Reading continues to be a priority in second grade. Second-grade students will be immersed in a print-rich environment filled with fiction and nonfiction selections, which relate to all areas of the curriculum. Students will learn to use a combination of strategies when reading to enhance comprehension and will read age-appropriate sections with fluency, accuracy, and expression. Students will expand their vocabulary by listening and speaking in classroom discussions. Second graders will write stories, letters, and simple explanations; apply simple grammatical principals to writing; and locate information in reference materials. All aspects of literacy will be taught through a balanced literacy framework for instruction, enabling all students to become independent and strategic readers, writers, thinkers, and communicators.