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    Second Grade
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    Massachusetts: Second Grade and your state's standards

    Second Grade is built on the national frameworks that most state standards are based on or closely resemble: the Common Core State Standards for math and English language arts, the national K-12 science framework (the Next Generation Science Standards*), and the C3 Framework for social studies. Every lesson lists the standard it teaches.

    Massachusetts's standards by subject

    Math

    2017 Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for Mathematics

    Based on the Common Core, with the state's own changesAdopted 2017

    A 2017 revision of the 2010 framework, which combined Common Core with Massachusetts additions.

    Official standards (opens in a new tab)

    English Language Arts

    2017 Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy

    Based on the Common Core, with the state's own changesAdopted 2017

    Builds on the 2010 framework (Common Core plus Massachusetts standards) and adds many classroom examples.

    Official standards (opens in a new tab)

    Science

    2016 Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework

    Based on the national science framework, with the state's own changesAdopted 2016

    Uses the same code style as the Next Generation Science Standards*; Grade 2 includes three standards marked (MA) that are unique to Massachusetts.

    Official standards (opens in a new tab)

    Social Studies

    2018 Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework

    The state's own standards

    Grade 2 is 'Global Geography: Places and Peoples, Cultures and Resources': why people settle and migrate, how they carry culture, and how they use and trade natural resources.

    Official standards (opens in a new tab)

    Grade 2 topics your state adds or places differently

    • Science: 'observe how blowing wind and flowing water can move Earth materials and change the shape of a landform' (2-ESS2-4(MA)).

      Covered

      Covered in Week 20, where your child models erosion by moving water and wind, and Week 23, which connects wind to changes in the land.

    • Science: model how plants and animals depend on their surroundings and other living things to meet their needs (2-LS2-3(MA)).

      Covered

      Covered in Weeks 7 to 12 (what plants need, habitats and how animals and plants depend on each other) and Weeks 27 to 29 (food chains and food webs).

    • Science: design and conduct an experiment on how friction affects the temperature and speed of objects rubbing together (2-PS3-1(MA)); the Next Generation Science Standards* do not cover friction in Grade 2.

      Add at home

      Add a 15-minute friction test: rub hands together slowly and then fast and feel the warmth, then push a toy car across a rug, a towel and a wood floor and compare how far it goes.

    • Social studies: Grade 2 studies world geography (places, peoples, migration and resources), before Grade 3 turns to Massachusetts history.

      Partly covered

      Week 8 teaches the continents and oceans, Week 11 natural resources, and Week 30 trade with far-off places. Add 15 minutes to trace on a world map how one family (yours or one in a library book) moved from place to place, and talk about why people move.

    Homeschooling in Massachusetts

    Sources

    Verified: 2026-09-30. Standards change; always check your state's official page.