Year 2 English Scheme of Work
In Year 2, pupils consolidate and extend their phonics knowledge to read longer and less familiar words. They develop greater confidence in reading a range of texts — fiction, non-fiction and poetry — and begin to explain and justify their understanding using evidence from the text. Writing becomes more ambitious, with pupils learning to use coordination and subordination to vary their sentences.
Grammar and punctuation are taught explicitly, including the use of apostrophes for contraction, commas in lists, and expanded noun phrases. Pupils are given regular opportunities to plan, draft, evaluate and edit their writing, developing the habits of a thoughtful writer.
Expected prior knowledge
- ✓Ability to write simple sentences with correct capital letters and full stops
- ✓Knowledge of nouns, verbs and adjectives
- ✓Ability to join ideas using and
- ✓Familiarity with common narrative structures through reading and listening
Units across the year
Six half-term units covering all strands of the KS2 English programme of study.
Noun Phrases
- –Using expanded noun phrases to describe and specify
- –Using adjectives, articles and determiners accurately
- –Analysing noun phrases in high-quality picture books and discussing their effect
- –Building noun phrases using a word-class sorting activity
- –Writing descriptive passages using expanded noun phrases
- –Peer assessing to identify and improve noun phrases in each other's writing
Coordination and Subordination
- –Using coordination: or, and, but
- –Using subordination: when, if, that, because
- –Categorising conjunctions as coordinating or subordinating using a visual anchor
- –Combining pairs of simple sentences using an appropriate conjunction
- –Writing a short explanation text using because and when to give reasons
- –Reading aloud sentences to check for meaning and fluency
Commas in Lists
- –Using commas to separate items in a list
- –Understanding the role of and before the final item
- –Reading lists in shared texts and identifying where commas appear
- –Adding commas to unpunctuated lists on whiteboards
- –Writing a descriptive list poem using commas correctly
- –Proofreading partner work to check comma usage
Past and Present Tense
- –Using the present and past tenses correctly and consistently
- –Using the progressive form of verbs in the present and past tense
- –Sorting sentences into past and present tense columns
- –Changing verbs from present to past tense using a verb conjugation chart
- –Writing a diary entry (past tense) and a news report (present tense) to contrast
- –Spotting tense consistency errors in edited text passages
Apostrophes for Contraction
- –Using apostrophes for contracted forms
- –Understanding that an apostrophe replaces one or more missing letters
- –Matching contractions to their expanded forms using card matching activity
- –Identifying where letters have been omitted and placing the apostrophe correctly
- –Rewriting informal dialogue using contractions appropriately
- –Creating a class reference chart of common contractions
Information Texts
- –Writing about real events, recording these simply and clearly
- –Using organisational devices including headings and sub-headings
- –Reading a range of non-fiction information books and identifying their features
- –Making notes under headings from a shared information source
- –Planning and writing a short information text about a class topic
- –Evaluating writing against a success criteria focused on non-fiction features
Progression into Year 3
In Year 3, pupils will begin to use conjunctions more precisely, including subordinating conjunctions for complex sentences. They will encounter inverted commas for speech, and their writing will become longer and more organised using paragraphs.
Individual lesson plans
Full lesson frameworks — learning objectives, vocabulary, lesson structure, and common misconceptions — for each unit in this scheme.
View all Year 2 English lesson plans →