Second Grade Reading Tips
Welcome to our Second Grade Reading Resource page. We are so happy you are here. In your child's second grade year, reading is becoming ever more present and vital. To prepare your child for their future and next years Third Grade Reading Guarantee, we encourage active engagement in literacy skills at home.
Happy Reading,
The Second Grade Team
An Introduction to Reading Development
For most children, reading is not a skill that comes naturally. It must be explicitly and systematically taught. Current research shows there are five "pillars" to early literacy development. Below, you will find a helpful infographic and link that goes over the five pillars.
Pillar One: Phonemic Awareness
Our first pillar of literacy is a skill called phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear and manipulate the sounds in words. In order to become a strong reader and writer, children must first be able to hear the sounds in words. Below is a quick one minute video describing phonemic awareness and short exercises.
One-Minute Drills
These one-minute drills are a great way to help your child manipulate the sounds in words. Please review the video below to get a better understanding of how to complete this activity.
One Minute Drill page(s):
Scan_James Hof_202303270730.pdfWeekly Heggerty Videos
Heggerty's is a phonemic awareness curriculum your child uses everyday at school. Every week, there will be new videos posted here for your child to complete.
Lesson One:
Lesson Two:
Pillar Two: Phonics
Phonics is the key to decoding new words. Phonics instruction is to help children learn the alphabetic principle — the idea that letters represent the sounds of spoken language — and that there is an organized, logical, and predictable relationship between written letters and spoken sounds.
Articles Reviewing Phonics
Phonics Activities at Home
Read your child's weekly word sheets everyday
Write sounds at home in sand or sugar
Write a letter to a family member or friend
Making words activities
Make a grocery list to shop with
Pillar Three: Fluency
After students have basic phonics decoding skills, it is important for them to gain fluency. In the second grade, fluency becomes the number one predictor of future reading success. Fluency is defined as the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression. In order to understand what is being read, students must be able to read fluenlty.
Articles Reviewing Fluency
Fluency Activities at Home
ReadWorks: Set up an account for your family and you will be able to access plenty of grade level passages.
Read stories at home with modeling. Model a page of fluent reading for your child, then have them read it after. If they mispronounce a word, stop them and correct. They must then return to the beginning of that sentence.
Have your child read for 15 minutes daily. It is reccommended to break this time up throughout the day.
Pillars Four and Five: Vocabulary and Comprehension
The final two pillars deal with comprehension. Comprehension is the ultimate goal of reading. Students must use all their other pillars to comprehend what is being read. Comprehension can increase a love of reading that hooks and engages your child into a great book.
Articles Reviewing Comprehension
Decodable Texts and Grade Level Passages
As your emergent reader starts to develop more skills, they will dive head first into books. However, picking the right book can be challenging. During the beginning of second grade, decodable texts are a great place to start. Students can practice previously learned phonics concepts and put them into action. As they progress, they may want to read chapter books and picture books. Below is a list of texts that can guide you and your reader.
Beginning of the Year:
EPIC Books (an online catalog of different texts)
Middle of the Year:
End of Year
DIBELS
DIBELS (The Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) is an assessment that your child takes three times a year (Beginning, Middle and End). DIBELS provides insightful feedback into how your child has developed as a reader. Please look over the following information below. If you have any questions over DIBELS, please reach out to your child's teacher.
dibelsparentguide.pdf