45 Things Your Child Should Know Before Entering Second Grade

Second grade is an important year for any child. Your child has just finished their first year in a “big school” and is now ready to continue their learning process. Second grade involves knowing more than just facts; they need to apply them as well. Second graders need to be able to think, solve problems, and know why they are solving the problems. Your child’s critical thinking skills will increase.

Here is an example checklist of what a child needs to know before starting second grade.

Reading and Reading Comprehension Skills

1. Know long and short vowels
2. Ask appropriate questions and answer questions about a text (who, what, where, when, why, and how)
3. Recall and retell events from a story
4. Compare and contrast elements in different stories (characters, settings, plot, and problems)
5. Discuss a story or topic with their classmates (ask and respond to questions)
6. Read grade-level assigned books
7. Know what point of view a story is being narrated in (first person, third person)

 Writing Skills

8. Write independently about a single topic
   
9. Write in small groups about a single topic
10. Write something that tells a story, provides information, or gives their opinion
11. Know sentences begin with a capital letter and end with a punctuation mark
12. Know proper subject-verb agreement (ex: Correct = James is a mailman. Incorrect= James are a mailman.) 

 Mathematic Skills

13. Add and subtract numbers up to 20 (10+8 or 20-8)
    
14. Understand basic rules of addition and subtraction (12+4 is the same as 4+12) 
15. Solve words problems up to two-digit numbers
16. Count to 120
17. Understand the “ones” and “tens” place
18. Tell the time to the hour and half-hour on an analog clock
19. Organize data up to three categories (ex: how many children in the class like plain, pepperoni, or sausage pizza)
20. Graph data up to three categories
21. Measure objects by length and put them in order from smallest to biggest
22. Put items into categories by size, color, or shape

 Social Studies Skills

23. Understand the reasons for laws
24. Know the state, city, and town they live in
25. Basic map skills
26. Recognize major landforms (volcanos, mountains)
27. Recognize and know historical buildings (White House, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building)
28. Recognize and know important figures in history (George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr.)
29. Know basic cultures and their traditions (Thanksgiving, Christmas)
30. Recognize important leaders (president, governor, and mayor)
31. Understand the importance of a bank and what it provides us with

 Science Skills

32. Understand things can be classified into different categories (color, shape, size, function)
33. Recognize and know that the same materials can exist in different areas (solid, gas, liquid)
34. Understand what energy is
35. Understand the Solar System
36. Use other tools to gather scientific information for an experiment 
37. Ask questions about an experiment
38. Make predictions about an experiment 

 Social Skills and Abilities 

39. Work independently 
40. Interact with peers
41. Work in a group
42. Follow directions and participate in group activities
43. Share and communicate appropriately with other students
44. Respect their peers
45. Sit for a longer period of time than in first grade (30-45 minutes)

Genie Academy offers a range of after-school educational activities for students, encompassing areas such as mathematics, reading, writing, and coding. Offered at each of our New Jersey tutoring centers near you - including at Plainsboro, Hillsborough, Marlboro, and our tutoring centers in Middlesex County, NJ: East Brunswick, South Brunswick, and South Plainfield - these programs are specifically crafted for students from Pre-Kindergarten to 8th grade.

Explore the online abacus simulator at Genie Academy to enhance your math skills with a hands-on, interactive learning tool designed for all ages. Start practicing today by visiting our online abacus tool and take your mental arithmetic to the next level!

Read the Rest of the Series!

Have multiple children in multiple grades? Read the rest of the series!

• 21 Things Your Child Should Know Before Entering Kindergarten
• 45 Things Your Child Should Know Before Entering First Grade
  
• 45 Things Your Child Should Know Before Entering Second Grade
• 43 Things Your Child Should Know Before Entering Third Grade
• 48 Things Your Child Should Know Before Entering Fourth Grade
• 49 Things Your Child Should Know Before Entering Fifth Grade

• "2nd Grade Skills Checklist: Science." LeapFrog. Web. 30 Aug. 2017
• “2nd Grade Skills Checklist: Social Studies.” LeapFrog. Web. 30 Aug. 2017.
• McCarson, Debbie. "What Skills Should a Child Have Before Entering Second Grade?" Our Everyday Life. Web. 30 Aug. 2017.
• Morin, Amanda. "Academic Skills Your Child Needs for Second Grade." 
  
• Understood.org. Web. 30 Aug. 2017.
• "What Skills Should a Child Have Before Entering Second Grade?"| Education - Seattle PI. Web. 30 Aug. 2017.
• "Model Curriculum Grade 2 Mathematics Units," New Jersey State Government, http://www.state.nj.us/education/modelcurriculum/math/2.pdf
• "Model Curriculum English Language Arts Units Student Learning Objectives," New Jersey State Government,  http://www.state.nj.us/education/modelcurriculum/ela/2.pdf