reading activities grade 2

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Second Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets

Grade 2 reading comprehension.

Use these free, printable worksheets to practice and improve reading comprehension, vocabulary and writing.  Each worksheet includes a short fiction or non-fiction passage followed by some questions.  These worksheets are at a 2nd grade level.

Leveled stories & reading worksheets

These grade 2 leveled stories are taken from our series of leveled reading workbooks .  Each successive level provides a greater reading challenge.

Children's stories

Over 20 free children's stories followed by comprehension questions.  Most passages are 150-200 words long; questions ask students to recall what they have read.

Fables for grade 2 students

Each historical passage or fable is followed by 4 questions focused on recalling information directly from the text.

Reading comprehension exercises

Reading comprehension worksheets focused on specific comprehension topics such as the "main idea versus details" of a text, sequencing and story elements (characters, setting, plot).

We also have some short plays and drama exercises  which can be fun way of building comprehension skills.

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23 Fun and Easy Guided Reading Activity Ideas

Boost reading skills in small groups.

Guided reading is small-group instruction that supports each reader’s progress with mini-lessons, practice, and feedback. Students read books at their level and engage in activities before and after that help them build core reading skills. Read on to learn how to teach a guided reading lesson, plus see our favorite guided reading activity ideas.

What is included in a guided reading lesson?

You’ll use the same text across multiple guided reading lessons. Depending on the skills you’re teaching and the text, you may plan guided reading lessons that span a few days or a week. The point is to really get into the text and practice reading skills with your feedback and guidance.

Each guided reading lesson is broken into parts:

Mini lesson

A mini lesson that focuses on phonemic awareness, phonics, word reading, fluency, or vocabulary. You can’t hit all of those in one mini lesson, so choose a skill that students will be using in the text they’re reading right after the mini lesson.

Read the book

Students read the decodable book independently. They may whisper-read while you listen, or they may read on their own and read aloud when you ask them to. During this time, you check in with students to make sure they are able to read and understand the text.

Comprehension activities

After students have finished reading, it’s time to talk about what they read. They’ll retell, answer questions, and engage in other comprehension-based activities.

The last part of a guided reading lesson is applying the skills they learned in writing. This could mean practicing writing words from the story, or writing sentences or responses to the story.

Preparing for Guided Reading

Guided reading takes planning—lots of planning. Doing this work on the front end will make guided reading an effective, fun time in your reading block. Here are the three steps you can take to make guided reading work:

Get students into groups

Ashleigh’s Education Journey/guided reading groups via Ashleigh-educationjourney.com

Use data from your school’s universal screening and other assessments to identify which students are working on the same thing for guided reading groups. Maybe you have a group of students who are working on long vowel patterns, while another group is working on reading multi-syllabic words. The text they read will give them a chance to practice what they’re learning, so it’s important to have the right groups.

Choose an appropriate text

Text selection is key during guided reading. Students should be working in text that they can just reach with support since they’re spending their reading time being closely monitored. Look for decodable texts, or texts that have words that students have learned. So, a short-“a” decodable reader would have words that only have the short “a” sound—it won’t include long “a” words or other vowels.

As students get older, finding books that they’re interested in reading continues to be important, but you’ll look for books that have features you want to teach, like text features or text structure.

Set the schedule

Ashleigh’s Education Journey/guided reading schedule via Ashleigh-educationjourney.com

Set a schedule that ensures that each student gets what they need—students who are able to read and work more independently may need a different schedule than students who struggle to work on their own and need additional help with reading. A weekly schedule, like this from Ashleigh’s Education Journey , lets you make sure you’re hitting all the right skills and practice.

A guided reading schedule may also include intervention or Tier 2 groups. Read more about reading intervention .

Mini-Lesson Activities

Each guided reading lesson will start with a mini-lesson. You don’t have a lot of time, so focus on one aspect of reading that students are going to apply in the book that day.

Build and Write Words

Ashleigh’s Education Journey/guided reading activity via Ashleigh-educationjourney.com

Give students practice forming words with letter tiles or cut-out letter squares. Students choose the letters they need to sound out words that they’ll read in the book. Then, with the model they’ve created, they can write the word in the next column.

Pop and Write

Mrs. Winter’s Bliss/word mapping activity via mrswintersbliss.com

In this guided reading activity, have students use a Pop-It to break a word into sounds. Then, students use a whiteboard marker to write the word. (Could you include more fun things in one activity?!) Combining the Pop-It for phonemic awareness and writing to practice encoding letter sounds is a great way to reinforce two skills at once.

CVC Word Reading

Miss Kindergarten/CVC word reading via misskindergarten.com

Use cards like these from Miss Kindergarten to practice pointing to and blending each sound in a word. Choose words that will be in the book students are reading and point out when they use the same strategy they use during the practice in their actual book reading.

Pre-Teach Vocabulary

The Science Penguin/vocabulary concept building via thesciencepenguin.com

Help students start to organize and remember new vocabulary by having them work with words. In this example from The Science Penguin , students sort new words according to parts of speech to help commit them to memory.

Sight Word Sticker Book

First Grader … at Last/sight word sticker book via Firstgraderatlast.blogspot.com

As students master sight words, have them put stickers by each word. Then, as a warm-up in guided reading, they can review the words they know and practice words they don’t. Set a day as sticker day, when they can prove that they’ve mastered a new word and add more stickers to their book.

Learn more: First Grader … at Last

Fluency Strips

Mrs. Richardson’s Class/fluency Strips via mrsrichardsonsclass.com

In this guided reading activity, have students practice reading fluency with short, manageable strips of a phrase or a sentence or two. You can also print out sentences or short paragraphs from books they’re reading so you can build repeated reading practice into guided reading.

Learn more: Mrs. Richardson’s Class

Read more: Fluency Activities

Word Family Fluency

Miss Kindergarten/word family fluency via misskindergarten.com

Another way to work in some quick fluency practice is with word family sentence strips. Give students the strips for the word family they are working on and have them practice reading through the strips. If you organize them by color like Miss Kindergarten , you can also have a rainbow-sentence option with sentences from all the different word families.

Mrs. Richardson’s Class/phonics practice example via mrsrichardsonsclass.com

Practice making words that have the same spelling pattern—for example, writing all the words that end in -igh. Choose spelling patterns students will see in the book you’re going to read so students can get maximum practice with the spelling patterns.

Read more: Phonics Activities

Preview the Text

Previewing the text, or looking at the main features, is a habit that you’ll want students to have as they read on their own. Use time during guided reading to preview each text before you read it.

Here’s how to preview a text with students:

During reading activities

Teaching With Jennifer Findley/guided reading data tracker via jenniferfindley.com

During guided reading, the most important activity is reading. The teacher’s role is to listen as students read and then give them feedback on their reading. Correct a word here. Prompt them to use a strategy there.

Take notes on how students are reading each session so you have the data to track their progress.

Get it: Free printable guided reading note taker from Jennifer Findley

After reading activities

After students have read the text, it’s time to talk comprehension. They can practice retelling, answering questions, and discussing text with their small group. Their responses will show you how they’re doing in terms of understanding questions and pulling information out of the text.

Retelling Gloves

Buzzing With Ms. B/retelling gloves via buzzingwithmsb.com

Create a retelling glove and have students refer to each of the five fingers for each part of the story they should include in a retelling. This helps students who get lost in telling you all the details. You can have them put each finger down as they tell you that part of the story.

Learn more: Buzzing With Ms. B

Comprehension Fans

Runde’s Room/Comprehension Fans via rundesroom.com

Organize questions onto strips or cards, and put a collection of these questions on a ring to create a “fan” for this guided reading activity. Then have students select a question from the fan to ask a group, or write a response.

