Math

Using the TERC Investigations program, as well as teacher-generated supplemental materials, second graders study all areas of math, from addition and subtraction to geometry and fractions. Developing efficient strategies for double digit addition and subtraction is a particular focus of the second grade year, as is memorizing basic addition facts up to 20, developing estimation skills, and generally strengthening number sense. Skip counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s, working with the "One hundred chart" and exploring rectangular arrays of rows and columns all help to prepare children for the multiplication and division work they will be focusing on in third grade. Units of study on time (reading the analog clock) and money are also included in the second grade math curriculum. Some highlights include:

• Playing "Close to 20," "Close to 100" and other math games which strengthen children's' number sense by asking them to choose from among five single digit cards the two numbers that, added together, will bring them closest to 20 or 100.
• Pumpkin Math: A week-long October unit in which children work in small cooperative groups to estimate numbers of seeds in varying sized pumpkins, organize and count seeds efficiently, and collect, record, and compare data on a variety of charts and graphs.
• Number of the Day: As part of a Morning Meeting routine, children work with a "number of the day" in a variety of ways depending upon the time of year (i.e. toward the beginning of the year, we may challenge children to give us two - four numbers that add to 50 or 100; later in the year, we may say, "Use any operations you wish to create a string of numbers that add to 100" or we may use the day of school as our number of the day).
• Giant One Hundred Chart: As part of our "combining and comparing" unit, children learn to use the 100 Chart to add and subtract double digit numbers. The class works together to construct a "giant" one hundred chart, which is spread over our meeting rug, and on which children play addition and subtraction games where they become "human playing pieces"!