The Core Knowledge Foundation (www.coreknowledge.org) provides open access to content-rich curriculum materials for preschool through grade 8, including the Core Knowledge Curriculum Series™. This material includes learning materials for language arts, history and geography, and science. Please read the Terms of Use. for using materials from the CKLA Free Download Manager.
The Research Foundation for Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA)
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Spelling Cards: Grade 2 Ancillary Materials
Spelling Cards are used in conjunction with the Consonant and Vowel Flip Books to record student progress. Teachers affix the spelling to the corresponding chart when a new sound-spelling is introduced.
Consonant Flip Book: Grade 2 Ancillary Materials
The Consonant Code Flip Book is used to introduce or review consonant sound-spelling correspondences. It can also be utilized at any time to support individuals or groups in need of targeted remediation and practice.
Vowel Flip Book: Grade 2 Ancillary Materials
The Vowel Code Flip Book is used to introduce or review vowel sound-spelling correspondences. It can also be utilized at any time to support individuals or groups in need of targeted remediation and practice.
Individual Code Chart: Grade 2 Ancillary Materials
Students use the Individual Code Chart to record the sound-spelling correspondences they have learned. They are encouraged to refer to the Individual Code Chart when reading and writing independently.
Assessment and Remediation Guide: Grade 2 Ancillary Materials
The Assessment and Remediation Guide provides re-teaching and reinforcement of grade-level objectives that were not mastered in Skill Strand lessons. This online-only resource assists teachers with determining students’ needs, selecting activities and materials that target those needs, adjusting instructional difficulty, and monitoring progress. Use of this resource creates continuity between core classroom and support instruction.
Fluency Packet: Grade 2 Ancillary Materials
The Fluency Packet provides opportunities for students to practice reading with fluency and expression. This online-only resource contains poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, as well as Reader’s Theater selections.
Students are introduced to three classic fairy tales: “The Fisherman and His Wife,” “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” and “Beauty and the Beast.” They consider characteristic elements of fairy tales and consider problems faced by the characters as well as lessons each story conveys. Students then turn to the American frontier and tall tales about Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, John Henry, and Casey Jones. They learn about the characteristics of tall tales, such as exaggeration and larger-than-life characters.
Read-Aloud Anthology: Fairy Tales and Tall Tales
Flip Book: Fairy Tales and Tall Tales
Image Cards: Fairy Tales and Tall Tales
Read-Aloud Supplement Guide: Fairy Tales and Tall Tales
Students are introduced to the continent of Asia and its two most populous countries, India and China. Students learn about early India, the importance of the Indus and Ganges Rivers, and the basics of Hinduism and Buddhism. Students then explore early Chinese civilization and its lasting contributions, including paper, silk, and the Great Wall of China. In addition, students are introduced to related folktales and poetry, including “The Tiger, the Brahman, and the Jackal,” “The Blind Men and the Elephant,” and “The Magic Paintbrush.”
Read-Aloud Anthology: Early Asian Civilizations
Flip Book: Early Asian Civilizations
Image Cards: Early Asian Civilizations
Read-Aloud Supplement Guide: Early Asian Civilizations
Students explore the civilization of ancient Greece, which lives on in many ways—in our language, government, art and architecture, the Olympics, and more. Students learn about the city-states of Sparta and Athens, Greek democracy, the gods and goddesses of the ancient Greeks, and the philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
Read-Aloud Anthology: The Ancient Greek Civilization
Flip Book: The Ancient Greek Civilization
Image Cards: The Ancient Greek Civilization
Read-Aloud Supplement Guide: The Ancient Greek Civilization
Building on the Ancient Greek Civilization domain, students explore several well-known Greek myths and mythical characters, including Prometheus and Pandora, Demeter and Persephone, Arachne the Weaver, Oedipus and the Sphinx, Theseus and the Minotaur, and others. Students learn about common characteristics of myths and examine story elements in the myths.
Read-Aloud Anthology: Greek Myths
Read-Aloud Supplement Guide: Greek Myths
Students are introduced to major figures and events in the War of 1812, sometimes called America’s second war for independence. Students learn about James and Dolley Madison, “Old Ironsides,” “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the Battle of New Orleans, and more, all of which build a foundation for more in-depth study in later grades.
Read-Aloud Anthology: The War of 1812
Read-Aloud Supplement Guide: The War of 1812
Students are introduced to natural cycles that make life on Earth possible. Students will learn about seasonal cycles, plant and animal life cycles, and the water cycle. Students will also enjoy poems by Emily Dickinson and Robert Louis Stevenson.
Read-Aloud Anthology: Cycles of Nature
Read-Aloud Supplement Guide: Cycles of Nature
Students are introduced students to an important period in the history of the United States—the time of westward expansion during the 1800s. Students explore why pioneers were willing to endure the hardships to move westward, and learn about innovations in transportation and communication, including the steamboat, the Transcontinental Railroad, and the Pony Express. Students also come to understand the hardships and tragedies that Native Americans endured because of westward expansion.
Read-Aloud Anthology: Western Expansion
Image Cards: Western Expansion
Read-Aloud Supplement Guide: Western Expansion
Students learn about the characteristics of insects, the largest group of animals on Earth. Students explore insect life cycles and social insects such as bees and ants. They consider helpful and harmful aspects of insects. This domain lays the foundation for more in-depth study in later grades of life cycles and animal classification.
