Second Grade - ELA
1: Community
Unit 1: Communities Around the World
Lesson 12
Rules and Laws
Students practice spelling a prescribed list of words (rule, law, house, change, flag, city) by writing each word three times and discussing definitions. Students read sentences and choose the correct word from the word box to complete each sentence, and they decide whether to add an "s" to make plurals. Students label words with or without an added plural "s," demonstrating application of that specific spelling pattern.
Unit 3: Plants and Animals
Lesson 1
Living and Nonliving
Students write the names of objects on the scavenger hunt chart and answer questions about each object, providing practice in spelling words. Students draw items and write their names and three descriptive words or phrases on the Describing Attributes pages, producing multiple opportunities to write varied vocabulary. Students dictate and/or compose a story about a magic stone and can write or have written journal entries, letters, or response logs as suggested in the Skills list.
Lesson 10
Life Cycles
Students are asked to write the name of each life-cycle stage inside boxes and number pictures (Option 1), which requires spelling stage words such as tadpole, chrysalis, and butterfly. In the Diamante Poem activity, students must produce 3 action words ending in -ing and other descriptive words, requiring them to form and write present-participial spellings. The Life Cycle Logic page asks students to write answers matching animals to life spans, providing additional opportunities to spell animal names and related vocabulary.
2: Matter and Movement
Unit 3: Balance and Motion
Lesson 6
Friction
The lesson explicitly lists the language skill "Use -s, -es, -ed, and -ing correctly (LA)." In Activity 3 (Science Sentences) students circle the verb form that works best in sentences (choices include -s, -ed, -ing forms) and identify singular vs. plural nouns by circling noun endings (-s, -es). The student activity pages require students to apply these suffix patterns in context when choosing correct verb and noun forms.
4: Relationships
Unit 2: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
Lesson 7
Figurative Language
The lesson explicitly teaches students how to form regular plurals by adding "-s" and "-es" and provides examples (dog -> dogs, box -> boxes). It also presents irregular plural forms (man -> men, child -> children, fish -> fish) and asks students to write plural forms on an activity page and use plural forms of woman and deer in their own sentences. The activity requires students to fill in plural nouns in sentences and to produce sentences using plural forms.
6: Reading
Unit 1: Semester 1
Lesson 1
Word Families and Long Vowel Review
Students practice word families by writing multiple words that share rimes (e.g., at, ap, an, ab, ag, ad, am) and use lowercase letter cards to spell and read those words aloud. In the Short-to-Long and Word Pairs activities students add a silent e to short-vowel words and write the resulting long-vowel words (e.g., mad → made; can → cane; hat → hate). In Word Chains and Word Building activities students change initial or final letters with letter cards to form new words and spell long-vowel words (cake, bike, home, late, rope, vine, mule).
Lesson 2
Vowel Teams Review
Students sort, color, and write words by vowel-team (e.g., Long a Spellings: silent e, ai, ay, ea) and place words into columns for long i, e, o, and u based on spelling patterns. Students cut out word cards and glue them into category plates or columns (Plate #1/2/3, word sorts) to show which vowel-team spelling applies. Students complete Fill in the Blanks using the listed vowel teams to spell pictured words and use lowercase letter/word-building cards and a word scramble to assemble and write long-vowel words when prompted.
Lesson 3
Complex Consonants Review
Students spell and read words using letter and word-building cards in Activity 2.1 and Group spelling tasks (e.g., spelling twig, twin, twist, swim, swish, fish) where they assemble digraphs/blends to build words. In Activity 3.2 (Magic Hat) students create and write at least 12 words from a supplied set of letters, blends, and digraphs, and then read the words they created. In Activity 2.2 and the "Ending with ng" pages students sort, cut, and glue words into rhyming groups based on the -ng pattern, and in Activity 3.1 students identify, underline, color-code, and apply hard/soft c and g patterns in a running story.
