Grade 2 ELA Massachusetts standards Standards

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

Knowledge of Language

Conventions of Standard English

Language

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

Comprehension and Collaboration

Speaking and Listening

Range of Writing

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

Production and Distribution of Writing

Text Types and Purposes

Writing

Fluency

Phonics and Word Recognition

Reading Standards for Foundational Skills

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

Craft and Structure

Key Ideas and Details

Reading Standards for Informational Text

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

Craft and Structure

Key Ideas and Details

Reading Standards for Literature

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking; retain and further develop language skills learned in previous grades.

Produce and expand complete simple and compound declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory sentences and choose among sentence types depending on the meaning to be conveyed.

Use adjectives and adverbs in sentences and choose between them depending on what is to be modified.

Use collective nouns and frequently occurring irregular plural nouns.

Use reflexive pronouns.

Form and use the past tense of frequently occurring irregular verbs.

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

Print upper- and lowercase letters legibly and fluently.

Capitalize holidays, product names, and geographic names.

Use commas in greetings and closings of letters.

Use an apostrophe to form contractions and frequently occurring possessives.

Generalize learned spelling patterns when writing words (e.g., cage → badge; boy → boil).

Consult reference materials, including beginning dictionaries, as needed to check and correct spellings.

Demonstrate understanding that context determines whether the writer uses a numeral or a written number (e.g., numerals in 1 + 3 = 4, but written words in "When I was one, I was just begun, / When I was two, I was still quite new" from A. A. Milne's poem "Now We Are Six").

Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.

Compare formal and informal uses of English.

Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 2 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies.

Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

Determine the meaning of the new word formed when a known prefix is added to a known word (e.g., happy/unhappy, tell/retell).

Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root (e.g., addition, additional).

Use knowledge of the meaning of individual words to predict the meaning of compound words (e.g., birdhouse, lighthouse, housefly; bookshelf, notebook, bookmark).

Use glossaries and beginning dictionaries, both print and digital, to determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases.

Recognize and use appropriately abbreviations related to grade-level content or commonly used in everyday life (e.g., a.m., p.m.)

Recognize and use appropriately symbols related to grade-level content or commonly used in everyday life (e.g., $, ¢).

Demonstrate understanding of word relationships and nuances in word meanings.

Identify real-life connections between words and their use (e.g., describe foods that are spicy or juicy).

Distinguish shades of meaning among closely related verbs (e.g., toss, throw, hurl) and closely related adjectives (e.g., thin, slender, skinny, scrawny).

Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, activities in the grade 2 curriculum, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using adjectives and adverbs to describe.

Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

Distinguish long and short vowels when reading regularly spelled one-syllable words.

Know spelling-sound correspondences for additional common vowel teams.

Decode regularly spelled two-syllable words with long vowels.

Decode words with common prefixes and suffixes.

Identify words with inconsistent but common spelling-sound correspondences.

Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.

Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.

Read grade-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.

Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.

Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

Independently and proficiently read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, mathematical, and technical texts, exhibiting complexity appropriate for at least grade 2.

Identify the main topic of a multiparagraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text.

Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, mathematical ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text.

Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area.

Know and use various text features (e.g., captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently.

Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe.

Explain how specific images (e.g., a diagram showing how a machine works) contribute to and clarify a text.

Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text.

Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic.

Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

Independently and proficiently read and comprehend literary texts representing a variety of genres, cultures, and perspectives and exhibiting complexity appropriate for at least grade 2.

Retell stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine their central message, lesson, or moral.

Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.

Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.

Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.

Explain what dialogue is and how it can reveal characters' thoughts and perspectives.

Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.

Not applicable.

Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.

Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways, listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).

Build on others' talk in conversations by linking their comments to the remarks of others.

Ask for clarification and further explanation as needed about the topics and texts under discussion.

Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to clarify comprehension, gather additional information, or deepen understanding of a topic or issue.

Tell a story, recount an experience, or explain how to solve a mathematical problem with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audibly in coherent sentences and using appropriate vocabulary.

Create audio recordings of stories or poems; add drawings or other visual displays to stories or descriptions of experiences when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification.

Write opinion pieces that introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section. In math, instead of writing opinions, students write or draw solutions to math word problems and present arguments to explain their thinking.

Write routinely for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Write informative/explanatory texts that introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.

Write narratives in prose or poem form that recount a well-elaborated event or experience, or a set of events or experiences; include details and dialogue to show actions, thoughts, and feelings; use temporal words to signal order where appropriate; and provide a sense of closure.

For poems, use words and phrases that form patterns of sounds (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, end rhymes, repeated sounds in words or lines) to create structure.

Produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

With guidance and support from adults and peers, focus on a topic and strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing.

Begins in grade 3.

Demonstrate the ability to choose and use appropriate vocabulary.

With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.

Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., read a number of books on a single topic to produce a report; record science observations).

Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

Begins in grade 4.