Grade 2:
Global Geography: Places and Peoples, Cultures and Resources
Students deepen their understanding of the communities in which we live, exploring shared heritage and traditions, how maps show the characteristics of the communities they depict, how groups work to make decisions and regulate community behavior, and the resources communities need to sustain themselves. They also expand their discipline-specific skills, especially the use of historical sources. Students study these topics by exploring guiding questions such as “What makes communities strong?” and “How do the resources of an area affect its industries and jobs?” Additional supporting questions appear under each topic. The questions included are not meant to be restrictive but rather to serve as possible avenues for discussion and research.
Grade 2 Social Studies Topics
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Individuals & the Community
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Geography & its Effect on People
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History: Change & Continuity through Migrations
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Civics: Countries & Governments
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Economics: Resources & Choices
Literacy in Social Studies
In studying these topics, students apply grades 1-2 reading, writing, and speaking and listening skills, and learn vocabulary and concepts related to social studies.
Looking Ahead: Connections to Social Studies in Kindergarten
First graders learned about leadership, places and locations, the concepts of unity and diversity, and the relationship of work, buying, and selling. Third graders will study the geography, history, government and economics of New Hampshire and New England from early cultures of Native Peoples through the colonial period, while fourth graders will examine the physical and political geography of North America, including Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Grade Level Statewide Programs
None
Major Resources
Standards for
History and Social
Science Practice, Pre-K-12
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Develop focused questions or problem statements and conduct inquiries.
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Organize information and data from multiple primary and secondary sources.
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Analyze the purpose and point of view of each source; distinguish opinion from fact.
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Evaluate the credibility, accuracy, and relevance of each source.
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Argue or explain conclusions, using valid reasoning and evidence.
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Determine next steps and take informed action, as appropriate.
Topic 1. Individuals & the Community
Compelling Question: How are communities shaped?
Suggested Content:
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People with both the same and different languages, beliefs, customs, and traditions can all live in one community. A community is a population of many different people in one common location that can be urban, suburban, or rural. Students will identify the different types of communities through discussing types of housing, activities available, and population density throughout various locations.
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People of diverse racial, religious, national, and ethnic groups share their beliefs, customs and traditions, creating a multicultural community. Students will identify what types of communities they reside in and identify the characteristics of where they live and the people that live there. They may identify with more than one community.
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Both within and outside of their community, people may share similarities and differences with people living in urban, suburban, and rural communities. Students will explore the cultural diversity in their classrooms as well as in their communities where they reside.
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A community is strong due to the diversity that comes together within it from the different ideas, talents, perspectives, and cultures. Students will explore how communities are strengthened by diversity by looking at how these concepts are shared within their own communities.
Suggested Inquiries:
1.1 Coming Soon: What is a community?
1.1 C3 Teachers: Should I be a global citizen?
1.2 Coming Soon: What kind of people can make up a community?
1.2 C3 Teachers:: How do individual actions impact the community?
1.3 Coming Soon: Who makes up our community/communities in school and at home?
1.3 Coming Soon: Who makes up our community/communities in school and at home?
1.4 Coming Soon: How are our communities strengthened through each other?
1.4 C3 Teachers: What has caused communities to change overtime?
Suggested Resources:
1.1 New Hampshire PBS: Making Family Traditions Packet (activity)
1.2 New Hampshire PBS: Comparing Cultures (videos)
Topic 2. Geography & its Effect on People
Compelling Question: What do maps show about people?
Suggested Content:
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On a map of the world and on a globe, locate all the continents and some major physical characteristics on each continent (e.g., lakes, seas, bays, rivers and tributaries, mountains and mountain ranges, and peninsulas, deserts, plains).
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On a map of the world and on a globe, locate the oceans of the world, and explain the importance of oceans and how they make the world habitable.
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Explain how the location of landforms and bodies of water helps determine conditions (i.e., climate, weather, vegetation) for habitable living.
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Use maps and globes to identify environmental characteristics of places around the world. Cite examples of specific well-known places in different countries and continents.
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Discuss different types of natural disasters. Explore what types of natural disasters are common in different parts of the world. Students should consider the impact that natural disasters on lifeforms on the planet.
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Explain and describe human interaction with the physical world (the environment). Clarification statement: Students should learn how humans either adapt to or change the environment to meet their needs for survival and living (e.g., by finding or raising plants and animals for food, clothing, and shelter) and why humans prefer to settle by rivers, bodies of water, and in or near certain landforms.
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Investigate reasons why people migrate (move) to different places around the world, becoming familiar with a broad range of push-pull factors.
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Explain and describe human interaction with the physical world (the environment). Clarification statement: Students should learn how humans either adapt to or change the environment to meet their needs for survival and living (e.g., by finding or raising plants and animals for food, clothing, and shelter) and why humans prefer to settle by rivers, bodies of water, and in or near certain landforms.
Suggested Inquiries:
2.1 C3 Teachers: Why are maps important?
2.2 Coming Soon: What are the different map projections and how are they similar/different?
2.3 Coming Soon: How do our communities look on a map?
2.4 Coming Soon: How does environment shape communities?
2.5 Coming Soon: Why do people adapt to their environment?
2.6-8 C3 Teachers: What makes a location ideal for humans and how do we adapt or change locations to make living in locations better?
Suggested Resources:
Kid Citizen: Wondering with Maps (video)
Topic 3. History: Change & Continuity through Migrations
Compelling Question: Why did people migrate to and within the US and what culture did they bring?
Suggested Content:
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Building on students’ understanding of chronology, discuss which aspects of life are different today than they were in the past and which aspects are the same. For example, people have always traveled from one place to another but how they get there, and the distances they can travel over any given length of time, has changed.
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Compare perspectives of people in the past to those of people in the present, using historical sources, informational texts, or literature.
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Using more than one source to explore a historical event, compare how accounts differ. With prompting and support, students should discuss reasons why the accounts differ and think of ways that might help them gauge which source is more reliable.
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Conduct interviews with family members, neighbors, friends, or school staff to discover where their families came from, how and why they moved to where they now live, and when and why their families came to New Hampshire. Clarification Statement: Students should be able to explain why people move to a new location or stay in a particular location. They learn about what, in some cases, attracts people to a certain location (i.e., “pull factors”) and what , in other cases, forces people to move to a new location (i.e., “push factors”).
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Identify what individuals and families bring with them (e.g., memories, cultural traits, goods, ideas, and languages or ways of speaking) when they move to a different place and identify the significant impacts of migration; identify elements that define the culture of a society (e.g., language, literature, arts, religion, traditions, customs); explain how the community is enriched by contributions from all the people who form it today. Clarification Statement: Students should give examples of traditions or customs from other countries practiced in the U.S. today, focusing on cultures represented in the class and their contributions to society. They should describe traditional foods, customs, games, and music from their own, their family’s, or their ancestors’ culture. Their thinking should then deepen to explore communication styles, cultural notions (e.g., beauty, friendship), concepts (e.g., time, leadership, fairness), attitudes (e.g., towards elders, rules, age), and approaches (e.g., marriage, child-rearing, problem-solving) of those countries.
Suggested Inquiries:
3.1 Coming Soon: Why do people migrate?
3.2 Coming Soon: How is the United States a “nation of immigrants?”
3.3 Coming Soon: How did my family and/or members of my community end up in our area?
3.4 Coming Soon: What do people bring with them when they migrate?
Suggested Resources:
Coming soon!
Topic 4. Civics: Governments & Countries
Compelling Question: Why do we have governments?
Suggested Content:
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Explain what governments are and some of their functions. Cover local, state, and national governments, as well as some governments of other countries.
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Describe examples of what goods and services are provided by the American system of government.
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Identify some of the roles played by leaders in government and their responsibilities to the people they represent.
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Recognize the difference between physical geography and political geography. For example, students learn that Africa is a continent (physical geography) that includes a number of independent countries (e.g., Egypt, Somalia, Nigeria).
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Explain the characteristics of a country. Clarification Statement: Students should identify characteristics that make up a country (e.g., government, leaders, citizens), some purposes of government (e.g., to provide security and education) and how one country distinguishes itself from others (e.g., by its history, culture, language, type of government).
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Locate and analyze information and present a short research report on the physical features, resources, and people of a country outside the United States. Clarification Statement: Students should choose a country of interest, for example,
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a country where they, their families, or their ancestors lived,
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a country where they have friends or relatives,
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a country that they have visited or would like to visit,
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a country that is the setting for one of their favorite stories, or
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a country that has an interesting animal population, environment, or terrain.
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Suggested Inquiries:
4.1 Coming Soon: What is physical geography versus political geography?
4.2 Coming Soon: What makes a country?
4.3 Coming Soon: What do other countries look like that are not the United States?
4.4 Coming Soon: What is the difference between physical and political geography?
4.5 Coming Soon: How are some governments different from another?
4.6 Plymouth State: Research a country outside the US and present findings about their government and geography.
Suggested Resources:
Coming soon!
