Second Grade Social Studies

  Kansas Standard by Grade Level

for

Civics-Government, Economics, Geography, and History

CIVICS-GOVERNMENT – 2nd Grade

Civics-Government Standard: The student uses a working knowledge and understanding of governmental
systems of the United States and other nations with an emphasis on the U. S. Constitution, the necessity for the rule of law, the civic values of the American republican government, and the rights, privileges, and responsibilities to become active participants in the democratic process.

Benchmark 1: The student understands the rule of law as it applies to family, school, local, state, and national governments.

Indicators:
The student:
2. discusses safety rules (e. g., poison, traffic, fire, playground).

Benchmark 2: The student understands the shared ideals and the diversity of American society and political
culture.

Indicators:
The student:
6 D 1. knows how various symbols are used to depict Americans' shared values, principles, and beliefs

(i. e., eagle, flag, seals, pledge).
2. knows the qualities of law-abiding citizens (e. g., honesty, courage, patriotism, respect). 

Benchmark 3: The student understands how the U. S. Constitution allocates and restricts power and responsibility in the government.

Indicators:
The student:
° 1. recognizes that the U. S. Constitution is a written plan for the rules of government (e. g., knows that the Constitution is the list of rules of the government compared to the rules for the family, classroom, school).

Benchmark 4: The student identifies and examines the rights, privileges, and responsibilities in becoming
an active civic participant.

Indicators:
The student:
1. identifies the rights, privileges, and responsibilities students have at home, in the classroom, at school, and in the community.
2. identifies basic rights and privileges that students have and those they will acquire with age (e. g., driving, voting).

Benchmark 5: The student understands various systems of governments and how nations and international
organizations interact.

Indicators:
The student:
1. describes governments in terms of people and groups who make, apply, and enforce rules and laws for others in their family, school, and community (e. g., governor, legislator, president).

ECONOMICS – 2nd Grade

Economics Standard: The student uses a working knowledge and understanding of major economic concepts,
issues, and systems of the United States and other nations; and applies decision making skills as a consumer, producer, saver, investor, and citizen in an interdependent world.

Benchmark 1: The student understands how scarcity of resources requires choices.
Indicators:
The student:
° 1. identifies an example of a producer and consumer.
° 2. provides examples of goods and services.
3. identifies the opportunity cost of an activity (illustration: the opportunity cost of swinging at recess might be missing a game of soccer).  

Benchmark 2: The student understands how the market economy works in the United States .
Indicators:
The student:
1. explains how barter can be used to exchange goods and services.
6 D 2. explains the role of money used to exchange goods and services.  

Benchmark 4: The student analyzes the role of the government in the economy.
Indicators:
The student:
1. identifies goods and services provided by the government (e. g., streets, parks, police protection, public schools).  

GEOGRAPHY – 2nd Grade
Geography Standard: The student uses a working knowledge and understanding of the spatial organization of Earth's surface and relationships among people, places, and physical and human environments in order to explain the interactions that occur in our interconnected world.

Benchmark 1: Maps and Location: The student uses maps, graphic representations, tools, and technologies to locate, use, and present information about people, places, and environments.

Indicators:
The student:
° 1. lists and describes the characteristics and purposes of maps and the globe (e. g., title, legend, compass rose, model of Earth, representation of Earth's features).
° 2. identifies and correctly uses terms related to location, direction, and distance (e. g., up/ down, left/ right, near/ far, here/ there, north, south, east, west).
3. differentiates between neighborhood, town, and state.

Benchmark 2 -Regions: The student analyzes the spatial organization of people, places, and environments that form regions on Earth's surface.

Indicators:
The student:
1. describes the physical and human characteristics of the national community (e. g., location, land, weather, seasons, people, jobs, houses, food, recreation, customs).
2. identifies physical and human changes that have taken place over time in the national  region (e. g., new shopping center, tearing down houses, tornado/ flood damage).

Benchmark 3 -Physical Systems: The student understands Earth's physical systems and how physical processes shape Earth's surface.

Indicators:
The student:
1. reports local weather patterns accurately.
° 3. describes the essential elements of a successful ecosystem (e. g., fresh air, clean water, food supply, habitat).            

Benchmark 5: Human-Environment Interactions: The student understands the effects of interactions between human and physical systems.

Indicators:
The student:
6 D 1. identifies ways in which people depend on the physical environment (i. e., water, food, fuel, natural resources).

KANSAS , UNITED STATES AND WORLD HISTORY – 2nd Grade

History Standard: The student uses a working knowledge and understanding of significant individuals, groups, ideas, events, eras, and developments in the history of Kansas , the United States , and the world,
utilizing essential analytical and research skills.

Benchmark 1: The student understands the significance of the contributions of important individuals and
major developments in history.

Indicators:
The student:
° 1. retells the stories of explorers, inventors, and scientists (e. g., Christopher Columbus, Marco Polo, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, and others).  

Benchmark 2: The student understands the importance of the experiences of groups of people.
Indicators:
The student:
° 1. compares and contrasts the life conditions of the earliest settlements to the present (e. g., American Indians, plains pioneers, early English and Spanish settlements).
° 3. compares at least two different types of shelter used by American Indians in Kansas from 1500 to 1700 (e. g., grass lodge, tipi, earth lodge).
4. uses stories, artifacts, and/ or traditional music to interpret some aspect of daily life for early American Indians in Kansas.
° 5. uses historical photographs to identify two types of housing early Kansas immigrants built (e. g., dugouts, sod houses, log cabins, frame houses).

Benchmark 3: The student understands the significance of events, holidays, documents, and symbols which
are important in United States history.

Indicators:
The student:
6 D 1. recognizes the United States flag, the Pledge of Allegiance, The Declaration of Independence, and The Star Spangled Banner as national symbols.
6 D 2. identifies some U. S. national holidays (i. e., Columbus Day, Independence Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Thanksgiving, Veterans Day.
3. explains the customs related to important holidays and ceremonies in various countries.
6. identifies three official symbols of the state of Kansas (e. g., the state song -"Home on the Range," the state bird -the meadowlark, the state flower -the sunflower).
6 D 7. explains the origin of the name "Kansas" (i. e., from the Kansa Indians).

Benchmark 4: The student understands the variety of ways land has been used over time.
Indicators:
The student:
1. describes the different food sources produced in Kansas over time (e. g., grains, livestock, fruits, vegetables). 
2. describes land use in his/ her community (e. g., industry, agriculture, housing, mining, public use).

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