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English Language Arts 51 standards
Reading Foundational Skills
Reading Foundational Skills
RF.2.2Print all upper- and lowercase letters legibly and proportionally.
RF.2.4 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
RF.2.4aDistinguish long and short vowels when reading regularly spelled
RF.2.4bKnow spelling-sound correspondences for additional common vowel teams.
RF.2.4cDecode regularly spelled two-syllable words with long vowels.
RF.2.4dDecode words with common prefixes and suffixes.
RF.2.4eIdentify words with inconsistent but common spelling-sound correspondences.
RF.2.4fRecognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words."
RF.2.5 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
RF.2.5aRead on-level text with purpose and understanding.
RF.2.5bRead on-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.
RF.2.5cUse context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.
Reading Literature
Reading Literature
RL.2.1Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
RL.2.2Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine their central message, lesson, or moral.
RL.2.3Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
RL.2.4Describe how words and phrases supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.
RL.2.5Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story, the events unfold in the middle, and the ending concludes the action.
RL.2.6Distinguish differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue aloud.
RL.2.7Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.
RL.2.9Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story by different authors or from different cultures.
RL.2.10By the end of grade 2, read and understand literature within the 2-3 text complexity band proficiently and independently for sustained periods of time. Connect prior knowledge and experiences to text.
Reading Informational Text
Reading Informational Text
RI.2.1Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
RI.2.2Identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text.
RI.2.3Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical
RI.2.4Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area.
RI.2.5Know and use various text features to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently.
RI.2.6Identify the author’s main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe.
RI.2.7Explain how specific images contribute to and clarify a text.
RI.2.8Identify the reasons an author gives to support ideas in a text.
RI.2.9Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic.
RI.2.10By the end of grade 2, read and understand informational texts within the 2-3 text complexity band proficiently and independently for sustained periods of time. Connect prior knowledge and experiences to text.
Writing
Writing
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 to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.
W.2.1aWith guidance and support from adults, organize information and ideas around a topic to plan and prepare to write.
W.2.1bWith guidance and support from adults and peers, focus on a topic and strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing.
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.2.2aWith guidance and support from adults, organize information and ideas around a topic to plan and prepare to write.
W.2.2bWith guidance and support from adults and peers, focus on a topic and strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing.
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 transition words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure.
W.2.3aWith guidance and support from adults, organize information and ideas around a topic to plan and prepare to write.
W.2.3bWith guidance and support from adults and peers, focus on a topic and strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing."
W.2.4With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools and resources to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.
W.2.5Participate in shared research and writing projects.
W.2.6Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
Speaking and Listening
Speaking and Listening
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.2.1aFollow agreed-upon rules for discussions.
SL.2.1bBuild on others’ talk in conversations by linking their comments to the remarks of others.
SL.2.1cAsk for clarification and further explanation as needed about the topics and texts under discussion.
SL.2.2Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.
SL.2.3Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to clarify comprehension, gather additional information, or deepen understanding of a topic or issue.
SL.2.4Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audibly in coherent and complete sentences.
SL.2.5Create 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.
Language
Language
L.2.1Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking; demonstrate proficiency within the 2-3 grammar continuum.
L.2.2Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing; demonstrate proficiency within the 2-3 conventions continuum.
L.2.3 Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
L.2.3aCompare formal and informal uses of English.
L.2.4Determine and/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: context clues, word parts, word relationships, and reference materials.
L.2.5 Demonstrate understanding of nuances in word meanings.
L.2.5aDistinguish shades of meaning among closely related verbs and closely related adjectives."
L.2.6Use words and phrases learned through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using adjectives and adverbs to describe.
Mathematics 41 standards
Operations and Algebraic Thinking
Represent and solve problems.
NC.2.OA.1 Represent and solve addition and subtraction word problems, within 100, with unknowns in all positions, by using representations and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem, when solving:
One-Step problems:
Add to/Take from-Start Unknown
Compare-Bigger Unknown
Compare-Smaller Unknown
Two-Step problems involving single digits
Add to/Take from- Change Unknown
Add to/Take From- Result Unknown
Add to/Take From- Result Unknown
Add and subtract within 20.
NC.2.OA.2Demonstrate fluency with addition and subtraction, within 20, using mental strategies.
Work with equal groups.
NC.2.OA.3 Determine whether a group of objects, within 20, has an odd or even number of members by:
Pairing objects, then counting them by 2s.
