Bridges Math
Our math curriculum is driven by the New Jersey State Standards, which can be found here: https://www.state.nj.us/education/cccs/2016/math/standards.pdf (grade 2 starts on page 16)
We have used the Bridges math program since 2022 from the Math Learning Center. Here's the Math at Home site for Bridges where you can find extra online activities and information about what we're learning.
Our math period is divided into 3 parts:
Number Corner routine (includes a calendar, but SO much more! see subpage)
Whole Group Activity or Investigation of a math concept - may include whole class or partner games, problem-solving activities with a discussion, individual practice time, Pre Unit, Mid Unit (called Check Points), and Post Unit Assessments (come home to be signed by Families).
Workplaces (6 small group centers to practice different skills we have learned). Students make choices and learn to manage their time to work at different places and with different classmates. Small group work with the teacher occurs at this time for students who need it.
Special activities that culminate a unit of study to celebrate our learning may also appear periodically
(our program is a spiral curriculum and not units to mastery, topics reviewed and revisited in other units and in Number Corner) Second Grade Math Units Include:
Unit 1 - Figure the Facts (Focus on Addition and Subtraction fluency strategies from 0-20. Sorting and Graphing
Unit 2 - Place Value and Measurement with the theme of Jack and the Beanstalk
(Counting and modeling 2 and 3-digit numbers, measuring in non-standard units, adding on a number line, thinking in 2s)
Unit 3 - Addition and Subtraction within 100 (place value of tens and ones, adding and subtracting on number, using data)
Unit 4 - Measurement (inches, feet and yards, proportion, thinking in 3s)
Unit 5 - Place Value to 1,000 (Counting patterns to 1,000 , money, multiples of 10, 100 and 1,000, sequences and patterns)
Unit 6 - Geometry (attributes of 2-D shares, area and arrays, composing and decomposing shapes)
Unit 7 - Measurement, Fractions and Multi-Digit Computation with the theme of Hungry Ants
(length in metric units, division and fractions, adding and subtracting 3-digit numbers, solving and writing story problems)
Unit 8 (May choose SOME parts) Data and Multi-Digit Addition with the theme of Marble Rolls
(continued 3-digit computation and place value, collecting and analyzing data, student-conducted surveys)
Examples of some lessons and activities in our 2nd grade year:
Snowman Families
Observing and creating patterns of 3s. We always make observations first and determine equations in addition and multiplication.
Candy Colors Graph
Sorry! No real candy here, but we found a way to sort, graph and compare candy. We interpreted our results and compared to friends and as a whole class.
Clock Tic Tac Toe
Students practice independently in workbooks. Many games are played "against the teacher" to focus on learning and not competition. They bond together to beat me!
We show children the materials first and ask them to make observations using math knowledge and experiences.
Our geometry unit has us creating shapes for quilts, discussing fractions, congruence and...
then we piece it together and look for mathematical patterns that appeared. Students love to share their observations!
Students find the Mystery Shape as they get clues and eliminate shapes based on attributes.
Authentic measuring is happening in standard and metric systems
Beetle Glyphs
Starting our year with interactive math projects. Learning to sort, compare, identify and graph data in different ways. The beetle's parts represent information about each of us.
Beetle Sorts
Using a Venn Diagram to sort the beetles we created in different ways. This helps us compare them.
Below are some possible special activities to review concepts in a fun way...
Student teams practice time to the 5 minute
Before Spring Break, students work together to find our hidden eggs and solve the math problems inside
Students practice counting money and making change in our School Store to culminate our money unit
Differentiated assignments meet student needs. For example - Beginners will be learning to count money. Intermediate levels may add/compare money, exchange coins, show coins in different ways.
As students demonstrate mastery, they will be given larger numbers, more cards, more steps and more problem solving/application problems.
“Why are the kids playing with Manipulatives (base 10 blocks)?”
We want kids to not just rotely memorize numbers. We want them to understand what makes 180 different than 108 and what the value of those digits mean. This sets them up for successfully doing large regrouping problems like 179 + 378 and more deeply understanding numeration. They will understand that the ones place can only have 9 in it and no more. Once they get to 10 blocks we make them physically group the numbers to a 10, exchange it for a 10 block and move it to the tens place. We are using them now for patterning (195, 205, 215) going from 9 to the next 0 place. When adding or subtracting we want children to know why they are crossing out numbers and writing others when they regroup, not just rotely do it. Everyone gets introduced to the concept this way. Once we’ve gone over this with everyone, we will give them different options based on their levels of understanding.
Some great math sites you might want to check out can be found linked to our supervisor, Jessica Glover’s, webpage:
https://sites.google.com/mtsd.us/k-4math-science-teachers/math-sites
For our addition unit: Here's a challenging to tell if your child REALLY understand Place Value, Regrouping and Addition from 0-1,000.
Go for the Greatest
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1pqHmdlvFIxZuudCJ68SxcRl0i6p6yyYL4ZZ5lDKEuTE