Master's Specialist II - 2nd Grade

As a tuition-free public school of choice, Kid's Community College's® Specialist II (Second Grade) Program continues to build on all the skills students acquire in the Graduate (kindergarten) and Specialist I (first grade). The school year begins with a review of Specialist I concepts and gradually builds to more difficult concepts. Thematic study/teaching is the key to the educational disciplines in second grade. The daily activities in the classroom help each student work on skills that are developmentally appropriate in reading, writing, math, social studies, technology, art, foreign language, speaking, and listening. The study of each unit has a wide selection of reading materials at varying reading levels from which the students center their study. Professors work to integrate thematic teaching to complement each student's Individual Developmental Educational Plan (IDEP) and individual learning style. Second grade is a year of learning to take responsibility for one's own assignments and learning to work and play in an atmosphere that is conducive to individual student needs.

In the Specialist II (second grade) Program, language arts include reading, phonics, English, handwriting and literature. Some of the objectives of the language arts program include developing independent reading skills as a tool for learning in all areas, encouraging reading as a lifelong habit, understanding and learning phonics and spelling rules and applying them when reading and writing. Emphasis is placed on legible writing, complete sentence construction and the use of correct capitalization and punctuation. Much of each second grade day is spent strengthening language arts skills through oral expression, writing and reading. Instruction takes the form of small and large group lessons and discussions that meet the needs of individual students.

In addition to the language arts instructional time spent in the classroom, the students have scheduled library visits, and may utilize the library on other occasions, as necessary. In addition to the campus library, each classroom has its own library through which books are circulated. The language arts program is also enriched with the use of computers.

The mathematics program is designed to give students opportunities to discover concepts and to apply and extend skills. This program is individualized to the extent that each child is challenged within the parameters of the concept he or she is studying. One of the main goals of the math program is that children realize the practical, everyday applications of math. The second grade math program begins to expand from the concrete concepts of basic math to the more transitional and abstract stages of thinking. The math objectives in second grade include: mastering number facts (addition and subtraction); beginning multiplication; continuing work with time, fractions, measurement, and geometric shapes; and developing the ability to use a variety of strategies in problem solving. The mathematics curriculum is also enriched with the use of integrated computer software.