Georgia Standards
Georgia 2nd Grade ELA Standards
All 134 Georgia English language arts standards for 2nd grade, each explained in plain English. The official wording is in Georgia Department of Education's document, linked at the end of this page.
134 standards
Phonics
10 standardsPhoneme-Grapheme Correspondences
2.F.P.1.a
Know and say the sound for every consonant spelling, including blends like st and br and digraphs like sh, ch and th.
2.F.P.1.b
Recognize and say the long and short sound of each vowel, plus silent e words, vowel teams like ai, r-controlled vowels like ar and diphthongs like oi.
Decoding with Phonics
2.F.P.2.a
Use phonics to read regular two-syllable words with vowel teams and consonant clusters, like toaster or painting, along with common sight words.
2.F.P.2.b
Spot the parts of irregular words that follow the rules and sound those out, like the s and d in said, including common sight words.
2.F.P.2.c
Sound out made-up two-syllable words, like boastip or feemlatch, using phonics rules for vowel teams, silent e and consonant clusters.
2.F.P.2.d
Read two-syllable words by splitting them into syllable types, like closed, open, silent e, vowel team, r-controlled and consonant-le, as in tiger or candle.
Encoding with Phonics
2.F.P.3.a
Spell regular two-syllable words built from vowel pairs and letter clusters, like rainbow or seashell, plus common high-frequency words.
2.F.P.3.b
Recognize and spell words that break the usual phonics rules, like said, could and because, including common high-frequency words.
2.F.P.3.c
Write nonsense two-syllable words they hear, like roastip, choosing the right letters for vowel teams, silent e and blends.
2.F.P.3.d
Spell two-syllable words one syllable at a time using the major syllable types, like writing nap and then kin to spell napkin.
Fluency
4 standardsOral & Silent Reading Fluency
2.F.F.1.a
Grow the bank of words they read on sight by decoding regular and irregular second-grade words, alone and in sentences, faster each time.
2.F.F.1.b
Read many kinds of second-grade texts out loud, getting smoother and quicker without stopping to sound out each word.
2.F.F.1.c
Read second-grade texts aloud with natural phrasing, expression, pauses and a rising or falling voice that show they understand the meaning.
2.F.F.1.d
Notice and fix their own reading mistakes, silently or aloud, and go back to reread when something does not make sense.
Handwriting
5 standardsMotor Skills & Letter/Word Formation
2.F.H.1.a
Print every capital and lowercase letter, and whole words, correctly, with the same size and shape each time and at a comfortable speed.
2.F.H.1.b
Write out words and full sentences by hand smoothly and at a good pace, without stopping to think about each letter.
2.F.H.1.c
Keep the spaces between letters, words and lines even from the start to the end of a handwritten piece.
Transcription & Handwriting Fluency
2.F.H.2.a
Write down spoken or copied words by hand quickly and correctly, like writing a sentence the teacher reads aloud.
2.F.H.2.b
Keep up a steady handwriting speed while writing words and sentences, and check their own pace, like timing how long a sentence takes.
Engagement & Intention for Comprehension & Composition
26 standardsReader & Writer Identity
2.P.EICC.1.a
Set personal and school goals for reading and writing, like reading a chapter book each week, then check progress, talk about it and adjust.
2.P.EICC.1.b
Talk or write about what they like to read and write, naming favorite topics, genres and styles, like funny animal stories or comics.
2.P.EICC.1.c
Choose, read and write texts about things they care about and things they study in second grade, like a book about insects for science.
2.P.EICC.1.d
Collect a toolkit of reading and writing strategies, like rereading or drawing a plan, and pick the right one when reading or writing a text.
2.P.EICC.1.e
Be part of a class reading and writing community, helping set group rules, talking about books, sharing writing, listening to others and trading feedback.
2.P.EICC.1.f
Grow into a reader and writer who can choose and work through texts on their own, like picking a book and finishing it without help.
Engagement & Intention
2.P.EICC.2.a
Read and write stories to share true or made-up experiences, like reading a tale about a lost puppy or writing about a trip to the zoo.
2.P.EICC.2.b
Use texts to learn new things, practice skills, make good choices and share facts and ideas, like reading about plants before starting a garden.
2.P.EICC.2.c
Read and write texts to learn and explain ideas and how things work, like reading about how a seed grows and writing out the steps.
2.P.EICC.2.d
Read and write to think closely about texts and ideas and judge them, like writing about whether a story's ending was fair.
2.P.EICC.2.e
Read, view and create texts that help solve a problem or persuade others, like making a poster asking classmates to keep the playground clean.
Comprehension Strategies
2.P.EICC.3.a
Decide why they are reading and what they want from it, check that they understand as they go and change course when they get lost.
