Social Studies

Unit 1: Civics: Responsible Citizens Have a Voice (Aug-Sept)

How can I share my ideas respectfully (even during times of conflict)?

Students understand that advocating for and expressing their ideas respectfully can influence decision making in their classroom, their school, and their community. They also understand that individuals, groups, and communities manage conflict in order to promote fairness.

This unit focuses on active citizenship, conflict management, and conflict resolution. First, students learn ways that individuals and groups advocate for and express their ideas respectfully. As active citizens, these skills allow individuals and groups to influence decision making in their classroom, their school, and their community. Next, students engage with a variety of sources (pictures, books, videos, etc.) and identify multiple ways that responsible citizens resolve conflict. Finally, strategies and skills that promote fairness are introduced and can be applied in authentic and relevant ways throughout the remainder of the year. Ultimately, students will apply their understanding of citizenship through active participation in improving their classroom and school community.

Unit 2: Geography - People Interacting with the Environment (Nov-Dec)

How have people changed and been changed by their environment?

Students understand that individuals and communities manage and modify their physical environments for a variety of reasons. In addition, physical environments affect individual and community activities. Individuals and communities manage and use renewable and non-renewable resources.

First, students use maps, globes and other geographic sources to locate features that exist in all communities: physical features, political features, and cultural/human features. Some features help us to see how people manage and modify the environment. For example, we build roads, parks and buildings to meet our needs, and this is how we manage and modify the environment. Next, students identify examples of renewable and non-renewable resources in our world. Students describe the actions people can take to address consumption of these resources. These actions include: recycling, reducing, reusing or throwing away. Ultimately, this unit is about the impact of people on various places. Students might personalize the ideas in this unit by adopting a place (in the classroom, school or community) to make decisions about and care for. Note: Historically, 2nd grade teachers have focused on forest and grassland regions to provide context. However, teachers are encouraged to expose students to a variety of settings around the world. Please note that this is not an in-depth study of “region", as the concept of region is not introduced until 3rd grade.

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Unit 3: Economics: Identifying Choices and Decision Making (Feb)

Why can’t we have everything we need or want?

Students understand that scarcity of resources affects the choices and decisions that individuals and communities make.

This unit focuses on the economic concepts of scarcity and decision making. Students learn that scarcity means we have a limited amount of resources (as individuals and communities). Resources may include money, time, or space. Limited resources affect the choices and decisions that individuals and communities make. Students identify examples of choices people have and the decisions they make when resources are scarce. Personal financial literacy (PFL) standards live in this unit, and students apply a process to make a personal (or group) financial decision.

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Unit 4: History: Communities Change (Apr-May)

Why do communities change over time and how do we know?

Students understand that all communities change over time due to the influence of various people, events and developments. As young historians, students gather evidence of change from primary and secondary sources.

Students engage with various sources used by historians (historical artifacts, primary sources, secondary sources, and oral accounts) and gather evidence to explain how communities change over time. After studying how all communities change over time, students personalize this concept and begin to investigate how their local community has changed over time. Students create timelines to show their understanding of community change. Note: Conceptual learning in this unit is focused on using historical sources to examine change over time, not memorizing a set of facts about the selected community.