Here are some of the changes you may see in your child throughout the school year:

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       Second Graders love the activity of learning.
Seven is an age for assimilating; second graders spend a good deal of time embedding accumulated experience and
relating new experiences to the old. It is a calmer age than six. The seven  year old is a better listener, someone who likes to be read to, to hear twice told tales. Second graders will also persist for longer periods of time at some activity they enjoy, e.g. drawing a favorite picture, kicking a soccer ball, or watching TV. With the latter they must often be told to stop.
Seven year olds may grow as much as two or three inches in the year. They enjoy dramatic play and demonstrate much
improved manipulative skills.
Their competitive spirit runs in high gear. Not good losers, they will complain about unfairness. They are often boastful
and emotional and decidedly sensitive to failure and ridicule. They need adult approval and praise for good work.
Sometimes they need to be allowed to win. Nevertheless, the second grader is increasingly social; indeed, personality development is perhaps most important at this age. That new found sociability makes the seven year old a good helper, someone who enjoys running errands for mom or dad. In the area of personal responsibilities, seven year olds want and expect to be reminded because they will forget. It will not be intentional, but forgetting is a by-product of their self-absorption. They need time to think. Some may even be budding skeptics, addressing the how’s and whys of ideas, concepts, and guidelines. These thinking, assimilating persons turn these newly developed traits on their school work.

At a Glance
  • In second and third grade, kids start understanding more complicated ideas, such as cause and effect.
  • Second and third graders become better at writing complete sentences and using basic punctuation.
  • Peer influence plays a big role in relationships for kids at this age.
At this age, kids make big leaps in language and cognition, as well as in how they feel and get along with others. Here’s more information about typical skill for 7-year-olds and 8-year-olds.

Physical Milestones
At ages 7 and 8, your child may be working on refining her physical skills. Her fine motor control and stamina may improve. Most second and third graders:
  • Gain strength in both big and small muscles; can play and be active for longer periods without getting tired
  • Use the small muscles in hands better; do much better with handwriting, scissor skills and manipulating things like buttons, zippers and shoelaces
  • Start being able to run farther and for longer
Cognitive Milestones
At this age, thinking and problem-solving skills are taking off. Children tend to talk at a more adult level and start to show an interest in specific activities that interest them. Cognitively, most children at this age:
  • Look for the reasons behind things; ask questions for more information
  • Understand cause and effect and make more in-depth connections (for example, know things like if 6 + 2 = ;8, then 8 ‒ 6 = 2)
  • Start planning ahead; may create a drawing of something to build or a plan for an experiment
  • Have a longer attention span; can sit and pay attention to something that interests them for at least 30–45 minutes
  • Collect things
Language Milestones
Language development typically continues at a steady pace these two years. Vocabulary grows and kids start trying out words they have read but not heard. By the end of third grade, most children can do these things:
  • Comprehend what they’re reading and begin to move from “learning to read” to “reading to learn”
  • Learn vocabulary through reading
  • Use words to talk through problems, both socially and academically
  • Start playing with words to make puns; understand jokes and riddles
  • Test out “bad” words for shock value
  • Use all letter sounds correctly; don’t substitute w for r anymore when speaking
  • Use writing as a way to express feelings, tell stories and summarize information
Social and Emotional Milestones
Second and third grade can be a little rough socially and emotionally. Kids start narrowing down to a few good friends, but those friendships can change quickly. Most kids are eager to fit in and try out new personalities to see where they fit. By the end of third grade, most children will:
  • Have moments of extreme insecurity and need a lot of encouragement from parents
  • Change often between being helpful and upbeat to being rude and selfish
  • Enjoy being part of a team, group or club
  • Spend more time with and be easily influenced by peers
  • Experience periods of dramatic emotion and impatience and the feeling that everyone is against them and then bounce right back to everything being just fine
  • Start seeing things from other points of view and incorporate that into everyday life
 
Perspective
Second grade is a time for reinforcing and strengthening the basic skills acquired in first grade. As they become more
proficient readers, writers, and thinkers, second graders develop a growing sense of accomplishment and pride in what
they are able to do. It is a period when they love the activity of learning. Activities like reading and being read to, drawing, talking, and  explaining help them connect what they are learning to their everyday experiences. Grade 2 is often regarded by parents and students as a fun time in their education.