Learn more: Runde’s Room

Check out this list of printable questions for book discussions .

Fill In the Graphic Organizer

Courtney Schermerhorn/graphic organizer via teacherspayteachers.com

A graphic organizer is a great way to help students organize information they pull from a text. As students learn how to complete graphic organizers and use text structure to understand text, provide graphic organizers with some parts filled in to model a correct response (read: full sentences) and give students a scaffold to complete the entire organizer.

Buy it: Graphic organizer at Teachers Pay Teachers

Reading Dice

A Love 4 Teaching/reading dice via alove4teaching.blogspot.com

Write open-ended literature response questions on dice. Then, students roll the dice and answer the question that lands on top.

Learn more: A Love 4 Teaching

Comprehension Jenga

Counselor Clique/Questions on a Jenga game via counselorclique.com

Counselor Clique wrote questions for post-career goals in this example, but for guided reading, write questions on Jenga blocks that apply to your students’ age and reading goals. Then, play a game of Jenga—students pull a block from the stacked tower and answer the question they get.

Summarize Together

This Reading Mama/Summarizing Activity via thisreadingmama.com

Students practice summarizing using signal words by using sticky notes and papers that have the key features of a summary: who, what, when, where, why. After students write their signal words, they create a group summary by sticking them onto the paper. Over time, students can do this activity on their own or in a small group without direct supervision.

Read more: This Reading Mama

Bloom Balls

Coffee Cups & Lesson Plans/Bloom Ball activity via coffeecupslessonplans.com

Have older students create a Bloom Ball, a 12-sided ball with space to write on each side. Students write questions they can ask about any text, or projects they can do with any text, on each side. Then, they roll the ball to see which question they answer or which project they do.

Learn more at Coffee Cups & Lesson Plans .

Buy it: Bloom Ball template at Teachers Pay Teachers

Prediction Practice

Raise the Bar Reading/making predictions activity via teacherspayteachers.com

Making predictions using information from the text is an important skill students use to maintain comprehension. Use a template, like this one from Raise the Bar Reading , to help students identify the information from the text, then use that information to make predictions.

Buy it: Making Predictions printable at Teachers Pay Teachers

Student-Led Groups

The Mountain Teacher/student-led reading groups via themountainteacher.com

As students get older and learn how to discuss text on their own, put them into groups to discuss. Having roles in the group can help some students stay on task, and ensures that everyone has something to be accountable for.

Learn more: The Mountain Teacher

Guided Writing

The last part of guided reading is writing! This is when students are able to consolidate everything they learned, put it into their own words, and maybe add some more ideas.

Letter Writing

Whimsy Workshop Teaching/letter-writing examples via whimsyworkshopteaching.com

Letter writing is a great way to have students retell and engage with text. You can have students write a letter to a character (like the example from Whimsy Workshop Teaching ). Or have students put themselves in the mind of one character and write a letter to another character in the book from that point of view. This activity is good for after students read an especially dramatic part in the story and one character has a secret or new information they can’t wait to share.

Newspaper Article

Kirsten’s Kaboodle/newspaper template via kirstenskaboodle.com

Newspaper writing is retelling for older students. This activity has students retell what happened in the day’s or week’s reading in a newspaper article format. Use a graphic organizer to make sure that students include all the relevant sections.

Buy it: Kirsten’s Kaboodle newspaper template

Pitch a Sequel

In this guided reading activity, have students write an idea for a sequel to the book or story they just read. Where would they take the characters next? What conflict would these characters get into next?

Comic Strip Retell

Mrs. RM/comic strip retelling via Pinterest

Another way to retell for older students: Use a comic strip format to show the beginning, middle, and end of a story or scene. For longer texts, you could have students build out a comic strip across multiple guided reading lessons, or have students work collaboratively to turn the entire story into a comic.

Graph Character Arc

This one will really engage students’ creativity. Students choose a type of graph (pie graph, chart, etc.) and track the character’s emotions or level of conflict in a scene or book. Label the graph with information from the story.

What are your favorite guided reading activity ideas? Share in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group  on Facebook.

Check it out: 49 anchor charts all about reading comprehension ..

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2nd Grade Reading Worksheets

• Kindergarten
• All subjects

25 2nd Grade Reading Worksheets

Compound words #1

Some words are made up of two other words! In this language arts worksheet, your child gets practice putting together compound words such as football, playground, and pancake.

Compound words #2

Jig + saw = jigsaw! When two individual words can be added together to form a new word, that's a compound word. In this language arts worksheet, your child will find as many compound words as possible using a set of 15 root words.

Compound words: all mixed up!

These compound words are mixed up — can you fix them? In this language arts worksheet, your child gets practice decoding erroneous compound words, correcting them, and writing accurate compound words.

Conjunctions

Conjunctions are words that join sentences. In this writing worksheet, your child gets practice combining two sentences into one using different conjunctions.

Some books have a glossary. In this reading worksheet, your child learns what a glossary is and gets practice using a glossary to answer questions.

Can you figure out the word? Homographs are words with multiple meanings. In this vocabulary-building worksheet, your child will write the word that matches all three definitions given.

Write or right? In this language arts worksheet, your child will look up sets of homophones to learn the definitions of the all the like-sounding (but differently spelled) words.

How to write a story

In this set of reading and writing worksheets, your children will first read two short stories for mechanics, then draw and label a diagram about those stories, answer prompts to create their own story, and finish by writing a complete story!

Language play: sound words

Vrooom goes the car! In this language arts worksheet, your child will match each sound word to the object that makes that sound.

Poems: a mysterious story (meaning and mechanics)

Who is the Traveler? In this language arts worksheet, your child will read the poem aloud and then answer a series of reading comprehension questions about key details, overall meaning, and mechanics of the poem.

• Kindergarden

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2nd grade reading & vocabulary

Unit 1: fairy tales retold, unit 2: the moon, unit 3: rural, suburban, urban.

2nd Grade Reading Activities From Scholastic Teachables

Scholastic Teachables (formerly Scholastic Printables) has more than 3,000 second grade reading activities and worksheets that span a multitude of subjects and topics targeted for early reading and language arts, including reading comprehension, literary elements, sight words, phonics, fluency, and more! Sign up today and get instant online access to 2nd grade reading worksheets, lessons plans, practice pages, games, and activities to cover essential reading skills. Plus, you'll get access to Scholastic's more than 30,000 award-winning printables for all grades and subjects to reach every learner. 

Our 2nd Grade Reading Activities Cover:

• Cause and Effect
• Close Reading
• Compare and Contrast
• Content Vocabulary
• Early Reading
• ELL and ESL
• Fiction and Nonfiction Texts
• Figurative Language
• Grammar and Punctuation
• Graphic Organizers
• Guided Reading
• Informational Texts
• Literary Elements
• Main Idea and Details
• Mini-Books Activities
• Reading Comprehension
• Reading Intervention
• Reading Response
• Sight Words
• Spelling Patterns
• Story Sequence
• Word Families

Sample 2nd Grade Reading Activities

Scholastic Teachables has more than 3,000 second grade reading activities that span more than 25 topics targeted for early and essential reading skills for all your teaching needs. Here's a sample of 2nd grade reading activities and worksheets for you to try in your class FREE with a 30-day trial or subscription.

