Texas 2nd Grade ELA Standards

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1-5 Developing and sustaining foundational language skills

• 1 Listening, speaking, discussion, and thinking–oral language. The student develops oral language through listening, speaking, and discussion.
  • A listen actively, ask relevant questions to clarify information, and answer questions using multi-word responses;
  • B follow, restate, and give oral instructions that involve a short, related sequence of actions;
  • C share information and ideas that focus on the topic under discussion, speaking clearly at an appropriate pace and using the conventions of language;
  • D work collaboratively with others by following agreed-upon rules for discussion, including listening to others, speaking when recognized, making appropriate contributions, and building on the ideas of others; and
  • E develop social communication such as distinguishing between asking and telling.
• 2 Listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking–beginning reading and writing. The student develops word structure knowledge through phonological awareness, print concepts, phonics, and morphology to communicate, decode, and spell.
  • A demonstrate phonological awareness by:
    • i producing a series of rhyming words;
    • ii distinguishing between long and short vowel sounds in one-syllable and multisyllable words;
    • iii recognizing the change in spoken word when a specified phoneme is added, changed, or removed; and
    • iv manipulating phonemes within base words;
  • B demonstrate and apply phonetic knowledge by:
    • i decoding words with short, long, or variant vowels, trigraphs, and blends;
    • ii decoding words with silent letters such as knife and gnat;
    • iii decoding multisyllabic words with closed syllables; open syllables; VCe syllables; vowel teams, including digraphs and diphthongs; r-controlled syllables; and final stable syllables;
    • iv decoding compound words, contractions, and common abbreviations;
    • v decoding words using knowledge of syllable division patterns such as VCCV, VCV, and VCCCV;
    • vi decoding words with prefixes, including un-, re-, and dis-, and inflectional endings, including -s, -es, -ed, -ing, -er, and -est; and
    • vii identifying and reading high-frequency words from a research-based list;
  • C demonstrate and apply spelling knowledge by:
    • i spelling one-syllable and multisyllabic words with closed syllables; open syllables; VCe syllables; vowel teams, including digraphs and diphthongs; r-controlled syllables; and final stable syllables;
    • ii spelling words with silent letters such as knife and gnat;
    • iii spelling compound words, contractions, and common abbreviations;
    • iv spelling multisyllabic words with multiple sound-spelling patterns;
    • v spelling words using knowledge of syllable division patterns, including words with double consonants in the middle of the word; and
    • vi spelling words with prefixes, including un-, re-, and dis-, and inflectional endings, including -s, -es, -ed, -ing, -er, and -est;
  • D alphabetize a series of words and use a dictionary or glossary to find words; and
  • E develop handwriting by accurately forming all cursive letters using appropriate strokes when connecting letters.
• 3 Listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking–vocabulary. The student uses newly acquired vocabulary expressively.
  • A use print or digital resources to determine meaning and pronunciation of unknown words;
  • B use context within and beyond a sentence to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words;
  • C identify the meaning of and use words with affixes un-, re-, -ly, -er, and -est (comparative and superlative), and -ion/tion/sion; and
  • D identify, use, and explain the meaning of antonyms, synonyms, idioms, and homographs in context.
• 4 Listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking–fluency. The student reads grade-level text with fluency and comprehension. The student is expected to use appropriate fluency (rate, accuracy, and prosody) when reading grade-level text.
• 5 Listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking–self-sustained reading. The student reads grade-appropriate texts independently. The student is expected to self-select text and read independently for a sustained period of time.

6 Comprehension skills

• 6 Listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts. The student uses metacognitive skills to both develop and deepen comprehension of increasingly complex texts.
  • A establish purpose for reading assigned and self-selected texts;
  • B generate questions about text before, during, and after reading to deepen understanding and gain information;
  • C make, correct, or confirm predictions using text features, characteristics of genre, and structures;
  • D create mental images to deepen understanding;
  • E make connections to personal experiences, ideas in other texts, and society;
  • F make inferences and use evidence to support understanding;
  • G evaluate details read to determine key ideas;
  • H synthesize information to create new understanding; and
  • I monitor comprehension and make adjustments such as re-reading, using background knowledge, checking for visual cues, and asking questions when understanding breaks down.

