Grade 2 ELA NJSLS Standards

Speaking and Listening Domain

Writing Domain

Reading Domain

Sentence Composition (Grammar, Syntax, and Punctuation)

Spelling

Sound-Letter Basics

Foundational Skills: Writing Language

Fluency

Phonics and Word Recognition

Foundational Skills: Reading Language

Language Domain

Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.

Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts.

Compare formal and informal uses of English.

Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

Know spelling-sound correspondences for common vowel teams.

Decode regularly spelled two-syllable words with long vowels.

Decode words with common prefixes and suffixes.

Identify words with inconsistent but common spelling-sound correspondences.

Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.

Read high-frequency and grade-level irregular words with automaticity (e.g., friend, other, would).

Identify the parts of high-frequency words that are regular and the parts that are irregular.

Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.

Read grade-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression.

Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.

Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in word meanings.

Identify real-life connections between words and their use (e.g., describe foods that are spicy or juicy).

Distinguish shades of meaning among closely related verbs (e.g., toss, throw, hurl) and closely related adjectives (e.g., thin, slender, skinny, scrawny).

Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.

Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 2 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies.

Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

Determine the meaning of the new word formed when a known prefix is added to a known word (e.g., happy/unhappy, tell/retell).

Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root (e.g., addition, additional).

Use knowledge of the meaning of individual words to predict the meaning of compound words (e.g., birdhouse, lighthouse, housefly; bookshelf, notebook, bookmark).

Use glossaries and beginning dictionaries, both print and digital, to determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases.

Demonstrate command of the conventions of writing.

Write legibly and with sufficient fluency to support composition.

Write the most common graphemes (letters or letter groups) for each phoneme, for example: i. Consonants: /s/ = s, ss, ce, ci, cy; /f/ = f, ff, ph; /k/ = c, k, -ckii. Vowels: /ō/ = o, oe, oa, ow; /ā/ = a, a_e, ai, ay, eigh.

Demonstrate command of the conventions of encoding and spelling.

Regular, single-syllable words that include: i. Position-based patterns (ch, -tch; k, -ck; -ge, -dge). ii. Complex consonant blends (scr, str, squ). iii. Less common vowel teams for long vowels (ow, oo, au, ou, ue). iv. Vowel-r combinations (turn, star, third, four/for). v. Contractions (we’ll; I’m; they’ve; don’t). vi. Homophones (bear, bare; past, passed). vii. Plurals and possessives (its, it’s).

Regular two- and three-syllable words that: i. Combine closed, open, vowel team, vowel –r and CVe syllables (compete; robot; violet; understand). ii. Are compounds comprising familiar parts (houseboat; yellowtail). iii. Include the most common prefixes and derivational suffixes (un, re, en; -ful, -ment, -less).

Words with suffixes that require: i. consonant doubling (penning, slimmed). ii. dropping silent-e (smiled, paving).

Most often used words in English: i. Irregular words (against, many, enough, does). ii. Pattern-based words (which, kind, have).

Demonstrate command and use of the conventions of writing including those listed under grade one foundational skills.

With modeling or prompting, separate run-on sentences and identify fragments, supplying a subject or predicate as necessary.

Capitalize holidays, product names and geographic names.

Supply adjectives in noun phrases to make them more precise or engaging.

Identify the verbs in clauses; form and use regular and irregular verbs for consistent use of past, present, and future tenses.

Punctuate dates, abbreviations, greetings and closings, initials, important words in a title, and items in a list.

Use an apostrophe to form contractions and frequently occurring possessives.

With assistance, link sentences into a simple, cohesive paragraph with a main idea.

Describe and identify the logical connections of how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text.

Recount a text in oral and written form and determine main topic (in multi-paragraph informational text, focusing on specific paragraphs).

Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of key details in an informational text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

Compare and contrast two informational versions of the same idea or topic by different authors or authors from different cultures.

Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in a sequence within a text.

Explain how specific illustrations and images (e.g., a diagram showing how a machine works) contribute to and clarify a text.

Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author seeks to explore, answer, explain, or describe.

Describe the overall structure of a text and effectively use various text features (e.g., graphs, charts, images, captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information.

Recount a text in oral and written form and determine central message (in literary texts, e.g. fables and folktales from diverse cultures) .

Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of key details in a literary text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

Compare and contrast literary versions of the same story (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.

Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges using key details within a text.

With prompting and support, use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.

Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue aloud.

Describe the overall structure of a text, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action, identifying how each successive part builds on earlier sections.

Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification.

Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to clarify comprehension, gather additional information, or deepen understanding of a topic or issue.

Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

Follow agreed-upon norms for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways, listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).

Build on others' talk in conversations by linking their explicit comments to the remarks of others.

Ask for clarification and further explanation as needed about the topics and texts under discussion.

Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audibly in coherent sentences.

Use multimedia; add drawings or other visual displays to stories or recounts of experiences when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

With prompts and support, write opinion pieces to present an idea with reasons or information.

Introduce an opinion.

Support the opinion with facts, definitions, concrete details, text evidence, or other information and examples related to the topic.

Provide a conclusion.

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information.

Introduce a topic clearly.

Develop a topic with facts definitions, concrete details, text evidence, or other information and examples related to the topic.

Provide a conclusion.

Write narratives based on real or imagined experiences or events with basic story elements.

Orient the reader by establishing a situation and introducing characters; organize an event sequence.

Provide dialogue and description of experiences and events and/or show the responses of characters to situations.

Use transitional words to manage the sequence of events.

Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experience and events.

Provide a conclusion or sense of closure related to the narrated experiences or events.

Engage in both collaborative and independent writing tasks regularly, including extended and shorter time frames.

Prioritize information provided by different sources on the same topic while gathering ideas and planning to write about a topic.

With guidance and support from adults and peers, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising and editing.

Identify audience and purpose before writing.

Participate in self-evaluation of written work.

With feedback and digital or print tools such as a primary dictionary, find and correct errors.

Generate questions about a topic and locate related information from a reference source to obtain information on that topic through shared and independent research.