Texas: 2nd-Grade Standards
ß113.13. Social Studies, Grade 2, Beginning with School Year 2011-2012
- In Grade 2, students focus on a study of their local community by examining the impact of significant individuals and events on the history of the community as well as on the state and nation. Students begin to develop the concepts of time and chronology. The relationship between the physical environment and human activities is introduced as are the concepts of consumers and producers. Students identify functions of government as well as services provided by the local government. Students continue to acquire knowledge of customs, symbols, and celebrations that represent American beliefs and principles. Students identify the significance of works of art in the local community and explain how technological innovations have changed transportation and communication. Students communicate what they have learned in written, oral, and visual forms.
- To support the teaching of the essential knowledge and skills, the use of a variety of rich material such as nonfiction texts, primary sources, biographies, folklore, poetry, songs, and artworks is encouraged. Motivating resources are available from museums, historical sites, presidential libraries, online tours, and local and state preservation societies.
- The eight strands of the essential knowledge and skills for social studies are intended to be integrated for instructional purposes. Skills listed in the social studies skills strand in subsection (b) of this section should be incorporated into the teaching of all essential knowledge and skills for social studies. A greater depth of understanding of complex content material can be attained when integrated social studies content from the various disciplines and critical-thinking skills are taught together. Statements that contain the word "including" reference content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase "such as" are intended as possible illustrative examples.
- Students identify the role of the U.S. free enterprise system within the parameters of this course and understand that this system may also be referenced as capitalism or the free market system.
- Throughout social studies in Kindergarten-Grade 12, students build a foundation in history; geography; economics; government; citizenship; culture; science, technology, and society; and social studies skills. The content, as appropriate for the grade level or course, enables students to understand the importance of patriotism, function in a free enterprise society, and appreciate the basic democratic values of our state and nation as referenced in the Texas Education Code (TEC), §28.002(h).
- Students understand that a constitutional republic is a representative form of government whose representatives derive their authority from the consent of the governed, serve for an established tenure, and are sworn to uphold the constitution.
- Students must demonstrate learning performance related to any federal and state mandates regarding classroom instruction. Although Grade 2 is not required to participate in Celebrate Freedom Week, according to the TEC, §29.907, primary grades lay the foundation for subsequent learning. As a result, Grade 2 Texas essential knowledge and skills include standards related to this patriotic observance.
- Students identify and discuss how the actions of U.S. citizens and the local, state, and federal governments have either met or failed to meet the ideals espoused in the founding documents.
Knowledge and skills
The student understands the historical significance of landmarks and celebrations in the community, state, and nation. The student is expected to:
- a. explain the significance of various community, state, and national celebrations such as Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Thanksgiving; and
- b. identify and explain the significance of various community, state, and national landmarks such as monuments and government buildings.
The student understands the concepts of time and chronology. The student is expected to:
- a. describe the order of events by using designations of time periods such as historical and present times;
- b. apply vocabulary related to chronology, including past, present, and future; and
- c. create and interpret timelines for events in the past and present.
The student understands how various sources provide information about the past and present. The student is expected to:
- a. identify several sources of information about a given period or event such as reference materials, biographies, newspapers, and electronic sources;
- b. describe various evidence of the same time period using primary sources such as photographs, journals, and interviews.
The student understands how historical figures, patriots, and good citizens helped shape the community, state, and nation. The student is expected to:
- a. identify contributions of historical figures, including Thurgood Marshall, Irma Rangel, John Hancock, and Theodore Roosevelt, who have influenced the community, state, and nation;
- b. identify historical figures such as Amelia Earhart, W. E. B. DuBois, Robert Fulton, and George Washington Carver who have exhibited individualism and inventiveness; and
- c. explain how people and events have influenced local community history.
The student uses simple geographic tools such as maps and globes. The student is expected to:
- a. interpret information on maps and globes using basic map elements such as title, orientation (north, south, east, west), and legend/map keys; and
- b. create maps to show places and routes within the home, school, and community.
The student understands the locations and characteristics of places and regions in the community, state, and nation. The student is expected to:
- a. identify major landforms and bodies of water, including each of the continents and each of the oceans, on maps and globes;
- b. locate places of significance, including the local community, Texas, the state capital, the U.S. capital, major cities in Texas, the coast of Texas, Canada, Mexico, and the United States on maps and globes; and
- c. examine information from various sources about places and regions.
