2nd Grade Social Studies Standards

Introduction

The goal of social studies education is for children to develop thinking and decision-making skills that prepare them for responsible citizenship in a democratic society. Second graders continue to work towards this goal by beginning to understand how communities work together throughout North America (Canada, Mexico and the U.S.). Students explain the need for civic and political structures and compare the rights and responsibilities of citizens. Students explain patterns of human settlement and compare the ways various cultural groups connect and interact within North America. Students describe how examples of capital, human, and natural resources are related to goods and services, and they categorize different limited resources as renewable and non-renewable. Students identify and compare the diverse cultural groups of North America and engage in learning the motivations of diverse groups in the past and today within the context of “today,” “yesterday” and “long ago.”

Key Vocabulary

May include, but is not limited to: capital, civic, common goods, conflict, consumer, culture, economy, entrepreneurship, geographic, geographic features, human resources, innovations, labor, land, natural resources, non-renewable resource, producer, production, renewable resource, resources, responsibilities, rights, society, virtues

Looking Back, Looking Ahead: Connections to Grade 1 and Grade 3

In grade 1, students explore the interplay between people of the past and modern communities by expanding their studies from a personal to a local level, to include Kentucky. In grade 2, students apply their understanding of local and state communities to how communities work together throughout North America (Canada, Mexico and the U.S.). In grade 3, students begin to apply the concept of the community globally, understanding the impact of interaction between groups within the continent of Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania (Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia).