2nd Grade Readiness

Room Parent Link

This checklist is designed to help you prepare your child for second grade. Before you begin, remember:

	Success in second grade requires a child to be a much more independent learner than he/she was in first grade.
	You are your child's first and most important teacher and role model.
	Every day your child is learning as you talk, play, and work together.
	Readiness is a combination of age, individual growth, and experiences.
	Your child will develop at his/her own rate; however, your involvement strongly promotes readiness.
	Your child will learn by doing.
	Play is an essential part of learning.
	Your child learns best when he/she is involved in activities that are interesting and fun.

Part 1: Personal & Social Development—Life Skills

Does your child:

  appear comfortable and confident with him/herself?
respect others and the rights of others?
follow classroom rules and routines?
accept responsibility for behavior and actions?
use materials appropriately and respectfully?
make independent choices of materials and activities?
sustain attention to work over a period of time?
work, play, and share with others?
interact easily with adults?
participate in group activities?
show empathy and caring for others?
use words to reason and resolve conflicts?
seek help when unable to resolve conflicts?
use words appropriately?
complete tasks?
Here are some tips for parents for helping children become socially and emotionally ready for second grade:

	Be a role model at all times, especially when you are in a conflict or faced with a difficult decision. Describe out loud the thought process you go through as you choose your decision as to how to react to a situation.
	Praise your child for positive behaviors and making smart decisions; point out small successes. ("That was a great decision to share the cupcake so you both got a little bit.")
	Give your child the opportunity to make choices; when your child is having a difficult moment, offer up two suggestions with consequences ("You can either leave your toys on the floor and choose to give up tonight's bedtime story, or you can pick up your toys and earn an extra ten minutes of storytime."), and abide by these consequences.
	Organize brief "family study" periods every night; make this habit a part of your family life so that it becomes something your child looks forward to as "together time." Have plenty of study materials for your child so that this time is spent reading, writing, or focusing, not on looking for something to do.
	When other adults are present, ask your child a question or two that you know they can answer and enjoy discussing (their favorite toy or the family pet). Listen to your child's responses and ask further questions to encourage attention to detail ("What kind of ice cream did Francis drop on the floor?")

Part 2: Language Arts—Reading, Writing & Spelling Skills

Does your child: show independent interest in reading-related activities?
listen with interest to stories and other texts read aloud?
construct meaning from print?
understand and interpret stories or short passages?
recognize new words by using phonics and/or contextual clues?
have a basic sight vocabulary?
follow written directions?
identify the main idea and story characters, determine a sequence of events, and predict outcomes?
accurately write his/her last name?
write words, phrases, and sentences to convey messages?
recognize conventions of print (punctuation, parts of speech, etc.)?
write simple stories with a beginning, a middle, and an end?
write correctly spaced, complete sentences using correct capitalization and punctuation?
print uniformly and legibly?
spell grade level words?
locate words in a picture dictionary?
use strategies to create invented spellings?
use conventional spellings in commonly used words?
understand the concepts of synonyms and antonyms?
identify beginning, middle, and ending consonants aurally and visually?
recognize long and short vowel words?
identify word endings?
identify plural forms and compound words?
Here are some tips for parents for helping children develop language arts abilities:

	Read with your child every day, even if it is just for twenty minutes before bed. Take turns reading short phrases or paragraphs. Build up to taking on character roles in stories.
	Let your child see you reading every day; encourage your child to read short articles in the newspaper along with you.
	If you have a television that has the ability to show closed-captioning, turn the captions on while watching television with your child and point out specific words or phrases that appear repeatedly.
	Ask your child to read the label on packages of food; this is an opportunity to help your child become a critical reader. Look for the difference between factual information and advertising hyperbole.

 

Part 3: Language Arts—Listening & Speaking Skills

Does your child: listen for meaning in discussions and conversations?
follow directions that involve a series of actions?
participate in discussions and conversations?
express ideas clearly (describe, answer questions, retell stories, etc.)?
describe an object using two or more properties (descriptors)?
use "I" and "me" correctly?
speak in complete sentences?
Here are some tips for parents for helping children develop language abilities:

	Ask your child to describe his/her day at dinner or at bedtime. Ask questions that focus on details. Ask your child to describe the best thing that happened that day and why that event was so wonderful.
	Tell your child a simple joke and ask him/her to repeat it back to you. Jokes require attention to both the language and the inflection in the voice.
	Tape record your child telling or reading a short story; listen to the tape while your child follows along with the book.
	Praise your child for speaking clearly, especially when other people are around.
	Listen to the radio or books-on-tape in the car with your child.
	Model good verbal skills; speak clearly and deliberately when you talk directly to your child or to others when your child is around.

