Grade 2 Social Studies: how to help at home
What your child learns in Grade 2 social studies in the Prince Edward Island Curriculum, and simple things to try at home.
The Big Ideas this year
- Citizenship, Power, and Governance. Students will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship and the origins, functions, and sources of power, authority, and governance.
- Culture and Diversity. Students will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of culture, diversity, and world view, recognizing the similarities and differences reflected in various personal, cultural, racial, and ethnic perspectives.
- Individuals, Societies, and Economic Decisions. Students will expected to demonstrate the ability to make responsible economic decisions as individuals and as members of society.
- Interdependence. Students will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of the interdependent relationship among individuals, societies, and the environment — locally, nationally, and globally — and the implications for a sustainable future.
- People, Place, and Environment. Students will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of the interactions among people, places, and the environment.
- Time, Continuity, and Change. Students will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of the past and how it affects the present and the future.
Easy ways to practise social studies at home
- Look at a map of your community and find places you visit.
- Ask an older relative or neighbour 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.
Changes in My Life
Practises talking about changes in a child’s own life, such as starting school or a move, and the feelings that go with them.
People Who Make Change
Practises how individuals and groups contribute to change, and how decisions made by diverse groups lead to change in a community.
Caring Citizens
Rights and responsibilities, community helpers, and how small local actions help the planet.
Our Community’s Future
Practises predicting how a community might change in the future, and what children can do to help shape that future.
Technology Then and Now
Practises the role of technology in our lives, how to judge whether it helps, and how people have changed technology over time to meet their needs.
Needs & Wants
Telling needs from wants and how communities help meet people's needs.
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.
Land and Change
Practises how and why places change over time, how people’s use of the environment has changed, and why caring for resources for the future matters.
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 practising 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 PEI report card guide.
Common questions
Look at a map of your community and find places you visit. Ask an older relative or neighbour what the area was like when they were young. Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
The Prince Edward Island Curriculum Grade 2 social studies units include then & now, changes in my life, people who make change, caring citizens, our community’s future, technology then and now.
Free printable Grade 2 social studies practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.