Our Second Grade Homeschool Curriculum

I began homeschooling my oldest daughter in the fall of 2014. I started homeschool preschool with her when she was 2.5 years old. After two years of preschool work, she started kindergarten in September when she was 4.5 years old. She completed all her kindergarten level work in May, so I graduated her to first grade when she was 5.5 years old. When she had finished all her first grade work, I moved her onto second grade. If you are interested in any of the materials, easily find copies on Amazon via my affiliate links.

Originally published on September 16, 2018. Updated on July 21, 2021.

Reading

My daughter completed the first level of the McGraw-Hill Reading series, so I moved her on to the second level (Book 1, Book 2). Each lesson begins with a poem for the child to read and then a read-together section on the author and/or illustrator of the subsequent reading. At the end of the reading are questions for the child to answer and some additional activities. The reading become a little more difficult with each lesson and book. I also purchased the accompanying practice book for additional practice.

  After completing the Grade 1 workbook during her first grade lessons, my daughter moved on to Reading Skills: Grade 2. The 128-page workbook contains six units, each of which focus on a specific reading skill such as facts, sequence, context, main idea, conclusion, and inference. Each lesson contains a reading passage followed by questions and activities that help students gain essential reading comprehension skills. Each unit ends with a writing roundup. My daughter enjoyed the different reading activities offered by the color workbook.

For additional reading comprehension practice, I included Reading Comprehension, Grade 2: Gold Star Edition (Home Workbooks) in our reading lessons. The 60-page workbook reinforces reading skills through short reading passages and a variety of questions and activities. My daughter likes the short practice activities, which she finds to be a nice break from her longer and more intensive reading work. The activities are different from the ones found in her other reading books, which adds variety to our reading curriculum.

Although I do not necessarily specifically seek Common Core materials, I chose Common Core Connections Language Arts, Grade 2 as a supplement to our reading lessons. The 96-page workbook provides focused practice pages on language arts topics such as reading literature, reading informational text, writing, and other related topics and skills. I use the consumable workbook as a bridge between reading and writing lessons. I especially like the “I can” statements at the bottom of each page, which help the student reflect on the lesson learned. My daughter completed two pages at a time.

I also used Read and Understand Poetry, Grades 2-3 to focus on reading and understanding poetry. The workbook contains 27 poems with activity pages.

Grammar

Because of the many errors and problems in the grammar books for second grade currently available, I wrote my own second grade grammar workbook for my second and third children. A Form-Function English Grammar: Level 2 is the second workbook in the elementary series that builds up to AA Form-Function Description of the Grammar of the Modern English Language, a textbook and workbook that provides a descriptive grammar that strives to provide an objective description of English as used without value judgements.

The goal of Level 2 is to reinforce the word classes (parts of speech, grammatical forms) of English taught in Level 1. Level 2 includes nouns, determiners, pronouns, verbs, modal verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, coordinating conjunctions, correlative conjunctions, and interjections. Level 2 introduces additional determiners and pronouns. Level 2 also reinforces noun phrases, subjects, and predicates. Level 2 also introduces the progressive aspect of verbs, prepositional phrases, verb phrases, negation, and the do-operator.

Level 2 is recommended for ages 6 to 7 in first grade through second grade.

The answers to all the activities are located at the end of the workbook.

Writing

To continue more formal writing lesson, I chose The Grammar & Writing Book: Grade 2. The 266-page grammar and writing book that expands on the information learned in the first grade edition includes grammar instruction and practice, writing craft and models, and writing and grammar test preparation. The 30 lessons cover a variety of grammar and writing topics appropriate for second grade students including sentences, word order, parts of speech, punctuation, and paragraphs. The consumable textbook includes plenty of practice activities to reinforce learning. I also purchased Grammar and Writing Practice Book: Grade 2 as a supplement to the textbook. The 183-page workbook provides additional writing and grammar practice similar to the lessons in the textbook. The additional worksheets allow my daughter to cement the writing concepts and grammar rules in her mind through extra practice activities.