Part 4: Number Concepts & Operations—Math Skills

Does your child: count by 1s, 2s, 5s, and 10s?
identify, order, and write numerals from 0 to 100?
know addition and subtraction facts to 50?
add and subtract two-digit numbers to 99 without regrouping?
use drawings and words to describe mathematical thinking?
show understanding of quantity?
show beginning understanding of place value?
make reasonable estimates of quantities?
identify and draw basic shapes?
explore and solve simple spatial and measuring problems using manipulatives (hands-on objects that can be counted or sorted) and drawings?
recognize and use standard measuring tools, such as rulers, scales, and thermometers?
collect and record data using tallies, lists, charts, and graphs?
read a graph or chart, and derive conclusions?
recognize and add money to $1.00?
tell time to the hour and half-hour?
identify whole, half, thirds, and fourths?
name and use ordinal numbers, such as first, second, third, etc.?
understand basic concepts of spatial relationships, symmetry, and reflections?
plot and identify positive whole numbers on a number line?
classify, sort, and compare physical objects by a variety of classification schemes and patterns (likeness, difference, sound, color, texture, size, weight, temperature, length of time, etc.)?
make, copy, and extend patterns with actions, objects, and words?
Here are some tips for parents for helping children feel confident in dealing with numbers and number tasks:

	Create a coin jar where you toss spare change and give your child the regular chore of sorting and counting these coins (with your help) on a regular basis.
	Keep a master family calendar and have your child mark off days, count the days until upcoming events, and keep track of birthdays.
	Encourage your child to help sort the cans and boxes in your pantry by size or weight.
	Include your child in simple cooking activities and model using measuring cups or spoons; describe what you are doing as you use these measuring tools.
	Play counting games when you are in the car or out for walk; pick a "magic number" and challenge your child to spot that many dogs, then the magic number of big trees, or red cars, etc.

Part 5: Social Studies—Cultural Awareness Skills

Does your child: compare everyday life in different places and times?
understand that history tells stories about real events and real people of other times and places?
understand broad categories of time and calendar time?
recognize cultural differences, traditions, and contributions?
know the significant individuals in United States history, such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King Jr.?
know the people and events honored by commemorative holidays?
know why and how buildings (such as the White House), monuments (such as Mt. Rushmore), and statues (such as the Statue of Liberty) are linked to history?
use simple maps, globes, and other means to identify and locate places of significance to the child, (Grandma lives in New York, our vacation will be in Arizona, etc.)? Identify the seven continents and their common characteristics?
identify the modes of transportation used to move people, products, and ideas?
know traditionally patriotic activities?
understand how and why rules are made?
recognize major elected officials such as the President, the Vice-President, the Governor of your state?
understand the basic concept that government officials are voted into office by their constituents?
understand the role and responsibility of the citizen in American democracy (such as voting, staying informed, getting involved)?
begin to understand the basic concept of supply, demand, and limited resources?
distinguish the difference between human and natural resources?
distinguish the difference between goods and services, and between consumers and producers?
begin to understand basic concepts of markets and exchange?
understand the basic functions of a bank?
Here are some tips for parents for helping children prepare for a diverse world:

	Discuss your family's cultural background, make traditional foods, and sing traditional songs when you can bring different generations of your family together.
	Look through family photographs and discuss how the daily life of today is different from what your grandparents experienced. Create an album that compares your grandparents' clothes, foods, and modes of transportation versus those your child experiences today.
	Introduce your child to music, food, clothing, and stories about other cultures.
	Seek out opportunities to visit historical places. Use the Internet as a vehicle to take your child on "virtual history trips" around the world.
	Point out the faces of people on American coins, stamps, and on paper money; explain why these people are remembered so fondly.

Part 6: Science & Technology—Critical Thinking & Reasoning Skills

Does your child: appear to be developing a positive attitude toward science?
understand that objects can be described, classified, and compared by their composition and properties (color, shape, etc.)?
recognize that the same material can exist in different states (e.g., solid, liquid, gas)?
verify that things can be done to materials to change some of their properties?
recognize that many things are made of smaller pieces, different amounts, and various shapes?
understand basic concepts of energy?
understand the concept of habitats and distinguish between different types of habitats?
know the Solar System?
understand the interaction of the Solar System and how it affects life on Earth?
know the basic needs of all living things?
recognize and observe characteristics and behaviors of living and non-living things?
understand the interdependence of living things in the environment?
use investigation to seek information?
use tools to gather scientific information?
ask questions about the natural and physical world?
make logical predictions based upon observations?
communicate scientific information in a variety of ways?
Here are some tips for parents for supporting children's interest in the natural world and how things work:

	Make science part of your child's world; focus on toys that allow learning and exploration such as telescopes or microscopes.
	Rent videos that present science in a fun fashion. Bill Nye the Science Guy is a wonderful introduction to all kinds of fun scientific facts and activities.
	Treat famous scientists as heroes the same way you would treat a patriot or a sports star. By making these people "cool," you help your child to see the fun in science. Purchase (or make your own) scientist trading cards and posters.
	Listen to the daily weather report with your child. Challenge your child to focus on the images of the swirling clouds or the different colored maps used to show rain or temperature. Make a game out of trying to predict the day's high and low temperatures and then double check your answers that evening or the next day.

 

2nd Grade Readiness Charts developed by FamilyEdge. Format inspired by the Polk County School District (Florida) PreK Early Intervention program.