7 Response skills

• 7 Listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts. The student responds to an increasingly challenging variety of sources that are read, heard, or viewed.
  • A describe personal connections to a variety of sources;
  • B write brief comments on literary or informational texts that demonstrate an understanding of the text;
  • C use text evidence to support an appropriate response;
  • D retell and paraphrase texts in ways that maintain meaning and logical order;
  • E interact with sources in meaningful ways such as illustrating or writing; and
  • F respond using newly acquired vocabulary as appropriate.

8-9 Multiple genres

• 8 Listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts–literary elements. The student recognizes and analyzes literary elements within and across increasingly complex traditional, contemporary, classical, and diverse literary texts.
  • A discuss topics and determine theme using text evidence with adult assistance;
  • B describe the main character’s (characters’) internal and external traits;
  • C describe and understand plot elements, including the main events, the conflict, and the resolution, for texts read aloud and independently; and
  • D describe the importance of the setting.
• 9 Listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts–genres. The student recognizes and analyzes genre-specific characteristics, structures, and purposes within and across increasingly complex traditional, contemporary, classical, and diverse texts.
  • A demonstrate knowledge of distinguishing characteristics of well-known children’s literature such as folktales, fables, and fairy tales;
  • B explain visual patterns and structures in a variety of poems;
  • C discuss elements of drama such as characters, dialogue, and setting;
  • D recognize characteristics and structures of informational text, including:
    • i the central idea and supporting evidence with adult assistance;
    • ii features and graphics to locate and gain information; and
    • iii organizational patterns such as chronological order and cause and effect stated explicitly;
  • E recognize characteristics of persuasive text, including:
    • i stating what the author is trying to persuade the reader to think or do; and
    • ii distinguishing facts from opinion; and
  • F recognize characteristics of multimodal and digital texts.

10 Author’s purpose and craft

• 10 Listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts. The student uses critical inquiry to analyze the authors’ choices and how they influence and communicate meaning within a variety of texts. The student analyzes and applies author’s craft purposefully in order to develop his or her own products and performances.
  • A discuss the author’s purpose for writing text;
  • B discuss how the use of text structure contributes to the author’s purpose;
  • C discuss the author’s use of print and graphic features to achieve specific purposes;
  • D discuss the use of descriptive, literal, and figurative language;
  • E identify the use of first or third person in a text; and
  • F identify and explain the use of repetition.

11-12 Composition

• 11 Listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts–writing process. The student uses the writing process recursively to compose multiple texts that are legible and uses appropriate conventions.
  • A plan a first draft by generating ideas for writing such as drawing and brainstorming;
  • B develop drafts into a focused piece of writing by:
    • i organizing with structure; and
    • ii developing an idea with specific and relevant details;
  • C revise drafts by adding, deleting, or rearranging words, phrases, or sentences;
  • D edit drafts using standard English conventions, including:
    • i complete sentences with subject-verb agreement;
    • ii past, present, and future verb tense;
    • iii singular, plural, common, and proper nouns;
    • iv adjectives, including articles;
    • v adverbs that convey time and adverbs that convey place;
    • vi prepositions and prepositional phrases;
    • vii pronouns, including subjective, objective, and possessive cases;
    • viii coordinating conjunctions to form compound subjects and predicates;
    • ix capitalization of months, days of the week, and the salutation and conclusion of a letter;
    • x end punctuation, apostrophes in contractions, and commas with items in a series and in dates; and
    • xi correct spelling of words with grade-appropriate orthographic patterns and rules and high-frequency words; and
  • E publish and share writing.
• 12 Listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts–genres. The student uses genre characteristics and craft to compose multiple texts that are meaningful.
  • A compose literary texts, including personal narratives and poetry;
  • B compose informational texts, including procedural texts and reports; and
  • C compose correspondence such as thank you notes or letters.

13 Inquiry and research

• 13 Listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts. The student engages in both short-term and sustained recursive inquiry processes for a variety of purposes.
  • A generate questions for formal and informal inquiry with adult assistance;
  • B develop and follow a research plan with adult assistance;
  • C identify and gather relevant sources and information to answer the questions;
  • D identify primary and secondary sources;
  • E demonstrate understanding of information gathered;
  • F cite sources appropriately; and
  • G use an appropriate mode of delivery, whether written, oral, or multimodal, to present results.