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.

This unit not only builds students' vocabulary, it also enables students to explore how words are related, in meaning, sound and construction. Learners will also discover some of the ways words are constructed using derivational root words, prefixes, suffixes, and compound words. Students will also learn strategies we use to shorten words and phrases like acronyms and abbreviations.

Learning parts of speech will help third graders to develop a deeper understanding of written language. This guided lesson teaches about adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections, which is the glue holding most sentences together. Designed by our team of teachers and curriculum experts, the content in this lesson provides instruction and examples that will support kids as they learn these important words.

Words are like legos - they can have interchangeable parts. In this unit students will study the construction of words including roots, prefixes and suffixes. Students will also explore how to modify words to make them possessive, a different part of speech and adjust to signify singular and plural. Understanding the basic building blocks of words, will increase students’ vocabulary, improve their spelling and add strategies for decoding unfamiliar words.

Now that reading skills are more developed, second graders will move on to comprehension of informational text. This guided lesson supports this through an exploration of the main idea of a text, as well as the other text features, such as: captions, photographs, maps headings, subheadings, glossary, index, icons and graphs. Kids will look at two texts that cover the same topic, but in different ways.

Being able to recognize the short I sound, as in dig, fin and kid, is one of the foundations of kindergarten phonics. This guided lesson teaches kids all about the short I, and offers lots of practice to encourage retention. You can get even more practice with this phonics skill by checking out the printables that work in partership with this lesson.

Learning common constructions for words is one way that third graders can get traction on their spelling and reading comprehension skills. This guided lesson in word structure introduces kids to the idea that most words are made up of smaller words, and provides opportunities to apply this learning with practical examples. For more printable practice with word structure, check out our recommended worksheets.

Letter writing is an engaging and important writing format for third graders to master. You can support the development of letter writing expertise with this lesson that provides guidance on the structure and anatomy of a letter. Written by curriculum experts, this lesson will teach kids the various features that make a letter easier to read, and will also offer plenty of opportunities to practice.