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3.1.2 A.
Second Grade Language Arts Literacy Checklist
Concepts About Print
‣ Locate/identify title, table of contents, and chapter headings.
‣ Recognize sentence conventions and the purpose of a paragraph.
‣ Interpret graphs, charts, and diagrams.
Essential Questions: How does understanding the features of print make language more meaningful?
Enduring Understandings: The understanding of features, structures, and characteristics of print helps
readers make meaning of print.
Suggested Activities/Resources (in addition to guided reading with leveled materials):
Model how to locate and interpret features with teacher think-alouds.
Teach sentence and paragraph conventions with mini-lessons during writing workshop.
Use a variety of nonfiction texts to practice interpreting graphic features.
Suggested Assessment Activities:
Observe child during writing workshop activities to see if print conventions are being used.
Use guided reading groups to assess how well students are using table of contents, chapter headings, and
graphic features.
Assess use of graphic features during content area assessments, including tests.
3.1.2 B/C
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Phonological/Phonemic Awareness (3.1.2 B.)
Decoding/Word Recognition (3.1.2 C.)
Add/delete/change middle sounds to change words (e.g., pat to put)
Use knowledge of letter-sound correspondences to sound out unknown words (e.g., long/short vowels, blends, digraphs).
Look for known chunks, small words, or basic spelling patterns to attempt to decode an unknown word.
Reread inserting the beginning sound of the unknown word.
Decode regular multi-syllable words and parts of words (e.g., capital, Kalamazoo).
Read many irregularly spelled words and such spelling patterns as diphthongs, special vowel spellings, and common endings.
Essential Questions: How are sounds represented by letters? How do I figure out a word I do not know?
Enduring Understandings: Letter and letter combinations represent the sounds of our language. Readers
use letter-sound correspondence, pictures, language structure, and context to decode new words.
Suggested Activities/Resources (in addition to guided reading with leveled materials):
Use a word wall, introducing 5-10 new high frequency words each week. Play word wall games daily.
Play Guess My Message by putting a secret message on the board, using blanks for each letter. Students
guess, similar to Hangman or Wheel of Fortune.
Give plenty of opportunities for word sorting and making words, incorporating the spelling patterns being
taught.
Have students keep a word study notebook where students can collect words fitting specific patterns or
syllable rules.
Create games that have students match vowel or consonant patterns.
Suggested Assessment Activities:
Use a phonological assessment checklist to evaluate if a student can substitute middle sounds.
Assess how many word wall words each child has mastered.
Use observations and running records during guided reading groups to assess students’ use of decoding
strategies. Focus instruction and grouping based upon the needs of students.
Use a developmental spelling test to assess a student’s spelling/decoding level.
p. 29
3.1.2 F.
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Second Grade Language Arts Literacy Checklist
Vocabulary/Concept Development
Develop a vocabulary of 500-800 regular and irregular sight words.
Expand language repertory through reading and discussion.
Know/relate meanings of simple prefixes and suffixes.
Understand concept of synonyms/antonyms, compound words, basic homophones.
Understand concept of noun, verb, adjective and how they relate to language development.
Begin to use a grade-appropriate dictionary with assistance from teacher.
Essential Questions: Why do readers need to pay attention to the words the author uses?
Enduring Understandings: Words powerfully affect meaning.
Suggested Activities/Resources (in addition to guided reading with leveled materials):
Enjoy a variety of read alouds with discussions about new words, connecting them to familiar words/concepts.
Use word sorts that allow students to categorize by concept or theme.
Use semantic/word mapping activities so students can see word relationships. Include illustrations with maps.
Have students illustrate the literal and actual meaning of words (compounds).
Play word games, like Concentration, Pictionary, or Four Corners.
Suggested Assessment Activities:
Assess how students sort words, along with their reasoning for putting words together.
Give students a new vocabulary word and ask them to create a sentence using that word orally. Observe
how elaborately and correctly the student can do so.
Have students illustrate the literal meanings of specific vocabulary from informational texts.
3.1.2 D/E/G
Understanding Text:
Fluency (3.1.2 D)
Reading Strategies (3.1.2 E)
Comprehension Skills/Response to Text (3.1.2 G)
‣ Use appropriate pacing, inflection, pausing when reading aloud.
‣ Read silently without finger/lip movement.
‣ Self-monitor when text does not make sense and employ learned strategies (e.g., picture cues, rereading/returning to the beginning of the sentence, searching for
clues, skipping difficult words) without being prompted.
‣ Begin to use before/during/after comprehension strategies with a variety of genre (e.g., predict/confirm, make connections)
‣ Demonstrate ability to recall facts and details of text (e.g., identify main idea, literal details, facts; sequence events).
‣ Use simple retelling to summarize story or nonfiction text.
‣ Use graphic organizers to build on experiences and extend learning (e.g., story map, KWL, sequence chart, Venn diagram, web)
‣ Recognize cause/effect and reality/fantasy.