• Probability
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• Skip Counting
• Time and Measurement
• Word Problems

Sample 2nd Grade Reading Activities  

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Letter B Bulletin Board Square

Letter Yy: Alphabet Letter and Picture (Full-Color Reference)

Speedy Work - Alphabet Recognition (Practice Page)

Pocket-Folder Center: Cereal on Sale! (Alphabetical order)

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Dictionary Skills: Alphabetical Order (Practice Page)

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Letter M: Letter Formation Practice

Manuscript Alphabet: Handwriting Practice Page

Big Birthday Bash!: Identifying Upper- and Lowercase B

Cursive Writing Practice: The Alphabet (Lowercase)

Alphabet Clouds: Beginning Reader Science Play

Alphabet Activator: Kick-Off Assessment for Differentiated Lessons

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Check It Out!: Identifying Upper- and Lowercase L

The King's Castle: Identifying Upper- and Lowercase C

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38 Awesome 2nd Grade Reading Comprehension Activities

June 10, 2022 //  by  Maria Van Norman

Second-graders have many of the fundamental skills for reading under their belt. This is when second-grade teachers can dig a bit deeper into students' comprehension skills by engaging in reading comprehension activities. Getting creative, reading fun stories, and using a variety of texts (both nonfiction and fiction books included) will keep your students interested and excited to learn.

Throwing in a student's favorite chapter book or having them independently choose what to read can create excitement as well. Draw on the following awesome reading comprehension lessons to give your kids a boost in school and on their way to a lifetime of success.

Hands-On Comprehension Activities 

1. mark up the main idea .

Arm the kids with this reading comprehension worksheet that focuses on the main idea and key details. Read the comprehension passage together and answer the exercise questions. You can then move on to other grade-level comprehension passages to find the main idea and key details.

Learn More: K5 Learning

2. Compare-A-Character

This kid-friendly resource gets students thinking about the essential skill, characterization. In this comprehension exercise, the kids will write down what they learn about two of the main characters in the story. They will record the character's differences and similarities.

Learn More: Florida Center for Reading Research

3. Frank's Facts vs. Opie's Opinions

Use this worksheet to teach kids about facts vs. opinions. Have the students use their critical thinking skills to decide whether each statement is either one of Frank’s Facts or Opie’s Opinions. Use an F for fact and O for opinion.

Learn More: Education.com

4. Super Shutterbook Reading Response

Create a shutter book and choose what the kids need to review. There are many things to do with a shutter book, such as summarizing the story. The kids can practice fact vs. fiction or even setting. This engaging activity will be a hit as the kids get to be creative!

Learn More: Upper Elementary Snapshots

5. Comprehension Cootie Catcher for Story Elements

Have kids create this cootie catcher.  (There are spots to add in your own questions in case the students need a refresher with other types of comprehension topics.) Pair up the students and have them review the story by answering the questions about story elements.

Learn More: Classroom Game Nook

6. Persuade, Inform, or Entertain?

Completing this activity will teach kids how to recognize the author’s purpose for a text. Print out the cards and have students place the cards that say “persuade,” “inform,” and “entertain” in a row. Then give them the passages and have them place them in the correct column.

Learn More: Florida Center For Reading Research

7. Creating Mind Movies

Share with the students that imagery revolves around their five senses. Then, spend some magical time reading them a story rich with imagery. Have them close their eyes and imagine what the story describes. Ask them questions about the characters and setting and have them explain what they imagined.

Learn More: Reading Rockets

8. Cause and Effect Match Up 

9. The Retelling Glove

Grab a light-colored glove and permanent marker. On each finger, either write out the story element or draw a picture as described in this activity. Take some read-aloud time and stop periodically to have them answer the questions based on each finger. This will help them practice retelling a story.

Learn More: Michigan State University College of Agriculture and Natural Resources

10. Fiction and Non-Fiction Review: Grab Some Books

Review whether a book is fiction or non-fiction with this activity. Grab some books of different genres and this printout. Have students either use the two larger cards and put each book under the correct genre or have them fill in the titles under the correct genre on the printout.

11. Comic Creator 

On a blank piece of paper, create three columns, evenly spaced (or print this template). Have students draw a scene from the book in each column. Give them some colored pencils, crayons, and markers, and allow them to get creative. Spend some one-on-one time discussing their choices for each scene.

12. K-W-L Chart

Using this template (or create one that's similar), have students fill in the Know (K) and Want-to-Know (W) sections in reference to the text they are about to read. Next, read the text and have them fill in the Learned (L) section to see what they grasped from the text.

Learn More: Home Reading Helper

13. Prediction Worksheets

Before reading a book, the students will see the title of the book. Use this worksheet to practice predicting what a book will be about based on its title. Discuss their thoughts on why they chose their prediction.

14. Create a WANTED Poster

Talk about the "bad guy" in the story by having them create a WANTED poster. The students will use details from the story to fill in the poster with both a drawing of the character and some fun writing about why the character is "WANTED." Discuss the poster when finished.

15. Compare-A-Story

Have students make text-to-text connections by comparing stories using this graphic organizer. Use as many details as possible by thinking about the story elements. Fill in the similarities and the differences between the two stories.

Reading Comprehension and Media! 

Sometimes, it's hard to get your hands on the perfect comprehension stories and books, thankfully we live in an age where almost everything can be found online. Here are some amazing online activities that have already been completed for you! Save on planning time and spend more time enhancing your students learning with these videos.

16. The Dog and The Joey

Enhance and assess your student's context clue skills with this read-aloud. Read in small groups, as a whole class, or at home. Your students will be engaged throughout the entire story and will surely be excited to answer the questions at the end!

Learn more: Hype Math

17. Ask the W's

In this video, students will go on a journey with an experienced second-grade teacher, learning how to ask proper questions! Honestly, this video not only will be great for students to watch but also very helpful for teachers to get a little refresher on asking questions during comprehension.

Learn more: Hand 2 Mind

18. Story Elements

There's no doubt that teaching story elements isn't an easy task. It takes lots of repetition and visuals to drill story elements into a child's day-to-day thinking. Start or refresh your kiddos with this video in order to give them a different type of fun and engaging visual.

Learn more: Leigha Nunnally

19. Comprehension Read Aloud

My students absolutely love this story. It's engaging and always interesting for students to hear someone else reading to them. It's always important to introduce your kiddos to different styles of reading. This is a great way to see how well they do, listening and comprehending a story read in a different style than your own.

Learn more: Nicole's Speech & Language Consultations, LLC

20. Sparkle Tooth

Pull up this video on your student's Ipads or Chromebooks and have them read aloud to a partner or in small groups. This can also be used as an individual student assessment if desired. Listen to your students read the story for fluency and ask questions at the end to assess their comprehension.

Learn more: KidsEduc – Kids Educational Games

21. Visualize

Creating mental images is so important for students listening to and reading stories. It's important for students to understand exactly  how to visualize before they can successfully apply this skill. In this video, students will learn the different ways to visualize. Follow it up with an activity solely focused on visualizing.

Learn more: Shannon McGilloway

22. Comprehension Strategies

Honestly, this is one of my favorite videos on the web. Use this video and imitate it in your classroom by making a poster of all of the different comprehension strategies, or watch it along with your class!

23. I Am A Snail Poem

I Am A Snail is a poem written by an anonymous author, it is both engaging and great for practicing fluency. In this video, read with your students in a variety of repeated reading strategies that will help them to enhance their fluency.

Learn more: Astute Hoot

24. Good Morning Comprehension

This video provides a great start to the day! Reading in the morning will help your students get ready for the day. The Giving Tree  is an extremely popular story and most likely you students will have read this book before. Making it even better for comprehension! If you already have this book in the classroom, use this video for some ideas on how to properly use it to boost comprehension.

