2nd Grade in the United States

In the United States, second grade (called grade 2 in some regions) is a year of primary education. Second grade is the second school year after kindergarten. Students are traditionally 7–8 years old.

In mathematics, students are taught place value to hundreds or thousands, and renaming with addition and subtraction. Measurement is extended to the meter, foot, yard, kilogram, pound, and pint. Usually multiplication and division is introduced towards the end of the school year. Addition and subtraction facts are practiced throughout the year. Students also learn about plane and solid shapes in geometry and explore how they are apparent in our everyday lives. Some second grade topics in math can be explored at the following website.

In reading, students read to perform a task using fictional and non-fictional texts, and learn about story elements, text features, and character traits. In many counties and districts, schools have reading benchmarks that students need to meet by the end of each quarter and/or school year.

Students in second grade also learn the basics of grammar in writing, including subject, verbs, and adjectives. They also write to inform, to express personal ideas, and to persuade. In the U.S. it is also common for second graders to be introduced to cursive.

Although the U.S. does not formally have national grade standards, there are groups selected by the Dept of Education to develop standards which are generally used by each State to set their own standards. For mathematics, it is the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. There is an English guide to the second grade maths standards and expectations. This description was built by using the major states as a norm.