What your child learns in Grade 2 in Alberta
In Grade 2, reading becomes smoother and writing gets longer. Math moves to numbers to 1000 and adding and subtracting within 100, and science looks at materials, light and sound. Social studies explores Canada's communities and heritage.
Grade 2 subjects in the Alberta Curriculum
Math
Big Ideas
- Number and operations: students analyze quantities to 1000, using place value, counting, odd and even numbers, benchmarks and comparison.
- Addition and subtraction: students investigate addition and subtraction within 100, and know that sums can be composed in more than one way.
- Fractions: students interpret part-whole relationships using unit fractions with 10 or fewer equal parts.
11 units, including tens & ones, numbers to 200, numbers to 1000, bigger or smaller.
English Language Arts
Big Ideas
- Listening and speaking: students adjust how they listen and speak to communicate clearly and build positive relationships.
- Reading: students make connections between letters and sounds to read fluently, and use strategies such as rereading and predicting to understand stories and information texts.
- Questions: students ask and answer questions to clarify information.
11 units, including listen and speak, sound detectives, word power, super sentences.
Science
Big Ideas
- Materials: students examine properties, types and suitability of natural and processed materials.
- Light and sound: students investigate the sources and behaviours of light and sound.
- Earth: students examine landforms, bodies of water and Earth's relationship to the Sun.
9 units, including think like a scientist, materials and their uses, light and sound, landforms and earth.
Social Studies
Big Ideas
- Focus: Canada, communities and heritage.
- Canada's physical regions and natural resources shape how communities live and work.
- Leaders in Canada, including the prime minister and the premiers, make decisions for the people they serve.
7 units, including canada's regions and resources, heritage across canada, traditions & celebrations, groups in our community.
French Immersion
Big Ideas
- Listening and speaking in French grow every day when French is the language of learning.
- Reading French texts of many kinds builds comprehension and the habit of reading for meaning.
- Writing in French for a purpose and an audience uses the conventions of the language.
6 units, including le, la, un, une, les adjectifs, l'ordre des mots, les contes.
What to look for on the report card
Look for fluent reading, longer writing, adding and subtracting with larger numbers, and the ability to explain thinking.
Alberta report cards describe learning with Beginning, Approaching, Meeting, Exceeding. See what each level means.
Competencies grow alongside subject learning in every grade. Read about competencies.
Ready for Grade 2?
Grade 2 builds on what your child practised in Grade 1. If a skill feels shaky, a few short practice sessions before or early in the year can help:
- Math: numbers to 20, numbers to 100, count it up, equal or not, make 10
- English Language Arts: blend it, short vowels, sh, ch, th, word families, sight words
- Science: think like a scientist, length, area & weight, how things move, seasons in alberta, animal survival
- Social Studies: my community, respect & inclusion, different & alike, cultures in alberta, places in my community
- French Immersion: je me présente, majuscule et point, est-ce que…?, les verbes d'action, couleurs et adjectifs
Common questions
What do kids learn in Grade 2 in Alberta?
Grade 2 covers math, english language arts, science, social studies, french immersion in the Alberta Curriculum. In Grade 2, reading becomes smoother and writing gets longer. Math moves to numbers to 1000 and adding and subtracting within 100, and science looks at materials, light and sound. Social studies explores Canada's communities and heritage.
How is Grade 2 reported in Alberta?
Alberta report cards describe learning with Beginning, Approaching, Meeting, Exceeding.
How can I help my Grade 2 child at home?
Short, regular practice works better than long sessions: 10 to 15 minutes a few times a week, on the skills your child's teacher flags. Read together, use math in real life, and praise effort.
Practise Grade 2 skills with Gradelings
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