Preparing for 2nd grade...

[ms.abc]

Greetings My Lovely Educators! I hope this note finds you all doing fantastic. I am a 4th year 1st grade teacher and I have agreed to get a group of freshly done first graders geared up and ready for the 2nd grade. Obviously, I can look up the content standards for their grade and/or just make sure that have all their first grade fundamentals taken care of (I plan to do that anyway), but I thought I would ask some of you 2nd grade teachers what are some key elements, or topics if you will that you think I should cover with this group? Lets say these three girls were entering your 2nd grade class in the Fall... what would you want for them to know hands down? Any feedback is greatly appreciated and I thank you in advance!

 

[steelcitymom]

I would love for my incoming second graders to have a firm grasp on short and long vowel sounds. It is really a skill that they lack. Sight vocabulary from any standard list is also helpful, Dolby and eckwall are two popular lists. In math. I would not worry about memorizing facts but rather the one to one correspondence, add and subtract concepts, odd and even, shapes.

 

[ms.abc]

Thank you for your reply! Since I have the advantage of already having these students in my class already, I have a good understanding of their strength and weaknesses. Vowel sounds and being able to distinguish them from short and long was a must in order for them to pass the first grade, so they all have that skill down packed, but the aspect of vocabulary slipped my mind, so thank you very much! I will look up those list!

 

[capentights]

Teachers Manuals

I would get my hands on all of the Teacher's Editions for all of the textbooks you will be using. While you still have to stick to the GLEs for your grade, the textbooks usually do a pretty good job of following suit. I map out a yearly plan to make sure I cover everything I am supposed to cover. The big difference in 2nd is that students become proficient readers; they move from just decoding to using what they have read for many purposes. I give a weekly comprehension and vocab test on our story for the week. By the end of the year, my little ones are really good readers and can pick out the main ideas.

As for math, I think that memorizing facts is HUGE! If they don't know their facts, they struggle to do the more difficult problems. 2nd graders learn how to add and subtract 2 and 3 digit numbers.

In science and social studies, look over your books (or GLEs) and decide which concepts are most important. It is hard to squeeze them all in during the year!

Good luck!

 

[happy2B]

Work on the concept of tens and ones.

 

[PCSLackey]

I'd love for my incoming 2nd graders to be

able to:

-read! Not perfectly no, but if they have a good grasp of basic decoding skills that's awesome.

-add and subtract (without regrouping) multiple digit numbers. If you reinforce different math strategies for adding/subtracting that's great (i.e. doubles, doubles plus one, doubles minus one, make a ten, etc...)

-good understanding of place value (ones, tens, and hundreds).

-write legibly - again, it won't be perfect but if they can't make their letters properly I have to spend time reviewing manuscript when at my school we begin cursive in 2nd.

 

[breezey]

basic facts, money (add and subtract it), telling time, place value, how to use a writing plan and what constitutes proficient writing...I did not include reading because our students are grouped for reading instruction based on their reading level...