Read-Aloud Supplement Guide: Insects
This domain lays the foundation for more in-depth study in later grades of a critical period in American history. Students learn about the controversy between the North and the South over slavery. Students also become familiar with the achievements of key historical figures during this time, including Harriet Tubman, Clara Barton, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and Robert E. Lee.
Read-Aloud Anthology: The U.S. Civil War
Image Cards: The U.S. Civil War
Read-Aloud Supplement Guide: The U.S. Civil War
Students learn about Anton van Leeuwenhoek and his pioneering work with the microscope. They then proceed to explore a number of topics regarding the human body, including cells, tissues, organs, and body systems, with a focus on the digestive and excretory systems. In addition, students learn about good nutrition and other keys to good health.
Read-Aloud Anthology: The Human Body - Building Blocks
Flip Book: The Human Body - Building Blocks
Image Cards: The Human Body - Building Blocks
Read-Aloud Supplement Guide: The Human Body - Building Blocks
Students explore the idea of e pluribus unum and the importance of immigration in the history of the United States, with a focus on the great wave of immigration between 1880 and 1920. They learn reasons why people immigrated and why they settled in particular cities or regions. In learning about citizenship, students are introduced to basic knowledge about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Read-Aloud Anthology: Immigration
Read-Aloud Supplement Guide: Immigration
Students learn about seven key figures who fought for a cause and, against great opposition, stood up for what they believed in: Susan B. Anthony, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mary McLeod Bethune, Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Cesar Chavez. Students explore the connection between ideas and actions, and see how people can do extraordinary things to change a nation’s understanding and actions.
Read-Aloud Anthology: Fighting for a Cause
Flip Book: Fighting for a Cause
Image Cards: Fighting for a Cause
Read-Aloud Supplement Guide: Fighting for a Cause
For students who completed the first grade CKLA program, Unit 1 serves as a review. This unit focuses on various spellings with an emphasis on consonant sounds, one- and two-syllable words, and high-frequency Tricky Words. The decodable Student Reader for Unit 1 is The Cat Bandit.
Teacher Guide: Grade 2 Skills Unit 1
Student Workbook: Grade 2 Skills Unit 1
Student Reader: Grade 2 Skills Unit 1
For students who completed the first grade CKLA program, Unit 2 largely serves as a review. This unit focuses on various spellings with an emphasis on vowel sounds. Students read one- and two-syllable words, as well as contractions. They practice with a number of high-frequency Tricky Words. They learn about the use of quotation marks and begin instruction in the writing process, writing narratives and opinions. The decodable Student Reader for Unit 2 is Bedtime Tales.
Teacher Guide: Grade 2 Skills Unit 2
Student Workbook: Grade 2 Skills Unit 2
Student Reader: Grade 2 Skills Unit 2
Unit 3 introduces spelling alternatives for vowel sounds, as well as various tricky spellings (spellings that can stand for more than one sound, such as “o” in hop or open). Students practice writing a personal narrative. Grammar instruction focuses on capitalization, quotation marks, ending punctuation, and common and proper nouns. Students are also introduced to antonyms and synonyms. The decodable Student Reader for Unit 3 is Kids Excel.
Teacher Guide: Grade 2 Skills Unit 3
Student Workbook: Grade 2 Skills Unit 3
Student Reader: Grade 2 Skills Unit 3
Students are introduced to more spelling alternatives for vowel sounds, as well as three tricky spellings (spellings that can stand for more than one sound, such as “y” in try or yes). Students practice persuasive writing as part of a friendly letter. In grammar, students review singular and regular plural nouns, as well as common and proper nouns. They are introduced to the formation of irregular plural nouns, as well as action verbs and to be verbs. The decodable Student Reader for Unit 4 is The Job Hunt.
Teacher Guide: Grade 2 Skills Unit 4
Student Workbook: Grade 2 Skills Unit 4
Student Reader: Grade 2 Skills Unit 4
Unit 5 introduces spelling alternatives for vowel sounds and the schwa sound. Students practice chunking phonemes as a means of reading multi-syllable words. They review grammar skills and learn about adjectives, as well as how to identify the subject and predicate in a complete sentence. Additionally, students continue to practice narrative writing by rewriting an ending to a story from their decodable Student Reader, Sir Gus.
Teacher Guide: Grade 2 Skills Unit 5
Student Workbook: Grade 2 Skills Unit 5
Student Reader: Grade 2 Skills Unit 5
Unit 6 introduces several new spelling alternatives for vowel and consonant sounds. Students review grammar skills and learn about adverbs. They also learn to distinguish complete from incomplete sentences, as well as how to identify and correct run-on sentences. Students are introduced to expository or report writing. The decodable Student Reader for Unit 6 is The War of 1812. Students are administered a cumulative End-of-Year Assessment, the results of which can be shared with third grade teachers via the End-of-Year Summary sheet included in the Student Workbook.
Teacher Guide: Grade 2 Skills Unit 6
Student Workbook: Grade 2 Skills Unit 6
Student Reader: Grade 2 Skills Unit 6
Timeline Cards: Grade 2 Skills Unit 6