2nd grade Social Studies
12 units matched to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Kids see this subject as “Our World”.
Focus areas
- History: celebrations, landmarks, and people who influenced Texas and the nation
- Geography: map elements, continents and oceans, and how people change the land
- Economics: work and income, saving, and producers and consumers
- Government and citizenship: public officials, government services, good citizens and patriotic symbols
Units
Unit 1
Work, Saving & Resources
Producers and consumers, wants and needs, saving, and how limited resources affect what people make and buy.
TEKS student expectation: 2.6(A); 2.6(B) · how work provides income, and choices about earning, spending and saving money
Unit 2
Citizens & Leaders
Who can vote, how communities choose leaders, and how groups and nations work out problems, from classmates to countries.
TEKS student expectation: 2.9(C); 2.9(D); 2.17(A) · how leaders are chosen, how citizens take part, and deciding together fairly
Unit 3
Maps of Our World
Using maps and globes to find continents, oceans and countries, physical and human features, and why people settle near water and flat land.
TEKS student expectation: 2.3(A); 2.4(A) · using maps and globes to find continents, oceans, landforms and countries
Unit 4
Then & Now
Generations in a family, using photos, interviews and timelines, and how technology and traditions change from the past to the present.
TEKS student expectation: 2.16(A); 2.16(B) · comparing life in the past and the present with the words past, present and future
Unit 5
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.
TEKS student expectation: 2.2(B); 2.16(C) · how people and events change a community over time, and putting them on a timeline
Unit 6
Symbols, Songs & Landmarks
State and national birds and flowers, Uncle Sam, the two pledges, “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “America the Beautiful,” and landmarks such as the Alamo, the Texas Capitol and the White House.
TEKS student expectation: 2.1(B); 2.11(A); 2.11(B); 2.11(C); 2.11(D); 2.11(E) · landmarks, the pledges, patriotic songs, state and national symbols, and voting
Unit 7
People Who Made a Difference
The people the Texas standards name for Grade 2: Thurgood Marshall, Irma Rangel, Theodore Roosevelt, Paul Revere, Abigail Adams, the Women Airforce Service Pilots, the Navajo Code Talkers, Sojourner Truth, Amelia Earhart and George Washington Carver, and what good citizenship means.
TEKS student expectation: 2.2(A); 2.10(A); 2.10(B); 2.10(C); 2.14 · historical figures who influenced the state and nation, good citizenship, and inventive individuals
Unit 8
Texas, Our Land
Finding Texas, Austin, the United States, Washington, D.C., Canada and Mexico on maps and globes, the continents and oceans, how people change the land by farming, building roads and drilling for oil, and ways to conserve resources.
TEKS student expectation: 2.4(A); 2.4(B); 2.5(A); 2.5(B); 2.5(C) · continents, oceans and places on maps, how people modify the environment, and conserving resources
Unit 9
Celebrations Near & Far
Why we celebrate Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Juneteenth and Texas Independence Day, and what some ethnic and cultural celebrations mean, compared side by side. Religious and cultural celebrations are described factually.
TEKS student expectation: 2.1(A); 2.12(A); 2.12(B) · community, state and national celebrations, and ethnic and cultural celebrations compared
Unit 10
Who Runs Our Community?
What governments do (keep order, provide security, manage conflict), services such as police, fire protection, libraries, schools and parks, and how a mayor, the governor and the president are chosen and what they do.
TEKS student expectation: 2.8(A); 2.8(B); 2.9(B); 2.9(C); 2.9(D) · functions and services of government, and the roles and selection of public officials
Unit 11
Reading Maps
Map titles, cardinal and in-between directions, legends and symbols, grids and simple scales, and maps of the home, school and community.
TEKS student expectation: 2.3(A); 2.3(B) · using map elements such as title, cardinal directions and legend, and making maps of familiar places
Unit 12
Making & Trading
Producing and consuming, how people are both producers and consumers, and how a natural resource becomes a finished product, with Texas cotton, cattle, oil and pecans.
TEKS student expectation: 2.7(A); 2.7(B); 2.7(C) · producers and consumers, and tracing a product from a natural resource to a finished good
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