Beginning Of The Year Math Review Activities For 2nd Grade

Starting off the new school year is always a big undertaking! One crucial aspect of beginning-of-the-year lesson planning always involves review in my classroom. At the beginning of second grade, it's important to review what students learned in first grade. This serves as a great refresher for students, and it gives you valuable data. You'll know exactly what students know, as well as what they need to work on. Today I'm sharing my favorite strategies for math review at the beginning of the year. 

Starting The Year Off With Math Review 

At the beginning of the year, second graders are typically excited to jump into another year of learning. By this age, they "know the ropes" of what it means to attend school and have a whole year of first grade under their belt. First-grade math is FILLED to the brim with tricky math standards that will set the stage for success in second grade. 

If there are first-grade standards that students are struggling with, then students will not be able to understand second-grade standards.  

Because of this, I always like to kick off the school year with a deep dive into math review of everything my students learned in first grade. There are a lot of ways to do this, but I have a few ideas that I return to time and time again to help my kiddos get back in the learning groove. 

Start Out Math Review With Whole Group Instruction 

As with just about anything in my classroom, I love starting out with whole group instruction. 

I find that speaking to all of my students together on our topic helps foster that sense of classroom community, which is so important at the beginning of the year!  

Whole group instruction also ensures that all students have heard this first-grade review material and that it is explained in the same way.  It's hard to remember to say everything exactly the same to 5 different groups!

Since I know that dreaded "summer slide" is all too real, the first few weeks of school are the perfect time to dive into a review of all the 1st-grade math standards.  Students may need a refresher to help them remember what they learned last year. 

Doing this also gives me an idea of the level my class is working at, where we need to focus our attention, and where they are already excelling. 

Every group is different and every child will have different strengths and weaknesses, so this is a valuable exercise to include year after year. 

Utilize Digital Activities For Group Instruction

In my room, I find it especially helpful to use digital activities and visual aids when addressing the whole group. 

I love the ease of popping an activity up on the screen and running through it with my students. Not only is this a fun way to review first-grade math standards, but it is a great informal assessment that tells me where my kids are at.  

And for those students who already remember these standards and don't need a refresher after the summer break?  Using colorful reteaching pages or anchor charts as digital activities are engaging enough to keep them from losing focus! 

As a class, before we split into groups, I display one of the Google Slides pages we will be focusing on and provide a quick overview and model how to complete the activity.

I view this as a bit of a morning warm-up activity to get those brains working. From here, we split into groups and dive into a guided math review lesson. 

Target 1st Grade Math Standards During Guided Math Review

Guided review in small groups is my very favorite way to teach math skills. I love being able to work closely with each of my students and target specific math standards. Because I am so partial to this type of teaching, many of my classroom resources are designed for small group intervention. This is the case with my 2nd Grade Beginning of Year Math Review!

This resource comes in handy at the beginning of the year to help me find a baseline of student awareness and understanding of the 1st-grade math standards. Each of the pages we use targets specific 1st-grade common core math standards such as operations and algebraic thinking, numbers, operations in base ten, measurement and data, and geometry. 

I love using these pages since it's a no-brainer way to touch on each of these important standards. Each day we cover 1-2 math concepts in small group instruction until we have moved through each of the first-grade common core standards. 

While working with students I make notes on strengths and weaknesses so that I can better craft my lessons in the coming weeks. This is also super helpful when determining how to group students by skill level! 

Use Math Review Activities For Centers & Independent Practice

Once we have gone over each standard in small groups, I also like to have students use review activities during math centers and small groups. Print and go worksheets are my favorite resource to use for this type of practice. The no-prep pages are especially helpful during the busyness of the back-to-school season! 

I love circulating in the classroom and observing my students during this time. I'm sure you know that students often perform differently when working in groups versus working independently. At the beginning of the year, I like to spend a fair bit of time observing my students during each of these activities to continue to gain insight into each of their independent learning styles and abilities. 

In addition to no-prep practice pages, I also like to utilize technology during centers and have students work on digital formats of these activities. Using a blend of both digital and written activities will help keep the material feeling fresh and fun for students during the initial review period!

As an added bonus, digital activities are easy to assign for homework or as make-up work for students who missed the lesson. Using digital activities in addition to printables will bring your lessons full circle! 

Get Started With Math Review In Your Classroom

Are you ready to jump into a new year with your second-grade students? While the beginning of the year is undoubtedly busy, it's also a fun and exciting time to get to know your students and start to form lessons that will best suit their needs. Starting out with a deep dive in math review is a great way to ensure you're touching on all the first-grade standards early on so that you can set your second graders up for success! 

If you're interested in trying out my method of using whole group, guided instruction, and independent practice to target math review- be sure to check out the full 2nd Grade Beginning of Year Math Bundle. This resource has taken all the guesswork out of planning and lists out each and every 1st-grade math standard for you.

 

For each topic, there is at least one colorful guided practice/re-teaching page designed for projection or for small group intervention. Also included are several printer-friendly (black and white and fewer graphics) pages for independent practice, to use for small group work or centers. All of the activities are also provided in digital format to include technology centers in your classroom. 

Use each of these elements to easily assess the level of your students and lay the foundation for success in second grade! 

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