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2nd Grade · High-Frequency Words

2nd Grade High-Frequency Words — Set 2

2nd Grade High-Frequency Words — Set 2 compares oo in school and book, applies familiar patterns in best, both, which, and around, and focuses on less transparent spellings such as should, because, been, and does.

Word list

All 12 words in this list

2nd Grade · High-Frequency Words

  • should
  • because
  • little
  • around
  • been
  • does
  • school
  • book
  • best
  • both
  • which
  • these

12 words

What to notice when spelling these words

Compare vowel teams

The words school and book both contain oo, but the team spells two different vowel sounds. In school, oo has the sound heard in room; in book, it has the sound heard in good. The word around uses ou for a different vowel sound and can be held in the chunks a and round.

The words because and been also contain two-letter vowel spellings. Their notes identify the exact teams and written chunks to keep, rather than treating either whole word as unpredictable.

Build from consonant patterns and endings

The words best, both, and which can be mapped with familiar consonant patterns: the final blend st, the digraph th, and the opening wh and ending ch. In little, the stable le ending follows a doubled t. Other words in the set have a silent letter or a less expected vowel spelling, so their notes pinpoint the part to retrieve.

Notes for particular words

should

The word should ends with the letter sequence ould. The l is silent, but it stays between u and d: s-h-o-u-l-d.

because

Hold because in the written chunks be and cause. The second chunk is spelled c-a-u-s-e, which keeps the internal au and the final e in place.

little

The word little has two t's before its final stable le ending. Spell it in the chunks lit and tle: l-i-t-t-l-e.

been

The word been is always spelled with the vowel team ee. Its vowel may sound like the vowel in see or in sit, depending on the speaker, but the written form stays b-e-e-n.

does

The word does is spelled with oe even though its vowel usually sounds like the short u in bus. Keep the ending e-s: d-o-e-s.

these

In these, silent e helps the first e say its name. The s usually sounds like z, but the ending is still spelled s-e: t-h-e-s-e.