Second Grade

Second grade enrichment units give students the opportunity to explore challenging  literature in a way that allows them to deepen their critical thinking and questioning skills.

Shakespeare Enrichment Unit: Second grade students engage in a form of literacy exploration known as Socratic Seminar as they explore "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare. The object of Socratic Seminar is to develop a deeper understanding of the ideas, values, problems, issues, and themes inherent in writing, as well as to increase student thinking and reasoning ability. Socratic Seminar consists of conversations moderated by the teacher in which a carefully constructed open-ended question, about which there should be an element of doubt, is posed. The resultant discussion encourages students to listen closely to the comments of others while thinking critically about their own responses. Socratic Seminar encourages students to work cooperatively and to question intelligently and respectfully.

During the second half of the year students create their own version of "A Midsummer Night's Dream".  Students choose a character and scene, and then they work collaboratively in groups to write a script and create their own puppet show. Students are taught elements of script writing as well as acting techniques, which culminates in a wonderful class performance for their families at the end of the school year.

                    Scenes From "A Midsummer Night's Dream" Second Grade Puppet Show