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Grade 2 ELA (California Common Core)

Your Teacher Information Pack for Grade 2 ELA (California Common Core): the standards, California's own additions, the state tests and the official links.

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State
California
Grade
Grade 2
Standards
California Common Core State Standards: ELA & Literacy
California additions
9
Last checked
2026-10-20

Show the CCSS grade standards plus the California additions for this grade.

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California additions (our summaries)

California uses the Common Core with extra or changed standards marked "CA". Below are their codes with our own short summaries; read the exact wording in the CDE document.

Reading Standards for Literature

  • RL.2.4 California adds to RL.2.4 (how sound devices such as beats, alliteration and rhyme give rhythm and meaning) – exact added words to be checked. CA wording differs (to be re-checked)

Reading Standards for Informational Text

  • RI.2.4 California adds to RI.2.4 (meanings of words in a grade 2 topic text). CA wording differs (to be re-checked)

Reading Standards: Foundational Skills

  • RF.2.3 California changes the wording of the RF.2.3 phonics and word analysis heading standard. CA wording differs (to be re-checked)

Writing Standards

  • W.2.4 California-only grade 2 standard: with guidance, produce writing whose organization suits the task and purpose. CA only (to be re-checked)
  • W.2.10 California-only grade 2 standard: write routinely over short and longer time frames for a range of tasks. CA only (to be re-checked)

Speaking and Listening Standards

  • SL.2.2a California-only sub-standard: give and follow three- and four-step spoken directions. CA only (to be re-checked)
  • SL.2.4a California-only sub-standard: plan and deliver a narrative presentation that is logically sequenced and has a conclusion. CA only (to be re-checked)

Language Standards

  • L.2.1g California-only sub-standard: create readable documents with legible print. CA only (to be re-checked)
  • L.2.4e California-only sub-standard: use glossaries and beginning dictionaries (print and digital) to work out word meanings. CA only (to be re-checked)

The Common Core standards for this grade

Reading: Literature (RL) 10 standards

  • Key Ideas and Details
    • RL.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
    • RL.2.2 Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine their central message, lesson, or moral.
    • RL.2.3 Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
  • Craft and Structure
    • RL.2.4 Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.
    • RL.2.5 Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.
    • RL.2.6 Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue aloud.
  • Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
    • RL.2.7 Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.
    • RL.2.8 (RL.2.8 not applicable to literature)
    • RL.2.9 Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.
  • Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
    • RL.2.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories and poetry, in the grades 2-3 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

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Teacher notes: Reading: Literature (Grade 2)

Second graders read stories, fables, folktales and poems, asking who, what, where, when, why and how questions. They recount stories and determine the central message, lesson or moral, describe how characters respond to challenges and explain how a story's beginning and ending work. They also notice rhythm in poems and compare versions of the same story from different authors or cultures.

Reading: Informational Text (RI) 10 standards

  • Key Ideas and Details
    • RI.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
    • RI.2.2 Identify the main topic of a multiparagraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text.
    • RI.2.3 Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text.
  • Craft and Structure
    • RI.2.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area.
    • RI.2.5 Know and use various text features (e.g., captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently.
    • RI.2.6 Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe.
  • Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
    • RI.2.7 Explain how specific images (e.g., a diagram showing how a machine works) contribute to and clarify a text.
    • RI.2.8 Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text.
    • RI.2.9 Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic.
  • Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
    • RI.2.10 By the end of year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, in the grades 2-3 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

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Teacher notes: Reading: Informational Text (Grade 2)

Grade 2 students read longer informational texts, finding the main topic of the whole text and the focus of each paragraph. They connect a series of events, ideas or steps, use text features such as captions, bold print, subheadings and indexes, and explain how images like diagrams help. They identify the author's main purpose, the reasons behind points and compare two texts on the same topic.

Reading: Foundational Skills (RF) 2 standards

  • Phonics and Word Recognition
    • RF.2.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
      • RF.2.3.a Distinguish long and short vowels when reading regularly spelled one-syllable words.
      • RF.2.3.b Know spelling-sound correspondences for additional common vowel teams.
      • RF.2.3.c Decode regularly spelled two-syllable words with long vowels.
      • RF.2.3.d Decode words with common prefixes and suffixes.
      • RF.2.3.e Identify words with inconsistent but common spelling-sound correspondences.
      • RF.2.3.f Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.
  • Fluency
    • RF.2.4 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
      • RF.2.4.a Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.
      • RF.2.4.b Read grade-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.
      • RF.2.4.c Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.

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Teacher notes: Reading: Foundational Skills (Grade 2)

In grade 2 foundational skills focus on phonics, word analysis and fluency. Students read long and short vowel words, learn more vowel teams, decode two-syllable words with long vowels and words with common prefixes and suffixes. They also read irregular words and spelling patterns that are inconsistent, and read grade-level text accurately and with expression.

