Horizons Phonics and Reading 2nd Grade Horizons 2nd Grade Phonics & Reading builds reading fluency, comprehension, and early writing skills across a full school year. By second grade, your child shifts from decoding new words to reading more independently — and the program adds writing into the mix. It's a faith-based, parent-led phonics curriculum for second graders ready to move past sounding things out and into real reading and writing. The 160 lessons cover consonant and vowel blends, silent letters, syllabication and accents, alphabetizing, singular and plural possessives, comparative endings, homographs and homophones, rhyming words, suffix endings, schwa sounds, and more. Skills are introduced in small steps and revisited regularly through the spiral approach, so earlier concepts keep coming back into later lessons rather than getting taught once and dropped. Like the earlier levels, the workbook pages are colorful and full of activity. For many second graders, that energy on the page keeps them engaged. For children who are easily overwhelmed by visual stimulation, it's worth taking a look at sample pages before committing. Each of the two workbooks pairs with an illustrated reader of 80 short stories tied directly to the lessons. These are built around adapted selections from Robinson Crusoe and A Little Princess, along with a few other classic stories and poems. Your second grader reads most of each story on his own, with some help from you as new patterns come up. The teacher's guide includes comprehension questions to ask before, during, or after each story. The teacher's guide keeps daily teaching straightforward, with lesson plans, teaching tips, answer keys, duplication masters, review worksheets, and 16 tests built in—one every ten lessons—so you can track progress without writing your own assessments. For families coming from Horizons 1st Grade Phonics & Reading, the format will feel familiar: same spiral structure, same approach, more demanding skills, plus a growing writing component.