 In addition to the writing and grammar textbook and workbook, I also included Grammar and Punctuation, Grade 2 in our writing lessons as supplement practice on important grammar and punctuation rules. The black-and-white workbook covers 25 grammatical and punctuation topics including sentences, parts of speech, contractions, punctuation, and possessives that build on the topics learned in the first grade edition. Each section includes four pages of instruction and activities for a total of 25 instructional pages and 75 practice pages. The variety of activities keep my second grader engaged. I use the workbook as extra practice for concepts covered in the Grammar and Writing textbook and workbook.

I also included Weekly Real-World Writing, Grades 1-2 to help my children explore real-world purposes for writing with activities that demonstrate thoughtful and effective writing strategies starting with my second child.

I am also continuing lessons on handwriting within our writing lessons. My daughter continues to learn cursive writing using the second half of The Brainy Book of Handwriting as well as Cursive Writing (Practice Makes Perfect), Learning to Write Cursive, and Cursive Writing. I also created my own handwriting worksheets with the Startwrite program.

  I additionally included the All About Sensational Me Journal from Lakeshore Learning to encourage my children to begin writing on their own.

Spelling

Rather than using word lists for spelling, I continued with word study using Structured Word Inquiry in first grade. Each week my child and I chose a base word or two to study. I am also using the InSight Words (Volume 1, Volume 2, Supplement, and Inflections) from Linguist-Educator Exchange.

For my second child, I created the Teach a Student to Spell: Level 2 workbook for spelling lessons. Teach a Student to Spell: Level 2 is the second follow-up workbook to the Teach a Student to Read reading program, which strives to teach students accurate and complete information about the English spelling system. Level 2 consists of 36 spelling lists of 16 words each. The spelling lists are based on the most common words in English and various sight word lists. The first goal of Level 2 is to teach more spellings of the most common English words and common English bases. Each list reinforces the graphemes taught in Teach a Student to Read. Some complex words are also introduced. Related words are noted. The second goal of Level 2 is to teach common English suffixes and spelling rules. Words from Level 1 sometimes appear in Level 2 to reinforce spelling rules with suffixes. Level 2 introduces word sums.

Math

For first grade math lessons, I have been using Singapore Math Level 2 (US Edition) including the Home Instructor’s Guide (2A, 2B). The two textbooks in Level 2 teach mathematical concepts, and the workbooks provide additional independent practice. The US Edition has been minimally modified from the original Singapore edition to teach American money and include American English spellings. The textbooks follow a unique pattern of moving from hands-on demonstrations to picture drawings (concrete examples with pictures) and finally to the abstract (numbers and symbols) in a natural, easy-to-understand progression. The program aims to teach children to learn to think mathematically rather than just being able to solve math problems.

 In addition to the Singapore Math textbooks and workbooks, I am using a few other workbooks to supplement math lessons, specifically within the areas of time and money.

I also used the 2nd Grade Math at Khan Academy. Khan Academy strives to provide a free education to all students throughout the world. I love that Khan Academy is free. My son enjoyed learning to use the computer while working on his math skills.

My daughter began learning about time and money during her kindergarten lessons, so I have included Brainy Book of Time and Money in her second grade curriculum for continued practice on the topics. The 256-page full-color workbook contains practice pages, entertaining puzzles and games, and engaging word problems that help students sharpen math skills within the topics of time and money. My daughter completes a couple of pages within each section a few times a day to help her maintain and improve her time and money knowledge.

To practice using money, I picked up Counting Money (Grade 2) from Spectrum in our second grade curriculum. The 95-page color workbook includes activities on counting coins and bills, skip-counting, adding and subtracting money, making change, and money word problems. The lessons and activities become progressively more difficult. My daughter completed a page or two at a time. I appreciate the answer key in the back of the workbook.

For more practical practice, I included Time, Money, and Measurement as part of our second grade curriculum. Recommend for first and second grade, the 128-page black-and-white workbook includes over 100 high-interest well-paced activities gradually become more difficult as students progress. The workbook offers 34 time activities, 36 money activities, and 34 measurement activities. My daughter enjoyed keeping up with her practical math skills using the various pages. I appreciate the answer sheets in the back of the workbook.

Another book that I included in our second grade curriculum for extra practice on practical skills was Time, Money, & Fractions. Recommend for first and second grade, the 32-page full-color workbook offers detailed instructions and clear examples on time, money, and fractions. My daughter enjoy the different activities not available in her other workbooks, which helped break up the monotony of math lessons. I appreciate the answer sheets in the back of the workbook.

