OVERVIEW
In the second grade, the Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework builds upon the student's sense of self and community by introducing broader concepts of the world, including geography, history, civics, and economics. The curriculum is built around five main topics: Reading and Making Maps; Geography and Its Effect on People; History: Migration and Cultures; Civics: Countries and Governments; and Economics: Resources and Choices.
Students in Grade 2 continue to develop essential social science practices, such as analyzing information from different sources (like maps, globes, and books), and understanding how past events and different places affect the present. The goal is to prepare students to be informed citizens with a deeper understanding of how their local community fits into a larger global context.
The core themes for second grade include:
Reading and Making Maps: Students learn to use and create maps, understanding components like a compass rose, key, and title to navigate and represent familiar locations.
Geography and Its Effect on People: Students identify continents and oceans and explain how landforms and bodies of water influence where and how people live.
History: Migration and Cultures: Students explore the reasons people migrate, the contributions of diverse cultures, and how different cultures shape a society.
Civics: Countries and Governments: Students learn to distinguish between physical and political maps, describe the characteristics of a country, and understand the purpose of government.
Economics: Resources and Choices: Students learn basic economic concepts such as goods, services, natural resources, and the choices people make about money.
This framework encourages an interdisciplinary approach, linking social studies concepts to reading, writing, and communication skills to create a rich and robust learning experience.
Unit 1: Reading and Making Maps
This unit explores how to explain and use map components to read and create maps of familiar locations.
I can explain what a map shows and why we need maps.
I can identify and use parts of a map like a compass rose, key, and title to find places.
I can create a map of a place I know, like my school or neighborhood.
What do maps show?
Why do we need maps?
How can we find and locate different land forms on a map or globe?
How are continents different from one another?
What does a compass rose on a map tell you?
How is a map's key or legend helpful when you are reading a map?
Can you show me a map of our neighborhood and point out a familiar place?
Why are there so many different kinds of maps?
Me on the Map by Joan Sweeney
Mapping Penny's World by Laureen Leedy
My Mapbook by Sara Fanelli
There's a Map on My Lap!: All About Maps by Tish Rabe
Unit 2: Geography and its Effect on People
This unit explores how to identify continents and oceans on a globe and map, and explain how landforms and bodies of water affect where people live.
I can find continents and oceans on a map or a globe.
I can explain how landforms and bodies of water affect where people live.
I can describe how people change or adapt to their environment.
How do people adapt to or change their environment?
Can you show me where we live on a world map?
How do mountains or rivers change the way people live in an area?
What are some ways people in our community have changed the environment around us?
Why are oceans so important to our world?
Geography Affects Communities by Bruce Larkin
The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean by Arthur Dorros
The Earth and I by Frank Asch
Unit 3: History: Migration and Cultures
This unit explores the reasons for migration and the cultural contributions of immigrants to the United States.
I can explain different reasons why people move from one place to another.
I can describe what people bring with them when they move to a new place.
I can give examples of how the United States is a "nation of immigrants."
What are the different reasons people choose to settle in a community?
Why did your grandparents or great-grandparents move to where they live now?
What traditions or foods from other countries do you see in our community?
What are some of the challenges people might face when they move to a new country?
Why do you think it's important to learn about different cultures?
Coming to America: The Story of Immigration by Betsy Maestro
Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan by Mary Williams
Islandborn by Junot Díaz
My Diary from Here to There by Amada Irma Pérez
The Arabic Quilt: An Immigrant Story by Aya Khalil
Unit 4: Civics: Countries and Governments
This unit explores the characteristics of a country and the purpose and function of government.
I can recognize the difference between physical and political maps.
I can explain what makes a place a "country."
I can describe what a government does for its people.
Why are continents divided into countries?
What is the difference between a country and a state?
What is the purpose of having a government?
Why is it important for citizens to follow rules and laws?
What is one thing the government does for our family or our school?
My Senator and Me by Edward M. Kennedy
Otto Runs for President by Rosemary Wells
Duck for President by Doreen Cronin
Unit 5: Economics: Resources and Choices
This unit explores examples of goods and services, the relationship between resources and jobs, and choices people make when buying goods and services.
I can give examples of goods and services.
I can explain how natural resources are related to jobs and industries.
I can explain why people have to make choices about buying goods and services.
How do the resources of an area affect its industries and jobs?
What is a good? What is a service?
What are some jobs in our community that use natural resources?
Why do we have to make choices about how we spend our money?
What is the difference between a want and a need?
A Chair for My Mother by Vera Williams
Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday by Judith Viorst
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts
The Berenstain Bears' Trouble with Money by Stan and Jan Berenstain