The Ontario Grade 2 math curriculum: what your child learns

Your child reads, writes and breaks apart numbers up to 200, compares and orders them, estimates big collections and counts to check, and counts by 20s, 25s and 50s. They learn what makes a number even or odd. They recall addition facts to 20 (and the matching subtraction facts), use mental math with totals up to 50, and add and subtract with totals up to 100. Multiplication starts as equal groups (3 groups of 4), and division as sharing up to 12 items equally. Fair-share problems now include 3 and 6 sharers, so kids meet thirds and sixths and see that one third is the same as two sixths.

Typical homework, with a hint

What your child learns in Number

• Reading numbers to 200B1.1

  Reads and shows numbers up to 200, breaks them into parts and puts them back together using different tools and strategies, and talks about where numbers are used in daily life.

• Comparing numbers to 200B1.2

  Compares numbers up to 200 and puts them in order, in different situations.

• Estimating and counting objectsB1.3

  Estimates how many objects are in a group of up to 200, then counts to check.

• Skip counting to 200B1.4

  Counts up to 200, including skip counting by 20s, 25s and 50s, with different tools and strategies.

• Even and odd numbersB1.5

  Explains how to tell whether a number is even or odd.

• Fair sharing with drawingsB1.6

  Uses drawings to solve and compare fair-sharing problems where up to 10 items are shared among 2, 3, 4 or 6 people, with answers that can be whole numbers, mixed numbers or fractions.

• Thirds and sixthsB1.7

  Learns that, when a whole is shared fairly, two sixths of it is the same amount as one third.

• Properties of operationsB2.1

  Uses how adding and subtracting work, how adding links to multiplying, and how subtracting links to dividing, to solve problems and check answers.

• Adding facts to 20B2.2

  Knows the addition facts up to 20 by heart, and the subtraction facts that go with them.

• Mental math to 50B2.3

  Adds and subtracts in their head, including estimating, when the numbers add up to 50 or less, and explains how they did it.

• Adding and subtracting to 100B2.4

  Uses objects, drawings and number sentences to show and solve adding and subtracting situations where the numbers add up to 100 or less.

• Multiplying as equal groupsB2.5

  Shows multiplying as adding equal groups again and again, including groups of one half or one fourth, and solves problems with tools and drawings.

• Sharing equallyB2.6

  Shows dividing as sharing up to 12 items equally, and solves problems with tools and drawings.

Patterns now include geometric designs (like tiles or a quilt) and number patterns up to 100, and kids use the rule to extend a pattern or find what’s missing. A symbol can stand for a missing number (like 9 + □ = 14), and kids work out what to add or subtract to make two sides equal. In coding, they write, read and change code where some steps happen one after another and some happen at the same time.

Typical homework, with a hint

What your child learns in Algebra

• Geometric patternsC1.1

  Finds and describes patterns made with shapes and designs, including patterns in everyday life.

• Making patternsC1.2

  Makes patterns and shows the same pattern in different ways, including with shapes and numbers.

• Pattern rules and predictionsC1.3

  Works out the rule of a pattern made of shapes or numbers, and uses it to continue the pattern, predict what comes next (and explain why), and find missing pieces.

• Number patterns to 100C1.4

  Makes and describes patterns that show how numbers up to 100 are related.

• Symbols as variablesC2.1

  Recognizes when a symbol (like a box or a letter) stands for an unknown or changing number, and explains how it is used.

• Making expressions equalC2.2

  Works out what to add or take away so that two adding or subtracting expressions are equal.

• Equal relationshipsC2.3

  Finds and uses different ways of writing the same amount for numbers up to 100, in different situations.

• Writing codeC3.1

  Writes and runs code to solve problems and show math situations, including code where steps happen in order and code where things happen at the same time.

• Reading and changing codeC3.2

  Reads and changes existing code with steps in order or happening at the same time, and describes how the changes affect what happens.

Math modelling (C4): Turns a real-life situation into math (a model) to represent it, analyse it, make predictions and understand it better.

Kids sort data by two attributes at once, using Venn and Carroll diagrams, collect answers to two-part questions in two-way tally tables, and show data in pictographs, line plots and bar graphs with titles and labels. They find the mode (the most common value) and explain what it tells them, and use impossible, possible and certain to talk about chance.

