Our second grade class is having a fantastic beginning to the school year. We have 12 second graders this year. The children have been working hard these first few weeks learning our classroom expectations and routines.
In religion with Mr. Kruse, students have been learning about the book of Genesis and all the wonderful things God did for his people. Mr. Kruse also teaches PE which has quickly become the students’ favorite class. We are incredibly grateful to have Mr. Kruse on staff this year providing both of these supports for students.
In literacy, we have launched our new curriculum which focuses on building student knowledge around critical content areas. Our first unit essential question is “How does change impact people and nature?” We have been reading and writing about how changes in weather, specifically the season of fall, impact people and animals.
For math we have started our first unit on adding and subtracting within 20. Students are learning a variety of strategies to support their understanding of how numbers work when adding and subtracting. They have used a variety of manipulatives to support their conceptual understanding. They have worked with snap cubes, math counters, and ten frames to help count on and back to get to the answer. So we're focusing on building fact fluency—the ability to solve accurately, efficiently, and flexibly—rather than isolated fact memorization.
Students have been learning about how scientists organize animals into groups based on their characteristics. Students studied animal traits and used these traits to sort animal cards into mammals, birds, reptiles, and invertebrates. Students were then challenged to make decisions about animals that don’t fall neatly into any of those categories.
Every day of the week we have a different special class. On Mondays students have guidance with Mrs. MacDougall where they learn social skills using the faith-based Friendzy curriculum and they get to have library time. Tuesdays and Thursdays students have choir with Mrs. Sprengeler. On Wednesdays and Fridays they have PE with Mr. Kruse. We also have art lessons on Fridays where students are learning about the different elements of art. We will have our tree of lines posted outside of our room if you would like to see the art that they are creating.
Our first few weeks in second grade have gone by quickly and have been filled with fun and learning. I look forward to seeing all the ways the second graders grow this year, both academically and in their faith and character.
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