Writing (W) 10 standards

  • Text Types and Purposes
    • W.2.1 Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.
    • W.2.2 Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.
    • W.2.3 Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure.
  • Production and Distribution of Writing
    • W.2.4 (W.2.4 begins in grade 3)
    • W.2.5 With guidance and support from adults and peers, focus on a topic and strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing.
    • W.2.6 With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.
  • Research to Build and Present Knowledge
    • W.2.7 Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., read a number of books on a single topic to produce a report; record science observations).
    • W.2.8 Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
    • W.2.9 (W.2.9 begins in grade 4)
  • Range of Writing
    • W.2.10 (W.2.10 begins in grade 3)

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Teacher notes: Writing (Grade 2)

Second graders write opinion pieces with reasons joined by linking words, informative texts that use facts and definitions, and narratives that describe actions, thoughts and feelings. Each piece needs a concluding statement or section. With support they revise and edit, publish with digital tools and take part in shared research.

Speaking & Listening (SL) 6 standards

  • Comprehension and Collaboration
    • SL.2.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
      • SL.2.1.a Follow agreed-upon rules 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).
      • SL.2.1.b Build on others' talk in conversations by linking their comments to the remarks of others.
      • SL.2.1.c Ask for clarification and further explanation as needed about the topics and texts under discussion.
    • SL.2.2 Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.
    • SL.2.3 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.
  • Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
    • SL.2.4 Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audibly in coherent sentences.
    • SL.2.5 Create audio recordings of stories or poems; add drawings or other visual displays to stories or recounts of experiences when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
    • SL.2.6 Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification. (See grade 2 Language standards 1 and 3 here for specific expectations.)

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Teacher notes: Speaking & Listening (Grade 2)

Grade 2 students hold respectful discussions, gaining the floor politely and linking their comments to others'. They recount key ideas from texts and presentations and ask questions to deepen understanding. They tell stories and recount experiences audibly in coherent sentences, and can create audio recordings of stories or poems.

Language (L) 6 standards

  • Conventions of Standard English
    • L.2.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
      • L.2.1.a Use collective nouns (e.g., group).
      • L.2.1.b Form and use frequently occurring irregular plural nouns (e.g., feet, children, teeth, mice, fish).
      • L.2.1.c Use reflexive pronouns (e.g., myself, ourselves).
      • L.2.1.d Form and use the past tense of frequently occurring irregular verbs (e.g., sat, hid, told).
      • L.2.1.e Use adjectives and adverbs, and choose between them depending on what is to be modified.
      • L.2.1.f Produce, expand, and rearrange complete simple and compound sentences (e.g., The boy watched the movie; The little boy watched the movie; The action movie was watched by the little boy).
    • L.2.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
      • L.2.2.a Capitalize holidays, product names, and geographic names.
      • L.2.2.b Use commas in greetings and closings of letters.
      • L.2.2.c Use an apostrophe to form contractions and frequently occurring possessives.
      • L.2.2.d Generalize learned spelling patterns when writing words (e.g., cage → badge; boy → boil).
      • L.2.2.e Consult reference materials, including beginning dictionaries, as needed to check and correct spellings.
  • Knowledge of Language
    • L.2.3 Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
      • L.2.3.a Compare formal and informal uses of English
  • Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
    • L.2.4 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.
      • L.2.4.a Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
      • L.2.4.b Determine the meaning of the new word formed when a known prefix is added to a known word (e.g., happy/unhappy, tell/retell).
      • L.2.4.c Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root (e.g., addition, additional).
      • L.2.4.d Use knowledge of the meaning of individual words to predict the meaning of compound words (e.g., birdhouse, lighthouse, housefly; bookshelf, notebook, bookmark).
      • L.2.4.e Use glossaries and beginning dictionaries, both print and digital, to determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases.
    • L.2.5 Demonstrate understanding of word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
      • L.2.5.a Identify real-life connections between words and their use (e.g., describe foods that are spicy or juicy).
      • L.2.5.b Distinguish shades of meaning among closely related verbs (e.g., toss, throw, hurl) and closely related adjectives (e.g., thin, slender, skinny, scrawny).
    • L.2.6 Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using adjectives and adverbs to describe (e.g., When other kids are happy that makes me happy).

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Teacher notes: Language (Grade 2)

Grade 2 language standards add collective nouns, irregular plurals and past tenses, reflexive pronouns and the choice between adjectives and adverbs. Students capitalize holidays, product names and places, use commas in letters and apostrophes in contractions and possessives, and check spellings in dictionaries. They also compare formal and informal English and use prefixes, roots and compound words to work out meanings.

Tests and key dates

California tests ELA and math in grades 3–8 and 11 (CAASPP). Check the CDE for dates.

More packs

Kindergarten ELA · Grade 1 ELA · Grade 3 ELA · Grade 4 ELA · Grade 5 ELA · All California packs · Find another TIP

Standards codes from the California Department of Education. Summaries are Classfern's own words, not official text – see the CDE document for the exact wording.

California additions and ELD standards are shown as codes with our own summaries only: the California Department of Education's permission is needed to reproduce its text.

Classfern is not affiliated with or endorsed by the California Department of Education.

© Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.

The Common Core State Standards are owned and developed by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), and are shown here under the Common Core State Standards Public License. Examples from the official site are not included. Classfern is not affiliated with or endorsed by NGA Center or CCSSO. Each standard links to its official page.