Learn more: Speech Day with Tiana Mae

25. Character Understanding

Teaching students in 2nd grade to see from another character's point of view isn't always easy. Sometimes, it can take hours of planning and prep to make sure you get your point across. In this case, it's super important to revisit how to teach character understanding. This video will give an overview of exactly what students need to know!

Learn more: Hannah Braun

Sight Words

Are sight words important for student comprehension? Of course, they are! Being able to recognize grade-level sight words will help students to read more fluently. These words are meant to be remembered and immediately read, without students having to sound them out. Save time, and help your students read more fluently by integrating these strategies into your classroom.

26. Basic 2nd Grade Sight Words

Here is a video that reads with your students and helps them to read sight words! It's important for students to be able to read and understand these sight words. They are grade level and this is a perfect transition activity if there is a bit more time left at the end of a lesson.

Learn more: Read Kids

27. Make Your List!

This video can be used to make a list of sight words that are grade level. It can often be difficult to find grade-level sight words that aren't included within a program. If your school doesn't provide a spelling program, then create your own list using this video! During free time, have students follow along and read the words.

Learn more: GKL - Golden Kids Learning

28. Sight Word Songs

We all love a good song to incorporate into our classroom. This song may take some time to learn, but listening daily will help students with their listening and spelling comprehension. Break it down and learn it in pieces or have students go big and try to learn it all.

Learn more: Little Fox - Kids Songs and Stories

29. How to Teach Sight Words

If you're new to teaching younger students or just haven't sat down and looked at teaching sight words in a while, review the proper science behind teaching them with this video! Although it may not be a direct activity, it will surely help you to find activities that support the science behind teaching sight words.

Learn more: Susan Jones Teaching

30. Sight Word Memory

This sight word memory game will be so much fun for students! Save yourself some prep time and use it online or make up your own matching game! It might be beneficial to have students write down the words on flashcards while they're playing.

Learn more: Worldwall

31. Build These Words

This is a really fun activity for students in any classroom. I love to use this as a whole-group activity and have students guess the answers by raising their hands or working as teams. They love to join the leaderboard at the end of the lesson as well.

32. Sight Word Bingo

There's nothing better than a quick little game of bingo! What a perfect way to call out the sight words, other than pulling up the Random Wheel on your smart board. Students will love to come up and spin the Random Wheel. While finding and marking the sight words on their Bingo cards.

33. Color By Sight Word

My students absolutely love color by sight word. This website offers a variety of different sight words coloring sheets that may be perfect to bring into your classroom.

Learn more: Teach Starfall

Classroom Visuals

Making sure to hit each child's learning techniques is vital to a successful classroom. Having visuals set up throughout the classroom is great and necessary for any 2nd grade. Whether you create these together as a whole class or just read through them together, it will surely help students to grasp a better understanding of their reading comprehension skills.

34. Purchase Posters

Purchasing posters and creating an activity to go along with them is a great way to enhance student learning. Your students will love these colorful posters that will help teach them a few different comprehension tricks!

Learn more: Teachers Pay Teachers

35. Reading Wall

A reading word wall like this is both inviting and engaging. Adding this to your classroom will brighten it up and give students a visual board when they are stuck on a certain comprehension skill.

Learn more: Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits

36. Create a Focus Board

Although this is a high prep board, it's totally worth it! This can be a bit overwhelming in the first year of teaching, but once the words and different visualizations are created based on the curriculum, creating this board will become quite simple over the years.

Learn more: Life in First Grade

37. Retell the Story

This is an amazing visual that should really be integrated into any 2nd-grade classroom. Teaching beginning, middle, and end shouldn't be hard. Have this posted in the front of your classroom and students are sure to use it to help them confidently read through their reading passage or answer their comprehension questions.

Learn more: A Walk in the Chalk

38. Reading is Thinking

It's important to make sure that your students know the importance of thinking while reading. This will help them make connections to any comprehension passage. Therefore, having a poster like this displayed somewhere in the classroom, will help them to mark up their paper while reading and make connections.

Pick-and-Choose

There are so many great resources out there when it comes to helping second-grade students with reading comprehension skills. Whichever activities you choose, be sure to ask students a lot of questions to help them through. As long as you can get a bit creative and mix up your lessons, the students will be engaged and learning.

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27 Fun Reading Activities To Try At Home or In The Classroom

Fun reading activities for the classroom

Reading activities for parents & children, activities to try after reading, other educational activities to help kids learn.

Learning to read is a huge milestone in a child’s life. We all know how important a love of reading is for future learning. When children love to read, they can learn anything. 

Make sure your children keep the joy of reading alive by using fun reading activities along with traditional reading strategies .

These fun daily moments can improve reading skills and help reluctant readers find joy in the written word. We’ll be covering reading activities by grade level both for the classroom and at home, as well as some activities to improve reading comprehension after your students are reading independently. 

Though many children begin the basics of reading at home, most solidify their skills and become accomplished readers in the classroom. These activities keep early readers engaged and improving while helping reluctant readers master the basics. Here are our favorite ways to keep reading fun!

1. Find the secret word

Great for: Kindergarten to 2nd grade

Turn a reading lesson into a scavenger hunt! Give each student or pair of students a piece of text, then speak the first secret word. Once they find it, have them circle it in a specific color, or circle and number, then report back to you for word #2. 

Keep this word search up for as long as you like — we recommend choosing about 8 to 10 words for students to find. It’s one part competition, one part scavenger hunt! Choose a prize for each team to receive when they complete the activity. Or celebrate everyone reaching the end with a classroom dance party! It’s a great way to keep your kids moving and learning.

2. Read aloud as a class

Great for: All grades

Kids are never too old to hear a story read aloud. Reading aloud as a class is a great way to keep kids engrossed in a story. Since you are most familiar with the text, you can keep the flow going during the dramatic moments. Then hand it off to your students to take their turns.

Want to add a new element to your classroom read-aloud? Pass around a ball or stuffed animal to indicate the next reader. It’s a variation of popcorn reading to help minimize reading anxiety, and it gives kids the power to pass it on after spending a short time reading. 

3. Partner reading

Great for: 1st to 3rd grade

Sometimes trying to get the whole class to read together is just too much. To encourage more reading time, pair up your students for partner reading. 

During partner reading, each child will get more time to practice their skills. And being corrected privately by one friend may be better for a struggling reader’s confidence. Try to pair a confident but patient reader with those who need some extra help and watch them both learn to succeed.

4. Find the synonym

Great for: 2nd to 5th grade

Once your readers are feeling more confident, take our scavenger hunt game mentioned above and add a new twist. 

Instead of searching for the exact spoken words on your list, give students the challenge to find the word’s synonym in the text. It’s a great way to keep the game challenging for older students.

5. Word searches

For younger students, a word search is a challenging way to encourage early reading. You can do this much like our scavenger hunt-style games, but instead of saying the words aloud, provide a list. 

They can search for one word at a time, with you providing the next word to the team once the first is found. Or provide a full list from the beginning and let them work individually. Add in some color matching (marking the word in the same color as printed on the list) to keep this game fun and engaging.

6. Keyword bingo

Looking for a calmer alternative to the secret word game? Have each child work individually in a game of reading bingo. Choose a grade-level text and compile a list of words found in the passage. 

Read each word aloud, giving about 15 seconds before moving on to the next. It’s a race against your clock to find the words, or they can try to remember them while looking for the others. When they find the words, they can mark them out. Once the list is done, allow 20 more seconds to wrap up any remaining words, then pencils down and count. Whoever finds the most words, wins!

