In both the first and second grades there are four teachers teaching reading to small groups of students. The small group size assures dedicated teacher time, which allows teachers to focus solely on the skills of the students in their group and provide immediate feedback. The students are effectively grouped according to their prior skills and the set of skills they need to acquire in order to become good readers. Student progress is assessed regularly and group membership can change in response to assessment data.

• Literal and inferential comprehension
• Character, plot, setting
• Main idea, summarizing, predicting outcomes
• Mysteries, biographies, nonfiction, contemporary fiction, and poetry
• Decoding skills
• Vocabulary development
• Reading orally with expression, attention to punctuation
• Enjoy independent reading

The second-grade writing program nurtures students’ creativity and helps them develop their unique voices while building strong foundational skills through targeted units of study. Students learn to craft personal narratives, take effective notes, write focused nonfiction paragraphs, understand the purpose of letter writing, and compose persuasive pieces. Through these experiences, they grow into confident writers who express their ideas with both creativity and intention.

In second grade children continue to practice their math facts up to 20, while building strategies to manipulate numbers so they can add and subtract bigger numbers. Similar to first grade, second graders continue to use concrete manipulatives, followed by pictorial representations before progressing to algorithms. Math is taught daily for 40 minutes in three small groups to promote differentiation and support each child’s learning needs. Daily lessons consist of a warm up to promote mental math and problem solving skills, the new concept of the day followed by independent practice work, and finishes with a game to contextualize the skill being taught. All children master mathematical skills at different times.
 
Concepts/Skills:

• Understanding place value to 1,000
• Utilizing mental math strategies for addition and subtraction to 40, then 100
• Adding and subtracting numbers to 1,000 using the algorithm (with and without regrouping) 
• Understanding the concepts of multiplication and division: equal groups, repeated addition, and sharing equally
• Memorizing multiplication and division facts 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10
• Interpreting picture and bar graphs
• Adding and subtracting money amounts 
• Telling time to the quarter-hour
• Identifying basic fractions using pictures 

In social studies, students explore the connections between people, places, and time. They learn how geography affects daily life, why people make choices as consumers, and where the things we buy come from. Students build map skills, study old and new images to understand change over time, and organize events on a timeline. They also learn about important change-makers and consider the ways they, too, can make a difference in their own world.

• Community building
• Geography
• Economics
• History
• Civics
• Change makers

Second grade bridges the playful learning of early childhood with the structure of academic language study. Students grow more confident in both understanding and using Spanish independently. They form complete sentences to describe themselves, their families, their likes and dislikes, and classroom routines. Simple grammar concepts, such as gender (el/la) and number (singular/plural), are introduced through songs, visuals, and storytelling. Students begin writing short sentences, labeling scenes, and completing dialogues, demonstrating readiness for more sustained communication.

Cultural learning deepens as students “travel” virtually through the Spanish-speaking world, discovering iconic landmarks, foods, and traditions from places like Mexico, Spain, and Argentina. They learn to identify similarities between their own celebrations and those of children abroad, fostering respect and curiosity. Social-emotional learning continues as they use Spanish to express gratitude, friendship, and empathy in classroom interactions. 

By year’s end, second graders are able to engage in short exchanges, follow classroom instructions, and view Spanish as a living, joyful bridge that connects them to people and cultures around the world.

• Singing with hand sign solfege
• Folk dancing and responsive movement to music
• Preparing for the class play and the December Nights, December Lights performance
• Orff ensembles
• Reinforcing rhythmic notation
• World music singing and dancing
• Introduction to Hip hop

Skills:

• to use the elements and principles of art to help guide artistic decisions 
• to expand upon knowledge of different artists and the styles they represent 
• to begin to consider abstract concepts and understand how they differ from realistic drawings or paintings. 
• to make personal connections from art class to their community or experiences outside of Tenacre 
• to collaborate with peers when making the scenery for the class play. 
• to gain confidence in their art making abilities and present their artwork to the class

Grade 2 students tackle STEM-rich interdisciplinary projects like the Iditarod Challenge (programming and robotics). Other projects are based entirely in tech class. The “What Makes a Good Game?” game design challenge develops block programming skills via an iterative, feedback-rich unit. Students build games in Scratch, solicit peer feedback through two game-in sessions and retool games based on feedback.

• Cooperative games and activities
• Lead-up games to team sports
• Sportsmanship, fair play
• Hitting and striking skills, throwing
• Gymnastics
• Fitness
• Cardiovascular health unit
• Space awareness: where the body moves
• Basic movement skills: running, jumping, hopping, skipping, galloping
• How the body moves
• Learning how to ride a bike
• Relationships: of body parts; with objects, with people, with apparatus
• Creative movement and exploration

Grade 2: Navigating how to access and use specific resources for beginning research for personal or academic needs

• Recognize a variety of genres from different ethnic and cultural heritages
• Choose "just right" books

• Visual literacy: read illustrations and photographs for information
• Take notes from videos using listening, viewing, and inferring skills
• Locate books using OPAC and call numbers
• Locate and use information related to classroom studies

• Check out books independently
• How we can use windows and mirrors to help us synthesize, connect to, and use information