How to read this page
Ontario publishes its curriculum as long official documents written for teachers. This page is the same content, translated for the fridge door: each subject below shows this year's units and the skills inside them. If a skill sounds unfamiliar, that's the point — now you know what to ask about at dinner.
Mathematics this year
Numbers stop being abstract this year — they become things your child can count, compare, build, and explain. In Ontario, that's Mathematics, Grade 2 — 5 units, 39 skills.
Number
- Reading, showing, building, and breaking apart numbers to 200
- Sharing fairly among 2, 3, 4, and 6 friends
- How addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division connect
Algebra
- Spotting patterns in geometric designs
- Noticing when a symbol is a variable
- Writing and running code with things happening at the same time
Data
- Sorting data by two features with Venn and Carroll diagrams
- Describing likelihood, including events that cannot both happen
Spatial Sense
- Sorting 2D shapes by sides, angles, and symmetry
- Making and reading simple maps
- Measuring length with non-standard units
Financial Literacy
- Showing the same amount of money with different coins and bills
See the full Mathematics, Grade 2 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →
English Language Arts this year
Reading and writing grow fast at this age — this is the year the letters turn into stories. In Ontario, that's Language, Grade 2 — 4 units, 64 skills.
Literacy Connections and Applications
- My rights and choices online
- Seeing identity and belonging in stories
Foundations of Language
- Listening, asking questions, and restating
- Reading and spelling longer words
- Building all four kinds of sentences, plus compound sentences
Comprehension: Understanding and Responding to Texts
- Reading and understanding short texts
- Using what I already know to make connections
- Consonance and simile in stories
Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts
- Choosing a topic, purpose, and audience
- Writing a first try of my text
- Making a final copy of my text
See the full Language, Grade 2 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →
Science this year
Science at this age is guided curiosity — observing, sorting, asking why, and testing ideas hands-on. In Ontario, that's Science and Technology, Grade 2 — 5 units, 37 skills.
STEM Skills and Connections
- Breaking coding problems into smaller steps
- Noticing how coding and new technology affect everyday life
- Finding science and technology at home and in the community
Growth and Changes in Animals
- How animals affect people and nature
- Animal features that stay the same or change
Properties of Liquids and Solids
- Using, storing, and disposing of liquids and solids safely
- Sorting matter into liquids and solids
Movement and Simple Machines
- Simple machines in daily life
- Ways an object can move
Air and Water in the Environment
- How human activities affect air and water
- Properties of air and water
See the full Science and Technology, Grade 2 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →
Three ways parents use this list
Common questions
What does my child learn in Grade 2 in Ontario?
Ontario's official curriculum sets out Mathematics, English Language Arts, Science, Social Studies for Grade 2 — 162 specific skills in total. The big themes: Mathematics covers number and algebra; English Language Arts covers literacy connections and applications and foundations of language; Science covers stem skills and connections and growth and changes in animals. The full list is on this page.
Is this the official Ontario curriculum?
It's built from Ontario's official program of studies, reorganized into plain language — and each subject links to a course page that quotes the ministry's own wording and links to the government source, so you can check our work. One honest caveat: we're not the ministry, curricula do change, and we can't guarantee this reflects the very latest revision, so confirm anything important against the live provincial curriculum data.
My child is finding one of these skills hard. What can I do?
That's normal — every skill on this page is one most kids wobble on at first. MapleMind teaches any of them one-on-one: a short lesson in plain words, a worked example, then solving together. It's free to start, on any device, in 14 languages.
Keep exploring
Knowing the list is half the job
The other half is the teaching — and that's what MapleMind does. Pick any skill on this page and see it taught properly, free, in under a minute.
MapleMind isn't affiliated with any ministry of education. We build these guides from each province's official program of studies and refresh them from time to time — but curricula change, and we can't guarantee this page reflects the very latest revision. Always confirm against the live provincial curriculum data. Last updated 2026-08-15.
Social Studies this year
Social studies starts close to home — family, community, and how people live together. In Ontario, that's Social Studies, Grade 2 — 2 units, 22 skills.
Heritage and Identity: Changing Family and Community Traditions
- How traditions change over generations
- Different types of families
+ 9 more skills in this unit →People and Environment: Global Communities
- Comparing how communities meet their needs
- Showing the world on maps and globes
+ 9 more skills in this unit →See the full Social Studies, Grade 2 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →