Your Second-Grader and Social Studies
In Your Child's Classroom
"The primary purpose of social studies in the elementary classroom is to help young students develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a democratic society in an interdependent world." says our consulting teacher Jane Ann Robertson, Arizona Teacher of the Year in 2004.
In second grade, your child compares his life with the lives of his parents, grandparents and others. The class may learn about their ancestors' journeys to the United States, and the cultures they left behind.
Your child might be asked to:
- Produce a timeline of her life
- Study the daily lives of earlier generations and important American heroes
- Learn about the history of his own community
- Learn about maps, legends, scales and directions as he learns to think conceptually about his world
- Identify states on a U.S. map
- Sing songs that express American ideals
- Begin to learn about the basic workings of democracies and other types of governments
- Discuss natural resources and how they are used to produce goods
Social Studies as an integral part of the curriculum
Social studies includes history, geography, economics and civics. You will most likely find your second-grader's social studies curriculum embedded in a theme, such as the study of bats, that integrates subject areas. This allows your child to develop critical thinking, research, writing and even artistic skills. If your second-grader studies bats, she will learn about where they live and migrate (geography), how they fly (science) and their impact on the environment (economics, history and civics). Here's what you can expect your second-grader to do in social studies:
- Identify hemispheres, poles and the equator on a globe
- Identify the countries, major rivers and mountain ranges of North America
- Recognize that natural regions are represented on maps by showing physical features, climate, vegetation and natural resources
- Understand the importance of geographic features to communities
- Understand how governments provide security, establish order and manage conflict
- Identify how public officials are chosen and how laws are made
- Identify the difference between local, state and national government, and identify key leaders for each, such as the mayor, governor and president
- Explain how individual actions and characteristics of historical figures made a difference in the lives of others
- Explore the history of his own community and state
- Practice reading, writing, research and artistic skills in a thematic unit that incorporates the social studies
What to Look for When You Visit
- Timelines that illustrate historical eras or family histories
- Maps showing topographical features
- Biographies of historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Jackie Robinson, Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr. and Sally Ride
- Examples of classroom writing or projects such as dioramas, charts or drawings that describe life in other cultures or times in history
- Diagrams that show how laws are created and examples of historical documents that depict law-making
- Charts or examples of student work that describe the origin of products
- Descriptions of various jobs in society
