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2nd grade · Social Studies · Unit 3 of 15

Work and Prices

How work and prices change

What your child practices

Introduces why prices go up or down when something is hard to find or easy to find, and how jobs and work have changed over time.

Alabama Course of Study content standard: 2.5 · scarcity, choices and prices

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Something rare or scarce usually costs more.
  2. People may buy the cheaper one to save money.
  3. Work changes: machines help do jobs once done by hand or by horses.

Example: Why does a rare card cost more than a common card? Rare means hard to find. When fewer are available, people pay more. Answer: Fewer of them are available

Work and Prices in Alabama

In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 3 of 15 in 2nd grade Social Studies, after Work, Saving & Resources and before Maps of Our World.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    If many people want the same toy, its price often…

    • stays at zero
    • goes down
    • goes up
    • disappears

  2. Question 2

    Why does a rare card cost more than a common card?

    • Nobody wants it
    • Fewer of them are available
    • There are too many of them
    • It is heavier

  3. Question 3

    Why might strawberries cost less in summer?

    • They are rare
    • They don’t grow
    • Nobody wants them
    • Many are growing and easy to find

  4. Question 4

    A long time ago, farmers cut hay by hand. Now they can use…

    • a machine
    • a cup
    • a pencil
    • a toy

  5. Question 5

    Which job is newer?

    • a town crier
    • a website maker
    • a blacksmith
    • a lamplighter

  6. Question 6

    A storm ruins most of the pumpkins. Pumpkins are now…

    • easier to find
    • scarcer
    • bigger
    • free

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