30+ Math Activities for Second Grade
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Find dozens of ways to make math practice fun for second graders with these hands-on learning activities, games, songs, and printables.
By the time they reach second grade, kids must master some key arithmetic skills to ensure they’re ready for the more advanced concepts that lie ahead. This is also the time to conquer telling time and basic measurement, along with learning how to make and use graphs.
Try these hands-on math activities for your second grader to help them build their skills in meaningful and engaging ways.
Counting and Place Value Activities
1. Skip Counting Hopscotch
Skip counting gets kids ready for multiplication, so plan lots of hands-on math activities for your second grader on this concept. A real favorite is skip counting hopscotch. You can make your course for whatever number you’re working on–counting by 2s, 3s,5s, 10s, etc. This idea gets kids up and moving, engaging multiple parts of their brain as they learn.
2. Skip Counting Coloring Pages
Grab the worksheets in our free bundle to give your second grader practice with skip counting by 2s, 3s, 5s, and 10s. They’ll enjoy the relaxing coloring activity while becoming more familiar with these skip counting families.
3. Clip and Count
Grab a measuring tape or yardstick and some clothespins. Choose a number to skip count by, and have kids place the clothespins on the appropriate numbers. Make this activity more challenging by asking kids to skip count starting at a different number than zero or 1.
4. Number Block Surprise
Help Alice’s monsters build three-digit numbers using digital base 10 blocks. This online learning game from ABCmouse helps second graders understand place value up to the hundreds place.
5. Bean Bag Place Value Toss
Second graders should master place value up to the thousands place, and tossing bean bags is such a fun way to work on this skill. Label four bins for ones, tens, hundreds, and thousands. Toss bean bags into different bins, trying to get some in each. Then, count the number in each bin, and write out the resulting four-digit number. Or, choose a goal number and toss bean bags until you have the correct amount in each bin.
6. Place Value Cups
Take a stack of Styrofoam cups and write numbers on the edges. Stack them up, then read the numbers down the stack and write them out to form a multi-digit number with thousands, hundreds, tens, and ones. For a challenge, you can even introduce decimal points into the mix!
7. Moon Base Number Defense
The moon base is under attack! Help protect it by comparing 3-digit numbers and determining if they’re greater than or less than the target number in this ABCmouse online game.
8. Pick a Place
You’ll need some dice for this game; you can use as many as you like, depending on how many place values you want to work on (two dice for ones and tens; three dice for ones, tens, and hundreds, etc.).
The goal is to roll and place the results to create the highest number possible. For instance, if your first roll is a 3, you’ll probably want to place it in a lower place like tens or ones. But if you roll a high number like 8, place it in the hundreds or thousands place. Just remember: once you place a die, you can’t move it!
Addition and Subtraction Activities for Second Graders
9. Race to 15
Like it or not, now’s the time to ensure kids know their basic addition and multiplication facts inside and out. Flashcard drills are one way to do this, but they’re not an awful lot of fun, so try this game instead.
Kids draw a flashcard from the stack and say the answer out loud. Then, they place it face up in a row in front of them, building an ascending number line from the answers. When they get 15 cards right, they win!
10. Flashcard I Spy
There are more ways to have a little fun with flashcards. Try laying them all out on the table or floor, then playing I Spy. Say, “I spy a flashcard with a sum of 15.” Your child grabs a matching card as quickly as possible. If they’re right, they keep it; otherwise it goes back on the table.
11. Hungry Frog Math
Help the hungry frogs by feeding them the correct number or symbol to complete the math equations. This online learning game encourages algebraic thinking for second graders.
12. Block Tower Subtraction
Second graders also work on addition and subtraction of two-digit numbers, and this knock-em-down game is such an exciting way to practice!
Make a stack of blocks, counting them and writing down the total. Then, toss a ball to knock some of them down. Count the blocks that fall, then write an equation that represents a subtraction problem to figure out how many are left.
13. Uno Card Multi-Digit Math
Separate out just the number cards from your Uno deck. Mix them up and draw four cards. Lay out the first two side by side in the top row, then two more underneath.
Now, solve the addition problem, adding up the two-digit numbers. You can do this with subtraction too; just make sure to place the larger 2-digit number on top.
14. Marvin’s Magical Facts
Encourage quick thinking with this race against the clock to solve addition and subtraction problems as fast as possible. This fun online learning game will build confidence in second grade math students.
15. Domino 2-Digit Addition
Lay a domino horizontally on the table in front of you, with another one just underneath in the same position. The top domino is the first number, so if it has 3 dots and 5 dots, the number is 35.
