus on describing the world using their five senses. Students devote careful attention to revising and editing, aiming to make their writing as clear and as powerful as possible.

The basic foundational skill of computational fluency becomes even more important in Second Grade, as math concepts grow in complexity. In the Bridges math curriculum used throughout the Lower School, children learn important strategies that develop their flexibility, accuracy, and efficiency. They integrate algebraic thinking, practice measurement, learn to tell time, work with money, and explore geometric shapes. These skills are practiced through mental math activities, math games, and hands-on projects. Number Corner, our calendar display, makes math less abstract and promotes conceptual understanding and procedural fluency. The repetitious nature of Number Corner increases mathematical thinking and confidence. 

Second Grade Science focuses on: plants and trees, balance and motion, endangered species, and environmental stewardship. Students develop basic research skills to take a deep dive into specific areas of interest. Students work both independently and in groups to puzzle through various challenges and to construct meaning of more abstract concepts.

Second Graders increase their understanding of their place in the community through studying basic needs including family, food, shelter, economics, and geography. An economics unit introduces them to important concepts of “needs vs. wants” and entrepreneurship as they create their own businesses to sell products or services at a classroom Economics Fair.

Second Graders refine their vocal range and strength as they continue to explore solo and choral music. Songs and activities are chosen to coordinate with the children’s classroom studies. Second Graders also investigate various cultures and genres through songs, movement, and music literature. They build upon their understanding of dynamics, tempo, rhythm, composition, notation and music theory through the use of various instruments.

Second Graders are buddies with the Seventh Graders, often joining up to read, play math games, or tidy up the campus together. Second Graders throw themselves into their many projects and presentations with a passion characteristic of their age. A morning at school may find them measuring objects in their classroom for a math project, intensely reading a chapter book aloud, or working in a small group on a business plan for their economics unit.

Lower School Counselor Mary Stokes leads the children in discussions and projects that focus on social-emotional learning. Activities and art projects tie in to the monthly themes ranging from “inclusiveness” to “cooperation.” Mary helps guide children as they strive to find positive ways to work out any misunderstandings. Class meeting is also a dedicated time to review and put into practice the core values of the school that children learn on outdoor education trips: character, respect, responsibility, community, and perseverance.