Determining whether objects can be placed into two equal groups.
Writing an equation to express an even number as a sum of two equal addends.
NC.2.OA.4Use addition to find the total number of objects arranged in rectangular arrays with up to 5 rows and up to 5 columns; write an equation to express the total as a sum of equal addends.
Number and Operations in Base Ten
Understand place value.
NC.2.NBT.1 Understand that the three digits of a three-digit number represent amounts of hundreds, tens, and ones.
Unitize by making a hundred from a collection of ten tens.
Demonstrate that the numbers 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 refer to one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or nine hundreds, with 0 tens and 0 ones.
Compose and decompose numbers using various groupings of hundreds, tens, and ones.
NC.2.NBT.2Count within 1000; skip-count by 5s, 10s, and 100s.
NC.2.NBT.3Read and write numbers, within 1000, using base-ten numerals, number names, and expanded form.
NC.2.NBT.4Compare two three-digit numbers based on the value of the hundreds, tens, and ones digits, using >, =, and < symbols to record the results of comparisons.
Use place value understanding and properties of operations.
NC.2.NBT.5 Demonstrate fluency with addition and subtraction, within 100, by:
Flexibly using strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction.
Comparing addition and subtraction strategies, and explaining why they work.
Selecting an appropriate strategy in order to efficiently compute sums and differences.
NC.2.NBT.6Add up to three two-digit numbers using strategies based on place value and properties of operations.
NC.2.NBT.7 Add and subtract, within 1000, relating the strategy to a written method, using:
Concrete models or drawings
Strategies based on place value
Properties of operations
Relationship between addition and subtraction
NC.2.NBT.8Mentally add 10 or 100 to a given number 100–900, and mentally subtract 10 or 100 from a given number 100–900.
Measurement and Data
Measure and estimate lengths.
NC.2.MD.1Measure the length of an object in standard units by selecting and using appropriate tools such as rulers, yardsticks, meter sticks, and measuring tapes.
NC.2.MD.2Measure the length of an object twice, using length units of different lengths for the two measurements; describe how the two measurements relate to the size of the unit chosen.
NC.2.MD.3 Estimate lengths in using standard units of inches, feet, yards, centimeters, and meters.
NC.2.MD.4Measure to determine how much longer one object is than another, expressing the length difference in terms of a standard length unit.
Relate addition and subtraction to length.
NC.2.MD.5 Use addition and subtraction, within 100, to solve word problems involving lengths that are given in the same units, using equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.
Represent whole numbers as lengths from 0 on a number line diagram with equally spaced points and represent whole-number sums and differences, within 100, on a number line.
Build understanding of time and money.
NC.2.MD.6Represent whole numbers as lengths from 0 on a number line diagram with equally spaced points and represent whole-number sums and differences, within 100, on a number line.
NC.2.MD.7Tell and write time from analog and digital clocks to the nearest five minutes, using a.m. and p.m.
NC.2.MD.8 Solve word problems involving:
Quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies within 99¢, using ¢ symbols appropriately.
Whole dollar amounts, using the $ symbol appropriately.
Whole dollar amounts, using the $ symbol appropriately.
Represent and interpret data.
NC.2.MD.10 Organize, represent, and interpret data with up to four categories.
Draw a picture graph and a bar graph with a single-unit scale to represent a data set.
Solve simple put-together, take-apart, and compare problems using information presented in a picture and a bar graph.
Geometry
Reason with shapes and their attributes.
NC.2.G.1Recognize and draw triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, and hexagons, having specified attributes; recognize and describe attributes of rectangular prisms and cubes.
NC.2.G.3 Partition circles and rectangles into two, three, or four equal shares.
Describe the shares using the words halves, thirds, half of, a third of, fourths, fourth of, quarter of.
Describe the whole as two halves, three thirds, four fourths.
Explain that equal shares of identical wholes need not have the same shape.
Science 13 standards
Matter and its Interactions
PS.2.1 Understand properties of solids and liquids and the changes they undergo.
PS.2.1.1Carry out investigations to illustrate examples of matter that can change from a solid to a liquid and from a liquid to a solid by heating and cooling.
PS.2.1.2Analyze and interpret data to compare the amount (volume and weight) of water in a container before and after freezing.
PS.2.1.3Analyze and interpret data to compare the amount (volume and weight) of water left in an open container over time to the water left in a closed container.
Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer
PS.2.2 Understand the relationship between sound and vibrating objects.
PS.2.2.1Carry out investigations to illustrate how sound is produced by vibrating objects and columns of air.
PS.2.2.2Use models to summarize the relationship between sound and how sounds are produced and detected by parts of the body that vibrate.
From Molecules to Organisms- Structures and Processes
LS.2.1 Understand animal life cycles.
LS.2.1.1Use models to summarize the life cycle of animals including: birth, developing into an adult, reproducing, aging and death.
LS.2.1.2Obtain, evaluate and communicate information to compare life cycles of different animals.
Heredity- Inheritance and Variation of Traits
LS.2.2 Understand that organisms differ from or are similar to their parents and other offspring based on characteristics of the organism.
LS.2.2.1Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to summarize ways in which animals closely resemble their parents and ways they are different.
LS.2.2.2Analyze and interpret data to illustrate variations among offspring of the same parents.
Earth’s Systems
LS.2.2 Understand that organisms differ from or are similar to their parents and other offspring based on characteristics of the organism.
ESS.2.1.1Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to summarize how energy from the sun serves as a source of light and warms the land, air, and water.
ESS.2.1.2Use mathematics and computational thinking to summarize weather conditions (temperature, wind direction, wind speed, precipitation).
ESS.2.1.3Carry out investigations to collect data and compare weather patterns that occur over time and relate observable patterns to time of day and time of year.
ESS.2.1.4Obtain, evaluate and communicate information to recognize the tools scientists use for observing, recording, and predicting weather changes from day to day and during the season.
Social Studies 23 standards
Inquiry
Compelling Questions
I.1.1Identify inquiry as a process to answer questions and solve issues.
I.1.2Recognize a compelling question with prompting and support.
I.1.3Explain why or how a compelling question is important to a topic or issue.
Supporting Questions
I.1.4Identify what questions are needed to support the compelling question.
I.1.5Recognize how supporting questions connect to compelling questions.
Gathering and Evaluating Sources
I.1.6Demonstrate an understanding of facts, opinions, and other details in sources.
I.1.7Identify the information surrounding a primary or secondary source including who created it, when they created it, where they created it, and why they created it.
Communicating Ideas
I.1.8Construct responses to compelling questions using information from sources.
Taking Informed Action
I.1.9Identify problems related to the compelling question that students think are important.
Behavioral Sciences
2.B.1 Understand how values and beliefs shape culture in America.
2.B.1.1Identify the various values and beliefs of diverse cultures that have shaped American identity.
2.B.1.2Explain how belief systems of various indigenous, religious, and racial groups have influenced or contributed to culture in America.
Civics and Government
2.C&G.1 Understand how freedom, equality, and democracy contribute to the government of America.
2.C&G.1.1Explain how principles of democracy have shaped the government of America.
2.C&G.1.2Summarize the role of government in protecting freedom and equality of individuals in America.
2.C&G.1.3Compare the structure and function of the three branches of government at the national level.
2.C&G.1.4Explain how various indigenous, religious, gender, and racial groups advocate for freedom and equality.
Economics
2.E.1 Understand how the availability of resources impacts economic decisions.
2.E.1.1Explain how scarcity affects economic decisions.
2.E.1.2Explain how the availability of resources impacts the production of goods.
Geography
2.G.1 Understand how interaction between humans and the physical environment is impacted by movement and settlement.
2.G.1.1Recognize absolute and relative location of various settlements, territories, and states in the development of the American nation.
2.G.1.2Explain how the environment has impacted settlement across America.
2.G.1.3Interpret how the movement of people, goods, and ideas has impacted the regional development of America.
History
2.H.1 Understand how various people and events have shaped America.
2.H.1.1Summarize contributions of various women, indigenous, religious, racial, and other minority groups that have impacted American history.
2.H.1.2Explain ways in which various historical events have shaped American history.
2.H.1.3Compare various perspectives of the same time period using primary and secondary sources.
More Information: North Carolina Dates, Sources and Homeschool Law
North Carolina Standard Course of Study, published by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NC DPI).
Adopted by the state: English 2017, Math 2017, Science 2023, Social Studies 2021
Last checked by NexStudents: September 25, 2026
Copied from the state's own files, word for word. States revise their standards,
so check the state's page for the current version.
Social Studies 23 standards
Inquiry
Behavioral Sciences
Civics and Government
Economics
Geography
History