The bottom domino is the second number, so 6 dots and 1 dot is 61. Now, add those two numbers together for a total of 96. You can do this with subtraction too; just make sure the larger number is on top.
16. Math Mazes
To solve the mazes in this free printable collection, you’ll need to figure out the answers to some multi-digit addition and subtraction equations first!
17. Countdown from 100
Each player starts by writing the number 100 at the top of a piece of paper and holding on to one die. At the word “Go!” everyone begins rolling and subtracting, trying to be the first to reach zero. For example, if a player rolls 3, their new total is 97. Then they roll 5, for a total of 92, and so on.
Players must write each roll and new total on their list as they go, so their answers can be checked at the end. (Increase the difficulty in this game by using polyhedral dice with higher numbers on them!)
Time, Money, and Graphing
18. Telling Time Worksheets
Print the worksheets in this free collection to give your second grader the opportunity to practice telling time to the hour, half-hour, quarter-hour, and minute. Have fun coloring the clocks after filling in the right answers!
19. Set the Clock
Buy an inexpensive analog clock that will be easy for little fingers to use. Then, have fun calling out times and asking your child to see how quickly they can set the clock to match!
20. Nature Item Graphs
Combine a nature walk with math skills in this math activity for second graders. As you stroll, pick up leaves, twigs, stones, acorns, and other items. When you get back home, use those items to create a bar or line graph.
21. Graphing Snacks
Turn snack time into math time! Open a bag of Skittles or M&Ms, then sort them out and graph by color. Or, tally the numbers of different kinds of fruit in your kitchen and make a pictograph to represent them.
22. Weather Graphing
Use the page from this free graphing worksheet bundle to create a bar graph of the weather for a week (or more). Kids will have fun coloring the weather pictures each day as they collect their data!
23. Alice’s Hat Shopping
Alice and her monsters need some new hats! Help them with their purchases in this online game from ABCmouse that gives second graders practice with money skills.
24. Roll to $1
This game works for both money skills and adding to 100. Assign values to a die as follows: 1 = penny, 2 = nickel, 3 = dime, 4 = quarter, 5 = zero, and 6 = roll again.
For each roll, add the amount to your running total in the race to reach a dollar. If you really want to make it tricky, declare that kids must roll the exact number they need to reach $1.
25. Coin & Money Worksheets
This set of free printable worksheets is an easy way to give your second grader some practice with money skills. Keep them on hand for times when you want to squeeze in a little extra learning.
26. Shopping Practice
Apply money skills in the real world whenever you can. Give kids a pretend “budget,” then use grocery store ads or online websites to go shopping. This builds money smarts and financial literacy, both key life skills that all kids need to learn.
27. Murphy’s Line Graph-O-Matic
Help Murphy track the badges earned by the Number Scouts each month in this ABCmouse online game. Enter plot points into the machine and connect them to make a line graph.
28. Survey Says
Have your child survey their friends, family, and neighbors to get their answers to a question like “What’s your favorite pizza topping?” or “What board game do you like the best?” Then, have them turn their results into a graph using any format they like.
Geometry and Measurement
27. Paper Airplane Toss
Hold a paper airplane contest, with each contestant competing to make the plane that can fly the furthest. Use a measuring tape to measure and compare distances, using feet and inches or meters and centimeters.
28. Solve a Problem by Measuring
Brainstorm problems that can be solved by measuring, such as “Is this box big enough to hold this stack of books?” Then, use the page from our free printable measurement worksheet bundle to document how your child figured out the answer to the problem.
29. Measurement Crossword
Print this free measurement crossword worksheet and solve the clues to learn words like balance, weight, measure, and more.
30. Mailbox Measurement
Luis and Blinks are building a mailbox, and they need your help! In this online learning game, kids estimate the lengths of the wood pieces they need, getting practice with measuring in centimeters.
31. Measurement Hunt
Create a list of measurement-related tasks for your child to complete, such as “find something that’s at least five inches long but not more than 10 inches long” or “find three items that are all the same height.” Then, arm them with a ruler or tape measure and send them out to see what they can hunt down!
32. Field Trip Fundraising
Use a bar graph to answer questions about ways kids can raise money for an upcoming field trip. This online learning game from ABCmouse helps students analyze data and identify patterns in information.
33. Shawna’s 3D Shapes
In this ABCmouse video, kids learn a fun song that will help them remember the names of 3D shapes like cube, prism, cylinder, and cone.
Mathematics Activities with ABCmouse
ABCmouse’s math program was designed by experts to help children build math skills starting in preschool. Interactive online lessons, games, videos, songs, and more activities engage kids in the process right from the start. Worksheets and other offline activities support and enhance your child’s learning. Find out more about the ABCmouse math program and join today!
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