About the Teacher

Mrs. Jonhston

Second Grade Teacher

Salem Lutheran School

Mrs. Johnston's enthusiasm and passion for teaching challenges her students to develop sound moral character with Jesus Christ at the center of their lives.
Mrs. Johnston was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and graduated from Concordia College - St. Paul, Minnesota with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education and Early Childhood Development. She has taught for over twenty years in Lutheran elementary schools.

Curriculum & Information

Second Grade is a year of grasping new concepts. Children will confidently build upon what they learned in first grade as they improve their reading and comprehension skills.
Students will explore literature and poetry, and understand an author’s point of view. They will use a dictionary and glossary, be introduced to multiplication, and learn how to write in cursive.

Subjects covered in Second grade include, but are not limited to:

Science

Students will learn about scientific methods through a series of classroom experiments. Units will cover sound, light, botany, zoology, ecosystems, and weather patterns.

Physical Education

Second graders attend P.E. class in the gym three times a week. Fitness, health, and sportsmanship are taught through games, sports and exercise.

Social Studies

Second graders will learn to use maps and globes and strengthen their knowledge of geography. They will learn about neighborhoods, regions in the United States and national holidays. Children will gain an understanding for historical timelines, and learn about early American history such as colonial life, the Revolutionary War and American heroes.

Math

Using Saxon based material, second graders will expand their knowledge of numbers, identify operations and procedures of story problems, learn about money values, measurements, fractions, time, multiplication facts to 5, and basic geometry. They will also use manipulatives to recognize numerical relationships, patterns and equivalents.

Music

Children in grades first through sixth will develop skills in singing, playing instruments and movement.

Spanish

Children are exposed to Spanish twice a week through songs, flash cards and stories.

Art

Salem is blessed to have two very creative art teachers who make the art classes relevant, fun and challenging. Students will develop artistic awareness and hands-on skills by using a variety of tools and mediums. Students in grades first through sixth will study well-known artists and works of art, as well as create age appropriate art projects.

Language Arts

Reading is taught using the Open Court Curriculum. Phonics and phonemic awareness build upon the student’s mastery by reviewing vowel sounds, vowel-consonant blends, suffixes, prefixes, compound words and contractions. Second graders will improve upon their reading skills by learning to summarize, preview and predict, identify problems and solutions, recognize humor, cause and effect, feelings and reactions, and by grasping the concept of a writer’s craft. Children will read for facts, read out loud with expression, and identify types of literature.

Computers

Second graders expand on computer usage in Salem’s computer lab once a week. They learn to use Save As, and Save in a different location, and how to make a New Folder. Through basic word processing, students will produce three or four sentence paragraphs and format the text for Bold and Underline. They will also create a simple animation slide show, and access the Internet using hyperlinks.

Bible

Classroom religious studies focus on the life of Jesus and acts of the disciples, emphasize prayer by example, memory verse and observation of the church calendar.
All students (Junior Kindergarten through sixth grade) attend chapel services each Wednesday at 8:45 conducted by the School Chaplain. Parents are always welcome to attend chapel. Children have the opportunity to sing, worship, pray and read scripture.

More information is available about the General Curriculum used at Salem.