Grade 2 Social Studies

What your child will learn and do in Grade 2 Social Studies

In Grade 2,  Social Studies focuses on students’ investigation of “Making a Difference in Society.” Students will explore their place in the world around them, building on their work in Grade 1 and expanding perspective beyond themselves.  Students will engage in the study of how people both past and present have a made a difference in their community, country, and world. Children begin to learn about their role as citizens by accepting rights and responsibilities in the classroom and by learning about rules and laws. Community studies include content examples from cultures other than the students’ own and from a variety of perspectives including geographic, socioeconomic, and ethnic. Students will also study how and what people remember about the past and how and what they know about the world around them.  Four units of study will help students make personal connections to Civics, Economics, Geography and History as a way to build foundational skills in Social Studies. Within each unit of study, both student-centered inquiry and literacy connections will be embedded into lessons.  Activities in these areas include:

  • Identifying various community occupations and how they contribute to the well-being of the community

  • Recognizing differing viewpoints of a community

  • Explaining how traditions and celebrations of family culture are communicated and taught over time

  • Communicating where families live and why they decide to move

  • Discussing how the historical actions of people have changed the world

  • Describing the role of rules and laws and how they help establish order

  • Participating in voting and the democratic process

  • Reading texts about history and identifying the main idea

  • Identifying and explaining symbols on a map

  • Describing in their own words information learned from articles or books read out loud

  • Working together to gather information from various sources  and then present information on the researched topic


Helping your child learn outside of school:    

  • Make your child aware of age-appropriate current events. Discuss current events and encourage your child to watch the news and/or read the newspaper.

  • Visit museums, zoos, theaters, historical sites, aquariums, and other educational places to help increase your child’s exposure to new knowledge and vocabulary.

  • Encourage your child to read stories, books, or biographies based on your native culture or others. Read the same book as your child and discuss it.

  • Ask your child to discuss his/her school day. Have your child explain to you or write in an academic journal what he/she learned that day in class. 

  • Encourage your child to explain his/her projects to you or practice a presentation the night before it is due.

  • Share family traditions, stories, and culture with your child. Encourage your child to interview family members such as grandparents to learn family history.  

  • Encourage cooperative play at home.  Play family games that require a partnership or teamwork.  

  • Encourage service and responsibility. Either through school or as a family, your child can experience providing service to others and/or being a responsible citizen through community giving.  


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