Writing for Second Graders: Lesson Plans and Activities

What Writing Lessons Should I Teach My Second Grader?

Students are taught to write more in-depth stories and papers in second grade. Because of this, most lessons in the classroom and at home will be focused on the basics of writing. Core areas of study may include developing supporting ideas with facts and sound reasoning, gathering information from multiple resources to draw a conclusion and writing opinion, explanatory and narrative texts. To create lessons for after-school practice, you can print free writing worksheets for second graders from the Internet or create your own using the ideas below.

Three Writing Activities

Write a Friendly Letter

A common reading comprehension and writing activity is writing letters to an author. This activity gives students practice constructing a letter and expressing their ideas and thoughts in a clear, concise manner. However, this assignment is usually done with older students who have more writing experience. To prepare your second grader for this activity, ask him to write a letter to a friend or family member. Make sure he includes the five main elements of a well-constructed letter: date, greeting, body or message, closing and signature. Not only will your child gain writing practice this way, it's likely that he will enjoy the activity and want to do it more frequently.

Finish the Story

Because reading comprehension and writing ability go hand-in-hand, a great activity for your child is to write an ending to a story. Test your child's understanding of a story and ability to logically connect key elements by asking her to write her own ending to something she's reading. You can find short stories without endings online, or you can simply stop your child half-way through a text and ask her to write her own conclusion.

Short Story Review

Before they are able to compose solid expository or persuasive essays, beginning writers must understand how to support their ideas with sound reasoning. A great way to help your son or daughter practice this skill is to ask for a review of a recently completed text. The review should address reasons why your child did or did not like the story. Upon completion, review your child's response to provide constructive feedback on reasoning, linking words and phrases.