2.P.EICC.3.b
Look quickly over a text before reading, noticing headings, pictures and parts that may help, like flipping through a book about sharks.
2.P.EICC.3.c
Connect what they already know to what a text says, notice when the two do not match or something is missing, and add the new learning.
2.P.EICC.3.d
Picture what is happening in parts of a text and retell those parts briefly to keep track of the meaning, like after each chapter.
2.P.EICC.3.e
Guess what will happen or be explained next in a text and check those guesses as they keep reading.
2.P.EICC.3.f
Figure out meanings a text does not state outright, keep track of them and back them with clues, like knowing a character is scared from her shaking.
2.P.EICC.3.g
Work out new words and ideas using clues from the sentence, school words they know and word parts like un- or -ful.
Writing Processes
2.P.EICC.4.a
Decide why they are writing, what they want the piece to do and who will read it, like a thank-you note for the school librarian.
2.P.EICC.4.b
Plan how a piece of writing will be set up by choosing its form, type and order to fit the reason and the readers, like steps in a how-to book.
2.P.EICC.4.c
Come up with ideas for writing by thinking about what they know, reading about the topic and talking with others.
2.P.EICC.4.d
Fit their ideas into their writing plan, like a graphic organizer, and mark the ones that matter most for the piece.
2.P.EICC.4.e
Write a first draft that puts their ideas together, choosing words, sentences and techniques that suit their purpose and readers.
2.P.EICC.4.f
Look back at their writing, alone or with feedback from others, to judge whether it does what they meant it to do.
2.P.EICC.4.g
Revise a draft using their own review or feedback from others, changing its order, ideas, facts or word choices to make it work better.
2.P.EICC.4.h
Check and fix their writing for capital letters, end marks, spelling and grammar before sharing it.
Situating Texts
6 standardsContext
2.P.ST.1.a
Use what they know, simple research and class talk to find the background that matters most for a text, like where and when a story takes place.
2.P.ST.1.b
Think about how the time, place and situation of a text affect why the author wrote it and why people read it.
2.P.ST.1.c
Explore how a text's background affects what the author chose to include and how readers react, both when reading and when writing.
Author, Audience, & Purpose
2.P.ST.2.a
Use what they know about the writer, the readers and the background to figure out or set a text's purpose and judge how well the text meets it.
2.P.ST.2.b
Use what they know about the author, readers and situation to recognize a point of view in what they read and to show their own in writing.
2.P.ST.2.c
Think about readers and situation, as authors do, to choose which ideas to stress, how to lay out a text and which words and techniques work best.
Author’s Craft
12 standardsReading like a Writer
2.P.AC.1.a
Find and study the parts of stories, informational texts and opinion pieces, like characters or reasons, and explain how they affect readers and the purpose.
2.P.AC.1.b
Notice and study strong word choices in a text, like crunchy or zoomed, and explain how those words affect readers and help the author's purpose.
2.P.AC.1.c
Explain how the way an author builds sentences, like short choppy ones in an exciting part, affects readers and helps the text's purpose.
2.P.AC.1.d
Describe and judge how a text is laid out and organized, like headings, lists or a repeating pattern, and how that helps readers and the purpose.
Writing like a Reader
2.P.AC.2.a
Use story, informational and opinion elements in their own writing, like a character, a fact or a reason, to reach readers and meet a goal.
2.P.AC.2.b
Choose words and phrases on purpose to make readers feel, think or wonder something, like using sparkling and gooey to make a snack sound tasty.
2.P.AC.2.c
Decide how to build their sentences, like mixing short and longer ones, so readers can follow along and the writing does its job.
2.P.AC.2.d
Organize their writing with formats, patterns and features like titles, numbered steps or labels so readers can follow it and the purpose is clear.
Text Design
2.P.AC.3.a
Read and make texts in different forms and genres, like comics, letters and poems, learning how their features change meaning, tone and audience.
2.P.AC.3.b
Use what they know about a text's form and genre to decide which ideas and facts belong in it, like facts in a report and feelings in a poem.
2.P.AC.3.c
Use what they know about forms and genres to order ideas, like numbered steps for a how-to and a beginning, middle and end for a story.
2.P.AC.3.d
View and create texts that mix words, pictures, sound or video, like a picture book with narration, combining features and techniques to reach readers.
Collaboration & Presentation
9 standardsCollaboration
2.P.CP.1.a
Come to group talks and teamwork ready to take part, like having read the book and bringing ideas to share.
2.P.CP.1.b
Work with a group to agree on rules, goals and steps for a shared project, like taking turns, and help keep the group on task.
