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.
2023 Mathematics Standards of Learning
The state's own standardsAdopted 2023
Approved August 31, 2023 and fully in use since 2024-25. Virginia never adopted Common Core. Its Grade 2 fractions and measurement go beyond the national framework.
Official standards (opens in a new tab)2024 English Standards of Learning
The state's own standardsAdopted 2024
Approved March 28, 2024. The VDOE page does not state the classroom start year.
Official standards (opens in a new tab)2018 Science Standards of Learning
The state's own standardsAdopted 2018
Still in effect. In December 2025 the state added new high school courses but kept the K-12 core standards the same. Grade 2 covers forces (including magnetism), matter, life cycles, habitats, weather and seasons, and plants as resources.
Official standards (opens in a new tab)2023 History and Social Science Standards of Learning
The state's own standards
Approved April 20, 2023 and fully in use by 2025-26. VDOE says Grade 2 focuses on geography and on Indigenous Peoples past and present, including Eastern Woodlands, Plains and Southwest nations.
Official standards (opens in a new tab)Math: Grade 2 fractions include thirds, sixths and eighths, and children build the whole from one part (2.NS.3). Common Core starts naming fractions formally in Grade 3.
Partly coveredWeek 29 teaches halves, thirds and fourths. Add 10 minutes to fold paper strips into sixths and eighths, and to build a whole from one part (show one third of a strip and have your child draw the whole strip).
Math: children measure liquid volume to the nearest cup and learn that an hour has 60 minutes and a day has 24 hours (2.MG.1, 2.MG.2).
Partly coveredWeek 23 teaches 60 minutes in an hour and a.m. and p.m. Add 10 minutes to fill a container with measuring cups of water, and to count the 24 hours of one day on a paper strip.
Science: magnetism, plant and animal life cycles, and weather and seasons are Grade 2 topics (SOL 2.2, 2.4, 2.6, 2.7). The Next Generation Science Standards* place them in other grades.
Partly coveredWeek 31 covers plant and animal life cycles, and Week 23 weather patterns. Add a 15-minute magnet hunt around the house to sort what a magnet attracts, and talk about the four seasons.
Social studies: Grade 2 studies Indigenous Peoples of the Eastern Woodlands, Plains and Southwest, including Indigenous sovereignty.
Partly coveredWeek 21 teaches Eastern Woodlands nations (Lenape, Haudenosaunee, Cherokee) and the Navajo of the Southwest. Add 15 minutes on one Plains nation from a library book, and explain that Native nations have their own governments.
Verified: 2026-09-30. Standards change; always check your state's official page.