What Your 2nd Grader Should Know

Preparing for 2nd grade

By 2nd grade, your child is getting the hang of the school routine and is starting to be a more confident student. Second grade is a wonderful year of self-discovery and blossoming independence. Here are the basics of what your 2nd grader should know this school year:

2nd grade reading

Children in second grade are becoming fluent readers in chapter books. They will start around a DRA 8 and should be reading at a DRA 30 by the end of the year. (The DRA is a standardized reading test commonly used in schools in the U.S. and Canada.)

They also should be able to:

• Read and comprehend main ideas.
• Retell what happened in a story including main ideas, details about characters, setting and events.
• Self-select just-right reading materials.
• Make connections to their own background knowledge.
• Read silently.

2nd grade writing

You’ll be amazed at how your 2nd grader is writing in sentences with capital letters and proper punctuation!

Your 2nd grader should be able to:

• Write in complete sentences with appropriate punctuation.
• Use capital letters correctly.
• Use and understand contractions.
• Write stories with a beginning, middle and end.
• Be able to do basic research from a non-fiction book.
• Understand and use first-person and third-person point of view.
• Edit his or her own writing for spelling and punctuation.

2nd grade math

Math in 2nd grade builds on the previous year’s lessons and increases in difficulty.

Kids in second grade math will:

• Learn about even and odd numbers.
• Use tally marks to count by five.
• Read and make graphs.
• Write numbers in word form.
• Add two- and three-digit numbers.
• Subtract two- and three-digit numbers.
• Know the order of addition and subtraction operations.
• Know the addition and subtraction fact families.
• Start learning multiplication and division fact families.
• Recognize patterns.
• Round whole numbers to the nearest 10.
• Know place value to the thousands.
• Understand money including coins and bills, counting, adding and subtracting money.
• Be able to measure length, weight and passage of time.
• Tell time to the nearest 5 minutes.
• Recognize two-dimensional geometric figures.
• Solve word problems.

2nd grade social studies

School districts often differ when it comes to 2nd grade social studies. However, generally, kids will learn about their communities and the different regions in their country, as well as continents and oceans.

2nd grade science

As with social studies, science curriculum depends on your school district. Most often, 2nd grade scientists will be required to make predictions, find patterns in nature and learn about the Earth and its natural resources.

Is your child at grade level?

Now you know what 2nd graders are supposed to know, it’s time to ask yourself: Are your 2nd grader’s skills on par with his or her grade level? How did your child really do with the disruption to school last year? With a Sylvan Assessment, we can find out exactly where your child stands in comparison with his or her grade level, and create a personalized plan to help further his or her knowledge base! For more information, visit your local Sylvan Learning center today!