Lesson 4
R-Controlled Vowels Review
Students use lowercase letter cards to change letters and spell new words (e.g., spell "stag," replace g with r to make "star"; spell "part," then replace the beginning sound to make cart, start, chart, etc.). They write and spell multiple sets of r-controlled words (ar, er, ir, or, ur) aloud and on a laminated writing sheet and complete writing tasks (Write the Bossy R Word; Bossy R Words columns). Students sort and write words by r-controlled vowel pattern (writing words into ar/er/ir/or/ur columns) and find/write listed bossy-R words in word searches and sentence activities.
Lesson 5
More R-Controlled Vowels
Students sort many r-controlled vowel words into spelling-based groups (ar/are/air; er/ear/eer; ir/ire; or/ore/oar/our; ur/ure/ur-e) and then write or glue those words into labeled columns, practicing the mapping from sound to spelling. Students use lowercase letter cards to spell called-out words and then read each word aloud, practicing application of patterns in spelling. Students build two-syllable words from word parts and are prompted to "use what you know about the Bossy R" when creating words, and they are asked to note positional patterns (for example, that -ire typically occurs at the end of a word).
Lesson 6
Other Vowel Sounds
Students sort and write words into oi/oy and ou/ow columns (Activity 1.2 and Activity 2.2), explicitly identifying which vowel-team spells the target sound. Students use letter cards to spell words called aloud and are prompted to choose aw versus au based on where the vowel sound falls in the word (Activity 2.1 and Day 4 word building). Students complete word-building, word-scramble, and cut-and-paste sorting activities that require them to write words using the specific vowel-team spellings (Activities 3.1, 4.2, and multiple Student Activity Pages).
Lesson 7
More Long Vowel Spellings
Students read words with multiple long-vowel spellings and are asked to underline or point out the letters making the target sounds (Activity 1.2). Students sort and group cut-out words by the letter combinations that make the long a, long e, and long i sounds and then reread and explain their groups (Activities 1.2, 2.1, 4.1). Students spell words aloud and with lowercase letter cards in Word Building (Activity 3.2) and copy or write words into columns based on vowel patterns (Activity 3.1, Activity 5.1). Students are prompted to name additional words that fit each pattern and choose correct spellings from alternatives (Activities 4.1, 5.1).
Lesson 8
Vowel Sounds Review
Students sort and label words by long-vowel spelling patterns in Activity 1.1 and Word Hunt activities, placing cards or writing words into vowel columns. Students spell target words using letter cards in Word Building (e.g., tune, mute, flute; group; few, blew) and complete Fill in the Blanks by inserting specific letter combinations to form words. Students are asked in Word Scramble and What Can I Make? to use their knowledge of vowel spellings to create words from given letters, and are explicitly encouraged to "use what she knows about vowel sound spellings".
Lesson 9
Complex Consonants: dge vs. ge
Students are taught the rule that dge follows a short vowel and ge follows long vowels, r-controlled vowels, or a consonant, and they are asked to state that rule aloud (Day 1 introduction and Day 4 review). Students sort and categorize words into dge/ge and into long-vowel, short-vowel, and r-controlled groups, then highlight the dge letter sequence to notice the pattern (Day 2 sorting and highlighting activity). Students write words into dge and ge groups, complete a crossword and writing pages, and generate words using alphabet blocks (Day 3 writing, Day 5 crossword, Day 4 alphabet blocks), which requires them to apply the dge/ge spelling pattern in their own writing.
Lesson 10
Complex Consonants: tch vs. ch, ck vs. k
Students sort and write words into tch vs. ch columns and discuss the preceding vowel sounds (Activity 1.2). They use lowercase letter cards to spell target words with the /ch/ sound and point to correct endings (Activity 2.1), and they complete tasks that require writing the correct final spellings ck, ke, or k (Activity 3.1, 3.2). Students also fill in blanks and write words for pictures (Activity 4.2, Day 5 Spelling Pictures) and are asked to state the rules and produce multiple examples (Wrapping Up).
