Second Grade

   

Bible 

Christian Schools International:  God's Promises:  The Story of God and His People  

Students review creation to the exile from Jerusalem.  Jesus' life and teachings are studied, including the parables, and the Lord's Prayer,  and a unit on Christian living based on the book of James.

 

Bible Memory

Bible memory is an important part of our Bible program.  It is consistent with our mission as a Christian school to teach our students life skills and equip them for Kingdom work.  Memory of Bible verses is required each week.  

           

Math

Everyday Mathematics

"…emphasis is placed on:  a problem-solving approach; frequent practice of basic skills; an instructional approach that revisits topics regularly to ensure full concept development; activities that offer opportunities for students to apply their basic fact skills."  Second graders master place value to 3-digits, 2-digit addition with carrying and subtraction with trading first, coin combinations, making change, solving story problems, telling time to 5-minute intervals, measuring to the nearest inch and centimeter, and more, beyond the Second grade standards developed by the   State of Indiana for mathematics.  Fractions, multiplication, decimals, and division are also introduced.

 

Language Arts

Scott Foresman's Reading: New Beginnings & My Time to Shine.         

Second graders are exposed to different genres of writing--fiction and nonfiction- and are taught to think about predicting, understanding the author's purpose, comparing/contrasting, summarizing, drawing conclusions, understanding sequence, use/effect, theme, main idea, etc. to enhance comprehension.       

          Reading:  The stories and literature from the Scott Foresman series are used as springboards for spelling skills, phonics, grammar, and writing.  Newberry award winning novels are used for teacher-read-aloud books.  Additionally, a variety of literature is read for class book clubs, including the novel Stone Fox.

          Grammar:  Understanding part of a sentence, types of complete sentences, nouns and pronouns,appropriate end marks for sentences, verbs and adverbs, commas, prepositions, quotation marks, synonyms and antonyms.

          Writing:  Second grade students write various types of poetry, including limericks and haiku, puppet plays, "how-to", journal writing, newspaper articles, creative writing, and writing letter.  Three times a year they publish a Newsletter entitled Second's Best.

           Handwriting: Handwriting without Tears.  Printing is reviewed for the first half of second grade; cursive handwriting is taught the second half of the year.

 

Science

Battle Creek Area Mathematics and Science Center - Units of Study:

  • Light and shadow:  "Beginning with an introduction to light, its properties and sources, students are involved in experiencing the concepts of color and the    relationship between light and shadows." 
  • How Things Move:  "Using their everyday experiences with movement and a variety of activities, students discover the concepts of motion and forces.  These concepts are reinforced through their application to simple machines and a number of common toys."
  • Changes Over Time:  "Students compare the sizes of the Sun, Moon, and Earth, and their distances in relation to each other.  Weather topics, including cloud cover, seasons, and severe weather are also emphasized."
  • Life Cycles:  "The life cycle of the monarch butterfly presents an opportunity for students to observe and investigate an organism's behavior, structures, and characteristics that help it to survive.  Relationships between organisms are also emphasized."

 

Social Sciences:

Teacher Created Units

  • Family, Friends, and Me:  explores the ways we are similar to one another and ways each of us is uniquely created by God and cared for in a family.  We explore and share our emotions, learn about friendship, and share our family heritage and traditions with one another.
  • Community (in general) and our community of the South Bend area:  students learn about different types of communities, how belonging in a community involves rules, freedoms, and responsibilities, and what makes our particular community special, its geography, history, industry, and resources.  This unit is enhanced by a number of local field trips.
  • Canada & Mexico:  for each of our nearest neighbors to the U.S., we learn about their history, geography, national symbols, language, important citizens, and cultural traditions & holidays.

 

Art, Music, Computers, Physical Education, and Library Time are offered as part of the curriculum.