NY Social Studies Standards (Grade 2)

The United States is founded on the democratic principles of equality, fairness, and respect for authority and rules. Students will explore democratic principles, such as dignity for all, equality, fairness, and respect for authority and rules, and how those principles are applied to their community.

Government is established to maintain order and keep people safe. Citizens demonstrate respect for authority by obeying rules and laws. Students will examine the ways in which the government in their community provides order and keeps people safe, and how citizens can demonstrate respect for authority.

The process of holding elections and voting is an example of democracy in action in schools, communities, New York State, and the nation. Students will learn about the process of voting and what opportunities adults in the community have for participation. Students will participate in voting within the classroom and in school, as appropriate.

Symbols of American democracy serve to unite community members. Students will examine the symbols of the country, including the eagle, American flag, the Statue of Liberty, the White House, and Mount Rushmore.

Communities have the responsibility to make and enforce fair laws and rules that provide for the common good. Students will explain the importance of making fair laws and rules, the benefits of following them, and the consequences of violating them.

Communities have leaders who are responsible for making laws and enforcing laws. Students will identify who makes and enforces the rules and laws in their community. They will also explore how leaders make and enforce these rules and laws.

Citizens provide service to their community in a variety of ways. Students will explore opportunities to provide service to their school community and the community at large (e.g., beautifying school grounds, writing thank-you notes to helpers). Students will identify how adults can provide service to the school and the community at large.

The availability of resources to meet basic needs varies across urban, suburban, and rural communities. Students will investigate what resources are available in their community and what resources are obtained from neighboring communities. Students will examine how available resources differ in communities (e.g., home-grown food available in rural farm areas vs. shopping in supermarkets).

People make decisions to buy, sell, and use money based on their needs, wants, and the availability of resources. Students will explore economic decision making and the use of money.

Scarcity, the price of goods and services, and choice all influence economic decisions made by individuals and communities. Students will examine how consumers react to changes in the prices of goods.

Taxes are collected to provide communities with goods and services. Students will explore the purpose of taxes and how they are collected in their communities.

Goods are the products a person or group of people makes. Services are actions performed by a person or group of people with a certain skill. Students will distinguish between goods and services and identify goods produced in their community.

Members of a community specialize in different types of jobs that provide goods and/or services to the community. Community workers such as teachers, firefighters, sanitation workers, and police officers provide services. Students will identify different types of jobs performed in their community. Students will explain the services provided by community workers.

At times, neighboring communities share resources and workers to support multiple communities. Students will explore how communities share resources and services with other communities.

Urban, suburban, and rural communities can be located on maps, and the geographic characteristics of these communities can be described by using symbols, map legends, and geographic vocabulary. Students will locate their communities on maps and/or globes. Students will examine how land within a community is used and classify land use as “residential” (used for housing), “industrial” (used to make things), “commercial” (used to provide services), and “recreational” (where people play or do sports). Students will create maps including maps that represent their classroom, school, or community, and maps that illustrate places in stories.

The location of physical features and natural resources often affects where people settle and may affect how those people sustain themselves. Students will compare how different communities in their state or nation have developed, and explain how physical features of the community affect the people living there.

Humans modify the environment of their communities through housing, transportation systems, schools, marketplaces, and recreation areas. Students will explore how humans have positively and negatively affected the environment of their community though such features as roads, highways, buildings, bridges, shopping malls, railroads, and parks. Students will describe the means people create for moving people, goods, and ideas in their communities.

The location and place of physical features and man-made structures can be described using symbols and specific geography vocabulary. Students will use a compass rose to identify cardinal (North, South, East, West) and intermediate (Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest) directions on maps and in their community. Students will locate the equator, northern and southern hemispheres, and poles on a globe. Students will use maps and legends to identify major physical features, such as mountains, rivers, lakes, and oceans of the local community, New York State, and the nation.

An urban community, or city, is characterized by dense population and land occupied primarily by buildings and structures that are used for residential and business purposes.

Suburban communities are on the outskirts of cities, where human population is less dense, and buildings and homes are spaced farther apart.

Rural communities are characterized by large expanses of open land and significantly lower populations than urban or suburban areas. Students will identify the characteristics of urban, suburban, and rural communities and determine in which type of community they live. By discussing different types of housing (apartment, single-family house, etc.) and the proximity of houses to each other, students will understand the term “population density” and how it applies to different communities.

Activities available for people living in urban, suburban, and rural communities are different. The type of community a person grows up in will affect a person’s development and identity. Students will identify activities that are available in each type of community, and discuss how those activities affect the people living in that community.

People living in urban, suburban, and rural communities embrace traditions and celebrate holidays that reflect both diverse cultures and a common community identity. Students will examine the ethnic and/or cultural groups represented in their classroom. Students will explore the cultural diversity of their local community by identifying activities that have been introduced by different cultural groups. Students will identify community events that help promote a common community identity.

A community is strengthened by the diversity of its members, with ideas, talents, perspectives, and cultures that can be shared across the community. Students will explore how different ideas, talents, perspectives, and culture are shared across their community.

Continuities and changes over time in communities can be described using historical thinking, vocabulary, and tools such as time lines.

Continuities and changes over time in communities can be examined by interpreting evidence such as maps, population charts, photographs, newspapers, biographies, artifacts, and other historical materials. Students will examine continuities and changes over time in their community, using evidence such as maps, population charts, photographs, newspapers, biographies, artifacts, and other historical materials. Students will develop a time line for their community, including important events, such as when the school was built.

Cause-and-effect relationships help us to understand the changes in communities. Students will distinguish between cause and effect and will examine changes in their community in terms of cause and effect (e.g., automobiles and the growth of suburbs, growing population in suburban areas, and reduction of farms).