Lesson 11
Final e: ce, ve, ze, se
Students sort and categorize words by their endings (ce, ve, ze, se) and by subgroups (vowel+ce, nce, rce), verbally identifying what comes before each ending. Students read, write, and copy words that use these final-e patterns (for example, writing cave, dive, cove and the ce word lists) and circle or highlight words in a word search and reading passage to show recognition of those patterns. Students sort words into groups based on whether the final e makes the vowel long or does not (Group 1 vs Group 2 for ze words) and place words in /s/ versus /z/ columns for se. Students complete a "Choose the Correct Spelling" task and write picture labels, practicing orthography tied to the targeted endings.
Lesson 12
Homophones
Students sort long-a homophone word lists into spelling-pattern groups (ai, a-e, ay, ei, ea) and are asked to identify which letters make the long a sound (Day 2, Activity 2.1). Students read and write homophone pairs in multiple activities (Homophone Writing, Homophone Sentences, To/Two/Too exercises, Day 5 laminated writing) and fill in blanks with the correct spelled word in context. Students also draw or match words to pictures to show meaning, reinforcing the link between spelling patterns and word meanings.
Lesson 13
Making Plurals
Students sort words into groups that require adding s versus es (Activity 2.1) and read and identify the singular forms of plural words. They explain the rule for adding es for words ending in ch, sh, s, or x (Activity 2.2 and Day 3) and write plural forms repeatedly (Building Plurals die game, Writing Plurals page). Students also glue examples into a 'Plurals with es' page and complete a word search and writing activities that require applying the s/es pattern to new words.
Lesson 14
Uncommon Plurals
Students sort word cards into groups that require adding s or adding es and say the plural forms aloud, showing application of plural spelling patterns. Students examine pairs like fry/fries and key/keys, highlight the letter before the y, and then change y to i and add es or just add s when writing plurals. Students cut, match, and glue singular/plural pairs for words ending in f or fe (leaf/leaves, knife/knives) and write plural forms on worksheets (Fill in the Blanks, Write the Plural). Students complete memory and matching activities that require reading and producing plural spellings across multiple examples.
Lesson 15
Words Ending with ed and ing
Students sort and match base words with their ing forms in Activity 2.2, using columns labeled Drop E, Double, and No Change and placing words like making, jogging, and kicking accordingly. In Activity 3.1 and 4.1 they sort ed words into columns (drop e, double final consonant, change y to i, no change) and read and write examples such as waved, dropped, spied, and waited. In Activity 2.1 and the "Adding ing and ed" page students identify base words, write the correct new word form (e.g., wrapping→wrap, shaking, cleaned), and complete sentences using the correct ing or ed forms.
Lesson 16
Words Ending with er and est
Students sort and match base adjectives with their comparative (-er) and superlative (-est) forms in multiple activities (Sorting er Words, Sorting est Words) and place words into columns labeled "just add -er/est," "drop e, add -er/est," and "double last letter, add -er/est." Students write transformed forms directly (e.g., drier, shier, fuzzier; sillier, easiest, noisiest, dirtier) on the laminated writing sheet and complete a Missing Words chart filling in base/er/est forms. Students are asked to read the words aloud, explain how endings are added, and apply rules when completing fill-in-the-blank sentences and glued sorting pages.
Lesson 17
Semester Review
Students repeatedly build and write words from letter parts in Build-a-Word (e.g., combining initial consonants, vowels, and endings like dge/tch to produce badge, fudge, match, etc.). Students generate and spell long-vowel words from given letters in Magic Hat, writing at least 12 words (e.g., eight, sleigh, light, weigh) that apply vowel-team patterns. Students also form and write plurals and suffix forms (er/est) and complete word-formation tasks (two-syllable compounds, pr+an+ce → prance) that require applying known spelling patterns to produce new words.
