What will your child be expected to learn in the second grade? How can you help him or her at home? This book answers these all-important questions and more, offering the specific shared knowledge that hundreds of parents and teachers across the nation have agreed upon for American second graders. Designed for parents and teachers to enjoy with children, featuring a new Introduction, this second-grade volume of the Core Knowledge Series presents the knowledge and skills that should be at the core of a challenging second-grade education, including

- Favorite poems--old and new, from "Caterpillars" to Gwendolyn Brooks's prizewinning "Rudolph Is Tired of the City"
- Literature--from around the world, with African folktales, American tall tales, European fairy tales, and classic myths from ancient Greece
- Learning about language--the basic building blocks of written English, all explained with a touch of humor and common sense
- World and American history and geography--visit Japan, explore ancient Greece, travel the Underground Railroad with Harriet Tubman
- Visual arts--with activities and full-color illustrations of masterworks by El Greco, Van Gogh, Matisse, and others
- Music--basic theory, great composers, instruments, and fun-to-sing songs such as "I've Been Working on the Railroad" and "Do-Re-Mi"
- Math--challenging lessons ranging from telling time to doing fractions, numbers to 100, and a first look at geometry
- Science--the cycle of life and the seasons, levers and magnets, the wonder of the human body, and more, with lots of hands-on activities and stories about famous scientists