Pacing Guide for 2nd Grade English Language Arts

Our Literature and Science and Social Studies units should be taught concurrently across two 60-minute reading and writing blocks; one focused on Literature and one focused on Science and Social Studies. Literature units are built around core texts that allow students to grapple with and explore themes and topics that are relevant to their day to day lives. Science and Social Studies units use content-rich nonfiction texts to help students build specific knowledge about historical, cultural, or scientific topics.

Please note: While our 2nd Grade curriculum does provide instruction in fluency, it does not include a comprehensive foundational skills block. To ensure students master all grade-level standards, you will need to implement a highly-rated structured phonics program alongside these units.

To ensure students engage in a depth and breadth of reading, an additional 30-minute independent reading block should also take place daily.

Our 2nd Grade Literature units span 154 days and our 2nd Grade Science and Social Studies units span 178 days. We intentionally did not account for all 180 school days to allow teachers to fit in additional review or extension, teacher-created assessments, and school-based events. Each unit includes a specific number of lessons, including writing and discussion lessons, and a day for assessment.

For more guidance on implementing the 2nd Grade course, see our Preparing to Teach Fishtank ELA Teacher Tool.