This information will help you get organized and prepared to homeschool your child using the Core Knowledge Second Grade Language Arts Skills curriculum.
Important Notes
CK Language Arts Listening & Learning vs. CK Language Arts Skills: The Core Knowledge Language Arts curriculum is split into two strands: Listening & Learning and Skills. Each strand has its own set of curriculum. Both strands are required for a full language arts curriculum. The organization information below is for the Skills strand.
1st vs. 2nd Edition: Please note, the support materials available here are specific to the 1st edition Core Knowledge Language Arts and Core Knowledge Skills curriculums which are available to download for free on the Core Knowledge website. Core Knowledge’s partner Amplify offers 2nd edition materials and homeschooling families can purchase hard copies of those 2nd edition materials from the Amplify website (there is no “free” option for the 2nd edition materials). If you choose to use the 2nd edition materials, you may need to make significant changes to the schedule and prep information provided here. There is no advantage to using the 2nd edition materials beyond the option to purchase preprinted copies online. We recommend using the 1st edition materials. We recommend using the 1st edition curriculum so you can take full advantage of these support materials.
Free Resources
How-to Videos: Watch the videos to learn to use the CKLA Skills curriculum to homeschool.
Unit-Specific Prep Document: View and download the CKLA Skills Second Grade Unit-Specific Prep Checklist. Includes notes for each unit of the curriculum including which supplemental pages to print, library books that may be needed, required advanced preparation broken out by lesson, as well as a list of additional unit-specific supplies.
Daily Schedule: View and download the free daily schedule for homeschooling Second Grade using Core Knowledge and MEP Math.
Primary Materials
Units: There are 6 units in the Grade 2 CKLA Skills curriculum. All students start with Unit 1 and progress through the units in order. All 6 units, including the daily lesson assigned, are listed on the Grade 2 daily schedule. You will download each unit separately from the CK website. Each unit will be downloaded as a file folder containing multiple files: The Teacher’s Guide, Student Reader, and a Workbook.
Teacher’s Guide: This will be primary resource you use each school day. When you are ready to start a lesson with your student, you will simply open the PDF file for the Teacher’s Guide on your tablet or laptop and navigate to the lesson indicated on the daily schedule and work through the instructions in the Teacher’s Guide for that lesson.
Student Workbook: The student workbook file is included in the folder of files you downloaded from CK for the unit. Whenever possible, please print the whole student workbook prior to beginning the unit. This will save you time each school day. The workbook can be printed as a double-sided document. Once printed you can choose to:
- Keep the loose workbook pages in a file folder or other safe place so you can access the appropriate work page each day.
- Three-hole punch the worksheets and store them in a three-ring binder.
- Have your local office supply store coil-bind or comb-bind the pages into a bound book (typically about $4-$5).
The workbook answer key is always located in the back of the Teacher’s Guide.
Timeline Cards: Are used in multiple lessons during Unit 6. There is no need to print this file. Simply access it on your device or your student’s device when prompted to in the lesson in the Teacher’s Guide.
Ancillary Components: You will need to download the CKLA Grade 2 Ancillary Components from the CK website. These resources are downloaded as a single file folder containing multiple files. These files will be used throughout the school year (not unit specific):
- Consonant Flip Book and Vowel Flip Book: These are two separate files. The teacher guide will let you know when to use a flip book. Please note, these flip book files can be accessed as a PDF file on your child’s tablet when needed. Or you may wish to print the files and bind them into a booklet that can be easily accessed and flipped through as needed.
- Spelling Card Set: The teacher guide will let you know when to use the spelling cards. While it is possible to use these cards by opening the PDF file on your child’s tablet, it is easier to print this file using a setting for your printer to print 4 pages of the file to one page of printer paper and you’ll print them double-sided. This will allow you to cut the paper into fourths with one card on each page. If possible, use card stock to print these spelling cards so they will be more durable.
- Individual Code Chart: The teacher guide will let you know when to use the code charts. Please note, it is best to print this file so your student can work with the code charts as needed.
