2/3 Mixed-Age

Welcome to our 2nd and 3rd-grade learning community at Flatirons Elementary! Each day, our 2nd and 3rd-graders spend time learning in mixed-age homeroom groups and in same-grade groups. Social and Emotional Learning is at the heart of what we do, including connections within our mixed-age structures, buddy systems, lessons with our school counselor, and an exciting new partnership with the CU School of Education.

In 2nd and 3rd grade, students are honing their literacy skills and transitioning from learning how to read to using reading to learn. We use frameworks such as the RACES protocol, Thinking Maps, and Depth and Complexity to help students develop skills that transfer across curriculum areas. These frameworks provide students with structures for learning how to ask and answer increasingly complex questions about what they read, observe, hear, and experience.

2nd and 3rd-graders delight in learning more about themselves through the RIASEC themes. This school initiative focuses on asking students to recognize and reflect on their strengths and interests, encouraging them to dive deeper into the things that light them up. We invest time in this important work knowing it helps students build confidence and a sense of identity that will guide them to one day make future college and career choices that are true to who they are.

A favorite time of year is our creative workshop, where students learn to use a design-thinking process to research, plan, and create something of their choosing. This culminates in reflecting on their process and sharing their project with our school community through our annual Flatirons Maker Fair.

Hands-on experiences and field trips are always highlights of the school year. From our work in our school garden with the Garden to Table program, to walking to the CU planetarium, to riding the bus to a theater performance at the Arvada Center—opportunities to learn outside the classroom bring us closer together and cement and inspire our in-classroom work.