My second grade girl is reading Amber Brown, Babysitter Club Little Sister series, Boxcar Children. Did Magic Treehouse & junie B Jones in kinder/1st. She is in public, so maybe not as challenged as private school children?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What books are your children reading in 2nd grade for reading? If you are willing to share the school as well, and know the reading level, too, that is helpful. We are in a small private school, and considering switching. We have been lucky to have a lot of differentiation, and we are now looking for the "norm" at other schools, & good ideas for additional books for our child. Thanks!

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Not quite second grade; but my first grader has started to read Harry Potter. He's currently on book 3. He has excellent comprehension and decoding skills (about 4th grade level), but I'm not sure how much he understands (beyond the basic plot and characters). I think that he'll end up re-reading it in the 3rd grade.

Same here. My DC started reading the Harry Potter series towards the end of 1st grade and finished the series at the beginning of 3rd grade. DC was in FCPS in ES and half of his classmates were all reading Harry Potter as well so it was kind of like a mini bookclub. And listening to these kids talking about the book while driving them around, I would say they understood the story just fine.

Anonymous wrote:What books are your children reading in 2nd grade for reading? If you are willing to share the school as well, and know the reading level, too, that is helpful. We are in a small private school, and considering switching. We have been lucky to have a lot of differentiation, and we are now looking for the "norm" at other schools, & good ideas for additional books for our child. Thanks!

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Not quite second grade; but my first grader has started to read Harry Potter. He's currently on book 3. He has excellent comprehension and decoding skills (about 4th grade level), but I'm not sure how much he understands (beyond the basic plot and characters). I think that he'll end up re-reading it in the 3rd grade.

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. I am fine with what is happening at our school. We are considering switching schools (for other reasons) & trying to get a sense of what is typical at other area private schools. I know many schools have far less differentiation, so I was curious to see what is the norm for 2nd grade in other places.

Why are you leaving?

When my son was in 2nd (public) we started shopping.
For some reason, James and the Giant Peach kept coming up.

More challenging chapter books are 2nd/3rd grade stuff.

Scholastic has grade levels and lexile levels on the site.

Books like Because of Winn Dixie, The One and Only Ivan, Superfudge, & the Enclopedia Brown series of books are good.
The "Who Was" series is great for 2nd or 3rd grade. The nice thing about Who Was books is that they increase background knowlegde so if there is a gap in curriculum, your kid will know some info (historical fiction). We get these for vacations (Milton Hershey, Walt Disney, John Smith...) when we go some place that is associated with a person/event.

My ds loved beast quest and hank the cowdog. He also still liked the old encyclopedia brown books from my childhood.

My 2nd grader just finished Charlotte's Web. When my son was in that same class (he's now older), I remember him loving Coraline. The teacher seems to pick based on student interest, because they just need to read, read, read, and the best way to get them to do so is to give them books they like.

Anonymous wrote:You can usually find the grades' summer reading lists on line. That is a decent place to start.

This. Also don't speak to your kids librarian only, speak also to your kid. They can tell you a lot about what they are interested in reading (or not).

You can usually find the grades' summer reading lists on line. That is a decent place to start.

This is OP. I am fine with what is happening at our school. We are considering switching schools (for other reasons) & trying to get a sense of what is typical at other area private schools. I know many schools have far less differentiation, so I was curious to see what is the norm for 2nd grade in other places.

Speak to your child's teacher. They should be able to give you some ideas.

Anonymous wrote:I have a 2nd grader, and honestly, I don't find the "reading level" thing to be that helpful. The only thing that's helpful for us is finding books that he is interested in, and we've had to try a LOT of different ones. The assigned books he brings home are usually along the lines of Magic Treehouse, but those are not his preferences for independent reading.

+1 agree with finding the right books and trying out a LOT.

I have a 2nd grader, and honestly, I don't find the "reading level" thing to be that helpful. The only thing that's helpful for us is finding books that he is interested in, and we've had to try a LOT of different ones. The assigned books he brings home are usually along the lines of Magic Treehouse, but those are not his preferences for independent reading.

Ask your current school librarian! They are usually really good at suggesting books that are engaging and at the right level for your particular child.

What books are your children reading in 2nd grade for reading? If you are willing to share the school as well, and know the reading level, too, that is helpful. We are in a small private school, and considering switching. We have been lucky to have a lot of differentiation, and we are now looking for the "norm" at other schools, & good ideas for additional books for our child. Thanks!