Grade 2 Social Studies Connecticut standards Standards

Communicate Conclusions and Take Informed Action

Evaluate Sources and Use Evidence

Apply Disciplinary Concepts and Tools

Develop Questions and Plan Inquiries

Working Together as a Community

Leadership Past and Present

Decision-Making in our World

Describe the roles and responsibilities of local officials (e.g., alderman, mayor, selectman, other municipal leaders).

Compare one’s own perspective about a community issue with that of the perspective of others (e.g., differing opinions on park improvements, water use, recycling).

Describe how people have tried to improve communities to meet the needs of and create more equity for residents both past and present (e.g., greenspaces, safety laws, zoning, affordable housing, support for immigrant families).

Explain the role and responsibilities of a local government (e.g., public safety, waste removal, education, libraries, road maintenance).

Describe how individuals and groups work interdependently to improve their community (e.g., education, health, recreation, safety).

Describe how families are structured to accomplish common tasks, establish responsibilities, and fulfill roles.

Describe how democratic principles such as equality, fairness, respect for legitimate authority, participation by citizens, and rules are important to a community.

Explain how scarcity and abundance influences decision-making in the community (e.g., budgeting, rationing).

Describe examples of goods and services the government provides (e.g., education, healthcare, roads, sewers, libraries, safety).

Describe the types of human and physical capital resources used by governments and businesses to respond to community needs (e.g., education, machinery, skilled labor, training, transportation, workplaces).

Explain the costs of making goods within a community (e.g., labor, raw materials, transportation, infrastructure, supply and demand).

Demonstrate spatial awareness by creating a community map illustrating physical and human-made features (e.g., bodies of water, topography, structures, plant and animal life).

Describe change over time in the local community using information from maps, graphs, and photographs (e.g., land use, locations of neighborhoods, transportation, animal habitats).

Identify the cultural and environmental features of the local community using maps, globes, and representations of cultural practices (e.g., places of worship, celebration of holidays and festivals, built environment, physical features).

Explain how climate, weather, and environmental characteristics influence the decisions people make in their community (e.g., infrastructure, land use, natural resource extraction, water use).

Employ chronological thinking to create a timeline of multiple events in one’s life or community where people worked together.

Identify the maker, date, and place of origin of historical sources about community leaders using information included in the source itself (e.g., artifacts, historical markers, maps, newspapers, oral histories, pictures).

Develop questions about a historical source as it pertains to a significant person, event or development (e.g., purpose, reliability, perspectives represented).

Generate reasons about why national and state observances and celebrations have been established to honor individuals, groups, and events in the United States (e.g., National Hispanic Heritage Month, Veterans Day, Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Memorial Day, LGBTQ Pride Month, Juneteenth).

Develop questions about diverse individuals or groups recognized for contributions to their community or the United States past and present (e.g., Dolores Huerta, DJ Kool Herc, Jack Robinson, Maya Lin, Sally Ride, Mother Earth Water Walkers, Paul Newman).

Compare needs of the community today to its needs in the past (e.g., education, land use, safety, transportation, housing).

Compare different accounts about the same person who or event that contributed to the community (e.g., book, diary, video, website).

Identify sources that can be used to learn about past and present national, state, and local leaders (e.g., articles, books, diaries, photographs, videos).

Explain why a compelling question about a significant person, event, or issue in a community is important to the student.

Identify facts and concepts related to compelling and supporting questions.

Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions.

Apply disciplinary knowledge and practices to demonstrate an understanding of social studies content.

Gather relevant information from one or two sources about a significant person, event, or issue in a community while using origin and structure to guide the selection.

Evaluate a source by distinguishing between fact and opinion.

Construct arguments with reasons.

Construct explanations using correct sequence and relevant information.

Ask and answer questions about arguments and explanations.

Present a summary of an argument using print, oral, or digital technologies.

Identify and explain a range of local, regional, and global problems, and some ways in which people can and are trying to address these problems.

Use listening, consensus-building, and voting procedures to take action in the classroom.