2.P.CP.1.c
Add to class talks and group projects by sharing ideas, listening carefully to classmates and giving kind, helpful comments.
2.P.CP.1.d
Work with partners or groups to talk about topics, look into questions, solve problems and read or make texts together.
Presentation
2.P.CP.2.a
Speak clearly when presenting ideas, facts or their own writing to others, like sharing a story from the author's chair.
2.P.CP.2.b
Pick the best forms for a presentation, like a poster, a song or a short talk, to match its purpose and audience.
2.P.CP.2.c
Change their voice, speed and body language to fit the audience and purpose, like speaking slowly and pointing when showing steps.
2.P.CP.2.d
Talk with their audience during a presentation by asking listeners questions and answering the ones they ask.
2.P.CP.2.e
Memorize and recite well-known poems or speeches, or parts of them, suited to second grade, like My Shadow by Robert Louis Stevenson, to build background.
Grammar Conventions
27 standardsGrammar, Usage, & Mechanics
2.L.GC.1.8
Master describing words for nouns and verbs, using them correctly on their own, like a tall tree or ran quickly.
2.L.GC.1.9
Master the difference between general nouns and names of specific people, places and things, like city and Atlanta, using both correctly.
2.L.GC.1.10
Master the simple past, present and future verb tenses, like jumped, jump and will jump, forming and using each correctly.
2.L.GC.1.11
Master the small words that come before nouns, like a, an and the, my and their, or this and those, using each one correctly.
2.L.GC.1.12
Master capitalizing the names of particular people, places, days and months, like Maria, Georgia and Monday.
2.L.GC.1.13
Master end punctuation, choosing a period, a question mark or an exclamation mark to fit each sentence.
2.L.GC.1.14
Master plurals of nouns that end in a consonant and y by swapping the y for ies, like baby to babies and city to cities.
2.L.GC.1.15
Master personal pronouns used as subjects, objects and owners, like she, her and hers or we, us and ours.
2.L.GC.1.16
Master common position and time words, like in, on, under, after and during, using them correctly in sentences.
2.L.GC.1.17
Master commas in lists, dates, addresses and the greeting and closing of a letter, like red, blue and green or June 4, 2026.
2.L.GC.1.18
Keep practicing apostrophes in contractions and in nouns that show one owner, like can't, it's and the dog's bone.
2.L.GC.1.19
Keep practicing plurals that do not just add s, like children, feet, mice and teeth, forming and using them correctly.
2.L.GC.1.20
Keep practicing past tense forms of verbs that do not add ed, like went, sat, told and hid.
2.L.GC.1.21
Keep practicing joining words like and, but, or and so to connect words, phrases or whole ideas.
2.L.GC.1.22
Learn and master adding d or es to verbs, like bake to baked and wash to washes, and use those forms correctly.
2.L.GC.1.23
Begin using nouns for groups and for ideas you cannot touch, like team, flock, joy and courage.
2.L.GC.1.24
Begin using pronouns that point back to the subject, like myself, himself and ourselves, as in I made it myself.
2.L.GC.1.25
Begin putting a comma before and, but or so when it joins two complete sentences, like It rained, so we stayed in.
2.L.GC.1.26
Begin using a hyphen to split a word between syllables when it will not fit at the end of a line.
2.L.GC.1.27
Begin building and using phrases that start with words like in, over or after, like under the bed or after lunch.
2.L.GC.1.28
Begin forming comparing words, like taller and tallest or faster and fastest, and using them in sentences.
2.L.GC.1.29
Begin matching pronouns to the nouns they stand for, like using her for Ana and they for the kids.
2.L.GC.1.30
Begin spotting and using capitals, commas and quotation marks to show the exact words a character or person says.
Syntax
2.L.GC.2.a
Tell simple sentences from compound ones and name each sentence as a statement, command, question or exclamation.
2.L.GC.2.b
Write with a mix of simple and compound sentences and of statements, questions, commands and exclamations so the writing is clear and flows.
2.L.GC.2.c
Make subjects and verbs match when writing sentences, like the dog runs but the dogs run.
2.L.GC.2.d
Add describing words for nouns and verbs to build out ideas and make meaning clearer, like the fluffy cat slept peacefully.
Vocabulary
9 standardsGeneral, Academic, & Specialized Vocabulary
2.L.V.1.a
Learn everyday, school and subject-specific words and phrases from second-grade reading and lessons, like habitat or compare.
2.L.V.1.b
Use second-grade everyday, school and subject words when speaking and writing in different situations, like describing a habitat in science.
Word Analysis
2.L.V.2.a
Spot common root words, prefixes and suffixes and use them to take a word apart and find its meaning, like un, happy and ness in unhappiness.
