2nd grade Social Studies: how to help at home
What your child learns in 2nd grade social studies in the California Content Standards, and simple things to try at home.
Focus areas this year
- People who make a difference
- Family history and maps of North America
- Government, producers and consumers
Easy ways to practice social studies at home
- Look at a map of your community and find places you visit.
- Ask an older relative or neighbor what the area was like when they were young.
- Read stories from many communities, including Indigenous authors, and talk about what is the same and different.
- Talk about how rules and jobs help a community work.
What each unit covers
Then & Now
Generations in a family, using photos, interviews and timelines, and how technology and traditions change from the past to the present.
Communities Compared
Comparing communities around the world: what they share (basic needs, school, play) and how they differ (size, climate, jobs, travel).
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.
Working Together Fairly
Cooperating, resolving conflicts peacefully, listening actively, using respectful language, leading with care, and valuing contributions to the community.
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.
Reading Maps
Map titles, keys, compass directions and letter-number grids to find places in a neighborhood.
Who Runs Our Community?
How communities and countries make laws, carry them out and decide whether they were broken: mayors, councils, judges and the people who elect them.
Making & Trading
How food is grown, processed, shipped and sold long ago and today, the work of farmers, processors, distributors and grocers, and why people trade.
Work, Saving & Resources
Producers and consumers, wants and needs, saving, and how limited resources affect what people make and buy.
Citizens & Leaders
Who can vote, how communities choose leaders, and how groups and nations work out problems, from classmates to countries.
People Who Made a Difference
People from long ago and the recent past, in California and beyond, whose courage, ideas and hard work made life better: Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Sally Ride, John Muir, Sylvia Mendez and others.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Beginning
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Approaching
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practicing the tricky parts.
- Meeting
- Has it! Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Exceeding
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the California report card guide.
Common questions
Look at a map of your community and find places you visit. Ask an older relative or neighbor what the area was like when they were young. Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
The California Content Standards 2nd grade social studies units include Then & Now, Communities Compared, Our Community Changes, Working Together Fairly, Maps of Our World, Reading Maps.
Free printable 2nd grade social studies practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.