- Fluency Packet: The fluency packet provides extra practice opportunities for student to gain fluency in their reading skills. Using this packet is optional and it is not specifically scheduled. A great way to use this packet as a homeschooler is to have the student read the selections from the packet to another adult or older sibling.
- Assessment and Remediation Guide (ASG): This guide is designed to assist teachers and families with teaching children whose reading and spelling skills are significantly behind grade level or who have a learning challenge which would benefit from a different type of instruction and more reinforcement of concepts. The lessons in this file are not scheduled as part of the daily workplans.
Getting Organized
Catch-up Days: Catch-up days are scheduled at the end of each unit. These days can be used to catch-up if you are behind on finishing the core lessons or can be used to work through more Pausing Point activities.
Pausing Point: Each unit ends with a Pausing Point and they are included in the schedule. The Pausing Point section in the Teacher’s Guide will list additional exercises you can use to further practice or reinforce a particularly spelling skill or concept. Pausing Point activities can also be used throughout the unit (there are notes in the side column of the Teacher’s Guide when an activity might be useful). Keep in mind though that if you use a PP activity prior to the end of the unit, you may need to help your child with any words in the activity that they haven’t yet learned to decode.
Tracking Documents: There are a number of documents in the Teacher’s Guides for tracking the academic progress of a classroom of students. As a homeschooling parent, you can ignore these.
Important Tips
Phonics vs. Whole Language: If you are new to Core Knowledge, please read pg. 192-220 in the Unit 1 Skills Teacher’s Guide for an important overview of how phonics instruction differs from a whole language approach (typically used by public schools) and how the Skills curriculum is set up.
Unit 1 Information: This first unit is different from subsequent units because it is broken up into three sections:
- Lesson 1-5: Back to School Week Lessons: This first week of lessons assume a student has had the summer off and will need to review concepts taught in Grade 1 before moving on. If your student is coming to the CK curriculum from a public or private school or if you have previously used a different reading/spelling (phonics) curriculum, these lessons are important to begin assessing where your student is at in terms of their reading and spelling skills. Please do not skip these lessons. Back to school lessons are explained on pg. 12-15.
- Lessons 6-10: Student Performance Task Assessment and Placement Lessons: Week 2 of this first unit is focused on assessing whether your student is ready for the Grade 2 skills materials. Providing a student with reading instruction at their skill level is critically important. A student’s needs are not served by moving them ahead in reading instruction before they are ready to do so. For some 7-9 year old students starting Grade 2, these Grade 2 materials will be right at their level. Other students may need to circle back to the Kindergarten or Grade 1 materials first. Please read TG pg. 44-46 before starting the assessment lessons.
- Lessons 11-22: Review of Spelling Sounds: These last 3 weeks of the unit are focused on transitioning students to the spelling skills they will need to be successful in Grade 2.
Second Grade CKLA: Skills Strand Unit-Specific Prep Checklist
This checklist will help you prepare for each new unit of the Core Knowledge Second Grade Language Arts Skills curriculum. Please refer to the specific unit list prior to starting a new unit. It will guide you through what what documents to print, when a library book is needed, special notes for that unit, etc.
Unit 1
- Read the Unit Introduction: Teacher’s Guide pg. 1-11
- Print the Supplemental Pages: Teacher’s Guide pg. 170-191
- Review the Unit-Specific Notes:
- Lessons 1, 6, 11-12, 14, 17-19, and 21-22: Require advance preparation.
- Lesson 1: The Code Flip Books and Spelling Cards are found in the Grade 2 Ancillary Components folder of files you downloaded from the CK website.
- Lesson 2: The Code Chart is found in the Grade 2 Ancillary Components folder of files you downloaded from the CK website.
- Wiggle Cards are introduced in Unit 1 (see TG pg. 83 for an explanation). If your student enjoys this option, more Wiggle Card ideas are available on TG pg. 155. Wiggle cards are called for in the lessons periodically throughout the school year.
