Our math curriculum presents mathematical concepts through a process that is developmentally appropriate for young children. New topics are presented concretely. This involves using manipulatives such as base ten blocks, ten-frames, coins, student clocks, and many other hands-on materials. As the children gain understanding, the process moves toward using pictorial representations. This includes drawing pictures to solve word problems and/or drawing tens and ones to represent addition/subtraction problems that may or may not involve regrouping. Finally, when we move on to the abstract, we use numbers to solve problems. This final step in the process should occur after the concept is fully understood. Our goal is to develop a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts and not just the memorization of an algorithm. Second grade topics include place value in numbers to 1,000; addition and subtraction of numbers to 1,000; telling time; counting money; an introduction to multiplication and division; fractions; graphing; and geometry.