Unit 2: Semester 2
Lesson 1
Compound Words
Students identify and form compound words by cutting, matching, and writing the two component words (e.g., gold + fish → goldfish; wall + paper → wallpaper). Students practice writing resulting compound words after matching picture parts and are asked to generate compound words that begin or end with given morphemes (some-, -self, out-). Students are shown a spelling change rule when combining words: they are asked to note that where + ever becomes wherever with the silent e dropped. Students also read and decode words while attending to vowel teams and syllable structure, which supports recognizing spelling-sound correspondences.
Lesson 2
The Six Syllable Types
Students read, write, and sort words by syllable type (open, closed, silent e, vowel team, r-controlled, consonant+le) and mark the relevant letter patterns (e.g., underlining vowel teams in mail, voice, meet; highlighting final "-le" in marble, little, cable). Students divide multisyllabic words into syllables (e.g., pap|er vs. pa|per, mem|ber, lem|on) and read words aloud after marking the pattern that controls the vowel sound. Students also copy and write theme words (goldfish, lizard), place words into category circles by vowel team, and label animals using the book for spelling support.
Lesson 3
Open and Closed Syllables
Students practice chunking and spelling by underlining vowels, dividing words with the Tiger/Camel/Rabbit rules, and reading the divided words aloud (e.g., activities where they split robot, paper, camel, river, bonus). Students build and write two-syllable words by combining printed syllable parts in the "Building Words" activity and then write the resulting words next to pictures (basket, cactus, magnet, etc.). Students also write words into sentences in the "Tiger/Camel Fill in the Blanks" activity and use spelling-sound correspondences for vowel teams as listed in the lesson skills.
Lesson 4
Syllables with R-Controlled Vowels
Students select and write the correct r-controlled vowel combination on the "Complete the Spelling" page, circling the correct pattern and then writing the whole word. Students sort and group cut-out words by their vowel+ r pattern (ar, er, ir, or, ur) and glue them into categories, showing they apply patterns across multiple words. Students write short sentences that must include a two-syllable word containing an r-controlled vowel and are instructed to ensure correct spelling for those r-controlled words.
Lesson 5
Two-Syllable Words Ending in y
Students underline vowels and the final y and divide two-syllable words (Activity 1.2, Student Activity Page), and they change words ending in consonant + y to plural and suffixed forms (e.g., puppy → puppies; body → bodies; hurry → hurried; rainy → rainier; muddy → muddiest). Students sort word cards into Rabbit/Tiger columns by syllable pattern and then divide and read the sorted words (Activity 2.2). Students complete spelling fill-ins and spelling pages that require them to decide whether to double a consonant or keep a single consonant based on vowel length (Day 5 Spelling Puppy Words and fu___y activities), and they produce comparative/inflected forms (droopier, cozied, yummiest).
Lesson 6
Possessives
Students practice phonics skills that support pattern generalization: they distinguish long and short vowels, learn spelling-sound correspondences for common vowel teams, and decode regularly spelled one- and two-syllable words (e.g., activities like sounding out "be | tween" and decoding theme and sight words). Students also copy and write sight words and other provided words (Word Writing, Word Hunt) and complete word-building fill-in-the-blank tasks using a word bank (Word Building with Possessives).
Lesson 8
Two-Syllable Words with Silent e
Students learn that a final e often makes the vowel say its name and changes c and g (examples: kite, note, peace, cage) and practice identifying which syllable contains the silent e by underlining vowels and dividing words (remote, lifeboat, careful). Students sort and glue words into columns for silent-e-in-first-syllable versus silent-e-in-second-syllable and complete a cut-and-sort activity (bracelet, pavement, tadpole, invite, etc.). Students build and write words by combining word parts that each contain a silent e (parade, locate, reptile, pancake, costume, trombone, divide, mistake) and write sentences using chosen words.
Lesson 9
Vowel Teams
Students read, underline, and highlight vowel teams in words (e.g., underlining ai in explain and igh in light) and sort words into boxes by the vowel-team sound (long a, e, i, o, u). They use the Weasel and Lion rules to divide multisyllabic words and to decode unfamiliar words, cut and glue word cards, and fill blanks in sentences using words from the vowel-team lists. Students also write sight words repeatedly (Sight Word Rainbow), record weather words on a chart, and write short responses on pages such as "Just Around the Corner."
