Second Grade Reading Activities & Curriculum Standards

Second Grade Reading – What are the Standards and Curriculum?

Second grade reading activities provide an opportunity for children to select letter patterns and learn to translate them into spoken language using phonics, syllabication, and word parts. These early readers will continue to work on their decoding skills which will aid their understanding of new words and ideas!

Time4Learning’s award winning program engages children in a way to inspire a lifetime love of learning. Our second grade reading curriculum includes a combination of engaging, interactive lessons, language arts worksheets, hands-on activities, guided reading, solid assessment methods, and positive reinforcement.

With Time4Learning, you have the option to move at your child’s pace – allowing your son or daughter to build confidence. Through our comprehensive reading program, Time4Learning creates a strong base in the following language arts strands.

5 Steps to Teach Second Grade Reading

1. Vocabulary Development: Vocabulary development is a key component for language arts at all levels. Second grade students will see this area take a tremendous leap forward! With Time4Learning’s second grade reading curriculum.
2. Reading Comprehension: Our second grade reading program uses guided reading to expose children to a variety of age appropriate literature. Interactive stories will build fluency, sequencing skills, and the ability to determine the setting of a passage.
3. Language Arts & Reading Comprehension: With Time4Learning, Language Arts is far from boring. Through the use of engaging Language Arts activities and worksheets, second grade students become immersed in reading both for fun and education.
4. Literary Response: Second graders are ready to experience a variety of literary genres. Literary response and analysis has an important role within Time4Learning’s second grade reading program.
5. Writing Applications and Reading Strategy: Within second grade, children are increasingly able to communicate their thoughts and ideas through writing. With a growing vocabulary and better grasp on the value of punctuation, second graders are now challenged to apply what they have learned through a myriad of creative writing techniques.

Vocabulary Development

Vocabulary development is a key component for language arts at all levels. Second grade students will see this area take a tremendous leap forward! With Time4Learning’s second grade reading curriculum, children will learn to:

• Develop a more extensive sight word vocabulary
• Apply more complex phonics strategies
• Translate letter patterns into spoken language using phonics, syllabication, and word parts
• Recognize and use spelling patterns such as vowel patterns and two-letter diphthong
• Decode two-syllable nonsense words and regular multi-syllable words
• Use common abbreviations, plus regular and irregular plurals
• Understand common antonyms, synonyms, and homonyms
• Understand the meanings of simple prefixes and suffixes
• Identify simple multiple-meaning words

Reading Comprehension 

Our second grade reading program uses guided reading to expose children to a variety of age appropriate literature. Interactive stories will build fluency, sequencing skills, and the ability to determine the setting of a passage. Time4Learning second grade students will develop reading comprehension skills by:

• Asking essential questions, making predictions, and comparing information from several sources
• Analyze the text by considering the author’s purpose in writing it
• Recognize cause-and-effect relationships
• Follow two-step written instructions appropriate to their reading level
• Interpret information from diagrams, charts, and graphs

Language Arts & Reading Comprehension

With Time4Learning, Language Arts is far from boring. Through the use of engaging Language Arts activities and worksheets, second grade students become immersed in reading both for fun and education. Colorful animated characters sing, explain, and interact with the students throughout the lessons. In this area, our second grade reading program will teach children to:

• Apply knowledge of basic syllabication rules
• Predict meaning of unknown compound words by analyzing their individual word components
• Use punctuation appropriately
• Use titles, tables of contents, and chapter headings to locate information in expository text
• Identify the use of rhythm, rhyme, and alliteration in reading level appropriate poetry

Literary Response

Second graders are ready to experience a variety of literary genres. Literary response and analysis has an important role within Time4Learning’s second grade reading program. Through the use of authentic literature in topics of interest, our curriculum will teach students to:

• Identify structural features of the text
• Pinpoint literary elements such as theme, plot, setting, and characters
• Compare and contrast plots, settings, and characters presented by different authors
• Determine conflict and predict the outcome of a passage

*Reading Standards are defined by each state. Time4Learning bases its use of reading standards on the national bodies that recommend curriculum and standards and the interpretations of it by a sampling of states notably Florida, Texas, and California.

Writing Applications & Reading Strategy

Within second grade, children are increasingly able to communicate their thoughts and ideas through writing. With a growing vocabulary and better grasp on the value of punctuation, second graders are now challenged to apply what they have learned through a myriad of creative writing techniques. Time4Learning invites children to:

• Generate alternative endings to plots and to analyze the impact of these alternatives
• Demonstrate comprehension of a theme
• Use creative writing techniques to apply what has been learned
• Develop graphic organizers
• Write a diary entry

Time4Learning also helps children excel in the area of oral speaking. Second grade students will move beyond the “robot” voice in reading out loud as they are encouraged to:

• Demonstrate fluent reading skill using appropriate intonation and expression
• Recite age-appropriate poems and passages
• Convey their understanding of literary works orally by answering questions regarding plots, characters, and outcomes
• Share their own stories and life experiences through conversation

Allow Time4Learning’s second grade reading program to propel your child forward – opening the door to knowledge which will last a lifetime.

In third grade language arts, Paul Bunyan's Blue Ox Babe teaches about Tall Tales in the lesson Tall Tale Squares.

In this lesson, students are asked to answer a riddle using clues within a picture.