‣ Make inferences based on prior knowledge and textual support, including predictions and drawing conclusions.
‣ Identify/compare/contrast characters, setting, problem/solution, and events in a story.
‣ Respond to text using how, why, and what-if questions.
Essential Questions: How do readers make sense of text? What do readers do when they don’t understand
what they are reading?
Enduring Understandings: Good readers use strategies to help them make sense of what they are reading.
They read accurately, smoothly and with expression to help them understand text.
Suggested Activities/Resources (in addition to guided reading with leveled materials):
Model fluency daily with read alouds. Use Readers’ Theater, paired reading, echo reading, and choral
reading activities to help students develop fluency.
Use think-alouds and show students how to make connections, infer, and develop questioning strategies.
Eventually elicit connections, inferences, and questions from students. Have them record on a chart, graphic
organizer, bookmark, or sticky, explaining their thinking.
Use book clubs to group students by ability/interest so they can focus on applying strategies to their reading.
Suggested Assessment Activities:
Assess fluency using a rubric and running record. Elicit a retelling of the same passage to assess
comprehension. Use results to help determine guided reading groups.
Assess how students are using strategies by reviewing their charts, bookmarks, or stickies. It is important to
evaluate how meaningful their connections, inferences, and questions are and if they use text support.
Use a simple story map to evaluate their understanding of characters, setting, and plot.
p. 30
3.1.2 H.
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Second Grade Language Arts Literacy Checklist
Inquiry and Research
Ask/explore questions related to a topic of interest.
Locate information using alphabetical order to the second letter.
Read a variety of fiction and nonfiction books and produce evidence of reading.
Draw simple conclusions from information/data gathered.
Essential Questions: Why do we do research?
Enduring Understandings: Researchers gather information from many sources to learn something new.
Suggested Activities/Resources:
Create themed book baskets of leveled materials for students to browse. Change according to needs.
Create a research “club” to investigate areas of interest in science or social studies. The club must produce
some evidence of investigation.
Study an informational picture book and create “I wonder” questions to explore further.
Suggested Assessment Activities:
Observe how often students use materials in book baskets.
Assess the evidence of investigation submitted by each research club for accuracy and organization.
Observe process students use to find answers to “I wonder” questions.
3.2.2 A.
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Writing as a Process
Observe the modeling of writing and continue to use a basic writing process to develop writing.
Generate ideas for writing by hearing stories, recalling experiences, brainstorming, and drawing (prewriting).
Begin to develop an awareness of simple story structures.
Use sentences and simple paragraphs to convey ideas in writing (drafting).
Use graphic organizers to assist with planning writing.
Compose readable first drafts, rereading them for meaning, to add details/elaborate, and to improve correctness (revising).
Share drafts and published writing with peers, eliciting comments.
Use a simple checklist to improve elements of own writing (editing).
Use computer writing applications during some parts of the writing process.
Essential Questions: How do good writers express themselves?
Enduring Understandings: Good writers express themselves by sharing and developing their ideas.
Suggested Activities/Resources:
Introduce the concept of writing workshop and put procedures into place the first week of school.
Use quality picture books that trigger ideas, model possibilities, and illustrate the focus of each minilesson.
Incorporate short conferences into the workshop routine. Praise one thing the child has done as a writer, then
teach one concept, skill, or strategy that will help the child improve the piece.
Suggested Assessment Activities:
Design a simple system for collecting information throughout each term, such as a clipboard checklist or flip
chart. Record what you have taught in individual conferences, what you must teach soon, and what the child
can do independently.
p. 31
3.2.2 B/D
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Second Grade Language Arts Literacy Checklist
Writing as a Craft:
Writing as a Product (3.2.2 B.)
Writing Forms, Audiences, Purposes (3.2.2 D.)
Writing Traits (3.2.2)
Produce finished writings to share and/or publish.
Develop an awareness of author’s voice.
Use everyday words in appropriate written context.
Produce personal narratives and stories with a beginning, middle, and end.
Write in a variety of simple genres (narratives, procedures, simple reports, biographies, reflections, friendly letters).
Write on topics in forms appropriate to science, social studies, or other subject areas.
Use reading and technology to support writing.
Organize favorite work samples in a writing folder or portfolio.
Essential Questions: How do writers develop a well-written product? Why does a writer choose a particular
form of writing?
Enduring Understandings: Good writers use the necessary strategies, traits, and forms that best fit their
purpose and audience.
Suggested Activities/Resources:
Use word walls and personal dictionaries that support students’ efforts.
Use quality picture books to study an author’s use of specific tools, traits, or strategies.
Develop minilessons that focus instruction on specific tools, traits, or strategies.
Plan a year-long curriculum that addresses a variety of genre (narrative, descriptive, procedural, nonfiction,
poetry).
Plan a celebration at the end of a unit, such as an author’s tea or book placement ceremony.