Lesson 10
Consonant Teams
Students mark vowel teams and consonant teams (underlining vowels/vowel teams and drawing a line over blends/digraphs) and split words into syllables (e.g., pan/ther, pump|kin, lob|ster, dol|phin). They complete the Panther Rule activity page and the Syllable Division Review where they divide words, name which rule they used, and read the words aloud. Students also write seasonal and holiday names, fill in Panther Word Sentences, and sort words by the Rabbit or Panther rules, showing attention to common spelling-sound correspondences and consonant team patterns.
Lesson 11
Consonant + le Syllables
Students practice the consonant+le pattern by using the Turtle Rule to divide words (e.g., tur|tle, ap|ple) and by sorting cut-out words into columns by their consonant+le endings (ble, kle, dle, fle, gle, ple, tle, zle). Students apply the doubling/not-doubling rule by comparing words like jug|gle versus ca|ble and by completing the "Double or Not?" worksheet where they circle correct spellings (bubble vs buble, puzzle vs puzzel, kettle vs kettel). Students write five sentences using words from the le-sorting pages and are asked to spell consonant+le words aloud or in writing in the wrapping-up spelling challenge.
Lesson 12
Suffixes
Students are taught explicit spelling rules for adding suffixes: dropping a final silent e before vowel-beginning suffixes (lovable, surprising), doubling a final consonant when adding a vowel-beginning suffix to a stressed syllable (chatted, regrettable), and changing final y to i before adding a suffix (beautiful, snobbier). Students are asked to spell and write target words that apply those rules (loving, spied, chatted, lovable, chatty, beautiful) and to add endings or suffixes to a provided list of base words, reading the resulting forms aloud. Multiple student activity pages require students to add suffixes to words, choose correct meanings, and produce new word forms, giving repeated practice generalizing the taught spelling patterns.
Lesson 13
Prefixes
Students cut out base-word and prefix cards, add prefixes to bases, and read the new words aloud (Activity 1.2). Students write prefixed examples such as "precut" and "recharge," choose prefixes to form new words and write the meanings (Activity 4.3), and complete a prefix/base/suffix chart by splitting words apart (Activity 5.2). Students also practice covering and uncovering affixes (e.g., cover "re" in "remember" or "ing" in "evening") to read base forms (Activity 1.3).
Lesson 14
Words Starting with q or a
Students sort and categorize words that contain qu by the vowel sound the syllable with qu makes (cutting out words and placing them into sound-based columns). Students read, pronounce, and copy qu- and a-initial words (e.g., writing "quickly," copying days of the week, and filling blanks in sentences with words from a word box). Students are asked to notice and discuss the pattern that q is almost always followed by u and that qu can change the short a sound to a short o (pronouncing word pairs like batting/squatting, babble/squabble, reality/quality).
Lesson 15
Semester Review
Students practice and apply spelling patterns in multiple activities: Activity 2.3 (Spelling Review) requires students to decide when to double the medial consonant in Puppy/Turtle words (write bubble vs. baby) and to choose correct spellings from pairs. Activity 4.3 (Prefix and Suffix Review) has students build words with prefixes and suffixes and explicitly apply spelling-change rules (drop final e, change y to i) when writing those words. Activity 2.2 and 5.2 have students sort and read words by vowel-team patterns (long e spelled ea/ee/ey/ie/ei and other vowel teams) and Activity 5.3 asks students to write sentences using qu and a words, reinforcing correct spellings in their own writing.
Final Project
Write Your Own Story
Students read and review sight-word cards and theme-word lists, practicing words they have struggled with. Students record selected theme and sight words on a Story Idea page and are required to incorporate four theme words and four sight words into their written story, crossing them off as they use them. Students receive guided editing support on Day 4 to correct spelling and grammar in their draft notecards before producing a final copy.