AL.2 Standard: Living and Working Together in State and Nation

The goal of the second-grade curriculum is to introduce students to major historical events, figures, and symbols related to the principles of American democracy. Children learn to value differences among people and exemplify a respect for the rights and opinions of others.

2.1

• 2.1.1 Students will:

  Relate principles of American democracy to the founding of the nation (History, Civics and Government).

• 2.1.2 Students will practice:

  • Identifying reasons for the settlement of the thirteen colonies
  • Recognizing basic principles of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, the establishment of the three branches of government, and the Emancipation Proclamation
  • Demonstrating the voting process, including roles of major political parties
  • Utilizing school and classroom rules to reinforce democratic values

2.2

• 2.2.1 Students will:

  Identify national historical figures and celebrations that exemplify fundamental democratic values, including equality, justice, and responsibility for the common good (History, Civics and Government).

• 2.2.2 Students will practice:

  • Recognizing our country’s founding fathers, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, John Adams, John Hancock, and James Madison
  • Recognizing historical female figures, including Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, Harriet Tubman, and Harriet Beecher Stowe
  • Describing the significance of national holidays, including the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Veterans Day, and Thanksgiving Day
  • Describing the history of American symbols and monuments

  • Grade Level Example:

    Liberty Bell, Statue of Liberty, bald eagle, United States flag, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial

2.3

• 2.3. Students will:

  Use various primary sources, including calendars and timelines, for constructing the past (Geography, History).

  • Grade Level Example:

    historical letters, stories, interviews with elders, photographs, maps, artifacts

2.4

• 2.4. Students will:

  Use vocabulary to describe segments of time, including year, decade, score, and century (History).

2.5

• 2.5.1 Students will:

  Differentiate between a physical map and a political map (Geography).

  • Grade Level Example:

    physical map—illustrating rivers and mountains political map—illustrating symbols for states and capitals

• 2.5.2 Students will practice:

  Using vocabulary associated with geographical features, including latitude, longitude, and border.

2.6

• 2.6.1 Students will:

  Identify states, continents, oceans, and the equator using maps, globes, and technology (Geography).

• 2.6.2 Students will practice:

  • Identifying map elements, including title, legend, compass rose, and scale
  • Identifying the intermediate directions of northeast, southeast, northwest, and southwest
  • Recognizing technological resources such as a virtual globe, satellite images, and radar
  • Locating points on a grid/li>

2.7

• 2.7.1 Students will:

  Explain production and distribution processes (Economics).

• Grade Level Example:

  tracing milk supply from dairy to consumer

• 2.7.2 Students will practice:

  • Identifying examples of imported and exported goods
  • Describing the impact of consumer choices and decisions on supply and demand

2.8

• 2.8.1 Students will:

  Describe how scarcity affects supply and demand of natural resources and human-made products (Economics).

• Grade Level Example:

  cost of gasoline during oil shortages, price and expiration date of perishable foods

2.9

• 2.9.1 Students will:

  Describe how and why people from various cultures immigrate to the United States (Geography, Civics and Government).

• Grade Level Example:

  how—ships, planes, automobiles
  why—improved quality of life, family connections, disasters

• 2.9.2 Students will practice:

  Describing the importance of cultural unity and diversity within and across groups

2.10

• 2.10.1 Students will:

  Identify ways people throughout a country are affected by their human and physical environments (Economics, Geography).

• Grade Level Example:

  land use, housing, occupations

• 1.10.2 Students will practice:

  • Comparing physical features of regions throughout the country

  • Grade Level Example:

    differences in a desert environment, a tropical rain forest, and a polar region

  • Identifying positive and negative ways people affect the environment

  • Grade Level Example:

    positive—restocking fish in lakes, reforesting cleared land
    negative—polluting water, littering roadways, eroding soil

  • Recognizing benefits of recreation and tourism at
    state and national parks

2.11

• 2.11.1 Students will:

  Interpret legends, stories, and songs that contributed to the development of the cultural history of the United States (History).

• Grade Level Example:

  American Indian legends, African-American stories, tall tales, stories of folk heroes