AGES 7–8 · GRADE 2
Grade 2 is a year of consolidation. Children firm up the foundation they built in Grade 1 and meet more complex ideas in mathematics and science. This year they no longer simply learn; they begin to question what they learn.
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01OVERVIEW
Grade 2 is a year of consolidation, in which children carry on building their academic skills. The reading and writing learned in Grade 1 now turns into a tool: the child moves from learning to read to reading in order to learn.
At this age children meet more complex ideas in mathematics and science. Addition and subtraction extend to multi-digit numbers, work on measurement and geometry goes deeper, and observation and experiment become a settled part of science lessons.
The real difference is in how children think. In Grade 1 the question at the front is "how is this done"; in Grade 2 it becomes "why is it like this". Instead of accepting the answer they are given, children start to question it, and we feed that rather than shut it down.
02CLASSROOM FEATURES
These are not separate timetabled lessons but strands of work that run through the whole programme. Below we explain what each one looks like in the classroom.
A lesson usually opens with a question rather than an answer. The child predicts, tries, gets it wrong and arrives at the result themselves. What they work out for themselves stays with them; what they memorise disappears once the test is over.
Subjects are not boxes sealed off from one another. A topic from science connects to measurement in mathematics, to community in social studies and to writing in Turkish. The child then sees knowledge as a whole rather than in pieces.
Our classes bring together children from different countries and different backgrounds. That is an opportunity, not a difficulty. While getting to know their own culture, a child also learns to look at someone else's with respect.
Group work teaches children to share out the tasks, to stand up for their own idea and, when they need to, to accept a classmate's instead. These skills are not measured on an exam paper; they serve a child for the whole of their life.
Caring for nature is taught as a habit rather than a slogan. We work through things a child can do themselves: sorting the waste, not letting water run away, keeping track of a plant.
Movement settles both a child's body and their attention. Team games are also the most natural place to learn about rules, taking turns and accepting defeat.
Instead of telling a child "this is the right answer", we ask "what do you think, and why?" We are trying to build a mind that does not take everything it hears at face value, but still listens to the person opposite.
03SUBJECTS
We teach the Turkish national curriculum in full. None of the subjects below is taken out of the programme or watered down.
04INQUIRY CYCLE
Inquiry-based learning can sound abstract. In the classroom it comes down to these five steps, and the same cycle repeats throughout the year.
Before teaching the topic, the teacher sets out a situation. What opens a child's interest is not information but something still unresolved.
The children come up with their own questions. Working out which question to ask is as important a skill as finding the answer.
Sources are looked at, observations made, a trial set up. The teacher shows the way but does not give the answer away at the start.
The findings are weighed up. A prediction that turns out wrong is also a result; why it was wrong is discussed rather than glossed over.
The child explains what they found to the class. Being able to explain it is the most reliable sign of having genuinely understood it.
Sharing usually gives rise to a new question, and the cycle starts again.
05CROSS-CURRICULAR LINKS
Let us show what cross-curricular work means with a concrete example. The theme below is one example; the same thinking applies to the other topics covered during the year.
Example theme: Water 5 SUBJECTS
The states of water, evaporation and condensation are shown by experiment in class. The child sees the cycle in front of them rather than in a book.
How much water a household uses in a day is measured, recorded and added up. Measurement and arithmetic are practised on real data.
The class talks about how unevenly water is spread around the world. Why water is hard to reach in some countries becomes a way into empathy.
The children make a painting or a poster on the theme of water. The child expresses what they have learned visually as well.
A text on the topic is read and the child writes a short piece in their own words. Reading and writing serve a purpose.
06OUR METHOD
Our Grade 2 programme is built to support inquiry-based learning and critical thinking. Our teachers use hands-on activities, group work and problem-solving tasks together.
In problem-solving tasks the child is not handed a ready-made method. They are asked to try their own way first, and then the class compares the different routes. The child sees that there is no single right way, but that some ways are more useful than others.
Because we keep our classes small, the teacher can see which step each child is stuck on. Nothing new is piled on top of a topic before it has been understood.
English supported by CLLC. As an optional programme, we offer English themes prepared out of the twenty years of experience of the Canadian Language Learning College (CLLC).
Because a child in Grade 2 can now understand what they read, the English work can be supported with simple texts as well. Even so, the weight stays on enjoyable, interactive activities: the language is learned in use, not from lists to be memorised.
07FOR PARENTS
The teacher notices what your child is struggling with in the first few days, not weeks later. A gap is filled in before anything new is piled on top of it.
We measure your child's progress against their own starting point, not against another child's. We do not set up a race.
You find out where your child stands without waiting for report-card time. If support is needed, we tell you in good time.
Social and Emotional Learning is part of the programme in Grade 2 as well. At an age when friendships grow more complicated, this work matters all the more.
Academic competence is the starting condition. Beyond that we look at how a teacher speaks to a child, at their patience, and at the way they understand a child.
The point of homework is to consolidate what was learned that day, not to stretch out the evening. Time to play and to rest is also something this age needs.
08FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
No. It is not a method that replaces the curriculum but a way of working through it. Every learning objective is covered; the difference is that a topic opens with a question before it is explained to the child. What is learned this way lasts longer, because the child builds the knowledge themselves.
Grade 2 is a year of consolidation in any case. At the start of the year the child's reading fluency and basic arithmetic are observed, and extra work is planned wherever something is missing. That work is done inside the lesson, by giving the child a task suited to them, rather than by taking them out of the class.
This is something we watch for particularly. In group work the tasks are shared out, so every child has a responsibility of their own. A quiet child is not forced to speak, but a role they can contribute through is always found. Over time, expressing themselves becomes easier.
The programme widens in line with the child's level, but it does not become a burden. English is optional and never takes precedence over the Turkish curriculum. A child who does not take it falls behind in no subject; for a child who does, the weight stays on activities and speaking.
Yes. We plan a separate settling-in process for children arriving from another school. During the first weeks both their academic level and how they are fitting into the class are followed closely. For a child who is not used to inquiry-based work, the change is made gradually.
Filling in the application form is all it takes. We then call you and meet you on campus on a day that suits you. During the visit you look round the classrooms, meet the teachers and ask your questions face to face. We would also like to get to know your child at that meeting.
How an inquiry-based lesson really works can only be seen on the spot. Fill in the application form, let us call you, and we will meet on campus on a day that suits you. You will look round the classrooms, meet the teachers and ask your questions face to face.