The student understands how physical characteristics of places and regions affect people's activities and settlement patterns. The student is expected to:
- a. describe how weather patterns and seasonal patterns affect activities and settlement patterns;
- b. describe how natural resources and natural hazards affect activities and settlement patterns;
- c. explain how people depend on the physical environment and natural resources to meet basic needs; and
- d. identify the characteristics of different communities, including urban, suburban, and rural, and how they affect activities and settlement patterns.
The student understands how humans use and modify the physical environment. The student is expected to:
- a. identify ways in which people have modified the physical environment such as building roads, clearing land for urban development and agricultural use, and drilling for oil;
- b. identify positive and negative consequences of human modification of the physical environment such as the use of irrigation to improve crop yields; and
- c. identify ways people can conserve and replenish natural resources.
The student understands the value of work. The student is expected to:
- a. explain how work provides income to purchase goods and services; and
- b. explain the choices people in the U.S. free enterprise system can make about earning, spending, and saving money and where to live and work.
The student understands the roles of producers and consumers in the production of goods and services. The student is expected to:
- a. distinguish between producing and consuming;
- b. identify ways in which people are both producers and consumers; and
- c. examine the development of a product from a natural resource to a finished product.
The student understands the purpose of governments. The student is expected to:
- a. identify functions of governments such as establishing order, providing security, and managing conflict;
- b. identify governmental services in the community such as police and fire protection, libraries, schools, and parks and explain their value to the community; and
- c. describe how governments tax citizens to pay for services.
The student understands the role of public officials. The student is expected to:
- a. name current public officials, including mayor, governor, and president;
- b. compare the roles of public officials, including mayor, governor, and president;
- c. identify ways that public officials are selected, including election and appointment to office; and
- d. identify how citizens participate in their own governance through staying informed of what public officials are doing, providing input to them, and volunteering to participate in government functions.
The student understands characteristics of good citizenship as exemplified by historical figures and other individuals. The student is expected to:
- a. identify characteristics of good citizenship, including truthfulness, justice, equality, respect for oneself and others, responsibility in daily life, and participation in government by educating oneself about the issues, respectfully holding public officials to their word, and voting;
- b. identify historical figures such as Paul Revere, Abigail Adams, World War II Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) and Navajo Code Talkers, and Sojourner Truth who have exemplified good citizenship;
- c. identify other individuals who exemplify good citizenship; and
- d. identify ways to actively practice good citizenship, including involvement in community service.
The student identifies customs, symbols, and celebrations that represent American beliefs and principles that contribute to our national identity. The student is expected to:
- a. recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States Flag and the Pledge to the Texas Flag;
- b. identify selected patriotic songs, including "The Star Spangled Banner" and "America the Beautiful";
- c. identify selected symbols such as state and national birds and flowers and patriotic symbols such as the U.S. and Texas flags and Uncle Sam; and
- d. identify how selected customs, symbols, and celebrations reflect an American love of individualism, inventiveness, and freedom.
The student understands the significance of works of art in the local community. The student is expected to:
- a. identify selected stories, poems, statues, paintings, and other examples of the local cultural heritage; and
- b. explain the significance of selected stories, poems, statues, paintings, and other examples of the local cultural heritage.
The student understands ethnic and/or cultural celebrations. The student is expected to:
- a. identify the significance of various ethnic and/or cultural celebrations; and
- b. compare ethnic and/or cultural celebrations.
The student understands how technology affects daily life, past and present. The student is expected to:
- a. describe how science and technology change communication, transportation, and recreation; and
- b. explain how science and technology change the ways in which people meet basic needs.
The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired from a variety of valid sources, including electronic technology. The student is expected to:
- a. obtain information about a topic using a variety of valid oral sources such as conversations, interviews, and music;
- b. obtain information about a topic using a variety of valid visual sources such as pictures, symbols, electronic media, maps, literature, and artifacts; and
- c. use various parts of a source, including the table of contents, glossary, and index, as well as keyword Internet searches to locate information;
- d. sequence and categorize information.
- e. interpret oral, visual, and print material by identifying the main idea, predicting, and comparing and contrasting.
The student communicates in oral, visual, and written forms. The student is expected to:
- a. express ideas orally based on knowledge and experiences; and
- b. create written and visual material such as stories, poems, maps, and graphic organizers to express ideas.
The student uses problem-solving and decision-making skills, working independently and with others, in a variety of settings. The student is expected to:
- a. use a problem-solving process to identify a problem, gather information, list and consider options, consider advantages and disadvantages, choose and implement a solution, and evaluate the effectiveness of the solution; and
- b. use a decision-making process to identify a situation that requires a decision, gather information, generate options, predict outcomes, take action to implement a decision, and reflect on the effectiveness of the decision.