2nd Grade Language ArtsÂ
2nd Grade Language Arts lays the foundation for learning and impacts virtually every future subject! How can you be sure you’re teaching all you need to teach when you are homeschooling? Well, blessedly, Heart of Dakota (HOD) includes plans for all typically necessary 2nd Grade Language Arts skills. Better still, all these plans are in one place, in one guide. Even better still, HOD recognizes 2nd grade students need varied language arts skills options. Students’ language arts can easily be customized accordingly. Let’s see how!
 Language Arts: Oral LanguageÂ
Oral narrations, choral reading, and recitation all fall under the umbrella of oral language. Oral narrations involve telling back what they have heard or read. HOD’s guide Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory introduces 2nd graders to beginning oral narration skills. It provides guided assistance for how to help students with beginning oral narration success. Students orally narrate twice each week in response the Storytime reading. Daily plans give clear, easy-to-follow instructions for helping students learn to successfully orally narrate.
HOD’s guide Bigger Hearts for His Glory assumes students have had some exposure to oral narration/retelling what they have heard or read. It takes the skill of orally narrating to the next level. Students orally narrate five times each week; twice in response to the Storytime reading, twice in response to the Science reading, and once in response to the History reading. The Appendix gives narration tips to help students before, during, and after orally narrating. Additionally, the Appendix gives students their own easy-to reference “How to Narrate: Student’s List.” With either guide, 2nd grade language arts students learn the oral narration skills they need to learn!
Oral Language: Choral Reading
Both guides include choral reading skills with the classical poetry. The poetry matches the history in each guide. Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory includes an introduction to classical Poetry and Rhymes. Along with choral reading skills, students discuss the significance of the poem’s title and the meaning of the poem. They also sequence the poem and add actions to the poems for a hands-on component. Finally, students draw pictures to reflect the poem’s meaning.
Bigger Hearts for His Glory introduces each classical poem and provides definitions for unfamiliar vocabulary. Students also answer questions and participate in a discussion about the meaning of the poem. Once a week, the plans include a poetry lesson that focuses on poetic devices (i.e. meter, rhythm, rhyme, onomatopoeia, etc.) With either guide, 2nd graders learn choral reading skills, as well as poetry-connected skills. With either guide, 2nd grade language arts learn the choral reading skills they need to learn!
Oral Language: RecitationÂ
Both guides include recitation skills. In each guide, students memorize and recite weekly Scripture verses. As God’s Word, the Bible provides one of the very best resources for memorization! Recitation is just one part of the the Bible Study part of the plans. The Bible Study links to the history theme in both guides. (As this post relates to 2nd Grade Language Arts skills, I’ll just mention the recitation portion.) In Bigger Hearts for His Glory, students also memorize hymns via the provided hymn study. With either guide, 2nd graders learn the recitation skills they need to learn!
Handwriting, Spelling, Grammar/Mechanics/Usage, and Vocabulary
For handwriting, students work on copywork daily. In Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory, 2nd graders copy one to four lines of classical poetry. In Bigger Hearts for His Glory, 2nd graders may copy stanzas from the provided classical poetry, or they may choose from one of two cursive handwriting books. They also copy their weekly Bible verse.
For spelling, both guides include four days of spelling skills-related instruction each week. Students focus on learning to spell a basic body of frequently used words. Beyond Little Hearts for His glory provides a choice of Spelling List 1 or Spelling List 2; the second list’s spelling words are more difficult than the first list’s words. Bigger Hearts for His Glory provides a choice of Spelling List 2 or Dictation Level 2; the dictation spelling lessons are more difficult than the second list’s words.
For grammar, mechanics, and usage, Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory includes once-a-week lessons. These lessons are mainly oral. They use guided conversations between parent and student and focus on basic grammar, mechanics, and usage skills. Lessons are short and designed to focus on one rule or concept per lesson. Bigger Hearts for His Glory includes daily lessons. Rod and Staff’s Preparing to Build: English 2 text focuses on grammar, mechanics, and usage for the purpose of improving writing. Systematic lessons focus on one rule or concept per lesson.
For vocabulary, students utilize the literature programs in each guide. Bigger Hearts for His Glory also includes additional vocabulary study with the history portion of the plans. With either guide, 2nd grade language arts learn the handwriting, spelling, grammar/mechanics/usage, and vocabulary skills they need to learn!
Phonics and ReadingÂ
Sometimes phonics and reading fall under the umbrella of language arts. Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory includes multiple phonics choices, as well as an Emerging Reader’s Set of books and plans. Bigger Hearts for His Glory includes an Emerging Reader’s Set of books and plans, as well Drawn into the Heart of Reading Level 2/3. The Level 2/3 option for reading includes its own plans, student workbook, and set of books. It is the harder of the two options. Please click on the following links to read more about each of these 2nd grade options:
Reading Made Easy Phonics with Workbooks
Drawn into the Heart of Reading 2/3
So, you can see HOD handily includes all typically necessary 2nd Grade Language Arts skills! Plus, you have the option of choosing the guide and the resources that fit your 2nd grader best. I hope you enjoy each of these components of language arts as much as I did with my own three sons!!!
In Christ,
Julie
