Second Grade

Second grade is a time of forming habits and further developing character.  This is done throughout the curriculum and in all classes.  The Character Counts program helps to guide the development of character traits as described in the six pillars of Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship.

Students in the second grade class in Mazapan School become more fluent in  English  through listening to, speaking, reading and writing the language throughout the school day.

They listen to stories read to them by their teacher including Charlotte’s Web, the Trumpet of the Swan and Stuart Little all by E.B. White as well as some of the Boxcar Children books by Gertrude Warner. 

English is the language they are expected to speak during the day at school.  Playing in a language is one of the most important ways to really make it your language.  And that is what we want to happen in second grade.

Reading and writing are practiced throughout the curriculum.  Second graders read for enjoyment during DEAR time as well as in the school library and in our classroom library. The stories read in their reading books are varied and written by  important authors.  However, the students begin to realize that reading is not just for enjoyment but to gain information as well.  They do this is Science and Social Studies classes as well as when seeking information to solve problems in mathematics.  And writing goes hand in hand with reading as students record observations, information or impressions.  Second graders practice more sentence-writing and then put them together to form paragraphs and stores or reports. They learn to use the writing process in order to have better results.

Problem solving is one of the main objectives in mathematics in second grade. Students need to read problems and select the process needed to solve the problem.  But in order to solve problems, students need to be able to add and subtract well.  That is why they are expected to learn the addition facts by memory or by quickly using one of the techniques learned in math class.  Counting on fingers is discouraged!

Second graders enjoy making models of the urban, suburban and rural communities in Social Studies.  They visit the local fire department when they study community workers and community services.  Kinds of workers and jobs take us to visit the local ice cream factory as well.  Also, second graders learn to use maps with map keys, symbols and directions.

Science experiments and demonstrations help them to understand the objectives and to use the scientific process to reach conclusions in the areas of life science, physical science, Earth science and health.

Art in its different forms and mediums is taught and experienced in all classes in murals, projects, models, etc. Students can see how the visual arts are a form of communication in all areas of life.   In Art class students understand and apply elements of art, principles of design, different media, techniques and processes.

Our second graders have some culturally related experiences especially at certain holidays.  They may decorate Christmas cookies, make Hot Cross Buns, and try recipes related to stories read such as “Thunder Cake” and others.  These are activities involving measuring, following directions, designing and changes caused by heat.