In Grade 2 Math, students build upon their knowledge and skills of mathematics. This knowledge and skill is developed through the pedagogy of the Singapore Math framework through the Math in Focus curriculum, which emphasizes concept mastery, a concrete-pictorial-abstract approach, metacognitive reasoning, and the use of model drawing to solve problems and justify solutions. Math learning at this level emphasizes triple digit addition and subtraction, problem solving, measurement using the metric and customary systems, and an introduction to multiplication and division. Concepts and skills are developed through hands-on instruction and practice.

 

In second grade Spanish, students build on the semester-long introductions to Spanish in Kindergarten and First Grade to build a foundation for year-long language learning and acquisition. Using comprehensible input, second grade students take a deeper look at vocabulary for emotions, animals, days of the week, weather, colors and body parts. They continue practicing high frequency verbs in the first, second and third person through oral and written activities. While reading is not emphasized, students read short passages, and listening comprehension is assessed through art and short responses. Cultural topics are intertwined with language learning. Second graders attend Spanish three times during each eight-day cycle rotation across the school year.

 

In second grade, in Mandarin, students build on the semester-long introductions to Mandarin in Kindergarten and First Grade and continue to acquire and discover the tonal language of Mandarin. Emphasis is placed on listening, viewing, and demonstrating comprehension by using Mandarin in basic greetings, commonly used expressions, introductory conversation, simple expressions of feelings, numbers, colors, common foods, common animals, and family members, as well as responding to simple questions. In grade 2 Mandarin, students are introduced to Pinyin and character stroke order. Cultural topics are intertwined with language learning. Second graders attend Mandarin three times during each eight-day cycle rotation across the school year.

 

The Lower School library program and space invites students to explore ideas and interests, gather and enjoy individual and communal activities, engage in inquiry and research that supports the curriculum, and experience the joy of reading. Lower School students attend library classes once every eight-day cycle where they are exposed to rich, diverse texts, have the opportunity to explore and select books, and learn the fundamentals of information literacy as part of a developmental continuum.

 

Our second graders gain important digital citizenship skills and learn responsible, safe, and healthy use of technology through once-a-month classes taught by our technology specialist in the core classroom.

 

Second graders, in English Language Arts, build on foundational reading skills, develop fluency and expression, and build their comprehension skills and strategies including comparing and contrasting, determining the main idea, and inferring. In book club groups, students engage in discussions about individual books where they gain exposure to rich texts and develop literate lives. Second graders delve further into the writing process where their writing becomes longer and more organized as they learn to develop and structure their ideas. At this level, students begin to locate information from reference materials to generate written reports and oral presentations. Fostering an appreciation for poetry is also a component of English Language Arts in Grade 2. Second graders are additionally introduced to keyboarding and learn to write in cursive. 

 

Lower School Art is where students explore and express their creativity through a variety of mediums and study artists from diverse backgrounds. Learning is fluid and philosophically rooted in the idea that all children are artists and that growth comes from continuous practice, experimentation, and reflection. Second graders explore Mexican folk art, Asian American contemporary art and artists, Yayoi Kusama’s influence on fashion, and the collage artist, Romare Bearden. Students engage in a variety of art projects including creating animal sculptures and making collagraph prints, and they learn about the American artist and activist, Keith Haring. Second graders have Art two times during each eight-day cycle rotation.  

 

The Garden to Table program aims to create curious eaters and growers by promoting intentional interactions with the natural world. It also aims to develop empathy for animal and plant life where students become community stewards and responsible global citizens. The program provides hands-on opportunities where young cooks and gardeners cultivate curiosity by exploring food systems and grow as lifelong learners. 

 

In Grade 2, cooks and gardeners deepen their understanding of our connected food system, they observe the life cycles of animals and plants, and they provide habitats for them to grow and thrive. Beginning cooks learn and practice knife skills and identify the five tastes while engaging in projects that connect to the core classroom. The Garden to Table classroom is an indoor/outdoor space where all learners have access and agency, and where cross-disciplinary connections make learning multi-dimensional. Second graders learn in the garden and kitchen twice during each eight-day cycle rotation.

 

In second grade social studies, students explore cultures and traditions, their local Oakland community, citizenship, and map reading skills. Additionally, students explore identity through the study of influential people throughout history. Learning and explorations occur through a multi-modal, interdisciplinary approach that includes integrating reading, art, discussion, media, and hands-on experiences including field trips.

 

In music in second grade, creating, performing, and expressing music are integrated as students continue to develop the building blocks of music literacy. In each lesson they explore rhythm, melody, harmony, and form while exploring a diverse repertoire of music through singing, playing instruments, dancing, and listening. Students read, write, and perform simple rhythmic patterns, such as ostinato, and begin to identify pitches through solfege and Curwen hand signs. Second graders also study rhythm, beat, and rhythmic values through stick notation which is used to compose rhythm combinations. Second graders have Music two times during each eight-day cycle rotation. 

 

Second grade students build on their DBi learning in first grade to go deeper into the design thinking process in the DBi Lab. They learn about the engineering design cycle as they engage in engineering challenges such as a tower building challenge, an earthquake safe building challenge, and a design thinking project where builders and innovators use skills of empathy to design, plan, and build a lunch box. Students work in the DBi Lab ten times within a semester of learning.