Our Curriculum › Writing & Grammar › 2nd Grade
Writing 2
Second grade writing builds from sentences to full paragraphs, then to personal narratives, opinion pieces, informative reports, made-up stories and poems, with the grammar, punctuation and revising skills that support them. It ends with a final illustrated story and a portfolio.
180 lessons
One a day for a school year
10 units
Each opens to its lessons
6-piece writing portfolio
Plus a final illustrated story
Standards
Common Core Grade 2 writing & language
What's taught, unit by unit
Sentences and paragraphsDays 1–10
Simple and compound sentences, the joining words and, but and or, and the parts of a paragraph: topic sentence, supporting details and closing sentence, and staying on topic.
- 1 · Welcome to Second Grade Writing!
- 2 · Simple and Compound Sentences
- 3 · Conjunctions: And, But, Or
- 4 · What Is a Topic Sentence?
- 6 · Supporting Details
- 7 · Closing Sentences
- 8 · Writing a Complete Paragraph
- 9 · Staying on Topic
Plus 2 review days, not listed.
Personal narrativesDays 11–30
True stories about one small moment: setting the scene, a middle in order, an ending, feelings, sensory details, dialogue and strong verbs. Two full narratives, plus idea-gathering about learning something new, a challenge and a celebration.
- 11 · What Is a Personal Narrative?
- 12 · Choosing a Small Moment
- 13 · Writing the Beginning of Your Narrative
- 14 · Adding Feelings to Your Narrative
- 16 · Writing the Middle of Your Narrative
- 17 · Writing the Ending of Your Narrative
- 18 · Adding Sensory Details
- 19 · Putting Your Whole Narrative Together
- 21 · Writing a New Personal Narrative
- 22 · Adding Dialogue to Narratives
- 23 · Strong Verbs in Narratives
- 24 · Writing Your New Narrative
- 26 · Narratives About Learning Something New
- 27 · Narratives About Overcoming a Challenge
- 28 · Narratives About a Special Celebration
- 29 · Choosing Your Best Narrative Idea
Plus 4 review days, not listed.
Opinion and informative writingDays 31–50
Opinion paragraphs with a clear statement, strong reasons connected with because, persuasive words and a persuasive letter. Then an informative piece: choosing and researching a topic, introduction, sorting facts into categories, body paragraphs, linking words and a conclusion.
- 31 · What Is Opinion Writing?
- 32 · Writing a Strong Opinion Statement
- 33 · Giving Strong Reasons
- 34 · Using Because to Connect Reasons
- 36 · Writing a Complete Opinion Paragraph
- 37 · Persuasive Words
- 38 · Saving Your Best Reason for Last
- 39 · Writing a Persuasive Letter
- 41 · What Is Informative Writing?
- 42 · Choosing and Researching a Topic
- 43 · Writing an Introduction
- 44 · Organizing Facts into Categories
- 46 · Writing Body Paragraphs
- 47 · Using Linking Words
- 48 · Writing a Conclusion
- 49 · Putting Your Full Piece Together
Plus 4 review days, not listed.
Grammar, punctuation and revisingDays 51–80
Common and proper nouns, regular and irregular plurals, present, past (including irregular) and future verbs, adjectives, adverbs, possessive pronouns and apostrophes, commas in lists, dates and letters, quotation marks, and revising by adding details, combining sentences and choosing stronger words.
- 51 · Common and Proper Nouns
- 52 · Capitalizing Proper Nouns
- 53 · Plural Nouns: Regular
- 54 · Plural Nouns: Irregular
- 56 · Present Tense Verbs
- 57 · Past Tense Verbs
- 58 · Irregular Past Tense Verbs
- 59 · Future Tense Verbs
- 61 · Adjectives Review
- 62 · Using Exact Adjectives
- 63 · Adverbs
- 64 · Adjectives vs Adverbs
- 66 · Pronouns Review
- 67 · Possessive Pronouns
- 68 · Possessive Nouns with Apostrophes
- 69 · Using Pronouns Clearly
- 71 · Editing Review
- 72 · Commas in a List
- 73 · Commas in Dates and Letters
- 74 · Quotation Marks: What Someone Says
- 76 · Revising: Adding Details
- 77 · Revising: Combining Sentences
- 78 · Revising: Word Choice
- 79 · Peer Editing
Plus 6 review days, not listed.
Fiction, poetry and creative genresDays 81–100
A full made-up story from plan to ending, then rhyming, acrostic and free verse poems, and adventure, fantasy, mystery, funny stories, a fable with a moral, a diary entry and a comic strip.
- 81 · Planning a Fiction Story
- 82 · Writing an Exciting Beginning
- 83 · Writing the Middle: Building Tension
- 84 · Writing a Satisfying Ending
- 86 · Writing Rhyming Poetry
- 87 · Writing Acrostic Poems
- 88 · Writing Free Verse Poetry
- 89 · Choosing Vivid Words in Poetry
- 91 · Writing an Adventure Story
- 92 · Writing a Fantasy Story
- 93 · Writing a Mystery Story
- 94 · Writing a Comic Strip
- 96 · Writing a Funny Story
- 97 · Writing a Fable with a Lesson
- 98 · Writing a Diary Entry
- 99 · Choosing Your Favorite Creative Piece
Plus 4 review days, not listed.
