Year 2 English builds the reading and writing foundations that carry your child through school. Our programme develops phonics, fluent reading and early writing in a structured, encouraging space, with Year 3 in view.

Key Topics Covered:

Phonics and word study, fluent reading, comprehension of stories and nonfiction, narrative, opinion and informative writing, grammar and NZ spelling patterns.

Parent Tip:

Ten minutes of read-aloud time each night makes a real difference. Our tutors suggest books at your child's level, including picks from your local library.

Read year-level stories and nonfiction with fluency and understanding

Write narrative, opinion and informative pieces with a clear structure

Use correct capitals, punctuation and spelling patterns in sentences

Work out new words using prefixes, suffixes and context clues

Take part in conversations and discussions by listening and speaking clearly

Use text features and illustrations to find facts

Parent and child practising Year 2 english at home in New Zealand

No.	Topic	What We Cover
01	Formal and Informal Language	Explore how our words change with the situation, such as chatting with a friend, speaking to a teacher or writing a thank-you card.
02	Purpose and Audience	Work out whether an author wants to tell a story, share facts or give an opinion, and who the text was written for.
03	Writing an Informative Paragraph	Introduce a topic, add facts and definitions and finish with a closing sentence in a short paragraph on a familiar topic.
04	Capital Letters, Commas and Handwriting	Use capitals for names, places and special days such as Waitangi Day and Matariki, use commas in lists and greetings and build neat, fluent handwriting.
05	Giving an Opinion About Texts	Share what you think about a book or text, using words like because and and to give reasons.
06	Compound Sentences	Join two ideas with and, but and so to make smoother sentences, and rearrange simple sentences.
07	Characters and Settings	Discuss who is in a story and where it takes place, and ask who, what, where, when, why and how.
08	Narrative Writing: Beginning, Middle and End	Write a short story or recount with time-order words, details about feelings and a clear ending.
09	Listening, Turn-Taking and Responding	Take turns in conversation, listen closely, follow multi-step instructions and ask questions to understand.
10	Term 1 Review	Revise language, reading, writing and speaking. A termly mock test and parent report follow.

Try a Free Lesson to See the Full Programme

See our structured approach in action. Your child's first lesson is completely free, no credit card needed.

Student in a tutoring session with their tutor

Warm-up (5 min)

Quick review of the previous session plus a phonics or spelling warm-up

Core Teaching (25 min)

New concept from the lesson eBook, with reading and writing examples

Guided Practice (15 min)

Student reads and writes with tutor support

Independent Practice (10 min)

Student completes the in-class quiz independently

Wrap-up (5 min)

Summary, 2 take-home quizzes and a preview of the next session

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Year 2 Maths

See the full Year 2 Maths programme, with 40 live sessions aligned to the NZ Curriculum.

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No.	Topic	What We Cover
11	Long and Short Vowels	Tell long vowels from short vowels in one-syllable words and read and spell them.
12	Vowel Teams	Learn spelling-sound patterns for vowel teams such as ai, ee, oa and ow when reading and writing.
13	Two-Syllable Words	Split two-syllable words into parts to decode them, including words with long vowels.
14	Prefixes and Suffixes	Use common prefixes and suffixes such as un-, re-, -ful and -less to read words and work out their meanings.
15	Tricky and High-Frequency Words	Read and spell year-level words with unusual patterns, such as said, friend and through.
16	Spelling Patterns	Apply known spelling patterns to new words, including NZ spellings such as colour and neighbour, and check with a dictionary.
17	Reading with Fluency	Read year-level text with accuracy, a steady pace and expression across repeated readings.
18	Rereading and Self-Correcting	Check meaning as you read, reread tricky sentences and fix mistakes using context clues.
19	Poems, Rhymes and Rhythm	Spot beats, alliteration, rhymes and repeated lines in poems and songs, including Kiwi favourites, and say how they add meaning.
20	Term 2 Review	Revise phonics, fluency and poetry. A termly mock test and parent report follow.

No.	Topic	What We Cover
21	Asking Questions About Texts	Ask and answer who, what, where, when, why and how questions to show you understood a story or article.
22	Retelling Stories and Central Message	Retell fables and traditional tales, including stories from Aotearoa, and name the lesson or main message.
23	How Characters Respond to Challenges	Explain how characters react to big events and problems in a story, using details from the text.
24	Story Beginnings and Endings	Describe how a story starts, how the action builds and how it ends.
25	Character Voices and Perspectives	Notice that characters see events differently and show this with expression when reading dialogue aloud.
26	Main Topic of Informational Texts	Find the main topic of a multi-paragraph text and the focus of each paragraph.
27	Text Features	Use captions, bold print, headings and glossaries to find facts quickly.
28	Pictures and Diagrams	Use illustrations and diagrams to help explain what the words in a text say.
29	Comparing Two Texts	Compare two versions of a tale or two texts on the same topic and talk about what is alike and different.
30	Term 3 Review	Revise comprehension, text features and comparing texts. A termly mock test and parent report follow.

No.	Topic	What We Cover
31	Planning and Writing Narratives	Plan a story with characters, a setting and a problem, then write it with time-order words and a closing.
32	Writing Opinion Pieces	State an opinion, give reasons with linking words such as because, and add a concluding sentence.
33	Writing Informative Texts	Write a short report on a topic, such as a kiwi or a tuatara, with facts, definitions and a conclusion.
34	Irregular Plurals and Past Tense Verbs	Use irregular plurals such as feet and children and irregular past tense verbs such as sat, hid and told.
35	Adjectives and Adverbs	Choose between adjectives and adverbs and use them to make sentences more descriptive.
36	Apostrophes in Contractions and Possessives	Use apostrophes in contractions such as can't and in possessives such as Mia's dog.
37	Context Clues and Shades of Meaning	Work out new words from context and tell apart words with close meanings, such as toss and throw.
38	Revising, Editing and Digital Tools	Revise and edit writing with a partner and use a keyboard or tablet, with adult help, to publish a piece.
39	Shared Research Project	Gather facts from several books or a short observation and write a short piece about what you learned.
40	Year 2 Review and Year 3 Readiness	Revise the year and preview Year 3 reading and writing. A termly mock test and parent report follow.

Year 2 English Tutoring Across New Zealand

By Term 4 of Year 2 English, Your Child Will...

Year 2 English Curriculum, Term by Term

Try a Free Lesson to See the Full Programme

Try a Free Lesson to See the Full Programme

Try a Free Lesson to See the Full Programme

Try a Free Lesson to See the Full Programme