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2nd grade · Social Studies · Unit 4 of 10

Our Community Changes

See how life in communities changes.

What your child practices

Practices how communities change over time: daily life long ago and today, changes made by people and by nature, finding out about the past from photos, museums and older people, and timelines. It follows the Grade 2 outcome on change in the community.

Alaska content standards learning standard: SS.2.3.8.1; SS.2.1.23.1 · how people have improved their community over time, and putting events in order

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Communities change over time. Some changes are made by people, some by nature.
  2. Old maps and photos show how a place has changed.
  3. Older people can tell us how things used to be.

Example: Which change is caused by nature: a storm knocking down trees or a new school? People build schools. Storms come from nature. Answer: a storm knocking down trees

Our Community Changes in Alaska

In the Alaska content standards, this is unit 4 of 10 in 2nd grade Social Studies, after Communities Compared and before Working Together Fairly.

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: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development

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

    A “then and now” picture compares…

    • two places on the same day
    • a place in the past and today
    • two kinds of weather

  2. Question 2

    Long ago, a blacksmith made…

    • horseshoes and tools from metal
    • plastic toys
    • computers

  3. Question 3

    Long ago, how did many families get water at home?

    • from a tap in every room
    • from a water machine
    • from a well or a pump

  4. Question 4

    Which word means a long time ago?

    • the past
    • the future
    • tomorrow

  5. Question 5

    Which is a way to see how your town changed?

    • compare an old map with a new map
    • look at the clouds
    • count your toys

  6. Question 6

    Some things stay the same. Which has stayed the same for a long time?

    • the way we send messages
    • the kind of cars we drive
    • people helping their neighbors

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