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2nd grade · Social Studies · Unit 5 of 12

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.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) teks student expectation: 2.2(B); 2.16(C) · how people and events change a community over time, and putting them on a timeline

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 Texas

In the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), this is unit 5 of 12 in 2nd grade Social Studies, after Then & Now and before Symbols, Songs & Landmarks.

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: Texas Education Agency (TEA)

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

    Which tells us when an old building was built?

    • the color of the door
    • the weather today
    • a date carved on it or old records

  2. Question 2

    Which change is made by people?

    • snow falling
    • the tide coming in
    • building a bridge

  3. Question 3

    Long ago, many people kept warm in winter by…

    • turning up a heat pump
    • wearing wool clothes made at home
    • using electric blankets

  4. Question 4

    Long ago, families kept food cold with…

    • ice in an icebox
    • a modern fridge
    • a microwave

  5. Question 5

    Why do communities change?

    • people have new needs and ideas
    • nothing ever changes
    • only the moon decides

  6. Question 6

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

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

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