English Language Development

In grade two, children are expected to master the ability to create readable documents with
legible print (L.2.1a). They were taught how to print upper- and lowercase letters in prior years, which
included how to hold a pencil and form letters correctly. They are expected to achieve the ability to
do so effortlessly by the end grade two, if not before. With ample attention and practice, including
application in authentic writing activities, printing becomes relatively effortless. Skill with printing
(and later cursive and keyboarding) frees writers to concentrate on conveying their ideas and allows
for others to read the text they develop (Graham, and others 2012). Instruction is differentiated to
address the range of skills with printing that grade-two students demonstrate.

Children learn spelling patterns (L.2.2d) through direct instruction and through exploration and
close examination of words. A common practice that actively engages children is to have them sort
selected word cards based on a pattern or principle. For example, at the appropriate time in the
instructional sequence, the teacher works with children to learn about closed and open syllables.
The teacher writes carefully selected single-syllable words on cards for students to sort. The teacher
prompts the students to sort the cards into those with long vowel sounds and those with short vowel
sounds. Children work in pairs to pronounce each word and to place them in the appropriate column,
as in figure 4.16.

Figure 4.16. Cards Sorted by Long and Short Vowel Sounds

go

me

hi

be

I

bed

run

fan

in

hot

The teacher guides students to the understanding that generally when a vowel is followed by a
consonant in a syllable, the syllable is closed and the vowel is pronounced with its short sound. They
eventually apply this understanding to multisyllabic words, and they learn it may be helpful when
they encounter new words in a text and as they write. Later, this principle is applied when they learn
about doubling letters in word. The word apple is spelled with two p’s, although only one is heard.
The additional p serves to close the initial syllable (ap-ple), thereby signaling a short vowel sound. The
word maple, on the other hand, does not have a double p. The initial syllable is left open (ma-ple),
thus the word is pronounced with the long a sound. Children understand that there is a logic to
doubling letters. There are exceptions, but children develop an appreciation that learning to read and
write written words is not simply a matter of rote memorization. (As noted previously, students who
are deaf and hard of hearing do not have complete access to the sounds of English and therefore
learn these skills using an alternate, visual route.)

Grade 2 Chapter 4 | 325