2.L.V.2.c
Build new words by adding common prefixes and suffixes to root words, like re plus tell to make retell or help plus ful to make helpful.
Meaning & Purpose
2.L.V.3.a
Use clues in the same sentence and nearby sentences to work out new words and words with more than one meaning, like bat or bark.
2.L.V.3.b
Figure out how words relate to others that mean the same or the opposite, like big and large or big and small.
2.L.V.3.c
Tell apart verbs with slightly different meanings, like walk, stroll and march, and adjectives of different strength, like cold and freezing.
2.L.V.3.d
Look up words and phrases in glossaries and beginner dictionaries, on paper or online, to find or check what they mean.
2.L.V.3.e
Pick words for speaking and writing using what they know about word relationships and new vocabulary, like choosing sprinted instead of ran.
Context
4 standardsPurpose & Audience
2.T.C.1.a
Figure out why a text was written and who it was made for, like a cereal ad aimed at kids or a road sign meant for drivers.
2.T.C.1.b
Name the different ways messages are shared, like printed books, websites, audio, talking, pictures and mixes of these.
2.T.C.1.c
Make a text on a topic they choose that mixes at least two forms, like a poster with drawings and writing or a recorded talk with slides.
Authors & Speakers
2.T.C.2.a
Point to words in a text, like I and we or he and they, to tell whether it is told in the first or third person.
Structure & Style
5 standardsOrganization
2.T.SS.1.a
Explain how features like captions, subheadings, charts and an index help readers understand a text and find their way around it.
2.T.SS.1.b
Add features like pictures, page numbers, bold words and headings to their own writing so it is clearer and easier to understand.
2.T.SS.1.c
Put events and actions in order in their writing with joining and transition words, like first, then, after that and finally.
Craft
2.T.SS.2.a
Tell when words in a text mean exactly what they say and when they do not, like it's raining cats and dogs.
2.T.SS.2.b
Use vivid describing words to make their writing interesting to read, like a slimy green frog instead of just a frog.
Techniques
12 standardsNarrative Techniques
2.T.T.1.a
Identify and describe the building blocks authors use in stories, like characters, setting, main events and what characters say.
2.T.T.1.b
Name the main events in a story that happen after the problem appears and before it gets solved.
2.T.T.1.c
Describe how characters react to big challenges or events and how those reactions show the story's message or lesson.
2.T.T.1.d
Compare and contrast two or more tellings of one story by different authors or cultures, like Cinderella and a Cinderella tale from China.
2.T.T.1.e
Write true or made-up stories with characters, a setting, events and dialogue, ending in a way that wraps things up.
Expository Techniques
2.T.T.2.a
Identify and describe how informational texts are built, like finding the main idea of a paragraph and the key details that support it.
2.T.T.2.b
Describe how events in history, science ideas or steps in a process connect in a text, like how each step leads to the next in planting a seed.
2.T.T.2.d
Write informational texts that introduce a topic, explain it with facts and definitions, and end with a closing sentence or section.
Opinion Techniques
2.T.T.3.a
Identify and describe how opinion texts work, like finding what the author thinks and the reasons and facts given to back it up.
2.T.T.3.c
Write opinion pieces that name the topic, give their opinion, back it with reasons joined by words like because and also, and end with a conclusion.
Poetic Techniques
2.T.T.4.a
Find, sort and describe the tools poets use, like rhyme, repeated beginning sounds, repeated lines, stanzas and where lines break.
2.T.T.4.b
Write their own poems with poetry techniques, like repetition or line breaks, using words and phrases that can rhyme or not.
Research & Analysis
5 standardsResearch & Inquiry
2.T.RA.1.a
Come up with questions to research about topics they pick themselves, like how bees make honey.
2.T.RA.1.b
Research a group or personal topic, alone or with others, collecting facts from several sources and sorting them with tools like a graphic organizer.
2.T.RA.1.c
Organize accurate, on-topic facts from research and share them in different ways, like a poster, a short talk or a slideshow.
Curating Sources & Evidence
2.T.RA.2.a
Point to exact parts of a text to support an idea, answer or opinion, like showing the page where a character tells a lie.
2.T.RA.2.b
Explore books, websites and interviews with people as sources, and talk about how what they find connects to different topics.
The official Georgia documents
- Georgia's K-12 English Language Arts Standards · adopted 2023 · since 2025-26
- English Language Arts - Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE) · replaced · adopted 2015 · 2015-16 to 2024-25
The plain-English lines on this page are EMStudio's own explanations of Georgia's standards, not the official wording, which Georgia Department of Education publishes in the documents above. Codes and strand names identify each standard.