* Reading silently for purpose
I want to note here that while this is a second grade suggestion, your child should begin reading silently as soon as he is capable.
* Dramatizations and interpretative or oral reading
This is simple to practice while your child reads out loud to you. Start by asking your child to note punctuation such as question marks or exclamation points. Then encourage him to use inflection with his voice as is appropriate. At first, it may seemed forced but in time, your child will learn to read with feeling.
A note on why this is an important skill to practice: It is not to encourage future Oscar winners, but rather reading with appropriate inflection, and dramatization encourages reading comprehension by causing your child to think about how the characters are feeling.
* Use and meaning of quotation marks in reading
Have your child write a story using dialogue. Actually practicing using quotation marks is the best way to teach how and when they are used. When your child starts to get when quotation marks are used, consider giving him sentences and having him place the quotation marks and commas as appropriate. In our house, we call this game, ‘Editor-in-Chief’.
* Story development: beginning, middle, end
Of course common sense says you can have your child just write a story and encourage these elements in his writing. But have you considered providing one or two of these elements (such as the beginning or the middle or both) and having your child write the missing part of the story? Another game to play is to have your child re-write the ending of a favorite book.
* Simple book reviews
I am personally not such a big fan of book reports. On the other hand, it does provide practice in reading comprehension, narrative writing skills, and summarizing. Here is a sample book review form. You can of course always make your own.
* Listening skills
I could almost write a whole other blog on listening skills, selective listening and the like. However, for the purposes of homeschooling, it is sufficient to read out loud to your child and have him answer questions based on the reading. You can also hone listening skills by giving oral directions. This is a life long skill to be sure.
* Organizing ideas and impressions
* Simple punctuation and capitalization
Before you give your child an assignment, it is helpful to sit down with him and help him organize his ideas. At the beginning, you may end up doing a lot of the organizing but if you keep practicing and continually ask open ended questions, your child will surely get the hang of it. Another way to help budding writers is to use the family journal.
* Alphabetizing through second letter of a word
* Using dictionary guide words
Both of these skills can be taught while preparing for a spelling test. Have your child alphabetize the spelling words on one day. On another, he can write the guide words for them.
* Vocabulary development
There are a thousand ways to teach vocabulary development and a thousand books to help you do it. If you read out loud to your child regularly, books that are a grade level or two higher than your child’s own reading ability, you can be fairly assured that your child’s vocabulary will grow. However, I recognize that there are all different types of learning styles and teaching styles and some of you prefer workbooks just to make sure you get it in. Here are a few that I’ve either used or have heard good things about:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/103-2502162-1015822?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Wordly+Wise
* Homonyms, synonyms, antonyms
* Methods of word attack
* Ways to study spelling
Check out this page that lists several creative ways to study a spelling word list.
* Refining manuscript handwriting
* Writing independently in manuscript form
* Brief and simple letters and journals
* Narration, description, letters, poetry
All of the above skills can be practiced with regular journal writing. For more writing ideas see: Ideas for Reluctant Writers
Related Articles:
What Your Second Grader Should Know in Social Studies
What Your Second Grader Should Know in Science
What Your Second Grader Should Know in Math