SECOND GRADE

OVERVIEW

READING

In second grade, students become fluent as readers and apply comprehension and vocabulary strategies to a wide variety of literary and informational text. They demonstrate comprehension by participating in discussions, writing responses, and using evidence from text to support their thinking. Reading for pleasure continues to be an enjoyable habit.

WRITING
During the second-grade, most writers make significant progress in moving from single idea and patterned sentences to more detailed and sequential text, often including more than one event or descriptive element. Students have a more conscious approach to planning and work toward accuracy and effectiveness through purposeful choice of words.
A Quick Check:

Does the student:
• Elaborate on a basic idea or item of information?
• Show a considered approach to writing by planning and following through?
• Vary sentence structures within a piece of writing?
• Strive to achieve accuracy in his/her writing?
• Write in a variety of forms, maintaining basic features and conventions?

MATH

In second grade, students expand their understanding of number to include three-digit numbers. They continue to gain proficiency in the basic addition and subtraction facts and expand concepts in measurement, using procedures to find measures (time, weight). By interpreting and creating picture and bar graphs, students further develop their early understanding of statistics. Students also work with a variety of patterns and use symbols to describe numerical relationships.

SOCIAL STUDIES

In second grade the main focus is on communities.

The themes are:

A. Our Community

B. Communities Meet their Needs and Wants

C. Related Social Studies Skills

SCIENCE

In second grade students expand their investigation skills. They use their prior knowledge to begin making predictions and finding patterns based on careful observation. A second grade student will be looking and examining more closely the natural world by classifying based on properties and describing characteristics of living and non-living things. The guiding question is How do we find patterns within the natural world? We work on the investigative skills of Predicting, Classifying, and Describing in Detail.