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Challenger’s second grade program reinforces math concepts students have already mastered and connects those ideas to new learning. Our students begin to multiply three-digit numerals, divide two-digit numerals, and compare fractions. They are also introduced to rectangular prisms, congruency, and square numbers. They can solve increasingly difficult equations with self-assurance.
In second grade, Challenger students further hone their writing expertise by learning to think about audience and purpose and by categorizing and organizing their ideas. They create compositions in a variety of forms, including letters, diamante poems, and explanatory writing.
Second grade language arts studies at Challenger delve into such grammar concepts as proper nouns, objective pronouns, linking verbs, comparative adjectives, compound predicates, prepositional phrases, and compound sentences. Students learn how to identify these specific grammatical constructs and, more importantly, when and how to use them to make their communication clear.
Because we start reading when students’ brains are wired best for language acquisition and use phonics to provide them with the skills to decode words, our students are able to read and comprehend at a higher level than typical second graders. They also study literary concepts such as main idea, character, sequencing, and values in novels like Charlotte’s Web and The Story of Doctor Dolittle.
Challenger knows that logic underlies learning in any field. In second grade, students expand their critical thinking skills and practice using mental imagery and deductive reasoning to study generalizing, patterning, classifying, and problem solving. For example, they use spatial reasoning to deduce the relationships between objects on a map, and they arrange numbers and objects into groups in order to balance their sums.
Challenger second graders build their science skills through studying sound, motion, life cycles, plant and animal classifications, adaptations, and simple machines. They tackle such questions as “How does a change in habitat affect a tiger?” and “What happens to particles of matter as heat is added to them?”
Our students learn about and use the scientific method during their class science fair project. They also work on their presentation skills.
By second grade, Challenger students are becoming fearless and brilliant in conveying their ideas to others. Our teachers stress the importance of expressing thoughts clearly. Students learn to articulate, gesture, and vary volume and pitch in their presentations.
Our second grade geography curriculum centers on the Northeast and Southeast states. Instead of focusing solely on basic concepts of landforms and climate, we teach how the culture and history of a region is affected by its geography. To help bring each region and its history to life, students learn about great Americans such as Daniel Boone, Eliza Lucas, and Charles Goodyear.
Second grade music classes focus on vocal techniques and performance. In music history studies, students learn about various works and their composers, such as Peter and the Wolf by Prokofiev; Horn Concerto No. 4 in E-flat major by Mozart; and “Rhapsody in Blue” by Gershwin. Our second grade Christmas Sings and Spring Programs are impressive!
In second grade, we continue to teach basic computer programming, introducing skills like calling procedures, nesting loops, and simulating arcs. Because students have to input a logical sequence of commands to achieve the desired result, they develop the ability to break down a task into steps in order to solve a problem.
Challenger second grade teachers focus on the basic principles of art and the techniques related to them. Art lessons involve instruction, teacher demonstration, and guided application of the concepts and techniques. Students learn how to look at objects and break them into basic shapes in order to draw realistically.
Challenger second graders continue to develop physical skills and learn how to play various games. They also enjoy free play, which allows them to clear their minds and helps them return to the classroom ready to focus.
This student very accurately and thoroughly demonstrates her ability to perform a variety of mathematical calculations and shows her understanding of the steps of each process.
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