Guided Reading Groups
Small guided reading groups really help our students become better readers. This instructional strategy gives teachers the opportunity to group students based on their different reading abilities with the maximum of only six students per group. Second grade teachers work with the first grade teachers to help challenge the students in both grades at every level. To enhance the small group reading framework, students have individualized reading programs on their assigned Chromebooks that allow them to work independently while still practicing their reading skills. Guided reading groups meet an hour a day with twenty minutes at each rotation station. Targeted instruction differs from sight words, meaning making, rereading for understanding, phrasing, fluency, attending to punctuation, and many more.
Number Talks Build Number Sense
New to the math curricular lineup is number talks. A number talk is a daily exercise to help students build number sense. Number talks are student led discussions while the teacher is guiding students through facilitation. This helps students understand numbers and how they relate to one another. Number talks take math beyond fact memorization and into a deeper understanding of mental math strategies. Number talks help challenge students’ thinking and gets them to explain their thinking and the strategies they use. Teachers work closely with students to become problem solvers to better their skills for real life situations.
1:1 Technology
Second graders now have 1:1 Chromebooks! This has made a tremendous impact on student engagement and achievement. A variety of digital platforms are used to give students 21st Century experiences to create, communicate, collaborate, and critically think. A few of the top favorites are Todo Math, Kahoot, Lexia, Seesaw, and Quizlet Live. Students are also learning how to type correctly by using Typing.com, which is a program that allows students to work at their own pace on learning each key on the keyboard.
Our students are modeling digital citizenship skills while they are working on their devices. This 1:1 initiative in 2nd grade has been a great addition to their existing curricular line-up.
So.... there ISN'T much NOT going on in Second Grade!