Second Grade Social Studies
Curriculum Overview
District 30 Social Studies Curriculum Foundations
Common Beliefs
District 30 promotes high standards and holds high expectations for all learners in our schools. We have
a common vision for what graduates of our schools will know and be able to do with respect to social
studies knowledge and skills. Specifically, upon completion of our program of social studies instruction,
District 30 graduates will be able to:
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Think critically about social and economic issues and evaluate and propose solutions to issues
• Delve into historical events and periods and emerge with an understanding of how the past informs
the future
• Examine local issues that impact our city, state and nation as well as the ability to understand larger,
global issues that impact citizens locally
• Consider perspectives different from their own to understand various sides of an issue, event, or
movement
• Communicate effectively and respectfully
We believe that all of our students are capable learners who will move to high school and the world of
higher education equipped with the necessary skills and understandings that will allow them to transition
into rigorous course work and onto pathways for deeper study in the field of social studies or related
areas.
Philosophy
“Social Studies educators teach students the content knowledge, intellectual skills, and civic values
necessary for fulfilling the duties of citizenship in a participatory democracy.”
-The National Council for the Social Studies
Social Studies is the integrated study of the social sciences to promote informed citizenship. Our
curriculum is designed to tell the story of who we are as citizens of the United States and of a larger
global society. As educators of 21st century learners, our job is to prepare students to be able to critically
participate as active citizens with the ability to intelligently and compassionately participate in our
democracy in this millennium (NCSS, Media Literacy, 2009). Our curriculum thoughtfully integrates the
disciplines of history, geography, economics, and government to help young people develop the ability to
make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic
society in an increasingly interdependent world.
Social studies curriculum in District 30 focuses on supporting student growth so that they:
• Develop a strong content base so that students understand that the past informs the future
• Develop local, national and global perspectives which emphasize interconnectedness among people
and events
• Build understanding of how to work to address environmental concerns and human rights issues
• Build understanding of how to participate in the economic development of the United States and the
global community
• Expand their ability to thrive, contribute and produce in a participatory culture that uses
information/communication technologies and media literacies for collaboration and networking
The Process
The District 30 Social Studies Curriculum guide is aligned with the Illinois State Standards as well as
Common Core Standards. It is also based upon the ten themes that form the framework of social studies
standards, which were developed by the National Council for the Social Studies (1994) and National
Geographic's five themes of geography (1986).
District 30 students are taught content, concepts, and skills through a wide variety of methods, including
but not limited to, engaging learning strategies, incorporation of technology and tools for media literacy,
and the integration of literature. Multiple assessment tools are used to measure student progress. In
addition, the formulation of this curriculum is based on the Backwards Design model (Wiggins &
McTighe), a research-based set of strategies for curriculum and assessment design.
District 30 Social Studies curriculum has been designed and written by a team of District 30 teachers who
considered the many important aspects of teaching and learning in the development of social studies
curriculum. These practices and design elements enable the District 30 staff to address the unique needs
and learning styles of individual students.
Second Grade Social Studies Maps
Unit Map—Stories of Living Together: Our Government
Essential Questions:
· Why is it good to live in a democracy?
· What are the responsibilities of living in a democracy?
· When might what is good for everyone be more important than what is good for one
person?
· How does knowing what is happening in the world make you a better citizen?
· How can we connect what happens to us to what happens in the world?
Enduring Understandings (what students should be able to understand):
• We live in a democracy
• Adults vote to participate in a democracy
• Adults listen to the news to find out what is happening in the world.
• Citizens work together to make decisions
• A government makes laws for citizens it represents
• Laws are rules that people live by
• Citizens who break the law must face consequences
• Citizens pay taxes so that government can provide services
• Citizens who vote in an election choose their government leaders
• The rules of our government are in the United States Constitution
• It is important to know what is going on in the world
What students should know (vocabulary, facts and information):
• Vocabulary: represent, federal, democracy, consequence, freedom, government,
law, mayor, court, judge, tax, election, vote, ballot, majority rule, governor, capitol,
President, right, Constitution, patriotism, patriotic symbol, anthem, peace, justice,
common good, current event, citizen, leader, local, state, country
Skills (what students should be able to do):
• Explain how governments (local, state, federal) help people live safely and fairly
• Explain how individuals influence decisions made in a democracy
• Explain the Pledge of Allegiance
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Differentiate between citizenship by birth and naturalization
Get and share information about a newsworthy event
Honoring America: People from our Past
Essential Questions:
• How have people and events in America’s past shaped our present?
