In second grade, students are challenged to grow in both the academic and social realms. Students work collaboratively to develop reading comprehension and writing skills through buddy reading and writing, as well as in guided reading groups. Additionally, they are challenged to work at a level tailored to them to develop spelling and vocabulary acquisition through the Words Their Way program. Math focuses on extending and developing number sense skills, computation of addition and subtraction with regrouping, comparing and ordering fractions, and geometric figure identification. Second graders also work as historians to decipher primary sources and develop map skills, compare and contrast the lives of different Native American tribes, explorers, Mali, influential Americans, and economics. As scientists, Forest Edge second graders discover the properties of matter and magnets, weather systems, and animal life cycles and adaptations focusing on the lives and migration of the Monarch Butterflies. Students also integrate technology and develop Habits of Mind to encourage critical thinking skills.