Second Grade Curriculum

The Second Grader seeks new challenges, and the mood of the classroom changes to meet their emergent capacities.

In Second Grade, classwork expands from the base established in First Grade, the pace quickens, and the school day is longer. The core curriculum includes Reading, Writing (introduction of independent composition), Arithmetic, and multiplication tables. The motif of the Second Grade is the archetypal story, including world fables, legends, and tales of exemplary people and heroes. In addition to the curriculum carried by the Morning Lesson Teacher, Second Graders receive instruction in Spanish, German, Handwork, Eurythmy, Games and Movement, Gardening, and Music.

Writing continues in Morning Lesson studies with content from legends, fables, and nature studies. By Second Grade, the students read printed material together as a class and in reading groups. Students copy the teacher's writing as a model and construct sentences in group work as a class. They begin to compose sentences individually. An emphasis is on letter formation and handwriting practice.  

In Math, the students work on their timetables, alternating factor multiplication and division sequences. Arithmetic lessons include regrouping multi-digit numbers for borrowing and carrying as well as division with remainders. The children continue to work with the four operational processes (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division), exploring the relationships between the processes. The approach continues to be multisensory and based on solving problems introduced through stories and practical applications, including manipulatives.

Detailed nature stories reflect the child's growing awareness of the world. Students begin the Gardening program and, through working with plant life from seed to flower and fruit, deepen their relationship to and understanding of our unique climate and the changing seasons.