K-12 Grade Levels

Grade 02

BPS-S ELA Logo glossary icon2nd Grade English
"I can ... statements"
BPS-S ELA-RL Logo BPS-S ELA-RI Logo BPS-S ELA-RF Logo
BPS-S ELA-RL Logo BPS-S ELA-RI Logo BPS-S ELA-RF Logo

Grade Level LogoStudents in 2nd grade will gain more skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. They continue to learn and practice rules for matching sounds to letters that make up words, and they learn new concepts — such as words that share the same root (e.g., add and additional) — that help them figure out the meanings of new words. Writing will become an exciting way for your child to use newly learned words and phrases to express ideas. As they write and speak, 2nd graders will be more attentive to the formal and informal uses of English and will spell most words correctly in their writing.

Note: Standards Identifiers auto-link to popup a detailed description with "I can ..." and Proficiency Scales.
Prioritized Standards Identifiers are highlighted a sky-blue.

ELA-02.RL 2nd GradeReading Literature Strand

  • ELA-02.RL.01 Ask and answer who, what, where, when, why, and how questions to demonstrate understanding of key/supporting details in a text before, during, and after reading.
  • ELA-02.RL.02 Recount stories from a variety of genres and diverse cultures, and determine their central message, lesson, or moral.
  • ELA-02.RL.03 Describe settings and how characters in a story, respond to major events and challenges.
  • ELA-02.RL.04 Describe how words and phrases supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.
  • ELA-02.RL.05 Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.
  • ELA-02.RL.06 Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue aloud.
  • ELA-02.RL.07 Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.
  • ELA-02.RL.08 (Not applicable to literature)
  • ELA-02.RL.09 Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story by different authors or from different cultures.
  • ELA-02.RL.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories and poetry, on grade level1 proficiently and independently.

ELA-02.RI Grade 2Reading Information Strand

  • ELA-02.RI.01 Ask and answer who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key/supporting details in a text.
  • ELA-02.RI.02 Identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph text and retell key/supporting details that support the main topic.
  • ELA-02.RI.03 Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text.
  • ELA-02.RI.04 Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area.
  • ELA-02.RI.05 Know and use various text features to efficiently locate key facts or information in a text.
  • ELA-02.RI.06 Identify the main purpose of a text, including the author’s point of view, explanation, or description.
  • ELA-02.RI.07 Explain how specific images contribute to and clarify a text.
  • ELA-02.RI.08 Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text. 
  • ELA-02.RI.09 Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic.
  • ELA-02.RI.10 Proficiently read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts on grade level.

ELA-02.RF Grade 2Reading Foundational Skills Strand

  • ELA-02.RF.03 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
  • ELA-02.RF.04 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension. Read grade level text with purpose and understanding.

ELA-02.W Grade 2Writing Strand

  • ELA-02.W.01 Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.
  • ELA-02.W.02 Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.
  • ELA-02.W.03 Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure.
  • ELA-02.W.04 (Begins in grade 3)
  • ELA-02.W.05 With guidance and support from adults and peers, focus on a topic and strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing.
  • ELA-02.W.06 Use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including collaboration with peers.
  • ELA-02.W.07 Participate in shared research and writing projects.
  • ELA-02.W.08 Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
  • ELA-02.W.09 (Begins in grade 4)

ELA-02.L Grade 2Language Strand

  • ELA-02.L.01 Within the context of authentic English writing and speaking…
  • ELA-02.L.02 Demonstrate capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing
  • ELA-02.L.03 Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
    ELA-02.L.04 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple meaning words and phrases based on grade 2 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies.
    ELA-02.L.05 Demonstrate understanding of word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
    ELA-02.L.06 Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading, being read to, and responding to texts, including using adjectives and adverbs to describe.

ELA-02.SL Grade 2Speaking and Listening Strand

  • ELA-02.SL.01 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
  • ELA-02.SL.02 Recount or describe the main idea and key/supporting details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through media.
  • ELA-02.SL.03 Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to clarify comprehension, gather additional information, or deepen understanding of a topic or issue.
  • ELA-02.SL.04 Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevance, descriptive details, speaking audibly in coherent sentences.
  • ELA-02.SL.05 Create audio recordings of stories or poems; add drawings or other visual displays to stories or recounts of experiences when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
  • ELA-02.SL.06 Speak in complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification.

A Sample of What Your Child Will Be Working on in 2nd Grade

  • Paying close attention to details, including illustrations and graphics, in stories and books to answer who, what, where, when, why, and how questions
  • Determining the lesson or moral of stories, fables, and folktales
  • Using text features (e.g., captions, bold print, indexes) to locate key facts or information efficiently
  • Writing an opinion about a book he or she has read, using important details from the materials to support that opinion
  • Writing stories that include a short sequence of events and include a clear beginning, middle, and end
  • Participating in shared research projects (e.g., read books on a single topic to produce a report)
  • Taking part in conversations by linking his or her comments to the remarks of others and asking and answering questions to gather additional information or deepen understanding of the topic
  • Retelling key information or ideas from media or books read aloud
  • Producing, expanding, and rearranging sentences (e.g., “The boy watched the movie”; “The little boy watched the movie”; “The action movie was watched by the little boy”)
  • Determining the meaning of the new word formed when a known prefix or suffix is added to a known word (happy/unhappy; pain/painful/painless)