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How to Use This Book – English Lessons – Grade 2 | Firefly Ed

In this page – How to Use This Book | Grade 2 English

Guide for adults | Read this first

The Firefly Ed Grade 2 English book is a full year of English lessons for children aged about 7. It follows the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP), and each lesson also links to the national curriculum for England (Year 2) and the US Common Core (Grade 2). Every lesson is free to use online, and printable PDFs are free after you subscribe.

What is in the book

The book has 3 terms, 9 chapters and 108 lessons. Each chapter is one IB PYP unit of inquiry with 12 lessons. Each term ends with a four-page review.

Term	Chapters	Reading level	Review
Term 1	Chapter 1: Growing and Changing Chapter 2: Rules, Routines and Jobs Chapter 3: Tales From Around the World	Level 1: texts of about 150 to 250 words	Term 1 Review
Term 2	Chapter 4: Plants and Growing Chapter 5: Homes Around the World Chapter 6: Toys and Games Then and Now	Level 2: texts of about 250 to 350 words	Term 2 Review
Term 3	Chapter 7: Day, Night and the Sky Chapter 8: Keeping Healthy Chapter 9: Caring for Our Planet	Level 3: texts of about 350 to 500 words	Term 3 Review: End of Year

The reading texts get longer and the questions ask for more thinking as the year goes on. The levels are a guide used to plan this book. They are not an official standard.

There are also three reference pages to use all year: the Tricky Word List, the Phonics Sound Chart and My Progress Chart.

The 12 lessons in each chapter

Lessons	Strand	What children do
1 and 2	Reading	read stories, poems and information texts, and answer questions
3 and 4	Writing	plan and write, such as letters, reports, recipes and stories
5 and 6	Oral language	speak and listen, such as giving talks, debating and asking questions
7 and 8	Visual language	read and make pictures, charts, maps, diagrams and posters
9, 10 and 11	Phonics and spelling	learn spelling patterns, word endings and tricky words
12	Chapter review	one task from each strand, and a short dictation

After Lesson 12, each chapter has an optional Challenge: a read-aloud story with harder words and a grammar task.

The parts of a lesson

Every lesson has the same parts, in the same order, so children know what to expect.

Part	What happens
PYP box	the unit of inquiry, key concept, learner profile attribute and skills for the lesson, an I can goal, curriculum links and key words. This part is for you.
Wonder	a big question to start the child thinking. Accept every idea.
Let’s Learn	the new idea, explained simply. Read it aloud together.
Watch Me	a worked example. Read the thinking aloud, so the child hears how to do it.
Let’s Try Together	two short questions to do together, each with a hint.
Your Turn	the main task, for the child to do as independently as possible.
Reflect	a return to the Wonder question, a learner profile sentence and an idea for taking action at home.
Answer Key	answers and sample answers, hidden until you click Reveal Answers. Many tasks have a Look for note about what a good answer includes.
Next Steps	what to try if the lesson was easy, and what to go back to if it was hard.

Notes for the adult

Lines in slanted text that start For the adult are for you. They tell you what to read aloud, what to do and what to look for.
When a task depends on naming a picture, a note tells you the words to say first, so that the child is not confused by a picture.
Hints are written for the child. Read them aloud if the child is stuck.
Checklists with tick boxes help you notice what the child did well in speaking and writing tasks.

How long does it take?

Most lessons take about 20 minutes. Writing and speaking lessons can take longer if the child enjoys them, and you can split a lesson over two days. A good pace is three lessons a week. At that pace, one chapter takes about four weeks, and the whole book takes one school year.

Working on paper

The lessons are worksheets. The child can work on paper next to the screen, or you can print the page. Lines such as ______ show where to write.

The IB PYP words

Word	What it means
Unit of inquiry	one of six big themes, such as Who we are or Sharing the planet. Each chapter is one unit.
Central idea	the big idea of the unit, shown in each chapter overview
Key concept	a question that guides thinking, such as Form (What is it like?) or Causation (Why is it as it is?)
Learner profile	qualities such as inquirer, thinker, communicator and caring
ATL skills	approaches to learning: thinking, research, communication, social and self-management skills

Where to start

Most children can start at Chapter 1. If you are not sure, try the Placement Check first. It takes about 20 minutes and tells you whether to start Grade 2, or to review some Grade 1 lessons first.

You can see every chapter and lesson on the Grade 2 English index page.

All Grade 2 English chapters and lessons | Download lesson PDFs

© 2026 Firefly Ed. All rights reserved. This page may be printed for personal, home and classroom use. It may not be sold, shared online or reproduced for commercial use without written permission. edfirefly.com

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