Social Studies Strands

By: Taryn Cunningham

Dawn Guilfoyle

Communities

Second Grade Social Studies Unit

•Rationale……………………………………….. Slide 4

•Objectives……………………………………… Slides 5-6

•American Heritage……………………………... Slides 7-10

•People in Societies……………………………... Slides 11-14

•World Interactions……………………………… Slides 15-18

•Decision Making and Resources………………. Slides 19-22

•Democratic Processes………………………….. Slides 23-26

•Citizen Rights and Responsibilities…………… Slides 27-30

•Science, Technology, and Society…………….. Slides 31-34

Rationale

• This unit will be taught in a second grade classroom in order to increase the student’s knowledge of their community and communities around the world.

ObjectivesThe students will:• display an understanding that in order for a

community to excel, they must interact with other nations’ communities.

• learn the differences between wants and needs and how they can be met

• display an understanding that in order for a community to excel, they must interact with other nations’ communities.

• learn the differences between wants and needs and how they can be met

Objectives Continued

The students will:• learn about how a democracy works and how the

United States functions as a democratic society.• demonstrate an understanding of the

responsibilities that must be met by adults in a community

• show an understanding of how technology is used in the community

American Heritage Strand

Websites

• www.geocities.com• www.marshall-es-mar

shall.k12.tn.us/jube/community

• www.wn.org• www.lessonplanspage.

com• http://vector.cshl.org

Activities

• Study the history of our community and write mini-reports

• Interview grandparents and elders of the community to find out about the community’s past.

• Study the first Thanksgiving and members of that community

Activities Continued

• Write a script and perform a play about how Americans may have traded goods with other countries in the past.

• Write a paragraph about how we, as Americans have been influenced by other countries

People in Societies Strand

Websites

• www.members.aol.com• www.ashland.com• www.geocities.com• www.communityonline

.com• www.marshall-es.mars

hall.k12.tn.us/jube/community

Activities

• Make a self-portrait using multicultural paper and art materials. Discuss the similarities and differences between each person in the class.

• Using an overhead projector, the teacher will make silhouettes of each child. The children will write clues that describe themselves and their parents will have to pick out their child’s silhouette during open house.

• Make Venn diagrams comparing the people within their community to the people of a foreign community.

Activities Continued

• People within the community will come into the classroom and discuss their career and what they do for the community.

• Research and study how people of other countries/communities celebrate holidays. The students will celebrate a foreign holiday based on what they have learned.

World Interactions Strand

Websites

• www.askeric.org.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/

• www.marshall-es.marshall.k12.tn.us/jube/community

• www.ashland.com

• www.communitysite.com

• www.schoolzone.com

Activities

• Students will communicate with children of other countries/communities via e-mail. They will keep the same pen pal throughout the school year.

• Each student will make up a questionnaire hoping to find out more about a specific community. The questionnaire will be sent to another class in a different country.

• Study problems in other communities and write letters suggesting their solutions to these problems.

Activities Continued

• The teacher will bring a newspaper to class every day and the students will react to the current events by writing a journal entry.

• Regarding the events of September 11, 2001, the students will write letters of encouragement to the children of Afghanistan.

Decision Making and Resources Strand

Websites

• www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/democracy/debequest.html

• www.learningspace.org• www.teacher-net.co.uk• www.geocities.com• www.marshall-es.mars

hall.k12.tn.us/jube/community

Activities

• The class will make a list of their wants and needs. They will vote on the need that is most important to them and work to get that need in the classroom. Example: Popcorn Party.

• Pretend that they are going on a class trip and make a list of things they would want to take and things that they would need to take.

• The teacher will find a less fortunate family within the community. The students will find out what the family wants and needs for Christmas and raise money to buy them those items.

Activities Continued

• Students will think of different ways that we can pitch in to improve our national debt. Each student will write their ideas on a large piece of paper resembling a dollar bill. The lists will be displayed around the room.

• After studying several types of communities, the students will compare and contrast the differences between the wants and needs of members of a rural and urban communities.

Democratic Processes Strand

Websites

• www.marshall-es.marshall.k12.tn.us/jube/community

• www.wo.bonus.com/bonus/card/click_election.html

• www.kidsvotingny.com/teachers/index.htm

• www.geocities.com

• www.ic.org

Activities

• The class will go on a field trip to the local court house to observe where and how our community laws are made and reinforced

• The students will write letters to our city mayor to ask what he does to contribute to our community. The students may ask any other question they may have regarding our local government.

• The class will have a mock election. They will campaign and vote to elect a class president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer.

Activities Continued

• Students will give suggestions and vote on a new set of “Class Laws.”

• The students will participate in a class trial. They will take on the roles of different courtroom participants and decide the outcome and consequences of the defendant.

Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities Strand

Websites

• www.internet.com/comm

• www.seetc.org• www.education-

world.com• www.marshall-

es.marshall.k12.tn.us/jube/community

• www.geocities.com

Activities

• Students will vote on a school problem that is most significant to them. They will work together to solve this problem.

• Students will study laws of other countries and the rights of the people in those countries.

• Write a paragraph about how they personally contribute to the class and what makes them special.

Activities Continued

• Students will participate in a mock school board meeting to find out how decisions regarding their school are made.

• Students will observe their families at home and document their findings. They will share and compare their “family responsibilities/roles” with others in the class.

Science, Technology, and Society Strand

Websites

• www.communitysite.com

• www.geocities.com• www.marshall-

es.marshall.k12.tn.us/jube/community

• www.eduniverse.com• www.edhelper.com/

cat42.htm

Activities

• After studying other communities, the students will work in groups of 3 to make a PowerPoint presentation about one specific community. They will share their presentations with the class.

• Via the Internet, students will take virtual tours of other schools and communities.

• The students will have the opportunity to create their own community using the Simm City Computer Software.

Activities Continued

• The students can go to www.communitysite.com to learn about other communities in the United States.

• In small groups, the students will create a technology based presentation demonstrating what they have learned about communities. They will present this to the class.