Science

For science lessons, my daughter and I used the textbook Harcourt Science: Grade 2 and the accompanying workbook. The 592-page textbook contains six units that cover the topics of plants and animals, environments, Earth science, weather and space, matter, and energy. Each unit is broken down into smaller chapters and lessons. I especially like the questions at the end of each lesson, which allow my daughter to reflect on the information learned. The 184-page consumable workbook reinforces the information from each lesson through vocabulary sheets, quick study guides, and writing practice. I also added the 136-page consumable lab manual to our science lessons to allow my daughter to work more on investigative scientific inquiry on her own.

  Social Studies

After finishing the grade 1 social studies textbook and workbook, my daughter moved on to the Macmillan/McGraw-Hill We Live Together Grade 2 textbook and the accompanying workbook. The 295-page hardback book covers various social studies topics such as community, geography, citizenship, and history. The text is easy enough for my daughter to read on her own but engaging enough to keep her attention and provide adequate information on each topic. The accompanying 72-page workbook is essential for reinforcing the lessons in the textbook and covers vocabulary, writing, and other activities.

 In addition to the textbook and workbook, I also used the workbook DK Workbooks: Geography, Second Grade to supplement our social studies lessons. The 60-page workbook topics include map reading, compass directions, continents, countries and states, borders, bodies of water, and more. Although not important to me, the workbook supports the Common Core State Standards. The workbook builds on the skills learned with in the first grade level edition. My only complaint it that, like all DK Workbooks, the pages are glossy and difficult to write on. I thus ended up copying the glossy pages onto regular paper so that my daughter could use a pencil, marker, or crayon to complete the activities.

After completing the Ancient Civilizations activity book during her first grade lessons, my daughter and I moved on to History Pockets: Native Americans, Grades 1-3. The activity book covers the Inuit of the Arctic, the Tlingit of the Northwest, the Nez Perce of the Plateau, the Maidu of California, the Sioux of the Plains, the Navajo of the Southwest, the Iroquois of the Northeast, and the Seminole of the Southeast. Each reproducible section contains three dictionary words and pictures, shelter stamps, information booklet complete with illustrations, arts and crafts projects, and writing activities. My daughter and I again completed each section over one or two days with a culminating portfolio to show her study of Native Americans.

 

Health/Life Skills

For health lessons, I my daughter has continued using the textbook Harcourt Health & Fitness: Grade 2 and the accompanying workbook that she started at the end of her first level lessons. The 296-page hardback book covers health topics including your growing body, caring for your body, caring for your teeth, food for fitness, keeping fit and active, avoiding danger, staying safe, staying well, medicines and drugs, your feelings, your family, and caring for your neighborhood. The accompanying workbook provides practice that reinforces the information from each lesson. Most of the worksheet pages cover two or three lessons per page.

 In addition to the textbook and workbook, I also included the activity How Your Body Works, Grades 1-3 in our health lessons. The reproducible black-and-white workbook covers nine concepts: bodies change while growing older, the body has external and internal parts, the brain controls the body and is the center of thinking, the five senses, the body has lungs for breathing, the body digests food for energy, the heart pumps blood throughout the body, and bones support and help move the body, and muscles help the body move. Each section includes variety of engaging activities, teacher directions for lessons, and reproducible resource pages. My daughter is especially interested in learning about the body, so the activity book recommended for first through third is a perfect addition to our health curriculum.

Art

For art lessons, I continued using the 13 Children Should Know series of books. For second grade, I used 13 American Artists Children Should Know, 13 British Artists Children Should Know, and 13 Modern Artists Children Should Know. We also used YouTube and Facebook Live to learn more about various artists, artworks, and art styles.

Spanish

I incorporated The Complete Book of Spanish, Grades 1-3 into our second grade curriculum. Recommended for students in first through third grade, the 416-page full-color workbook covers topics such as numbers, letters, parts of speech, expressions, days of the week, months of the year, family terms, and community terms.

My children also continued using Rosetta Stone in second grade to continue developing Spanish as their foreign language.

Image Credits

All images via Amazon