Language Development
Grade-two students are taught to describe how words and
phrases supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song
(RL.2.4). They come to understand the importance of word
choice. They also learn to determine the meaning of words and
phrases in informational texts (RI.2.4).
Students learn the following strategies for determining or
clarifying unknown or multiple-meaning words in the context of
grade-two texts and subject matter:
- Use sentence-level context as a clue to meaning. (L.2.4a)
- Determine the meaning of the new word formed when a
known prefix is added to a known word. (L.2.4b) - Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an
unknown word with the same root. (L.2.4c) - Use knowledge of the meaning of individual words to predict the meaning of compound words.
(L.2.4d) - Use glossaries or beginning dictionaries, both print and digital, to determine or clarify the
precise meaning of key words and phrases. (L.2.4e) - Students are provided many opportunities to use new vocabulary. (L.2.6)
As noted in the overview of the span in this chapter, it is crucial that students engage in wide
reading, continue to listen to and discuss texts read aloud, and experience excellent content
instruction and experiences that fuel language development. In short, children in grade two should
have many opportunities to attend to and use language with peers and adults. Children continue to
develop their awareness of language; they use their growing knowledge of language when writing,
speaking, reading, or listening and learn to compare formal and informal uses of English (L.2.3).
Effective Expression
With instruction and frequent meaningful practice, children
become increasingly skilled at expressing themselves through
writing and in discussions and presentations. They focus both on
the meanings of message and the form it takes, and they learn to
employ grade-level language conventions, which contribute to the
effectiveness of their expression.
Writing
The goal of writing instruction in grade two is to advance
children’s abilities to express their thoughts and knowledge
skillfully. Children continue to learn that writing is a meaningful
act, and they increasingly recognize that there are more and less
effective ways to convey meaning—and that these ways vary
depending upon their purpose and the content.
Children in grade two make progress in effectively expressing their opinions, providing information
and explanations, and sharing stories (W.2.1–3). They add more detail to their work than they did
as first graders, and they focus more on organization (W.2.4). They write in response to the content
they are learning about in science, social studies, math, the arts, and other subjects, and they write
in response to literary texts. They write in moments, such as when they compose a quickwrite or
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