Our second and third graders are keen to read literature, connect ideas from mathematics to real world problems, write and imagine, and share the wonders of the world nearby, far away, and long ago. The 2nd/3rd grade classroom is a community where choice and collaboration are highly valued, where listening and debate are encouraged, and where teachers and children gain new understandings each day. The deep social and emotional needs of children at this age are prioritized along with their astronomical hunger for intellectual and academic processes and products.
Community building through small and whole-class endeavors invites problem solving and resolving, healthy skepticism, lots of trial and error, and consensus building. A workshop approach to math and literacy allow small groups and individuals to be supported in differentiated ways including independent learning, interdependent peer work, teacher guided instruction, and direct teacher instruction.
The teachers in this classroom delight in the leaps and bounds second/third graders make throughout their time in their care; children express ideas through reading, writing, and speaking in increasingly independent and mature ways and their voice as a learner and thinker rings out! They love music and movement, humor and theater, and outdoor play. This classroom adventures throughout our school yard, research park, and at the University at-large. They explore and experience nature in all kinds of weather, visiting our local prairie, creek, and ponds.