• What are the qualities of a good leader?
• What defines a hero?
• How do inventors and their inventions impact daily life?
• What is happening in the world that is reported in the news?
• How can we relate personal experiences to current events?
• What do you think life was like before we had telephones, televisions and
computers?
Enduring Understandings (what students should be able to understand):
• People and places change over time due to leaders, heroes, inventors and their
inventions
• A time line tells the chronological order of events
• American leaders in the past and present have worked to improve the lives of
people in the US
• Most heroic events are the result of ordinary people wanting to help others
• Inventors and their inventions have improved our daily life
• Americans have built monuments and memorials to honor their leaders and heroes
(Lincoln, Jefferson, Washington, FDR, Mount Rushmore George Washington Carver,
Statue of Liberty, Liberty Bell, World War II Valor in the Pacific, Vietnam War
Memorial, Arlington Cemetery, Monticello, Local/Family Memorials (park benches,
dedicated trees, bridge
• It is important to know what is going on in the world
What students should know (vocabulary, facts and information):
• history, landmark, artifact, time line, hero, leader, inventor, invention, contribution,
monument, memorial, Vice President Joe Biden, President Barack Obama, current
event, biography
Skills (what students should be able to do):
• Place a series of events in their correct places on a time line
• Describe a historical figure who advanced the rights of individuals or groups to
promote the common good
• Name both the current President and Vice President of the United States
• Identify monuments and or memorials that honor American leaders and heroes
• Get and share information about a newsworthy event
Units Map—Stories of Our Globe: Map Skills
Essential Questions:
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How are maps useful?
What tools are needed to read maps?
How do different types of maps serve different purposes?
What is happening in the world that is reported in the news?
How can we relate personal experiences to current events?
Enduring Understandings (what students should be able to understand):
• Maps are designed for specific purposes
• Landforms are distinguishable on a map and the US has various landforms
• The US contains and is surrounded by many bodies of water such as rivers, lakes,
and oceans
• Maps and globes show seven continents and four oceans
• The four cardinal directions are north, south, east and west
• The equator is an imaginary line that divides the Earth in half between the North
and the South
• It is important to know what is going on in the world
What students should know (vocabulary, facts and information):
• geography, desert, ocean, landform, hill, plain, mountain, valley, island, peninsula,
river, lake, gulf, continent, cardinal directions, equator, compass rose, map scale,
landmark, route, map key, map symbol, map grid, current events
• Name and locate the seven continents and four oceans
Skills (what students should be able to do):
• Use symbols, a map key or a map grid to find locations on various map
• Draw maps to show places and routes
• Describe the physical characteristics of various landforms
• Locate the major bodies of water in the United States
• Use a globe to find the poles, the cardinal directions, and the equator
• Explain the importance of a map scale
• Locate the US and selected countries on a world map
• Get and share information about a newsworthy event
Unit Map—Stories of Want and Need
Essential Questions:
• What do all people need?
• What is the difference between a need and a want?
• How do people get the things that they want and need?
• How were goods and services produced in our community in the past?
• How are goods and services produced in our community in the present?
• What rewards do people get for non-paying work?
• What is the impact of technology on jobs and daily life?
• What is happening in the world that is reported in the news?
• How can we relate personal experiences to current events?
Enduring Understandings (what students should be able to understand):
• All people have the same basic needs – food, clothing and shelter
• A community’s economy is based on production and consumption
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Because of economic issues, people cannot always have what they want
It is important to know what is going on in the world
What students should know (vocabulary, facts and information):
• needs and wants, producer, consumer, goods, services, natural resource, business,
raw material, manufacture, factory, income, bank, interest, economy, barter,
transportation, volunteer, wages, current event
• Some workers provide goods (things that can be bought and sold) and some
workers provide services (work that is done for payment
• Some workers provide goods and services that are not for pay/wages
• People earn money by providing goods and services
• People can save money in banks and earn interest
• Machines help workers do their jobs
Skills (what students should be able to do):
• Match workers in the community to the goods and services they produce/provide
• Give examples of barter in history
• Describe jobs people do to earn wages
• Describe work people do when they volunteer
• Explain how students and families are consumers
• Describe how people are producers of goods and services
• Compare needs and wants
• Explain why people put money in banks
• Describe machines that help people do their jobs (train, sewing machine, plow,
computers)
• Describe how changes in technology bring about changes in daily life
• Get and share information about a newsworthy event