Second Grade - Language Arts

Second Grade - Language Arts Indicators

Phonemic Awareness, Word Recognition and Fluency

Identify rhyming words with the same or different spelling patterns.
Read regularly spelled multi-syllable words by sight.
Blend phonemes (sounds) of letters and syllables to read unknown words with one or more syllables.
Use knowledge of common word families (e.g., -ite or -ate) to sound out unfamiliar words.
Segment letter, letter blends and syllable sounds in words.
Distinguish and identify the beginning, middle and ending sounds in words.
Identify words as having either short- or long-vowel sounds.
Demonstrate a growing stock of sight words.
Read text using fluid and automatic decoding skills.
Read passages fluently with appropriate changes in voice, timing and expression.

Contextual Understanding	Use knowledge of word order and in-sentence context clues to support word identification and to define unknown words while reading.
Conceptual Understanding	Identify words that have similar meanings (synonyms) and words that have opposite meanings (antonyms) Classify words into categories (e.g., colors, fruits, vegetables Read accurately high-frequency sight words. Read homographs aloud correctly, adjusting sounds to fit meaning and use words in context.
Structural Understanding	Determine the meaning of common compound words (e.g., lunchroom, baseball) by explaining the relationship between the words contained in the compound. Identify contractions and common abbreviations and connect them to whole words. Determine the meaning of prefixes, including un-, re-, pre- and suffixes, including -er, -est, -ful, -less. Use root words (e.g., smile) and their various inflections (e.g., smiles, smiling, smiled) to determine the meaning of words.
Tools and Resources	Determine the meaning and pronunciations of unknown words using a beginner's dictionary, glossaries and technology.

Reading Process

Comprehension Strategies	Establish a purpose for reading (e.g., to be informed, to follow directions or to be entertained). Predict content, events and outcomes from illustrations and prior experience and support those predictions with examples from the text or background knowledge. Compare and contrast information in texts with prior knowledge and experience. Summarize text by recalling main ideas and some supporting details. Create and use graphic organizers, such as Venn diagrams and webs, to demonstrate comprehension. Answer literal, inferential and evaluative questions to demonstrate comprehension of grade-appropriate print texts and electronic and visual media.
Self-Monitoring Strategies	Monitor comprehension by recognizing when text does not make sense and look back or read on to reinforce comprehension. Monitor reading comprehension by identifying word errors and self-correcting.
Independent Reading	Use criteria to choose independent reading materials (e.g., personal interest, knowledge of authors and genres or recommendations from others. Independently read books for various purposes (e.g., for enjoyment, for literary experience, to gain information or to perform a task.

Reading Applications:
Informational, Technical and Persuasive Text

Use the table of contents, glossary, captions and illustrations to identify information and to comprehend text.
Arrange events from informational text in sequential order.
List questions about essential elements from informational text (e.g., why, who, where, what, when and how) and identify answers.
Classify ideas from informational texts as main ideas or supporting details.
Identify information in diagrams, charts, graphs and maps.
Analyze a set of directions for proper sequencing.

Reading Applications:
Literary Text

Compare and contrast different versions of the same story.
Describe characters and setting.
Retell the plot of a story.
Distinguish between stories, poems, plays, fairy tales and fables.
Identify words from texts that appeal to the senses.
Identify the theme of a text.

Writing Processes

Prewriting	Generating writing ideas through discussion with others. Develop a main idea for writing. Determine a purpose and audience for writing. Use organizational strategies (e.g., brainstorming, lists, webs and Venn diagrams) to plan writing.
Drafting, Revising & Editing	Organize writing with a developed beginning, middle and end. Use a range of complete sentences, including declarative, interrogative and exclamatory. Include transitional words and phrases. Use language for writing that is different from oral language, mimicking writing style of books when appropriate. Use available technology to compose text. Reread and assess writing for clarity, using a variety of methods (e.g., writer's circle or author's chair). Add descriptive words and details and delete extraneous information. Use resources (e.g., word wall, beginner's dictionary and word bank) to select effective vocabulary. Proofread writing to improve conventions (e.g., grammar, spelling, punctuation and capitalization). Apply tools (e.g., rubric, checklist and feedback) to judge the quality of writing.
Publishing	Rewrite and illustrate writing samples for display and for sharing with others.

Writing Applications

Write stories that convey a clear message, include details, use vivid language and move through a logical sequence of steps and events.
Write responses to stories by comparing text to other texts, or to people or events in their own lives.
Write letters or invitations that include relevant information and follow letter format (e.g., date, proper salutation, body, closing and signature).
Produce informal writings (e.g., messages, journals, notes and poems) for various purposes.

Writing Conventions

Handwriting	Print legibly and space letters, words and sentences appropriately.
Spelling	Spell words with consonant blends and digraphs. Spell regularly used and high-frequency words correctly. Spell words studied (e.g., word lists, text words) correctly. Spell plurals and verb tenses correctly. Begin to use spelling patterns and rules correctly (e.g., dropping silent e before adding -ing). Use spelling strategies (e.g., word wall, word lists, thinking about the base word and affixes.)
Punctuation & Capitalization	Use periods, question marks and exclamation points as endpoints correctly. Use quotation marks. Use correct punctuation for contractions and abbreviations. Use correct capitalization (e.g., proper nouns, the first word in a sentence, months and days).
Grammar and Usage	Use nouns, verbs and adjectives correctly. Use subjects and verbs that are in agreement. Use personal pronouns. Use past and present verb tenses (e.g., "we were", rather than "we was"). Use nouns and pronouns that are in agreement.

Research

Create questions for investigations, assigned topic or personal area of interest.
Utilize appropriate searching techniques to gather information from a variety of locations (e.g., classroom, school library, public library or community resources).
Acquire information, with teacher assistance, from multiple sources (e.g., books, magazines, videotapes, CD-ROMs, Web sites) and collect data (e.g., interviews, experiments, observations or surveys) about the topic.
Identify important information and write brief notes about the information.
Sort relevant information and write brief notes about the information.
Report important finding to others.

Communication: Oral and Visual

Listening and Viewing	Use active listening strategies, such as making eye contact and asking for clarification and explanation. Compare what is heard with prior knowledge and experience. Identify the main idea of oral presentations and visual media. Follow two- and three-step oral directions.
Speaking Skills & Strategies	Demonstrate an understanding of the rules of the English language. Select language appropriate to purpose and use clear diction and tone. Adjust volume to stress important ideas.
Speaking Applications	Deliver brief informational presentations that: a. presents events or ideas in logical sequence and maintain a clear focus; b. demonstrate an understanding of the topic; c. include relevant facts and details to develop a topic; d. organize information with a clear beginning and ending; e. include diagrams, charts or illustrations as appropriate; and f. identify sources. Deliver formal and informal descriptive presentations recalling an event or personal experience that convey relevant information and descriptive details. Deliver simple dramatic presentations (e.g., recite poems, rhymes, songs and stories).

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