Year at a glance
Ten monthly themes from September to June. Choose a month to see its goals and weeks.
September: Welcome to Second Grade / My Community
We set up routines, read longer words by syllables, learn how stories are built, use place value to 100 and addition strategies, describe materials by their properties, and map our school.
Reading & writing
Routines, short and long vowel review, multisyllabic words introduced, story structure
Math
Place value to 100, addition strategies (make a ten, doubles, near doubles)
Science
Properties of matter: describe and sort materials
Social studies
School community, rules and why we have them, maps of our school
- Week1Welcome to Second GradeShort vowels and closed syllables · Place value: hundreds, tens and ones
- Week2Building Our ClassroomSilent e (VCe) review · Addition strategies: make a ten, doubles, near doubles
- Week3Maps of Our SchoolTwo-syllable words: closed syllables (VC/CV) · Read, write and skip-count numbers to 1,000 (by 5s, 10s, 100s)
- Week4Stories We ShareVowel teams ai, ay, ee, ea review · Add within 20 fluently; word problems
October: Fall / Plants & Habitats
We find the main idea in fact books, use prefixes to read new words, add and subtract within 100, test what plants need, explore habitats, and meet our community helpers.
Reading & writing
Main idea, informational texts, prefixes (un-, re-, pre-, dis-)
Math
Add and subtract within 100 using place value
Science
What plants need to grow; habitats and the diversity of life
Social studies
Community helpers, goods and services, local geography
- Week5Seeds and SproutsPrefixes un- and re- · Add within 100: tens and ones
- Week6Leaves and LightVowel teams oa, ow, oe (long o) · Add within 100: explain why the strategy works
- Week7Habitats Near and FarR-controlled ar and or · Subtract within 100: tens and ones
- Week8Fall ChangesPrefixes pre- and dis- · Add and subtract within 100: one- and two-step word problems
November: Family & Gratitude / Weather & Land
We put events in order, write opinions with reasons, measure length in inches and centimeters, learn how Earth changes quickly and slowly, and compare family life then and now.
Reading & writing
Sequencing, opinion writing with reasons, r-controlled vowels and suffixes
Math
Measure, estimate and compare length (inches, feet, centimeters, meters)
Science
Earth’s surface: events that change land quickly or slowly
Social studies
Family history then and now; Thanksgiving traditions told truthfully
December: Winter Holidays / Matter Changes
We use text features, write true and made-up stories, tell time to five minutes, count money, test how heating and cooling change matter, and learn how families around the world celebrate.
Reading & writing
Text features, narrative writing, long i and vowel sound patterns
Math
Time to 5 minutes, money (coins and dollars)
Science
Heating and cooling: changes that can and cannot be reversed; building from small pieces
Social studies
Winter holiday traditions around the world, then and now
- Week12Winter Around the WorldLong i: ie, igh, y · Tell and write time to the nearest 5 minutes; a.m. and p.m.
- Week13Melting and FreezingDiphthongs oi, oy, ou, ow · Time to 5 minutes: elapsed time on a schedule
- Week14Celebrations Then and NowVowel sounds oo, ew, ue; review · Money: count coins and bills; solve money word problems
January: New Year / Polar Habitats
We compare and contrast texts, write to teach, use place value to 1,000, study the diversity of life in polar habitats, and talk about needs, wants and the polar regions.
Reading & writing
Compare and contrast, informative writing, syllable types
Math
Place value to 1,000: read, write, compare, expanded form
Science
Diversity of life in different habitats, including polar regions
Social studies
Needs and wants, choices; the polar regions on maps and globes
- Week15New Year, New GoalsSpelling the same sound different ways · Hundreds, tens and ones to 1,000
- Week16Polar HabitatsOpen syllables (VCV): ro|bot, ti|ger · Compare three-digit numbers with >, = and <
- Week17Snow and IceConsonant-le syllables: ta|ble, pud|dle · 10 more, 10 less, 100 more, 100 less
- Week18Winter ReadersCompound words and syllable review · Expanded form and number names to 1,000
February: Friendship / Health & Body
We make inferences, write compound sentences, subtract within 100 and solve word problems, learn how animal bodies are built, and read biographies of people who made a difference.
Reading & writing
Inferences, compound sentences, soft c and g, contractions
Math
Subtraction within 100, one- and two-step word problems
Science
Animal structures and their jobs; healthy bodies
Social studies
Friendship and kindness; biographies for Black History Month
- Week19Good FriendsSoft c and soft g: city, gem · Subtract within 100 with regrouping
- Week20Healthy HabitsVowel sounds au, aw, al · Two-step word problems
- Week21People Who Made a DifferenceSilent letters kn, wr, gn, mb · Subtract within 1,000 with models
- Week22Our HeartsContractions · Word problems: unknowns in all positions
March: Spring / Growth & Ecosystems
We grow our vocabulary, expand sentences, add within 1,000, design a seed that travels, observe how plants grow, and read city and state maps.
Reading & writing
Vocabulary strategies, expanding sentences, suffix rules
Math
Add within 1,000 using place value
Science
Seed dispersal and pollination; plant life
Social studies
City and state maps, spring holidays and traditions
- Week23Seeds on the MoveSuffixes -ed and -ing (doubling) · Add up to four two-digit numbers
- Week24PollinatorsDrop the e: bake, baking, baked · Add within 1,000 with models
- Week25Growing PlantsChange y to i: puppy, puppies · Explain addition strategies
- Week26Spring EcosystemsMultisyllabic word review · Add and subtract within 1,000 review
April: Earth & Environment / Landforms
We research a topic, write opinions, collect data and make graphs, test ways to keep wind and water from changing land, and learn how citizens care for their community.
Reading & writing
Research and note-taking, opinion writing, homophones
Math
Data: line plots, picture graphs and bar graphs
Science
Wind and water change the land; designs that slow erosion
Social studies
Earth Day, community, citizenship and making choices together
- Week27Earth DayHomophones: there, their, they’re · Line plots from measurements
- Week28LandformsPrefixes and suffixes review: mis-, -ness, -ment · Picture graphs and bar graphs
- Week29Stop the ErosionVowel-r: air, are, ear · Solve problems with graphs
- Week30Water on EarthThree-syllable words · Data and measurement review
May: Oceans / Transportation & Inventors
We read with fluency, write stories, count money, partition shapes into equal parts, design like engineers, and learn how transportation changed and the people who changed it.
Reading & writing
Fluency, narrative writing, irregular plurals and spelling patterns
Math
Money; geometry and partitioning (halves, thirds, fourths)
Science
Engineering design: define, build, test and compare
Social studies
Transportation then and now; important inventors and people
- Week31Ocean LifeIrregular plurals: mice, feet, teeth · Money word problems with dollars and cents
- Week32On the MoveTrigraphs and endings: -dge, -tch, -ge · Shapes and attributes: angles and faces
- Week33InventorsFluency: phrasing and expression · Partition rectangles into rows and columns; halves, thirds and fourths
- Week34Making a DifferenceWord study review · Odd and even; arrays and repeated addition
June: Review & Celebration
We celebrate how much we have grown: favorite books, independent reading, math games, our favorite investigations and a look back at the year.
Reading & writing
Mixed review, favorite books, independent reading
Math
Math games and mixed review
Science
Favorite investigations, again
Social studies
My year in review, looking ahead to 3rd grade