Second Grade Comprehension Activities and Lessons

How Can My Second Grader Improve Comprehension Skills?

Even though many second grade students are still working on their reading fluency, they should also work on comprehension because it plays a critical role in all subject areas. Since strong reading comprehension requires a lot of practice, students who only focus on fluency may struggle in later years. You can help your son or daughter progress more quickly by providing comprehension activities and lessons at home. Get started with the following activities.

Three Comprehension Activities and Lessons

Reading with Your Child

If your child struggles with fluency, you may be able to help improve her comprehension by reading books out loud with her. Choose books that may be too challenging for her to read independently and that have interesting, complex plots. After each page your child reads out loud, ask her comprehension questions about the plot and characters. To create a less threatening environment, take turns reading so that she doesn't have to do the bulk of the reading.

Fact Vs. Opinion

By the time they reach second grade, students should be able to distinguish fact from opinion in literature and other texts. To help your child improve this skill, select a few short passages from newspaper articles and editorials. Then, have him identify which passages are reporting facts and which are expressing opinions. Ask him how he came to his conclusions.

Context Clues

For your child to improve her comprehension skills, it's necessary for her to learn new vocabulary on a regular basis. While flashcards and repetition are effective methods for teaching young students new vocabulary terms, a better way to encourage ongoing, active learning is through context clue practice.

Start by creating a list of grade-appropriate words, develop a worksheet using those words in sentences and then provide a bank of definitions for your child to choose from. Ask your son or daughter to select the appropriate meaning for each vocabulary word and discuss the results.