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Ms. Reeder, Social Studies, 2nd

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Social Studies Update 10/27/25 - 10/31/25

Social Studies

This week, we will conclude our second geography unit, “Geography in My Community.” This unit was a study of how communities manage, modify and depend on the environment. The Essential Question for this unit was, “How have people influenced the geography of my community?”

Some key vocabulary words for this unit were:

  • rural
  • urban
  • suburban
  • renewable
  • nonrenewable
  • natural resources

This week’s social studies learning targets are:

  • Human actions can change the environment.

We will take the unit assessment on Tuesday.

Social Studies Update: 9/2/25 - 9/5/25

🗺️ During this short week, we are concluding our geography unit. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we will finish the last two lessons of the unit. On Thursday, we will play a review game. Friday is our day for our service-learning lesson.

Service Learning:

Our service-learning topic for 2nd grade is community appreciation. We will be learning what communities are and working together to support and appreciate them.

This week in service learning, students will identify how people help their communities and analyze different examples of community appreciation.

 

This week’s learning targets are:

  • Different types of maps give different types of information and serve different purposes.
  • Find human, natural, and political features on a map. Natural features are things in nature, human features are things people make, and political features are boundaries you can see on a map.
  • Service Learning: Identify ways people try to help their community and if it is helpful or not.

Social Studies Update 8/25/25 - 8/29/25

🗺️On Wednesday, we began our second Social Studies unit, “How Geographers Talk About the World.” This unit is a study of how to use elements of maps to identify key cultural, human, political, and natural features. The Essential Question for this unit is, “How can we use maps as a tool to better understand the world around us?”

Some key vocabulary for this unit is:

  • space
  • place
  • map key
  • legend
  • symbols
  • cardinal directions
  • compass rose
  • globe
  • hemisphere
  • equator
  • poles (North and South)

Service Learning:

Our service-learning topic for 2nd grade is community appreciation. We will be learning what communities are and working together to support and appreciate them.

This week in service learning, students will identify how people help their communities and analyze different examples of community appreciation.

 

This week’s learning targets are:

  • Map tools, such as a map’s key/legend, symbols, and compass rose, are important to find places and understand what a map shows.
  • Cardinal directions are the same on every map.
  • Globes are a 3-D model of the Earth. There are 4 hemispheres separated by important lines.
  • Different types of maps give different types of information and serve different purposes.
  • Service Learning: Identify ways people try to help their community, and whether it is helpful or not.

🗺️ Social Studies & Service Learning Update 8/18/25 - 8/22/25

This week, our class will wrap up our first social studies unit of the year, “My Role in the Community.” On Monday, we will learn about one specific way citizens can take on civic responsibilities by learning about victory gardens from World War II. We will take the post-test on Tuesday.

🗺️On Wednesday, we will begin our second Social Studies unit, “How Geographers Talk About the World.” This unit is a study of how to use elements of maps to identify key cultural, human, political, and natural features. The Essential Question for this unit is, “How can we use maps as a tool to better understand the world around us?”

Some key vocabulary for this unit is:

  • space
  • place
  • map key
  • legend
  • symbols
  • cardinal directions
  • compass rose
  • globe
  • hemisphere
  • equator
  • poles (North and South)

Service Learning:

This year, students will be learning about service learning once a week during social studies or science. 2nd grade will do service learning on Fridays.

Our service-learning topic for 2nd grade is community appreciation. We will be learning what communities are and working together to support and appreciate them.

This week in service learning, students will learn what a community is and identify the communities they are a part of. We will watch this video as part of our learning.

 

This week’s learning targets are:

  • Citizens helped during World War II by planting victory gardens.
  • Use a map’s key, symbols, and compass rose to find places and understand what a map shows.
  • Use a map legend to help understand what the symbols on a map mean and why the legend is important for reading maps.
  • I can tell what a community is and name the communities I belong to.

Social Studies Update: 8/4/25 - 8/15/25

On Wednesday, we started our first social studies unit of the year called “My Role in the Community.” This unit is a study of how people engage in civic participation. The essential question for this unit is, “How do individual ideas and actions improve communities?”

Some key vocabulary for this unit is:

  • respect
  • community
  • civic responsibility
  • advocate
  • decisions
  • community member
  • diverse
  • marginalized
  • privileged

Last week, students learned that community members have respectful debates and vote to make changes in their communities.

This week, our class will explore the topic of leadership and its impact on communities. Students will learn about leaders from the past and how their actions brought about change. We’ll finish the week by discussing citizenship and the responsibilities we all share as members of a community.