2nd Grade Spelling Words

Example 2nd-grade words

These are words with trickier spellings than they sound, where copying them out is the point. Every district publishes its own list, so treat these as a sample of the kind of word rather than the list your school uses.

One card from the deck. Every word on your child's list gets one.

All eight, as a list

because preposition

You use because to show the reason for something.“I bought the book because I wanted to read it.”

before preposition

If <math>x</math> happens before <math>y</math>, <math>x</math> happens first and <math>y</math> happens second.“He worked in a gas station before he became famous.”

always adverb

If something always happens, it happens at all times or every time.“For all of my life, the sun has always risen every day.”

only adverb

No more than; no other than; just.“There are only three schools in this town.”

those determiner

Those bolts go with these parts.“I don't want those oranges because they are too sour.”

upon preposition

On or onto.“The police were called upon to save him.”

wash verb

When you wash something, you clean it with water.“I wash my car every day.”

Definitions from Simple English Wiktionary, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Print your child's own list

Type or paste this week's words — one per line, or however the school sheet had them, numbering and all. Each word comes back with a definition written for a child and a sentence showing it in use, on a page you can print and leave on the table.

Try it with your list

The first few words are free, no account. Printing the whole list is part of the Spell & Sum subscription — $19.99 a year for the household.

Other grades

Maths too

Spell & Sum also makes printable maths practice — you set the numbers to match what your child is working on, and the answer key comes with it. See the worksheet pages.