Grades 1-3

List of 11 items.

• Art

  Second grade students expand on artistic processes and vocabulary learned in first grade as they study symmetry, basic perspective, and drawing from observation. Students create works using mediums such as printing, collage, sculpture, weaving, water resist, tempera, and watercolor as they study new famous artists and their masterpieces. In ceramics, they learn to join clay pieces together and underglazing techniques.

• Character Education

  Character Education is an integral part of each day. Emphasis is placed on creating a nurturing environment and the development of social emotional learning skills through the daily practice of school routines and rituals; sharing, collaborating, and problem solving during classroom meetings and activities; and the development of manners, monthly virtues; and the 7 Mindsets. Literature, songs, poems, buddy activities, service learning, character education assemblies, cooperative learning activities, and “teachable moments" enhance the curriculum.

• Language Arts

  In 2nd grade, students continue building their reading stamina and skills through daily practice.  During Reading Workshop, students grow as readers by tackling tricky words with strategies, becoming experts through nonfiction texts, participating in series book clubs, and increasing their range of genres when reading books of interest.  In Writing Workshop, second graders work to improve their narrative writing, while also diving into writing about reading and science.  Students are introduced to poetry and enjoy becoming poets themselves. The writing process is practiced in all units, focusing on adding detail, stretching out small moments, and include proper grammar and conventions.  Their foundation of phonics and word relationships is further enhanced through a multi-sensory approach.  Students learn more about spelling patterns, word meanings, and sight words through daily instruction.

• Library

  Students in grades 1 - 3 have the unique opportunity to use the library and the literacy specialist as an authentic extension of their reading and writing work from the classroom. When our Sharks visit the library in small groups, they are coached into books at their “just right fit” reading level and guided in their reading decision-making. Children have these reading and writing conferences with a focus on meeting them exactly where they are developmentally for focused instruction. This creates yet another environment on campus where students have a strong connection with a loving adult.

• Math

  In the 2nd grade math program, students continue to explore tangible materials and pictorial representations of a mathematical concept before moving onto more abstract symbols, numbers and notations. Students are encouraged to reflect upon the strategies they use to solve problems, and begin the year solidifying their understanding of place value within whole numbers to 1000. Other skills covered in 2nd grade include: addition and subtraction with renaming, initial work with multiplication and division concepts, fact fluency in addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, mental calculation, fractions, money and time, measuring length (centimeters, meters, yards, feet, inches), weight (grams, kilograms, pounds, ounces), comparing capacity (liters, gallons, quarts, pints, cups), word problems, estimation, geometry, tables and graphs (picture, bar).

• Music

  Second grade music concentrates on taking vocal and rhythmic skills to a higher developmental level. Students explore clapping and speaking rhythms; recognizing “do” borduns on instruments; musical form; adding “la” and “do”; telling a story with music; choral vs. instrument sounds; strings, woodwinds, percussion and brass instruments; reading simple stick notation and a quarter, half, and sixteenth notes; exposure to musical terms (i.e., legato, staccato); and presenting a show relating to Character Education or music from around the world.

• Physical Education

  Students learn swimming and water safety. They engage in team building through team sports such as basketball, soccer, hockey, and golf. They participate in strategy games emphasizing group organization and communication while developing cardiovascular fitness. Flexibility  is enhanced through dance, yoga, and stretching.

• Science

  Students participate in “hands-on” scientific inquiry. Investigations are interdisciplinary in nature, emphasizing science, technology, engineering and math and the Makerspace is utilized to encourage ideation, prototyping and engineering. Units of study include fitness and health, animal life cycles, weather and water, environmental engineering, Lego Robotics, balance, and motion.

• Social/Global Studies

  Students become geographers, anthropologists, economists, and historians as they explore continents and oceans, maps and globes, landforms, indigenous people, Colonial America, and significant historical moments and people in history.

• Spanish

  Students are encouraged to interact with each other to develop Spanish verbal and auditory skills as they ask and answer questions and role play scenarios. Vocabulary is also developed through songs and games and students write mini-stories in Spanish. Emphasis is placed on the gender of nouns, school words, clothing, farm animals, sports, food, family, “I am” expressions, and total physical response (TPR ).

• Technology

  Students are introduced to WeDo Lego Robotics building and programming on a computer, Little Bits circuits, TinkerCAD 3D printing, coding, green screen and video production, and educational learning apps on iPads.