7. Decoding games

Decoding games focus on letter sounds and phonemic awareness. A favorite game for pre-readers is to say a letter and have students find an object that starts with that letter. As they bring the object back, reinforce the sound that letter makes.

Other decoding games can focus on the mechanics of reading — such as reading a word or sentence from left to right. This is a great time to utilize finger puppets, following along with a finger as you sound the words out together.

8. Thumbs up, thumbs down

Great for: Kindergarten to 5th grade

Thumbs up, thumbs down (or the higher energy variation — stand up, sit down) is a great game to keep your students engaged. 

Check reading comprehension when you ask students to give a thumbs up if a statement about a recently read story is true, or a thumbs down if it’s false. Help them grasp grammar concepts by having them stand up when you say an adjective word or sit down if you say a noun. 

It’s a fun way to keep their bodies and brains working. 

9. Discover the missing letter

When you’re teaching letter sounds, it’s fun to get creative. In this game, you’ll call your students to the front of the class by their names — minus the first letter. For example, Stacy becomes tacy and Roland becomes oland. Let the kids guess who you’re calling up, then have them decode the missing letter. 

You can do the same thing for objects, or drop middle letters for older children. Just be sure to prepare your words ahead of time to avoid any slip-ups!  

10. Guided reading ball game

Great for: 2nd to 7th grade

Grab a few beach balls from your local dollar store and get your classroom moving. Take a sharpie and write a discussion prompt on each colorful section of the ball. What is the setting? Who is the main character? What happened after…? 

Toss or roll the balls around. Students answer whichever question their thumb lands on when the ball heads their way. This is an exciting way to mix things up, practice reading comprehension and get kids thinking outside of their seats.

Not all reading happens in the classroom! Parents can play an active role in helping their children learn to read. Here are a few activities to try with your kids.

1. Reading together

Great for: All grades and ages

There’s something special about listening to a book being read out loud. It can capture your attention in a unique way. Whether your child is a baby or fully grown, it’s always a good time to read together.

Take turns reading chapters from a favorite story, or just read to your child. Enjoying good stories is a huge motivator in learning to read.  

2. Silly voices reading

Great for: Kindergarten to 4th grade

Kids love to laugh and joke, so play into this with a crazy story and silly voices. Get really high-pitched, speed it up like a chipmunk, and then pitch your voice low. 

Your kids will love seeing these stories come to life with your words, and you’ll all share a good laugh. To get them involved in the fun, ask them to do their own silly voice!

3. Dialogic reading

The word dialogic means to have a dialogue, and that’s exactly what this activity is designed to do. Instead of reading to your child while they passively listen, invite them into the story. Ask them what they think may happen next, or at the close of the book invite them to create a completely different ending. This is a great way to stretch your little storyteller’s imagination.

4. Reading outside

Kids thrive outdoors. They can run, climb, and dig in the dirt. Outside is also a great place to practice reading and letter writing. Invite your child to help you create words in a sandbox or take a stick and dig a letter into the dirt. 

Older kids can simply take their reading outside. It’s amazing how refreshing a change of setting can be. 

5. What word starts with…

Great for: Kindergarten to 1st grade

Letter sounds are an essential early reading tool. With this game, ask your child to think of words that start with “B” (or any other letter).

 Give an example, like b-b-butterfly, then think of more “B” words together. Choose your child’s favorite things to keep the game fun and exciting. Early readers especially love to talk about the letters in their names.

6. Try nonfiction

Great for: All ages

You never know what a child may love to read. Though many kids enjoy a good princess or dragon story, others will prefer non-fiction books. 

If your attempts at fiction are met with indifference, try a book about their favorite animal (sharks, dinosaurs, or lemurs are popular here), learn about space or strange weather events. Whatever your child is into, and whatever their reading level, there’s a book for them.

7. Create a “book nook”

A cozy spot dedicated to reading can add joy to the activity. Load up a corner or top bunk space with comfy pillows and blankets, make sure it has good lighting, and include some sticky notes and a dictionary. All your child needs to bring is their favorite book! Even better, snuggle in together and discover a new favorite with your child.

8. Who’s coming over?

This game can be played in a couple of different ways, and both are great for reading comprehension. First, try giving clues so your child can guess their favorite characters. These favorites can be from books or TV. You can mention physical characteristics, some of their best friends, or things that happen to them. Keep giving clues until they guess correctly.

The second way to play is to invite a favorite character over and then discuss what you’ll need for their visit. A special kind of bed, their favorite foods, or a place for their pet to stay are all things to consider. This is a fun way to create your own story around your child’s favorite characters.

9. Take turns reading

As your child begins to read you can invite them to read to you. Don’t push if they don’t want to, but as their confidence builds they’ll be excited to share their new skill with you. 

This may look like you both taking turns reading a new chapter book, or they may want to share all the creature descriptions from their favorite new computer game. No matter the topic, do your best to listen intently and congratulate them on their reading skills.  

10. What happens next?

Keep reading fun and active when you step outside the book and asking your child what happens next:

• What do they think will happen?
• What would you like to see happen? 
• What’s something funny that could happen?

Any question that gets them thinking through the story on their own is both fun and helpful for reading comprehension. 

11. Talk about the pictures

Pictures are a great way for kids to follow along with a story. When your child is beginning to read, have them look at the pictures and ask what they think is going on. As they unravel the story, point out the words they are discovering in the text. Or just let them enjoy creating their own unique version of the story based on the pictures. 

12. Try new reading apps and websites

There are some amazing reading apps for both reading instruction and digital reading libraries. If your child enjoys spending time on their tablet, give some of our favorite reading apps a try and watch them learn while they play.

After your child is reading on their own, there’s still plenty to learn. Reading isn’t effective if they’re struggling to understand the words on the page, or how they all fit together to create the story. Here are a few activities for children to practice reading comprehension.

1. Summarize the text

Once a child is done reading a text or section of a book, have them revisit the main ideas by highlighting or taking notes on the text’s biggest themes. Once students identify the main themes, ask them to break them down further and quickly summarize the story.

2. Book reports

Great for: 2nd to 12th grade

Book reports are a classic reading activity. Have the child analyze the book, highlighting the most important themes. Older children can present arguments pertaining to the story, and provide passages to support their theories. 

Keep book reports even more engaging when you invite kids to give a presentation, complete with dress-up and drama. 

3. Review the book

Ask children to rate their most recent reading. They can assign it a number of stars, but then they must also explain why. Was it too scary? Not funny? What were their favorite parts? What would they do differently?

Not only does this help students think critically about what they’ve just read, but it can also help parents and teacher identify what they might like reading next.

4. Extend the story

Great for: Kindergarten to 12th grade

“And they lived happily ever after…”

Maybe so, but what happened next? Ask your child to keep the story going. Where do they go next? Who do they meet? Favorite characters can continue adventuring when your child takes over the story. This is a great writing prompt , or just a fun dinner conversation!

5. How could it have been better?

Everyone has an opinion, so ask your child for theirs. How could this book or story have been better? Would a different ending be more fun? Or maybe they just think the main character should be named after them. 

No matter their critique, listen and discuss. Then encourage them to create their own tale.

How reading activities help kids embrace learning

Reading keeps kids learning for the rest of their lives. When a child can read, they can take more control over their education. And that’s a wonderful thing!

Fun activities are the best way to keep a child interested in the world of books. Learning to read can be a frustrating journey for some. Others may simply find it boring (especially if they’re being made to read about topics they care little about). These activities are designed to get kids moving and thinking beyond the page. Because when reading is fun, learning happens naturally.

When teaching starts to feel like a drag, or the kids are fighting their instruction, revisit this article. Mix in some fun activities and keep the learning going. Getting up, moving around, or enjoying a laugh together can help stimulate everyone’s mind. 

Looking for even more great learning activities to engage your kids? Here are some of our favorite activity posts for reading, math, and more!

• 21 Classroom Games
• 15 Geometry Activities
• 20 Exciting Math Games
• 30 Virtual School Activities
• 36 Fun Word Game for Kids
• 15 Free Multiplication Games
• 37 Quick Brain Breaks for Kids
• 27 Best Educational Games for Kids
• 25 Social-Emotional Learning Activities  

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2nd Grade Reading Comprehension

Here is a collection of high-interest nonfiction articles, fiction stories, readers' theater scripts, and poems, that your students are sure to enjoy. Each passage includes a series of comprehension questions as well as a vocabulary-building activity.

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Readers' theater, short passages, compare & contrast, reading comprehension files by grade:.

This page has reading passages written at a first grade level.

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Free Reading Response Activities for K-2 Students

In this post I’m sharing FREE, standards-based Reading Response Activities for Kindergarten, first and second grade students. These activities make a meaningful no-prep literacy center, small group activity or whole class lesson.

There is nothing better seeing kids share their excitement about what they’ve read.  I love having discussions about books and hearing students’ thoughts and ideas about what they have read.  Discussion is certainly valuable, but if the goal is to raise reading achievement, writing about text is more beneficial than talking about the text.   

Reading response activities are a popular way to get kids writing about what they have read.  They offer opportunities for students to strengthen their reading comprehension and give students practice in specific skills such as retelling, predicting, sequencing, visualizing and more. 

When students have to do the same response activity over and over again it can take joy away from the actual reading. That’s something none of us want, so having a variety of response activities is key. Allowing students some choice in how they respond keeps them motivated and excited to complete the task.    

But no need to start searching for different ways for your students to respond to their reading! Today I’m happy to share a variety of FREE reading response activities for kindergarten, first and second grade students! 

Free Reading Response Activities

These FREE reading response activities are fully aligned with common core standards and can be used with both fiction and non-fiction texts.  

Each response printable comes in two different versions . The first version can be used with any book you choose , while the second is designed to be used with specific titles from EPIC !

Not familiar with EPIC? Take a look at this post where I shared information on how to create your own FREE educator account.  An EPIC account will give you access to all the titles linked in this resource. Students can read or listen to these books in the classroom or at home.

Each book from EPIC comes with 3-5 standards-based activities . This allows you to give students choice in how they respond and will help to keep them motivated and engaged. 

Teaching first or second grade students remotely??  Need this resource in a digital form?  No problem! The first and second grade reading response activities come in both digital and printable files.  

How to Use Reading Response Activities

Wondering how to use these reading response activities?  There are lots of options! 

💗 Use them as a no-prep literacy center activity! Making it a center activity ensures you fit “responding to reading” into your day.  All you have to do is print the response sheets out!

💗 Make them a follow-up activity to your small group guided reading lessons.

💗 Use them in a whole group reading lesson.  After a class read aloud, work together to fill out a response sheet. This is a great way to provide students with extra support before you ask them to complete the activities on their own.

💗 Finally, they make a meaningful, no-prep activity for a substitute teacher.

Ready to start using these FREE Reading Response Activities in your Kindergarten, first, or second grade classroom?? Simply fill out this form below I’ll send the activities directly to your inbox!   

Looking for more ways to get your students responding to reading? Check out my Reading Response Resources for kindergarten, first or second grade!  

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I love that you have these reading response pages connected with Epic. This makes this resource even better!!! Thank you!

EPIC! is so amazing, hard to believe it is free!! Enjoy, -Christina 💕

The pages look great

We love EPIC! Can’t wait to use the reading response activities with one of my 3rd graders.

EPIC! is such an amazing resource!!! Enjoy, -Christina 💕

Thank you! -Christina 💕

I would like to try these with my kindergartner.

Hi Abby, just enter your email address and I’ll send the reading response activities right over! -Christina 💕

fantastic activities, can’t wait to try out with my children!

That makes me so happy to hear Amanda! Happy Teaching -Christina 💕

Hi, I’d love the freebie to try out with my kiddos.

Hi Jasmine, be sure to put your email into the form and I’ll email them to you immediately! -Christina 💕

Can’t wait to use these…

Hooray, enjoy Michelle!

Thanks for stopping by, -Christina 💕

These look perfect for my second graders! Can’t wait to try!

Great resources

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Comprehension: Activities for Your Second Grader

Second graders are learning to think actively as they read. They use their experiences and knowledge of the world, vocabulary, a growing understanding how language works, and reading strategies to make sense of what they’re reading. 

Second graders are becoming independent, active readers who ask questions and think about what they’re reading! Here are some of the things your second grader can do:

• Notice when a text doesn’t make sense, and begins to use strategies such as rereading, predicting, and questioning to understand it.
• Interpret information from diagrams, charts, and graphs.
• Recall facts and details of texts.
• Pose possible answers to how, why, and what-if questions.
• Discuss similarities in characters and events across stories.
• Read and comprehend both fiction and nonfiction.
• Read independently for entertainment and to learn something new.
• Act out a story.

Here are some basic things you can do to boost your child’s comprehension skills:

Try to read at home together every day

Although your second grader may be reading independently, it’s still a good idea to build in some read aloud time. You will continue to introduce your child to more sophisticated vocabulary and stories, including chapter books. Reading aloud is one of the best ways to help children learn about the world and make connections between their own lives and what’s in the book — and that helps children see the world with empathy. And last but not least, it’s a chance to spend one-on-one time with your child and share the experience of reading and discovery together.

Keep it fun 

Remember that reading together should spark curiosity, joy, and a desire to explore and learn. Conversations about books should be enjoyable, and not a set of quizzes and questions. As you try some of the activities listed below, remember to keep it light and lively for your child.

Storytelling and audiobooks count, too 

Sharing family stories out loud and listening to audiobooks are wonderful ways to expose your child to language, how stories are built, and knowledge about the world.

Bring in the nonfiction

There are so many great nonfiction and informational books for young kids (such as the popular DK Eyewitness series and National Geographic series). Try to include some of these during your next trip to the public library. Children love learning about the real world and are proud to share what they know!

Explore your world together

Even a walk around the neighborhood or a trip to the grocery store can be a rich learning experience for young children. On a walk, your child may watch what’s going on at a construction site, and then be able to connect it to stories about what it takes to design and construct a building and the impressive machines that make it happen. These personal connections help children connect what they read with what they know — a powerful way to build comprehension skills!

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Signs of good reading comprehension in second graders

Try these comprehension activities at home

Active reading.

Model active reading when you read with your child. Talk about what’s happening as you’re reading. Stop and discuss any interesting or tricky vocabulary words. Help your child make pictures of the story in his mind. Ask your child, “What just happened here? How do you think that character feels? Have you ever felt like that? What do you think will happen next?” Not only will this develop your child’s comprehension, but critical thinking skills as well.

“I predict …”

When you sit down for a read aloud, look at the book’s cover together. Ask, “What do you think this book might be about? Why? Can you make some predictions?” Guide your child through the pages, discuss the pictures, and brainstorm what might happen in the story. Talk about any personal experiences your child may have that relate to the story.

Mind movies

When you come to a descriptive passage in a book, have your child close her eyes and create a mental movie of the scene. Encourage her to use all five senses. Read the passage over together, looking for details that bring the scene to life. Ask questions like, “How do you know it was a hot day? Which words help you understand that the child was lonely?”

Map this book!

Draw a map of the book’s setting, and be sure to include the places where the main action happens!

Beginning-middle-end

This is a great way to see if your child understands the main parts of a story. After reading a book together, give your child three sheets of paper, with “beginning” on one sheet, “middle” on the second sheet, and “end” on the third sheet. Ask your child to think about the three parts of the story, and then draw what happened on each on the sheets. Arrange the sheets in order, left to right. What happens if you re-arrange the sheets? Does the story still make sense?

Tell me about it

After a read aloud, one of the best and easiest ways to check for understanding is to ask your child to summarize what the book was about in their own words. You can ask a question or two to help your child clarify her thinking or to add more detail.

Can your child tell you what happened in the story?

This video is from Home Reading Helper, a resource for parents to elevate children’s reading at home provided by Read Charlotte (opens in a new window) . Find more video, parent activities, printables, and other resources at  Home Reading Helper (opens in a new window) .

Think alouds

Connect the book to your child’s own life experience. For example, A River Dream : “This book reminds me of the time my father took me fishing. Do you remember the time we went fishing?”

Connect the book to other books they have read. For example, Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters : “This story reminds me of Cinderella. Both stories are about sisters. Do you know any other stories about nice and mean sisters? Let’s keep reading to find out other ways the stories are similar.”

Connect the book to big ideas/lessons. For example, Stellaluna : “This story helps me understand that we are all the same in many ways, but it’s our differences that make us special.”

Words, words, words

Be sure to include books with rich vocabulary in your read alouds and call attention to interesting words and phrases from the story. This may include repeated phrases or idioms (such as “get cold feet” or “I’m all ears”). Offer a kid-friendly definition and connect the new word or phrase to something your child already knows.Talk about how the author used language or words to make the text interesting, informative, funny, or sad.

Illustrated timelines

After reading a story, have your child create an illustrated timeline of events from the story. Tape together five sheets of paper along the 8-1/2-inch side to create one very wide sheet that is 55 inches X 8-1/2 inches. To help plan the timeline, your child can add numbers that mark important points of the story. Then it’s time to fill in the sequence of events with words and pictures. Once the timeline is complete, ask your child to re-tell the story — acting it out is okay, too! Variation: Create the timeline using Post-Its on a wall or outside using sidewalk chalk.

Comic creator

Lots of kids love comics and graphic novels. Help your child make a comic based on a favorite book — stories with action work especially well. Talk about what happened in the story, and help your child choose which event from the story that she wants to draw. Ask your child to think about the beginning, middle, and end of the event. Using a ruler and marker, divide a paper into squares (or print out this  comic strip template (opens in a new window)  from Scholastic). Using colored pencils or fine markers, your child can begin the comic strip, drawing one scene per square. Don’t forget to include captions beneath each drawing or in graphic novel-style speech bubbles! When the strip is done, ask your child to share her story.

Set up a talk show set with two chairs facing each other. If you like, make two microphones out of paper tubes or other craft supplies. You are the host and your child is a character from the book. Ask questions about the character, such as who you are, why you are important to the story, what happened to you in the story, what is the craziest interaction you had with another character, etc. Then switch roles!

Book trailer

Using a cell phone camera or other recording device, make a short video of your child talking about about why he recommends this book. Encourage your child to show the book cover and some of the inside pages when talking about a certain character or action sequence. Share the book trailer with family and friends!

Show what you know

Does your child love reading nonfiction books (and yes, The Magic School Bus is nonfiction, in a way)? Kids this age enjoy learning facts about things and trying to understand how the world works. If you’ve been poring over some nonfiction books at home, take 10 minutes to ask your child specific “fact” questions, listen to her answer, and then ask her to show you where to find that in the book.

The power of having your child find answers in an informational book

Finding the right book

The library is the perfect place to feed eight-year-old T.J.’s growing appetite for information — especially about dinosaurs. His mom, Andrea, has figured out that what makes these trips fun for T.J. is letting him pick his topics and direct his own search. (From our PBS Launching Young Readers program Reading for Meaning .)

More comprehension resources

• Grades 2-3 Comprehension Activities (opens in a new window) (Florida Center for Reading Research)
• Reading tips for parents of second graders in English and 12 other languages
• Reading for Meaning with Your Child  (In English and Spanish)
• Think Alouds to Build Comprehension  (In English and Spanish)
• Picture This! Using Mental Imagery While Reading  (In English and Spanish)
• Use a PEER When You Read Aloud  (In English and Spanish)
• The Importance of Reading Widely (In English and Spanish)
• Making Inferences and Drawing Conclusions  (In English and Spanish)
• How to Choose Read Aloud Books: Babies to Third Graders
• Great Read Alouds for Second Graders
• Sharing Wordless Picture Books  (In English and Spanish)
• Getting the Most Out of Nonfiction Reading Time  (In English and Spanish)
• How to Read Nonfiction Text  (In English and Spanish)
• The Night Before the Museum  (In English and Spanish)
• Nonfiction for Kids  (In English and Spanish)
• Reading for Meaning  (VIDEO: PBS Launching Young Readers series)
• How Parents Can Support the Common Core Reading Standards  (In English and Spanish)

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READING WORKSHEETS for Grade 2 (Free Download)

Reading is regarded as an exercise of the brain. When we involved in reading our brain cells start to work for understanding the meaning of the text and try to relate various aspects of the matter read. Thus reading stimulates the brain and impels it to think about all possible aspects for realizing the meaning.

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Home > English Language Arts Worksheets > Reading Comprehension Worksheets > 2nd Grade

2nd graders are starting to read full sentences and working up to paragraphs. It's important that over the course of these worksheets students begin to build up a bit of reading endurance. This will serve them well as they start to work towards full on reading of bodies of work. These reading comprehension worksheets contain reading assignments and sets of questions for your second grade students. Question sheets may include such activities as short answer, placing events in the correct order, multiple choice, matching terms with the correct picture, matching opposites, group activities, and more. There are multiple question sheets for each reading passage, so be sure to print them all. In this particular section the answer keys are a little more clear cut than other sections.

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Printable reading worksheets for 2nd graders worksheets, click the buttons to print each worksheet and answer key., max's best friend.

Max sat by the window looking at the street. Soon his best friend would be home. It would be the most fun time of the day. Then the school bus came and Alexander got off the bus, came up the walk and into the house.

Questions on Max

This is a series of questions that goes with the previous reading worksheet passage. When Alexander came home, what did he do first?

Story Sequences

Put the story in the right order. This is all based on the reaading passage about Max.

Baby Chicks

Mother Hen was sitting on her nest of straw in the chicken house at Brooks Acres Farm. Under her warm feathers were five eggs. Mother Hen had laid these eggs about 21 days ago so the baby chicks inside the eggs were ready to hatch.

Multiple Choice

How long does it take before a chick hatches from an egg?

Hen Anatomy

Draw a line from the name of a part of the Mother Hen to its location on the bird.

Summer Treats

Jessica and Ellen were having fun on the swings at the park on a hot summer day. They both loved the feeling of the air on their faces when they would swing high up over the ground. After a little while they dragged their sneakers in the dirt to stop swinging.

Summer Treats Multiple Choice Questions

After playing on the swings where did the twins go? You will answer questions like this.

Popsicle Flavor Reading Worksheet

Match the popsicle flavor with the name of the fruit.

The Elephant and the Sunbird Worksheet

Gajbaahu the mighty elephant was walking through the jungle in India. He is a different species than the elephants of Africa and he was proud to be an Indian elephant.

Elephant and the Sunbird Question Sheet

Which of these animals did Gajbaahu see while walking?

