What skills will my child learn in 2nd Grade? Check out these tips and activities to help your child prepare for success.
English Language Arts
With parent/caregiver support…
Identifies parts of a sentence including first word, capital letter, ending punctuation and pause appropriately while reading
Reads and spells grade appropriate words and sight words including words with final –e, and suffix endings (-ed, -s, and –ing).
Reads and comprehends grade level text (Level I in Guided Reading)
Ask and answer who, what when, why, where, and how questions in text
Retells stories in sequence to include a beginning, middle, and end in fiction texts
Identifies the main idea in informational texts
Explains the lesson or moral of the story
Identifies similarities and differences in texts by providing several examples
Identifies fiction and non-fiction text
Identifies and uses heading, table of contents, and captions, bold words, and glossary to locate key facts and information
Writes a personal narrative, an information piece, and an opinion piece of writing
Uses appropriate spaces between words in writing, capitalize names and dates, use commas for dates and in a series
Uses proper, common, singular and plural nouns; uses appropriate personal and possessive pronouns; uses adjectives; and, uses conjunctions
Mathematics
With parent/caregiver support…
Counts to 120 starting at any number less than 120
Adds and subtracts within 20 (the sums of numbers in problem are less than 20)
Uses addition and subtraction to solve word problems
Understands that the two digits of a two-digit number represent the amounts of tens and ones
Uses place value and properties of operations to solve addition and subtraction problems.
Measures objects by comparing the length to another object used as a measuring tool (ex. Measures how long the side of a book is by using paper clips)
Explores shapes including triangles, rectangles, and others identifying sides and corners.
Uses shapes to make and identify other shapes (ex: two squares put together make a rectangle)
Science
With parent/caregiver support…
Identifies parts of a plant and knows basic needs of animals and plants
Compares and contrasts the needs of plants and animals
Observes weather, records observations, and uses data to identify patterns of weather
Observes how light is required to make objects visible
Investigates shadows by comparing sources of light
Explores how vibrating materials make sound and how sounds can make materials vibrate
Describes how magnets are used in everyday life
Understands how magnets interact with other magnets and other objects
Social Studies
With parent/caregiver support…
Identifies words like brotherhood, liberty, freedom, and pride and describes how they exemplify patriotism in songs such as America (My Country ‘Tis of Thee) and America the Beautiful
Locates his/her city, county, state, nation, and continent on a map and/or globe
Locates all seven continents and four major oceans on a map and/or globe
Identifies and describes landforms such as mountains, deserts, valleys, and coasts
Identifies contributions made by Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, Sacagawea, Theodore Roosevelt, George Washington Carver, and Ruby Bridges; describes how each person was influenced by his/her time and/or place; describes how each person displayed positive character traits
Identifies goods that people make and services people provide; describes how people are both producers and consumers; explains the meaning of scarcity; explains that people earn money by working and they must choose how much to save and to spend
Wellness
With parent/caregiver support…
Understands the difference between right and wrong (conscience mostly developed)
Shows basic problem-solving skills in social situations.
Uses movements in games and activities (throwing, catching, dribbling, jumping rope)
Follows directions and respects self and others during physical activity
Understands concepts that improve health (ex: handwashing, daily physical activity)
Uses decision-making skills to set goals for improving health
These skills were identified based on the Georgia Standards of Excellence. These are only suggestions and students will not be expected to know all of this information at the start of the school year. Teachers will meet students where they are and move them towards more growth.