Suggested Assessment Activities:
Use the writing folder as a primary assessment tool. Writing during a particular unit should be accumulated.
At the end of the unit, some of the work can be sent home, but some is selected for the child’s portfolio.
Use the checklist system discussed in 3.2.2 A at the end of each unit.
p. 32
3.2.2 C.
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Second Grade Language Arts Literacy Checklist
Conventions (Mechanics, Spelling, Handwriting)
Write complete sentences using correct end punctuation (e.g., period, question mark, exclamation point).
Apply basic rules of capitalization and punctuation (e.g., proper nouns, sentence beginnings, commas in dates)
Use basic plurals and contractions correctly.
Apply sound-symbol relationships and basic spelling patterns to writing words.
Use correct spelling of some high frequency words.
Write legibly to meet district standards.
Essential Questions: Why do we follow rules of language?
Enduring Understandings: The rules of our language help readers understand what the author is saying.
Suggested Activities/Resources:
Use writing workshop mini-lessons to demonstrate how to punctuate/capitalize sentences, use commas, and
form plurals/contractions correctly.
Have students edit the morning message daily, reinforcing a specific rule.
Use Making Words activities to reinforce conventional spelling.
Conduct word hunts for high frequency words, plurals, or contractions.
Suggested Assessment Activities:
Use students’ writing folders to assess use of conventions.
Assess the daily editing activity. Reteach or reinforce skills in guided groups or whole class as needed.
3.3.2
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Speaking
Participate in small-group and whole-class discussions, staying focused, offering opinions, and waiting for a turn to speak.
Respond to ideas discussed, asking for clarification and using restatement to demonstrate understanding.
Identify a problem and simple steps needed to solve the problem.
Use new vocabulary learned from literature and classroom experiences and discuss how authors use words to create images.
Participate in role-playing and dramatization.
Begin to understand the importance of looking at the speaker.
Talk about experiences, ideas, or work samples in front of a small group.
Essential Questions: How do we speak so others will listen and understand us? How does a discussion help
us?
Enduring Understandings: Speakers use the right elements and format to fit their purpose and audience.
Speakers question and share during a discussion to explore ideas and clarify thinking.
Suggested Activities/Resources:
Provide opportunities for students to participate in a variety of discussions. Use a T-chart (Looks
Like/Sounds Like) to explicitly teach proper speaking behaviors, such as staying focused.
Model proper speaking behaviors.
Use Think-Pair-Share to encourage the sharing of ideas between/among peers. Move from pairs to
cooperative groups.
Provide opportunities for informal presentations, dramatizations, and role-playing.
Suggested Assessment Activities:
Listen carefully while conversing with students, noting any speech delays.
Listen carefully to student discussions, noting any oral language difficulties or lack of social conventions.
Assess story retellings for elaboration, sequencing, and accuracy.
p. 33
3.4.2
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Second Grade Language Arts Literacy Checklist
Listening
Listen critically to identify main ideas and supporting details.
Listen to contribute to class discussions.
Begin to distinguish types of speech (e.g., a joke, chat, warning).
Follow one- and two-step oral directions.
Develop a strong listening vocabulary to aid comprehension and oral/written language growth.
Essential Questions: How can we listen and understand a message?
Enduring Understandings: Good listeners focus to make sense of the message they hear so they can
respond appropriately.
Suggested Activities/Resources:
Plan activities whereby students must follow oral directions to create simple crafts/products.
Play recordings and have students listen for a specific purpose, such as details or interesting words. Using a
simple graphic organizer will help students focus.
Suggested Assessment Activities:
Read aloud a short story and ask questions about details or plot.
Evaluate how well the student has followed directions to create the end product.
Evaluate the graphic organizer used during a listening activity.
3.5.2
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Viewing and Media Literacy
Recognize that media messages inform, entertain, or persuade.
Use graphs and charts to report data.
Recognize the work of a favorite illustrator.
Compare/contrast characters, events, and settings in books and media.
Interpret messages of simple advertisements.
Discuss the effects of visual arts on one’s mood/emotions.
Use a simple rating scale to judge media products.
Essential Questions: How do we use media in everyday life? How do we choose media?
Enduring Understandings: Media provides us with entertainment, information, and messages. People
choose media based on their personal experiences and by what they need.
Suggested Activities/Resources:
Watch 15 minutes of children’s programming and advertising. Discuss if their purpose is to tell or sell.
Compare/contrast book and media portrayals of characters, settings, and events from a favorite picture book.
Create TV boxes. Have students create and perform a simple advertisement, focusing on how to get the
message across to the audience.
Using students’ favorite products, rate the effectiveness of the packaging or advertisement.
Use charts and graphs to report data from a science lab.
Display symbols used often in the media. Discuss how those symbols make you feel.
Suggested Assessment Activities:
Assess the graphs or charts as an integral part of the science lab.
Informally observe the discussions about programming, advertising, and symbols to plan the next lesson.