Academic Excellence from a Biblical Perspective.
2nd Grade
Curriculum
Second grade curriculum consists of using ABeka curriculum in all our major subject areas. Second grade language uses Shurley English to teach sentence patterns for further development in future years.
Supplementary reading books are used for advanced readers during the year. Our curriculum is advanced and builds good foundation blocks for the future years at BCA as well as other schools. A great amount of time is spent on developing Phonics, Reading and Math skills in second grade. We spend 2-3 quarters teaching Science and History and one quarter in Health. It is a well developed curriculum with high stands and great results.
Bible
The Bible program is based on the ACSI program called "God and My Actions." Students are strengthened in their Christian faith as they are taught about Christian heroes from the Old and New Testament. Within this context they learn key characteristics about the heroes like David, Joshua, Miriam, Moses, and many more heroes. Each lesson introduces and nurtures a key vocabulary word used during the weekly lesson. Second graders participate in worship and prayer time as well as leading the class to pray for our friends and missionaries. Students memorize and are tested on an assigned memory verse each week also.
Math
Second grade math begins the year with a review of first grade number concepts. Addition and subtraction facts through 15 are reviewed thoroughly. Counting by 2's, 5's 10' are orally reviewed and later counting by 3's and 4's are taught to assist in multiplication skills. Money, measurements, graphing, telling time and fractions are included in the year review. The addition and subtraction of two and three digit numbers and subtraction with borrowing is introduced and emphasized later. Multiplication and division concepts are introduced with the numbers 1-5 as a foundation for third grade.
Science
The science program offer students a chance to read information, ask questions and perform experiments to understand their surroundings. The topics taught at this level include: Enjoying Myself and Others, Enjoying the Animal World, The Plant World, Things that Work Together, Air Around Us and Stars and Planet Earth.
The second grade health program helps the children see the importance of taking interest in themselves and others around them. The units in the program are Posture, Nutritious Meals, Exercise, Right Thoughts, Body Cleanliness, Communicable Diseases and Safety Units.
Social Studies
The second grade social studies program helps the children understand the world around them and the community that they live in each day. The topics taught include Our Flag, Patriotic Holidays, American Songs, Separatists, American Indians, Colonists, Pioneers, American Cowboys and New Americans.
Language Arts
READING: The second grade reading program continues to develop reading fluency for better comprehension and the building of the reading level. The children review phonetic blends and specials rules to help their reading skills for other strategies also. Daily reading groups are helpful to strengthen and build the enjoyment of reading poems and stories. 2-3 book reports are done during the year to prepare the children for the next step in third grade.
SPELLING / VOCABULARY: The Spelling program consists of learning words that have special sounds that are being reviewed and taught in our phonics curriculum at the same time. It is an overlapping of the two subjects working together to strengthen the students skills. Vocabulary words and definitions are introduced in the third quarter of our spelling curriculum. Weekly tests are given on the last day of the week for a grade.
LANGUAGE: 2nd grade uses ABeka and Shurley English to teach Language. Writing is used as a form of learning and communication. The writing process is a vital and personal part of our language curriculum. Sentence structure, punctuation and capitalization, and parts of speech are all taught to enhance the students' language skills. Students learn to classify parts of speech in sentences and write a 2 -point paragraph about different subjects. Students share their work with their classmates and others during the school year.
Penmanship
The children practice and review each manuscript letter by writing in the books and in their daily work. In the second quarter cursive writing is introduced and worked on until the end of the year.
Computers
Students are given experiences to create projects in programs of Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point, and Publisher. These projects are related to classroom subject matter and are learned step by step in our computer lab. It gives students a wonderful opportunity to gain computer experience and apply their knowledge to technology. Students review new concepts each week and build on this concepts the rest of the year.