- It is highly recommended that you set aside some time to read carefully through the Appendix (TG pg. 192) to better understand the CKLA approach to phonics.
Unit 2
- Read the Unit Introduction: Teacher’s Guide pg. 1-13
- Review the Unit-Specific Notes:
- Lesson 1-13, and 15: Require advance preparation.
- Lesson 1: Print the supplemental pages “Bedtime Tables Story Chart” (TG pg. 24) and “Magic ‘e’ Cards” (TG pg. 177).
- Lesson 8: Print the supplemental page “The Milk” (TG pg. 84)
- Lesson 16: Requires a stopwatch. Most smart phones have a stopwatch app as part of the default apps.
- Appendix B (TG pg. 167) has further information on using chunking to decode multi-syllable words.
Unit 3
- Read the Unit Introduction: Teacher’s Guide pg. 1-6
- Review the Unit-Specific Notes:
- Lessons 1-4, 6-9, 11-12, 14, 16, 20-24, and Pausing Point: Require advance preparation.
- Lesson 1: Print the supplemental pages “Spelling Tree Templates” (TG pg. 10-12). You will also need brown, green, and yellow paper for this activity. Please note, the spelling tree activity continues through this unit and future units. You’ll be making a lot of leaves throughout this school year.
- Pausing Point: Print TG pg. 185-192 (double-sided).
- Appendix B (TG pg. 193) has further information on using chunking to decode multi-syllable words.
Unit 4
- Read the Unit Introduction: Teacher’s Guide pg. 1-7
- Review the Unit-Specific Notes:
- Lessons 1-14, 17, 19, and 21: Require advance preparation.
- Pausing Point: Print TG pg. 165-168 and 174-175.
- Appendix B (TG pg. 177) has further information on using chunking to decode multi-syllable words.
Unit 5
- Read the Unit Introduction: Teacher’s Guide pg. 1-9
- Review the Unit-Specific Notes:
- Lessons 1-3, 6-7, 9-13, 15-16, 18, 21-24, and 26-27: Require advance.
- Lesson 10: Print TG pg. 78 and cut the strips apart to use in the spelling activity. Print TG pg. 81.
- Lesson 24: Print TG pg. 157 and cut the strips apart to use in the spelling activity.
- Lessons 28-30: Require printing TG pg. 181, 183, 185, 186. Please note, these lessons are structured as a single lesson in the TG but are to be completed over three school days.
- Pausing Point: Some of the recommended activities for the Pausing Point require some advance preparation. Please see TG pg. 187-210.
- Appendix B (TG pg. 211) has further information on using chunking to decode multi-syllable words.
Please note: Lesson 2 in the next unit (Unit 6) requires a library book to complete the lesson. Please plan to request at least one nonfiction book about cats from your library approximately one week in advance so they have time to arrive.
Unit 6
- Read the Unit Introduction: Teacher’s Guide pg. 1-12
- Review the Unit-Specific Notes:
- This is the first skills unit where the content is set up to complement what the student has previously studied in history. In Grade 3, skills units will line up with history, science, and language arts units in a similar fashion.
- The Teacher’s Guide introduction section includes a list of recommended resources (TG pg. 8-12) including a number of books you can request from your local library (or find a YouTube video of the book being read aloud). It is recommended that you request several of these books prior to starting this unit. The books can be read to the student as time allows or they can be left out for the student to read during their free time.
- Lessons 1-8, 10-11, 13-22, 25-27, and 29-30: Require advance preparation.
- Lesson 2: Recommends using a nonfiction book about cats. This will need to be requested from the library a week in advance. You will also need a few other books and reading materials as specified on TG pg. 24-27.
- Lesson 3: The Timeline Cards are a separate file located in the unit file folder you downloaded from the CK website.
- Lesson 35: You may find it helpful to print TG pg. 237. This page can also be read on a device screen if needed.
Note: The Pausing Point activities also make excellent activities to use with your student over the summer to keep their reading, spelling, and composition skills up during the break.
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MEP Math has been made available through the Centre for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching.
