First and Second Grade
Curious creators.
Children in first and second grades experience a fun curriculum and thematic study units designed in-house that emerge from their natural curiosity and developing passions. Each year is a patchwork of beloved traditions and new adventures. Children and families look forward to the Chestnut Walk, Valentine's Compliment Circles, caring for school pets, raising and releasing salmon, and the Spring Play. Through rich experiences inside and outside of the classroom, nurturing educators on the PK-2 Pod Teaching Team instill in each child confidence and compassion as learners and community members.
Literacy: First and Second Grade
First and second grade students build on their foundational reading and writing skills through engaging and meaningful projects and activities. Over these two years, they learn to express their thoughts and ideas through simple expository texts, create entertaining stories with descriptive details, and share their personal experiences through narrative writing. They also get an introduction to the fun of poetry.
Reading skills are developed through targeted lessons, and a love for the written word is nurtured through shared reading activities, read-aloud sessions, and opportunities for independent reading. Students participate in group discussions about books, fostering comprehension and a joy for literature.
Math: First Grade
First grade students explore where in their world they can find math. They do this by finding patterns, using data to describe and inquire about themselves and community, and using them to measure their world. They work with the base ten number system using 10s and 1s to organize numbers, they learn about the relationship between addition and subtraction, they classify the characteristics of shapes, they practice the life skill of telling time and they build familiarity, fluency, and conceptualization with writing, and identifying the numbers between 1 and 100.
Math: Second Grade
Second grade students deepen their understanding of everything they did in first grade by investigating numbers; they use logical reasoning to solve puzzles and problems and explore and discuss the many different ways to find a solution. Teachers support students through individualized instruction to advocate for themselves and find their own method. Students build their fluency by composing and decomposing one, two, and three-digit numbers. They are introduced to fractions and work on foundational skills for multiplication by thinking in groups. They use and organize data in more complex ways to analyze and find patterns in their environment.
Science: First and Second Grade
First and second grade students dive into the wonders of science through exciting hands-on experiments during dedicated science blocks, classroom activities, thematic study units, outdoor learning, gardening time, and exploring our neighborhood park.
Some examples of recent science activities in first and second grade include:
Density Unit: We made waves in a bottle and rainbow jars. We learned about how different liquids layer on each other based on their density and how some liquids are miscible and some are not.
Building Catapults: During this science experiment unit, students learned about potential and kinetic energy while building catapults in class.
Magnetic Slime: We had a fun and messy time making magnetic slime. We learned about polymers, activators, and ferrous metals.
Social Studies: First and Second Grade
First and second grade students are ready to deepen their social studies exploration. We expand from examining ourselves, our families, and our close community and connect those identities to broader topics and historical events. For example, as part of a learning unit on identity, our second graders might discuss protests (and learn about history through different protests). We might look at different ways to peacefully protest/disagree.
Spanish and Cultural/Social Studies: First and Second Grade
First and second grade students continue to reinforce and build on previous knowledge by adding new thematic vocabulary. Through projects, celebrations, and assemblies, they expand their understanding and appreciation for Latin American culture and traditions.
Social-Emotional Learning: First and Second Grade
First and second grade students delve deeper into ideas and feelings. Social-emotional learning happens both in the classroom and during drama/dance time. Together, students create class agreements. When conflicts or issues arise, we talk through disagreements and hold problem-solving conversations. This gives students the experience of developing solutions to classroom issues and helps them become more invested in building a caring learning community.
In second grade, students become the leaders of the PK-2 Pod. They grow into their role as mentors and coaches to the younger students and prepare to move up to the 3-5 Pod.
They explore:
Becoming contributors to the community through classroom jobs.
How do our emotions affect our behavior and interactions?
Can we identify and understand others’ feelings through facial expressions and body language?
How can we resolve our conflicts and work together as a team?
What does it mean to be a leader? How can we support younger students?