Social Studies Units
Social Studies is integrated into the ELA curriculum. Students engage in weekly social studies lessons, but also continuously learn concepts connected to social studies through selected reading materials and guided discussions. There are three social studies units in the second grade curriculum.
|
1. Our Community at Work (Economics)
In this unit, students identify the economic principals and processes that are helpful to producers and consumers when making good decisions. They will learn that economic decisions are dependent on technology, resources, and human activities in the community, nation, and world.
The unit covers:
-The economic choices people make about goods and services
-The natural, capital, and human resources used in the production of a good or service
-Specialized workers in the school and community
-How technology affects the way people live, work, and play
-Different types of markets where buyers and sellers meet to exchange goods and services
-Goods and services provided by businesses or the government
-Different ways to pay for goods and services
Students will be able to answer the essential questions:
-How does scarcity affect economic choices?
-How does technology affect the way people live, work, and play?
-How do economic systems affect the consumer choices?
How are resources used in the production process?
2. Responsible Citizens in Our Community (Political Science)
In this unit, students will understand the historical development and current status of democratic principals and the development of skills and attitudes necessary to become responsible citizens. Students will learn that a democratic government promotes fairness, order, and safety. There are rights, rules, responsibilities, symbols, and practices associated with being a member of a group. A democracy relies on the active participation of its citizens.
The unit covers:
-How school/community rules promote orderliness, fairness, responsibility, privacy, and safety
-Leadership positions and organizations in the community, and how they can help maintain safety and order
-Democratic skills and attitudes (rights/responsibility, fairness, respect, honesty, loyalty, and courage)
-Important symbols, people, songs, and poems, and the ideals they represent
-Contributions of local government leaders of school and community
-How contributions of people are recognized in holidays
-How making choices affects self, family, school, and community
-Concerns in the community and ways to resolve these concerns
Students will be able to answer the essential questions:
-How do choices we make affect self, family, school, and community?
-How are democratic skills and attitudes associated with being a responsible citizen?
-Why are rules important in our community?
-What do the symbols and practices of the United States represent?
-How are certain people recognized for their contributions?
-How do leadership positions help maintain safety and order?
-How do people work together to solve problems in the community?
3. The World Around Me (History and Geography)
In this unit, students will use historical thinking skills to understand how individuals and events have changed society over time. Students will understand how people in Maryland, the United States, and around the world are alike and different. Students will use geographic concepts and processes to examine the role of culture, technology, and the environment in the location and distribution of human activities and spatial connections throughout time.
The unit covers:
-Information about the past
-Photographs of the past and present
-Different cultures and how they meet their human needs for food, shelter, and other commonalities
-Ways people of different ages and/or cultural backgrounds can respect and help to pass on traditions and customs
-How families in the community share and borrow customs and traditions from other cultures
-The purpose and use of globes and maps
-How to use map elements to locate places in the United States
-The location of the equator, poles, seven continents, four oceans, and countries on a map and globe
-Bird's eye view of different places using satellite images, photographs, and pictures
-Geographic features of places and regions
-The climate, vegetation, animal life, and natural/physical features of different regions in the US
-The differences between rural and urban places
-How geographic characteristics determine choices, such as climate guides decisions about food, clothing, and shelter
-Ways that people modify and adapt to their environment
-How and why people protect or fail to protect the environment
-Two different cultures and how they meet their human needs for food, shelter, and other commonalities
Students will be able to answer the essential questions:
-How have individuals and societies changed over time?
-How do traditions and customs influence the people in our community?
-How do globes and maps help us?
-How do geographic characteristics help classify places and regions?
-How do people modify, protect, and adapt to their environment?
In this unit, students identify the economic principals and processes that are helpful to producers and consumers when making good decisions. They will learn that economic decisions are dependent on technology, resources, and human activities in the community, nation, and world.
The unit covers:
-The economic choices people make about goods and services
-The natural, capital, and human resources used in the production of a good or service
-Specialized workers in the school and community
-How technology affects the way people live, work, and play
-Different types of markets where buyers and sellers meet to exchange goods and services
-Goods and services provided by businesses or the government
-Different ways to pay for goods and services
Students will be able to answer the essential questions:
-How does scarcity affect economic choices?
-How does technology affect the way people live, work, and play?
-How do economic systems affect the consumer choices?
How are resources used in the production process?
2. Responsible Citizens in Our Community (Political Science)
In this unit, students will understand the historical development and current status of democratic principals and the development of skills and attitudes necessary to become responsible citizens. Students will learn that a democratic government promotes fairness, order, and safety. There are rights, rules, responsibilities, symbols, and practices associated with being a member of a group. A democracy relies on the active participation of its citizens.
The unit covers:
-How school/community rules promote orderliness, fairness, responsibility, privacy, and safety
-Leadership positions and organizations in the community, and how they can help maintain safety and order
-Democratic skills and attitudes (rights/responsibility, fairness, respect, honesty, loyalty, and courage)
-Important symbols, people, songs, and poems, and the ideals they represent
-Contributions of local government leaders of school and community
-How contributions of people are recognized in holidays
-How making choices affects self, family, school, and community
-Concerns in the community and ways to resolve these concerns
Students will be able to answer the essential questions:
-How do choices we make affect self, family, school, and community?
-How are democratic skills and attitudes associated with being a responsible citizen?
-Why are rules important in our community?
-What do the symbols and practices of the United States represent?
-How are certain people recognized for their contributions?
-How do leadership positions help maintain safety and order?
-How do people work together to solve problems in the community?
3. The World Around Me (History and Geography)
In this unit, students will use historical thinking skills to understand how individuals and events have changed society over time. Students will understand how people in Maryland, the United States, and around the world are alike and different. Students will use geographic concepts and processes to examine the role of culture, technology, and the environment in the location and distribution of human activities and spatial connections throughout time.
The unit covers:
-Information about the past
-Photographs of the past and present
-Different cultures and how they meet their human needs for food, shelter, and other commonalities
-Ways people of different ages and/or cultural backgrounds can respect and help to pass on traditions and customs
-How families in the community share and borrow customs and traditions from other cultures
-The purpose and use of globes and maps
-How to use map elements to locate places in the United States
-The location of the equator, poles, seven continents, four oceans, and countries on a map and globe
-Bird's eye view of different places using satellite images, photographs, and pictures
-Geographic features of places and regions
-The climate, vegetation, animal life, and natural/physical features of different regions in the US
-The differences between rural and urban places
-How geographic characteristics determine choices, such as climate guides decisions about food, clothing, and shelter
-Ways that people modify and adapt to their environment
-How and why people protect or fail to protect the environment
-Two different cultures and how they meet their human needs for food, shelter, and other commonalities
Students will be able to answer the essential questions:
-How have individuals and societies changed over time?
-How do traditions and customs influence the people in our community?
-How do globes and maps help us?
-How do geographic characteristics help classify places and regions?
-How do people modify, protect, and adapt to their environment?
Information adapted from CCPS curriculum unit overviews.