Teaching and Learning

  Social Studies Curriculum : Second Grade

The School District of Clayton’s elementary K-2 Social Studies curriculum is grounded in the Learning for Justice Standards of Identity and Diversity. The focus on celebrating students’ individual characteristics strives to develop young people who have begun to explore the process of self-actualization. Through exposure to the diversity within families, schools and communities, we aim to develop cultural awareness and emerging empathy. To varying degrees of emphasis at each grade level, we introduce the five strands of social studies - history, civics, economics, geography and culture.  Each of these is woven into a narrative around the personal experience of each child and their increasing understanding of their place in the local, national and global communities. 

Second grade students will begin to explore themselves and the world around them using the essential questions: 

1. Who am I?

2. Who are we?

3. How do we get along in our diverse community?

4. How do we know and understand each other in order to live peacefully?

5. How are people in the US alike and different and what do we do to live peacefully?

6. What distinguishes the different people of the world and how do we live peacefully?

Within the three social studies units, second grade students will delve into the following topics:

Unit 1 : My Community

• Explain and give examples of how laws and rules are made and changed within a community

• Examine how individual rights are protected within a community

• Analyze how being an active and informed citizen makes a difference in one’s community

• List the consequences of citizens not actively participating in communities

• Recognize and explain the significance of community symbols 

• Distinguish the responsibility and powers of government officials at the community level

• Read, construct and use maps with a title and a key

• Identify and describe physical characteristics of one’s community

• Describe human characteristics of the community

• Compare global cultural characteristics

• Demonstrate a peaceful resolution to a dispute

• Recite stories and songs that reflect the global cultural history of peoples

• Describe how global regions commemorate cultural heritage

Unit 2 : My Country

• Explain and give examples of how laws and rules are made and changed within a country

• Examine how individual rights are protected within a country

• Analyze how being an active and informed citizen makes a difference in one’s country

• Recognize and explain the significance of national symbols 

• Distinguish the responsibility and powers of government officials at the national level

• Identify and explain the functions of the three branches of government

• Describe consumption and production and the relationship to goods and services within your region

• Demonstrate how people use money to buy and sell goods and services

• Demonstrate how people barter to exchange goods and services

• Describe a personal cost-benefit analysis

• Read, construct and use maps with a title and a key

• Identify and describe physical characteristics of the country

• Describe human characteristics of the country

• Describe different types of communication and transportation and identify their advantages and disadvantages

• Describe how communication and transportation systems have facilitated the movement of people, products and ideas

• Describe the concept of regions as places which have one unifying political, physical or cultural characteristic

• Identify examples of regions

• Describe why people of different groups settle more in one place or region than another

• Explain how geography affects the way people live today

• Compare global cultural characteristics of our country

• Recite stories and songs that reflect the national history

• Describe how regions commemorate cultural heritage

Unit 3: My World

• Analyze how being an active and informed citizen makes a difference in one’s world

• Recognize and explain the significance of global symbols 

• Read, construct and use maps with a title and a key

• Name and locate regions of the world

• Identify and describe physical characteristics of the world

• Describe human characteristics of the world

• Describe the concept of regions as places which have one unifying political, physical or cultural characteristic

• Identify examples of global regions

• Describe why people of different groups settle more in one place or region than another

• Explain how geography affects the way people live today

• Compare global cultural characteristics

• Demonstrate a peaceful resolution to a dispute

• Recite stories and songs that reflect the global cultures

• Describe how global regions commemorate cultural heritage

Second-Grade Social Studies Learning Objectives

Social studies is a multi-disciplinary, integrated approach to the study of people, their physical environment, traditions, leadership and cultures. The K-3 social studies program introduces geography, civics, economics and history. Students study people and cultures, past and present, from our own community and all over the world. They learn how the physical environment shapes cultures, why governments are important and ways in which our needs are served in the economy.

• Compare and contrast absolute and relative location.
• Locate school, community, state and country on a map.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between seasons, climate and geography.
• Define natural resources.

Culture

• Demonstrate an understanding of the various ways in which a location influences the way in which people live.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the culture of our local community.

History

• Begin to develop an understanding of the local history of our community.

Economics

• Demonstrate an understanding of the roles of producers and consumers in our community.
• Observe the way in which our community meets the needs of its citizens.
• Identify economic concepts such as scarcity, market, supply and demand.