Reading and writing are a big part of second grade. Reader's workhsop includes students reading indpendently from books that are at their reading level, practing and mastering comprehension skills, working in small groups with their teacher as well as working on word and spelling skills. Writer's workshop is a time for students to practice and become proficient at writing differenet genres. Types of writing include narrative, opinion, non fiction, poetry and fictional stories. Listening to books read aloud and discussing them is also an important part of students literacy development. 

Mathematics in second grade involves several different components.  Math review is a short series of lessons which review concepts already taught.  Mental math encourages students to think and solve mathematical problems without paper and pencil.  During the major part of the lesson the focus is on grade level standards.  Big focus areas in second grade include adding and subtracting single digits with rapid fluency, addition and subtraction of double digit numbers with regrouping and entry level multiplication.