Research reports and practical writingDays 101–110
Writing research questions, recording answers in their own words, organizing a short report and naming the source, then formal letters, emails with a subject line, numbered directions and a how-to guide.
- 101 · Asking Research Questions
- 102 · Finding and Recording Answers
- 103 · Organizing Research into a Report
- 104 · Citing Where You Learned Something
- 106 · Writing a Formal Letter
- 107 · Writing an Email
- 108 · Writing Directions Clearly
- 109 · Writing a How-To Guide
Plus 2 review days, not listed.
Portfolio, review and word studyDays 111–140
Choosing and gathering a best piece of each kind of writing into a portfolio. Then two weeks of cumulative review of sentences, grammar, punctuation, writing types and editing, and two weeks on context clues, dictionary use, shades of meaning, prefixes, suffixes, vowel teams and homophones.
- 111 · Building a Writing Portfolio
- 112 · Portfolio: A Personal Narrative I'm Proud Of
- 113 · Portfolio: An Opinion Piece I'm Proud Of
- 114 · Portfolio: An Informative Piece I'm Proud Of
- 116 · Portfolio: A Fiction Story I'm Proud Of
- 117 · Portfolio: A Poem I'm Proud Of
- 118 · Portfolio: A Practical Piece I'm Proud Of
- 119 · Organizing Your Complete Portfolio
- 121 · Cumulative Practice: Sentences and Paragraphs
- 122 · Cumulative Practice: Nouns and Verbs
- 123 · Cumulative Practice: Adjectives, Adverbs, Pronouns
- 124 · Cumulative Practice: Punctuation
- 126 · Cumulative Practice: Writing Types
- 127 · Cumulative Practice: Editing and Revising
- 128 · Cumulative Practice: Creative Writing
- 129 · Cumulative Practice: Practical Writing
- 131 · Context Clues: Figuring Out Unknown Words
- 132 · Using a Dictionary
- 133 · Shades of Meaning: Similar but Different
- 134 · Prefixes and Suffixes
- 136 · Spelling Patterns: Long Vowel Teams
- 137 · Spelling Patterns: Plurals with -s and -es
- 138 · Compound Words Review
- 139 · Homophones Practice
Plus 6 review days, not listed.
Writing games and looking aheadDays 141–150
Mostly light days: story chain, a fill-in-the-blank story game, a writing hunt around the house, teaching a skill to someone, a trivia challenge, a look ahead to third grade and a look back at the year's growth.
- 141 · Writing Games: Story Chain
- 142 · Writing Games: Mad Libs Style
- 143 · Writing Around the House Project
- 144 · Teach Someone a Writing Skill
- 146 · Looking Ahead to Third Grade Writing
- 147 · Writing Trivia Challenge
- 148 · Writing Around the World
- 149 · My Writing Journey
Plus 2 review days, not listed.
Final story projectDays 151–160
One story written from start to finish: plan, beginning, middle with dialogue, ending, editing and revising, illustrating, a cover page, reading aloud with expression and sharing it with family.
- 151 · Final Story Project: Planning
- 152 · Final Story Project: The Beginning
- 153 · Final Story Project: The Middle
- 154 · Final Story Project: The Ending
- 155 · Final Story Project: Editing and Revising
- 156 · Illustrating Your Story
- 157 · Making a Cover Page
- 158 · Practicing Reading Your Story Aloud
- 159 · Author Celebration: Sharing Your Story
Plus 1 review day, not listed.
Reflection, final portfolio and celebrationDays 161–180
Reflective pieces (favorite memory, thank-you letter, advice and goals), award certificates, a letter to their future self, trivia, and a final portfolio with an introduction and reflections. Much of this stretch is celebration and review.
- 161 · Writing About Your Favorite Memory of the Year
- 162 · Writing a Thank You Letter
- 163 · Advice for Next Year's Writer
- 164 · Writing Goals for Next Year
- 166 · Writing Superstar Awards
- 167 · A Letter to Your Future Self
- 168 · Writing Trivia: Final Round
- 169 · Celebrating Every Piece You've Written
- 171 · Final Portfolio Review: Planning
- 172 · Final Portfolio Review: Writing an Introduction
- 173 · Final Portfolio Review: Adding Reflections
- 174 · Final Portfolio Review: Final Touches
- 175 · Portfolio Celebration Day: Sharing Your Full Collection
- 176 · Fun Writing Facts Day
- 177 · Writing Around the House: Final Hunt
- 178 · Looking Ahead: My Writing Future
- 179 · Writing Superstar Awards: Final Edition
- 180 · Writing 2 Celebration: You Did It!
Plus 2 review days, not listed.
By the end of the year, your child can
- Write a paragraph with a topic sentence, supporting details and a closing sentence
- Write a true story about one small moment with feelings, dialogue and sensory details
- Write an opinion piece with reasons and an informative piece with an introduction and conclusion
- Use nouns, verbs in different tenses, adjectives, adverbs and pronouns correctly
- Use commas in lists, dates and letters, and quotation marks around speech
- Revise their writing by adding details, combining sentences and choosing stronger words
Other 2nd Grade subjects: Math 2 · Reading 2 · Science 2 · History 2