Animals of India Matching Sheet

Match the animal name with the picture.

Charleston's Kitten

Charleston wanted to have a pet of his very own. He thought and thought to decide what kind of pet he would like. Fish are colorful but he couldn't hold a fish.

Bedtime for Benji

Benji decided to watch the stars and the moon. Then he began to hear strange noises.

Bedtime for Benji Multiple Choice

What animal came to see Benji first? What animal cam to see Benji last?

Nocturnal Animals

Nocturnal animals sleep during the day and are active at night. Identify these nocturnal animals.

A Birdhouse

Come Saturday morning Britney and Matthew arrived at the park recreation building wondering how they would build a birdhouse. They had never built anything before.

Birdhouse Questions

Where did the kids go to make a birdhouse? Where was the entrance hole of the birdhouse?

Tools For The Job

Match the tool with its name.

Tools Question Sheet

What kind of tree did the young squirrels live in?

Matching Opposites

Draw a line to connect the opposites across from one another.

In the Lily Pond

Tina the Tadpole was living happily in the lily pond. She was a bullfrog tadpole and was already one year old. Bullfrog tadpoles must be two or three years old before they change from a tadpole into a young bullfrog. Tina was good at hiding near the muddy bottom of the pond.

Tadpole Question Sheet

Which animal is a tadpole predator? What kind of tadpole is Tina?

Matching Pictures Worksheet

Match the picture with its name.

Harvey's Day Worksheet

Harvey was wide awake with the first light of the sun over the water. In fact, Harvey Penguin gets to stay up as late as he wants at night.

Penguin Questions

This goes with the reading passage. Harvey Penguin lives in the water near which continent?

Animals of the Southern Ocean

Match the pictures to names: Albatross, Blue whale, Orca whale, Penguin, Seal, Shark

The Frogs Have a Fashion Show

One day a girl name Betty was outside playing with her dolls. It was getting near lunchtime, and her mother called her inside to eat. Betty was hungry.

Frogs Have a Fashion Show Questions

Why do the other frogs start trying on the doll's clothes?

The Fight at Recess Reading Practice

Why did all the other students forget what they were going to do?

How to Make a Paper Boat

What kind of shape will the paper naturally start to pop into?

Reading is Good for You!

Reading can also make you feel more calm. What is your favorite thing about reading?

Picture Day

A reading passage about the family picture day. This is solely the reading pasage.

Picture Day Questions

How does the photographer get Ellie to smile for her picture?

George Gets Lost

Once there was a lady who lived alone with her cat, George. She loved George very much. She lived in the city, and in the evenings George would sit outside with her on the fire escape while she read with a flashlight and listened to the night sounds.

Why the Bear is Stumpy-tailed

Why did the bear sit on the ice for so long?

Androcles and the Lion

A story with a moral attached to it. Read the passage and then answer the series of questions at the bottom.

A Good Day for Birds

After she had gone two miles, Jill and Magellan turned around. On the way back, she let Magellan wade in a shallow stream to cool off. A solid reading passage and four follow up questions.

Get Out Alive

This is a reading that is setup in a listicle format. This is great for 2nd graders to see how they take in the reading using a different format.

Fire Questions

What's the most important thing to do when there is a fire?

Why was Paul disappointed about the new house? This is a slightly longer reading passage and it finishes off with 2 questions.

Merryleg's Story

A reading to work through with a deep thought process. This is a thicker reading passage.

Merryleg's Story Page 2

This is a followup to the last reading passage. Thinking this is a clear and concise passage might be naive.

Merryleg's Story Question Worksheet

How did Merrylegs hint to the boys that he thought they had enough?

Amelia Earhart

Amelia was an adventurous and athletic kid. She and her sister collected insects and frogs, and she even hunted rats in her father's barn with a rifle.

Amelia TRUE or FALSE

Amelia was inspired to fly when she saw one of the Wright Brothers’ first airplanes at the Iowa State Fair.

The Midnight Ride

From 50 Famous People...

Midnight Ride Page 2

This goes with the previous page. Students will practice reading pictographs. Three problems are provided.

Reading Midnight Ride Questions

Who ruled this country when the ride of Paul Revere took place?

The Bull was Right

Once there was a boy who was always reading a book. He lived on a farm with his three brothers, but he did not play in the barn, or go fishing, or help out with the animals like his brothers did.

The Bull was Right Questions

Which of the three animals says that the book must be special if the boy has it with him all the time?

Strategies for Helping 2nd Grade Readers

At the 2nd grade level students begin to expand their vocabulary and grow to learning complex words and have the innate ability to focus on larger words. They can also absorb higher levels of information at a much more rapid rate. Students begin to expand their knowledge of genres beyond fiction and nonfiction. The focus shifts a bit to a slower and steadier pace with poetry. This is often where students can start to hold discussion about what they have read and where it sits in their mindset. This is the grade level where I will allow a group of mature students to begin the process of peer review and editing. This is where teachers can begin to encourage students to read for purpose. It is also where students begin to thrive on the concept of reading for purpose.

Reading is a wonderful pastime, but it also enables one to gain an extensive degree of knowledge and use their imagination in ways that stimulate creativity within them. You can pick up reading as a habit at any point in your life, but starting early always helps. Read this blog to discover how you can help 2nd-grade students become better readers.

Read to Them

Reading to your 2nd grader can help you bond with them. If you’re looking for ways to spend time with your child in a productive manner, reading is a great option. Children are quick learners; they implement behavior their parents model for them at home and teachers display at school. When you read to your child, make it feel more exciting and interesting to incite curiosity within the child and motivate them to try reading for themselves.

Talk to Your Child

The easiest way to feed vocabulary to a 2nd grader is to talk to them. When you speak to a 2nd-grade reader like they’re an adult, you expose them to refined language and help them build their language skills. Your child will enjoy reading only if they understand what the words mean, and if you utilize big, interesting words in conversations with your child, they won’t feel confused when they read it in a storybook. Using descriptive words makes speech more exciting by attaching feelings to words. For instance, when speaking to your child, describe actions like ‘yawning’ or ‘snoring.’ Pro tip: use body language to help them understand better, and explain the meanings of words they seem confused about.

Encourage Them to Tell You Stories

The best way to introduce your 2nd grader to literacy is by helping them practice dictation. Listen to their stories and encourage them to use bigger words. If you use rich language to communicate with your child, they’ll try to speak to you using similar vocabulary. The story can be about how their day went or a completely fictional story that you can write down and read to them later. This can be a fun, bonding experiment that you and the child will enjoy. When children tell you stories, not only do they feel closer to you, but their language skills also improve. Plus, when you read to them and listen to their stories, you create curiosity within them to read and listen to more stories.

Teach Your Child How to Read Using Sounds

Children find it easier to read as their phonemic awareness grows, which means when they can sound words and spell them. The sound of the alphabet helps children write and read better by making it easier for them to pronounce and understand the meaning of words. For instance, instead of spelling C-A-T, teach your child how to connect alphabets to their sound, like C for CA and A for AA, and T for TA. Children enjoy challenges but find overly complex tasks distressing. By making reading easier for them, you help them generate a likeness for it.

Use Picture Books

Even the most disinterested 2nd grade readers enjoy reading picture books. You can encourage your child to read by attaching words with images. This helps stimulate their imagination and teaches them to create images in their minds to go with the stories they read, even if the book they’re reading doesn't have pictures. Every reader imagines the appearance of characters and what their surroundings look like; that's what makes reading fun. Once your child connects reading with the use of imagination, they’ll find reading far more interesting and make a greater effort to learn.