Grade 2 math in Ontario: what to expect and where kids get stuck

If your Grade 2 child suddenly groans at math homework, I don't think the child is the problem. Grade 2 is where numbers get bigger, and a trick that worked in Grade 1 (counting on fingers) stops working. That is a hard moment, and it is also a very fixable one.

What Grade 2 math covers

Grade 2 follows Ontario's 2020 math curriculum for Grades 1 to 8. In the lessons we teach, the year is built around these ideas:

• Hundreds, tens and ones: reading and writing three-digit numbers and knowing what each digit is worth.
• Adding and subtracting within 100, including the two situations that need a "trade": making a new ten when adding, and breaking a ten when subtracting.
• Missing numbers and story problems.
• Skip counting and number patterns.
• A first look at equal groups, arrays and sharing, which prepares children for multiplication and division in Grade 3.
• Halves, thirds and fourths.
• Canadian coins and change, telling time to 5 minutes, measuring in centimetres and metres, and reading simple graphs.

Where children get stuck

Place value. A child who sees 52 as "five and two" rather than "5 tens and 2 ones" will struggle as soon as numbers need regrouping. Place value is the base for almost everything else this year.

Subtracting when the top digit is smaller. In 52 − 27, the ones digit on top (2) is smaller than the one below it (7). Some children simply do 7 − 2 instead, because it is easier. That answer looks tidy, but it is wrong.

Time to 5 minutes. Children have to count by 5s around the clock and connect that to the minute hand. It takes practice with a real clock.

Fractions. Equal parts is the first idea. Halves are easy. Thirds and fourths are where children learn that the pieces must be the same size.

Most children won't tell you any of this. Asking for help feels weak to them, and they would rather keep pace with the class. A calm look together at home can catch it early.

A worked example: subtracting by trading a ten

Think of 52 as 5 bundles of ten and 2 single sticks.

The check in step 7 is worth making a habit. It lets children find their own mistakes without anyone telling them they are wrong.

Try this at home tonight

You need about 60 small things you can bundle in tens (craft sticks, straws, dried pasta) and a few elastic bands or small cups.

• Make 5 bundles of ten and put 2 single pieces beside them. Say, "This is 52."
• Ask your child to take away 27. Let them try on their own first.
• When they get stuck on the ones, ask, "What could we do with one of the bundles?" Let them untie a bundle.
• Count what is left, then add 27 back to check.
• Take turns picking a number between 30 and 60 and a number to take away.

Ten minutes is enough. If it turns into a battle, stop for the night and play instead. We want children to feel that math is something they can do.

A note on keeping it going

Learning to trade is not the hard part. Remembering it a month later, when it is part of three-digit numbers, is the hard part. A few minutes of the same activity across the week does more than one long session.

Next steps

The free 15-question check-in shows where your child stands in Grade 2 math. It has no mark, and it points to what is solid and what needs practice. The free math games give them a way to practice that feels like play.

If you want live help with the toughest ideas of the year, you can read about our small-group Grade 2 course. We find out where your child is first, and I don't want to take your money if they don't need it.