Typical homework, with a hint

What your child learns in Data

• Venn and Carroll diagramsD1.1

  Sorts data about people or things by two features at once, using tables and sorting diagrams such as Venn and Carroll diagrams.

• Two-way tally tablesD1.2

  Collects data by watching, trying things out and asking people, to answer a question about two pieces of information, and organizes it in a two-way tally table.

• Line plots and bar graphsD1.3

  Makes concrete graphs, pictographs, line plots and bar graphs where each object or mark stands for one item, and gives each one a title, labels and the source of the data.

• Finding the modeD1.4

  Finds the mode (the most common value, if there is one) in data shown in graphs, line plots and tables, and explains what it tells you about the data.

• Analysing dataD1.5

  Asks and answers questions about data shown in sorting diagrams, line plots and bar graphs, draws conclusions, and uses them to back up arguments and make good decisions.

• Impossible, possible, certainD2.1

  Uses the words “impossible”, “possible” and “certain” to describe how likely an event and its opposite are to happen, and uses that to make predictions and decisions.

• Predicting the modeD2.2

  Predicts, then tests, whether the most common answer in data from one group of people will also be the most common in another group.

Your child sorts 2D shapes by their sides, angles and lines of symmetry, puts shapes together and takes them apart (the area stays the same when the pieces move), finds congruent shapes, and makes and reads simple maps of familiar places. In measurement, they measure with non-standard units (like paper clips), then with centimetres and metres, use a ruler correctly, and use seconds, minutes and hours to describe how long things take.

Typical homework, with a hint

What your child learns in Spatial Sense

• Sorting 2D shapesE1.1

  Sorts and names 2D shapes by comparing how many sides they have, how long the sides are, their angles, and how many lines of symmetry they have.

• Putting shapes togetherE1.2

  Puts 2D shapes together and takes them apart, and shows that a shape’s area stays the same however its pieces are moved around.

• Congruent shapesE1.3

  Finds sides and angles in 2D shapes that match exactly, by comparing them by eye or by laying one on top of the other, and decides if two shapes are congruent (exactly the same shape and size).

• Simple mapsE1.4

  Draws and reads simple maps of places they know.

• Positions and movementsE1.5

  Describes where several objects are compared to each other, and the moves needed to get from one to another.

• Non-standard length unitsE2.1

  Measures length with everyday units (like paper clips or hand spans), choosing a sensible unit, and explains why a smaller unit means you need more of them.

• Centimetres and metresE2.2

  Explains how centimetres and metres are related, and estimates lengths using familiar objects as a guide for each unit.

• Measuring with a rulerE2.3

  Measures and draws lengths in centimetres and metres with a ruler or other measuring tool, and sees what goes wrong when you don’t start measuring at zero.

• Units of timeE2.4

  Describes how long events last, in seconds, minutes, hours and everyday units.

Money in Grade 2 is about showing the same amount in different ways: up to 200¢ with coins, and up to $200 with loonies, toonies and $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 bills.

Typical homework, with a hint

What your child learns in Financial Literacy

• Counting money to $200F1.1

  Shows the same amount of money in different ways: amounts up to 200¢ with different mixes of coins, and amounts up to $200 with $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 bills plus $1 and $2 coins.

The Ontario curriculum also has a strand A that runs through all the others. It’s about how kids approach math: managing frustration, keeping at a hard problem, and using the mathematical processes (such as problem solving, reasoning, connecting, representing and communicating). It has no homework of its own, but it’s exactly what a patient, hint-based tutor helps build.

How to help with Grade 2 math at home

• Play “make 10” and “make 20” with playing cards, dice or fingers.
• Use real coins: count a pile of dimes by 10s and quarters by 25s.
• Measure things around the house with a ruler, and check that your child lines the object up with 0.
• Time everyday things (brushing teeth, a favourite song) and talk about seconds and minutes.
• Share snacks equally among the family and ask how many each person gets.
• Ask your child to explain how they got an answer. In Grade 2, talking it through matters as much as the answer.

More ideas: how to help with math homework without giving the answer.

How Astuzo helps with Grade 2 math

Grade 2 homework mixes number facts with short word problems. Spark reads each question aloud, then helps one small step at a time, suggesting coins, fingers or a quick drawing instead of giving the answer. A whole page of addition and subtraction facts can be checked from one photo.

You set your child’s grade once, and Spark pitches every hint at that level. You get a short email each evening they use it, showing what they worked on. See how Astuzo works.