Topic 5: Economics: Employment and Trade
Compelling Question: What do people do with the money they earn?
Suggested Content:
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Explain what it means to be employed and describe different types of employment. Define the terms income, wages, and salary.
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Discuss the prices of products locally and help students create a basic budget of living expenses, calculating the money they earn and the money they need to buy goods and services.
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Give examples of choices people have to make about buying goods and services (e.g., food for the family or a video game; bus fare to get to work or a movie ticket for entertainment) and why they have to make choices (e.g., because they have only enough money for one purchase, not two).
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Compare and contrast reasons why people save some of their money (e.g., deciding to put some of it aside for later for a future purchase, for a charitable donation or for an emergency).
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Describe products that are made locally, regionally, and nationally. Cover the steps products have to take to get to stores, based on where they are produced.
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Define products that are made in other countries or at a great distance away. Explain the different factors involved in making such trade possible.
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Discuss trade between people and between countries. Explore why people in one country trade goods and services with people in other countries. Describe how trade connects people in different countries or parts of the world and what factors could disrupt or complicate such trade.
Suggested Inquiries:
5.1 C3 Teachers: How can where someone lives impact their jobs?
5.2 Coming Soon: What does it mean if something is/isn’t a renewable resource?
5.3 Coming Soon: How do people’s backgrounds and knowledge help our communities?
5.4 Coming Soon: What is employment?
5.5 Coming Soon: What are goods?
5.6 Coming Soon: What are services?
5.7 Coming Soon: How do people make decisions when buying goods and services?
5.8 Coming Soon: Why might some people choose between two places to receive good/services?
5.9 Coming Soon: What are the reasons many people try to save their money?
Suggested Resources:
Coming soon!
Skills Matter: teach the four dimensions of inquiry
Dimension 1: Developing Questions
Dimension 2: Applying Disciplinary Concepts and Tools
Dimension 3: Evaluating Sources and Using Evidence
Dimension 4: Communicating Conclusions and Taking Informed Action
Learn more at C3teachers.org
Grades 1-2 Literacy Standards for Social Studies
Grades 1-2 Reading Standards for Literacy in the Content Areas:
History/Social Science
Key Ideas and Details
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Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
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Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
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Describe the connection between two individuals, events, or ideas in a civics, geography, economics, or history text.
Craft and Structure
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Ask and answer questions to determine the meaning of words in a text about history/social studies.
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Know and use text features (e.g., headings, tables of contents, glossaries, icons) to find information in a text.
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Distinguish between information provided by illustrations, maps, and words in a text.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
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Use information in illustrations, maps, and charts to describe key ideas.
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Explain how an author uses reasons and details to support ideas.
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Describe similarities and differences between two texts on the same history/social studies topic.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
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With prompting and support, read and comprehend history/social studies texts exhibiting complexity appropriate for the grades 1-2.
Grades 1-2 Writing Standards for Literacy in the Content Areas
Text Types and Purposes
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Write opinion pieces on topics or texts in history/social science in which they introduce the topic, state an opinion, give reasons for the opinion, and provide a sense of closure.
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Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, that name a topic, supply some facts about it, and provide a sense of closure.
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Narrative Writing (Not applicable as a separate requirement. Narratives may be integrated into explanations or opinion pieces.)
Production and Distribution of Writing
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Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
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With guidance and support, focus on a topic, respond to questions and suggestions from peers, and add details to strengthen writing.
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With guidance and support, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing.
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
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Participate in shared short investigations and research projects.
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With guidance and support, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
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(Begins in grades 3-5)
Range of Writing
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Write routinely over for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Grades 1-2 Speaking and Listening Standards for Literacy in the Content Areas
Comprehension and Collaboration
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Participate in collaborative discussions with peers and adults in small and larger groups on history/social science topics.
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Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others with care, speaking one at a time, staying on topic).
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Build on other’s talk in conversations by responding to comments through multiple exchanges.
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Ask questions to clear up confusion about the topics and texts under discussion.
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Ask and answer questions about a text read aloud or a media presentation.
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Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says to clarify information.
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
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Describe people, places and things related to history/social studies; speak clearly at an understandable pace and use appropriate vocabulary.
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Add drawings and visual displays to clarify information.
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Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation.