This literature lesson guides kids towards a deeper understanding of second grade texts through an exploration of character, setting, and plot. Kids will be challenged to answer the who, what, where, when and why of a story, in addition to determining the story's message. Two versions of the same story will be presented in order for second graders to see story elements in action.

Vocabulary development helps second graders advance their reading and writing skills. This guided lesson uses exercises and techniques targeted to building vocabulary. Kids will be tasked with using descriptive adjectives, distinguishing between similar verbs and adjectives, and using context clues to determine the meaning of a word phrase. For more vocabulary boosters, check out the worksheets that align with this lesson.

Second grade writers often need extra support with the rules of capitalization, puncuation, apostrophes, and proper nouns. The exercises in this guided lesson cover these four key grammar rules, and provide kids with targeted exercises to help them practice writing with correct grammar usage. To help gain even more practice with new writing skills, download and print the capitalization and punctuation worksheets suggested as part of this lesson.