This year your child is ready to get down to the business of learning. He's probably got the reading and writing basics down, knows his addition and subtraction facts well and is eager to keep going. So what do you need to know? Here's your parent's guide to second grade.
Second Grade Basics:
- What You Can Expect in: 2nd Grade: Here's a brief overview of what you can expect in your child's second grade year.
- What Do Kids Learn in 2nd Grade?: Your child's attention span is increasing, which means he's able to learn more difficult concepts in one setting and apply them to other situations. 2nd graders are used to their school environment and ready to take on some serious learning.
- Signs of Trouble With Learning in Second Grade: By second grade most students are used to the rules and routine of school and are ready to face more challenging academics. For some children, however, second grade is when you begin to see signs of trouble that may require a referral for special education evaluation.
- Test Taking Tips for Students: For many students, second grade is the year that high-stakes (or standardized) testing begins. Find out how to make it through those tests.
- Test Taking Tips For Parents: It may be your child taking all the tests, but you're the one who needs to help him through it. Here are some test taking tips for parents to help you get your child ready.
- Questions to Ask Your School About High-Stakes Tests: Even if you know a lot about the mechanics of high-stakes tests, you should also be asking questions of your school about which ones are being used and for what purposes.
Second Grade Reading and Writing:
- What Parents Need to Know About How Kids Learn to Read: By now, your second grader probably reads pretty well, but there's still a lot to know about how he can improve his skills.
- Reading Problems: The Non-Fluent Reader: Kids who have reading problems with fluency aren't necessarily the exact opposite of kids who can read fluently. Just like, non-fluent reading problems have uniquely identifying characteristics.
- What is a Running Record? Learn the basic definition and setup of the running record reading assessment tool.
- What's a Code Emphasis Reading Program?: Basal reading programs are usually either code emphasis or meaning emphasis. Learn what code emphasis reading means.
- What's a Meaning Emphasis Reading Program?: A meaning emphasis reading program focuses on language as a system of units that build meaning, as opposed to a whole language approach. How does that work exactly?
- What is a Graphic Organizer?: Graphic organizers, such as Venn Diagrams, are often used as part of the writing process to help students map out ideas, plots, character details and settings before beginning to write.
Read With Your Second Grader:
- 10 Ways to Help You Raise Kids Who Love Reading: There's more to raising a reader than just having books around the house. Find out what else you can do to instill a love of reading.
- Second Grade Reading List: Books for Children Entering Second Grade: Introducing your child to a popular and prolific author or a lovable character who is the star of a series of books is a very good way to ensure your child will read more than one book. Here's a list of some of those series and authors.
Second Grade Math:
- What is Regrouping?: Remember "borrowing" and "carrying?" That's sort of what regrouping is all about.
- Mental Math: It sounds hard, but mental math can actually be quite easy once your child gets the hang of it.
- Math Games Online: These sites offer lots of fun online math games that encourage development of addition, subtraction, and other math facts.
Working With Your Second Grader:
- Second Grade Math Worksheets: These worksheets provide practice for all the math concepts taught in second grade, including word problems and 2- and 3-digit addition.
- High-Frequency Words for Second Grade Reading: Help your child learn the words most commonly encountered in second grade reading material.
- How to Deal With a Bad Report Card: When your child brings home a bad report card, your first instinct might be to yell and punish, but a bad report card really isn't the end of the world.