It is important to remember that each child is unique and that a wide range of individual differences will be apparent with any group of children. Although there is diversity, there is also consistency. A child’s development is organized and directed. Age characteristics are broad guidelines to help us know what may be expected from children of a certain age.
The Second Grade Child…
- is friendly, cooperative and likes praise
- is open to new ideas and likes a challenge
- likes competition
- enjoys hands on learning
- is socially sensitive and sensitive to criticism
- is very trusting
- likes secrets, mysteries, riddles and jokes
- can take responsibility for actions
- has high expectations for self
- has an enormous curiosity
- typically still tattles
Parents Can Help By…
- listening to your child, and encouraging expression of ideas and feelings
- discussing life experiences with your child
- making a chart, so your child can self monitor behavior and/or choices
- taking your child to the library, grocery story, farm, museums, etc.
- sharing newspaper and magazine articles relevant to your child’s interest level
- reading to your child
- making sure your child eats healthy foods and gets sufficient rest
- encouraging your child’s accomplishments and abilities
- talking about ways to control anger and emotions
- talking about problem solving
- keeping in contact with your child’s teacher
Language Arts – Curriculum
The primary goal is for students to communicate effectively at home, in school and in the community though reading, writing, speaking, and listening. The Language Arts Grade Level Content Expectations (GLCE) are taught throughout the school year.
By the end of second grade year, students should be able to do the following:
Reading
- use rhyming patterns to recognize words
- use vowel and consonant clusters to recognize words
- read grade level high frequency words
- read a variety of text (story, information, pattern and predictable books, fairy tales, magazines, poetry)
- hear and see patterns in letters and words
- continue to increase sight vocabulary
Comprehension
- retell a story out loud including characters, setting, problem and solution
monitor and check own reading based on meaning by applying a variety of strategies (predicting, picture - clues, rereading, context clues, phonics)
- confidently read and understand grade level text
- understand the main ideas presented in text
Parents Can Help By…
- reading different types of materials aloud with your child daily
- providing many types of children’s reading materials in your home
- having your child retell a story including the characters, setting, problem and solution
- discussing what your child learned from reading
- relating the message to a real world context
- having your child reread familiar books
- practicing grade level high frequency words with your child
- helping your child see and hear patterns in words
- visiting libraries regularly
- monitoring your child’s TV viewing
- encouraging your child’s reading efforts
Writing
- writes correctly using manuscript
- correctly reproduces cursive letters in isolation
Spelling
- use standard spelling of grade level words in written work
- use strategies to spell unknown words
- use resources to verify spelling
Writing Process
- compose a complete piece about a topic
- write with a central idea, supported with details
- write text with a beginning, middle and end
- use a variety of sentence structures
- use interesting words
- express complete thoughts in writing using proper spacing and beginning punctuation
- edit for capitalization, correct spelling of grade level words and end punctuation
Parents Can Help By…
- providing many opportunities for your child to write (stories, directions, explanations, observations, feelings, opinions)
- encouraging your child to write correctly using manuscript
- practicing spelling words with your child
- helping your child reread to check for meaning and edit for capitalization, correct spelling and end punctuation
- providing writing materials, such as pencils, markers and paper in your home
- providing resources, such as a dictionary to verify spelling
Listening and Speaking
- follow oral directions
- demonstrate appropriate listening behavior
- ask questions and offer ideas relevant to topic
- view themselves as effective communicators
- effectively listen and respond in a variety of situations
- speak fluently to express thoughts clearly
- apply knowledge and ideas drawn from text to own lives and the lives of others
Parents Can Help By…
- talking with and listening to your child
- showing an interest in your child’s school experiences
- encouraging your child to follow and complete simple and multi-step directions correctly
- encouraging your child to be a courteous listener
- encouraging your child to use proper speech and appropriate language
Pre-Emergent – listens to and retells familiar stories; pretend reads; reads a story logically from wordless picture books; recognizes own name and familiar signs or labels; shows interest in and recognizes some letters
Emergent – differentiates letters from words; uses picture clues to obtain meaning; matches some initial consonant letters with sounds; repeats familiar verses and stories; begins to recognize frequently used words; begins to recognize that print is read from left to right, top to bottom; identifies upper case letters; shows progress in identifying lower case letters; understands that print represents language
Early – uses phonetic and picture clues to decode words; reads predictable or familiar text; reads high frequency words in context; understands what is read and attempts to construct meaning; recognizes words that rhyme and creates rhymes
Transitional – understands that punctuation enhances meaning; monitors and checks own reading by applying a variety of strategies (predicting,pictorial clues, rereading, reading on, context clues, phonics, sentence structure); reads to others, recalls facts from informational books; reads unfamiliar text with support; reads for pleasure
Fluent – uses and applies punctuation to enhance meaning; confidently reads and understands familiar text; uses reading to acquire information; regularly applies reading strategies; continues to increase sight vocabulary; corrects own reading based on meaning
Writing Scribbling/pictorial – combines pictures and scribbles to represent writing; shows some evidence of over-all form (scribble lists look like lists); no recognizable letters
Pre-communicative – understands that ideas can be written down; strings together random letters (upper case) and letter-like forms; prints own name and occasionally copies words; begins to use letter/sound relationship with support
Semi-Phonetic – uses letter sound relationships; uses one beginning letter to write a word; separates words with dots, dashes, spaces; begins to write left to right; understands that print holds meaning
Phonetic – shows confidence in letter/sound relationships; spells well known words correctly; leaves spaces between words; writes a complete thought; uses both upper and lower case letters; includes some vowels; demonstrates a beginning knowledge of punctuation and its use
Transitional – correctly spells some high frequency words; demonstrates a beginning knowledge of punctuation and its use; appearance of silent ‘e’ (make, life), double consonants (mitt, cliff) and vowel combinations; writes longer sentences
Standard – correctly spells many high frequency words; writes longer passages; edits and revises written work; uses larger vocabulary; uses more complex sentence structure; uses correct punctuation
Library Skills
The goal of library instruction is to set the groundwork for students to become lifelong library users.
Second grade students will…
- learn about authors and illustrators
- learn about how books are published
- learn about fiction, non-fiction and reference books
- learn how to find different types of books in the library
Mathematics
Singapore Math is designed to equip students with sound concept development, critical thinking and efficient problem-solving skills. In Primary Mathematics, concepts are presented in a clear and sequential way to facilitate understanding and confidence.
Second grade students will learn…
- numbers and place value to 1000
- addition and subtraction with and without renaming
- methods of mental addition and subtraction
- measurement concepts of length, weigh and capacity
- multiplication and division
- fractions- halves, quarters and fractions of a set
- time- elapsed time and intervals
- tables and graphs
- geometry- composing and decomposing shapes
- money- addition and subtraction
- beginning algebra- finding unknowns
