2nd grade Social Studies
10 units matched to the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards. Kids see this subject as “Our World”.
Focus areas
- Theme: People and the Environment
- Voting and levels of government
- Opportunity cost and money
- Dakota and Anishinaabe life through the seasons, then and now
Units
Unit 1
Communities Compared
Comparing communities around the world: what they share (basic needs, school, play) and how they differ (size, climate, jobs, travel).
Benchmark: 2.5.25.1; 2.4.19.1 · communities made of many cultures, and how a community's culture reflects its history
Unit 2
Climate & Ways of Life
How people dress, build, farm and work to suit their weather and land, and reading photos and maps for clues about climate.
Benchmark: 2.3.16.1; 2.4.21.1 · how the environment shapes how people live, and how people change the environment
Unit 3
Talking and Deciding Together
Democratic habits start small: listening to every idea, waiting for a turn, giving reasons, disagreeing kindly and voting fairly. These help children take part in class and community decisions.
Benchmark: 2.1.1.1 · taking part in a fair vote
Unit 4
Working Together Fairly
Cooperating, resolving conflicts peacefully, listening actively, using respectful language, leading with care, and valuing contributions to the community.
Benchmark: 2.1.3.1 · rules, rights and responsibilities at school and at home
Unit 5
Citizens & Leaders
Who can vote, how communities choose leaders, and how groups and nations work out problems, from classmates to countries.
Benchmark: 2.1.4.1; 2.1.2.1 · levels of government, and how elections show democratic principles
Unit 6
Then & Now
Generations in a family, using photos, interviews and timelines, and how technology and traditions change from the past to the present.
Benchmark: 2.4.20.1 · how the relationship between people and the environment has changed
Unit 7
Our Community Changes
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.
Benchmark: 2.4.19.1 · how a community's culture today reflects its past
Unit 8
Work and Prices
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.
Benchmark: 2.2.8.1 · opportunity cost: the next best choice you give up
Unit 9
Work, Saving & Resources
Producers and consumers, wants and needs, saving, and how limited resources affect what people make and buy.
Benchmark: 2.2.7.1; 2.2.9.1 · what makes something work as money, and choosing the best way to reach a goal
Unit 10
Seasons of the Land
Daily life for Dakota and Anishinaabe people through the seasons, before European contact and today: maple sugaring in spring, gardens and berries in summer, wild rice in late summer and fall, and hunting and ice fishing in winter.
Benchmark: 2.4.18.1; 2.5.25.2; 2.4.21.1 · daily life for Dakota and Anishinaabe peoples in different times, their relationships to land and water, and the seasons
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