Using the Second Grade
Social Studies Frameworks:
How do I Get Started?
Sarah Blascovich Brown
Teacher on Assignment
Out with the old. In with the NEW!!!
Day 1 QCC
• I teach whatever I’ve
been teaching, because
I’ve always done it that
way.
• Day 1=Chapter 1=page 1
• We don’t have time to
teach it anyway, so why
worry about it?
Day 1 GPS
Out with the old. In with the NEW!!!
Day 1 QCC
Day 1 GPS
• I teach whatever I’ve
been teaching, because
I’ve always done it that
way.
• Day 1=Chapter 1=page 1
• We don’t have time to
teach it anyway, so why
worry about it?
• Start with introducing
concepts so students can
build important schema
• Design an authentic
activity/task that will
demonstrate student
understanding
• Think about trade books
that will enrich the content
being taught.
What to expect in a curriculum map:
What to expect in a framework:
EUs and EQs
Activities & Mods
K-5 Suggested Enduring Understandings
Teaching Unit One
• Think about all you do to teach
routines and procedures at the
beginning of the year…this is unit one!
– Lasts about two weeks
– Introduces all the Enduring Understandings
that will be used in Social Studies
– Accesses students’ prior knowledge
– Builds the scaffolding needed to understand
historical, geographic, government, and
economic concepts.
– A great way to integrate reading strategies and
good literature in this unit and beyond!
How do I know what concepts to teach?
• Use your curriculum map!
– The concepts are listed for each
unit of the map.
– Every piece of content is listed
under a relevant concept
• These are suggestions – make them
work for your class!
• Since you have already
introduced the concepts during
Unit One, you can refer to them
during the course of the unit!
What if I didn’t teach Unit One?
• Do mini-lessons/activities to introduce the
concepts as you get to them.
• Stop and do a Unit One in the middle of the
year! {This really CAN be done!}
• Find ways to incorporate the
concepts so that students can build
their schema.
The Concept Wall
Photo courtesy of Yvette Welch, Gilmer County Schools
The Concept Wall
Photo courtesy of Kim Sampson, Sharon Elementary, Forsyth County Schools
The Concept Wall
Photo courtesy of Kim Sampson, Sharon Elementary, Forsyth County Schools
Using the Next Units
• Now that you have helped students understand
the themes of Social Studies, now it is time to
teach the content!
• Add to your concept wall!
–
–
–
–
Essential questions to guide student learning
Standards/elements (if necessary/required)
Include important content vocabulary for the unit.
Visual clues: portraits, photographs, book covers…
• Look ACROSS the curriculum to guide you –
make things match!
Using the Next Units
• Continue the work you started in Unit One – link
the content students are learning BACK to their
own lives, experiences, and prior learning.
• Incorporate meaningful integration whenever
possible!
• Take some time to plan the activities you want
to do before you begin, particularly if you are
using a culminating performance task.
• Re-introduce the concepts to students as
necessary – there are NO rules about this!
Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey
Written and Illustrated by Maira Kalman
Connecting Theme: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
Enduring Understanding: The student will understand that what
people, groups, and institutions do can help or harm others whether
they mean to or not.




This is a great book to discuss the levels of this EU: individual people did specific
jobs on the fireboat, and as a group provided an important service on 9/11. The
group worked as part of a larger government institution: the fire department.
Allow students to brainstorm other circumstances when individuals might come
together as groups to help other people.
Use a map of New York City to help students understand the role of geography in
this story – Manhattan is an island, and the World Trade Center was located at the
southern tip of it. {http://www.aaccessmaps.com/show/map/manhattan}
The last page of the story could serve as a response prompt: what will happen if the
group of friends does buy the tugboat? Could it help New York, too? How?
Learn more about the John J. Harvey at www.fireboat.org.
Resources:
• The New Georgia Encyclopedia (regions):
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-948
• UGA’s Museum of Natural History (regions):
http://dromus.nhm.uga.edu/~GMNH/gawildlife/index.php?page=information/regions
• State of Georgia’s Kids’ Page (general info):
http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2005_06/house/kids/elemen/elemindex.htm
• State of Georgia (all state government):
http://www.georgia.gov
• Georgia State Parks (history/information):
http://www.gastateparks.org/core/item/page.aspx?s=124597
Resources:
What resources
have you used
successfully to talk
about Georgia?
Teaching Unit Two:
• The geographical & governmental identifications in this
unit (regions/rivers of GA & levels/officers of
government) are meant to be introduced here and then
reinforced all year long. 
• If you haven’t done so already, visit your local highway
rest stop and get a couple of maps of Georgia (or use
outdated ones sitting in your glove compartment).
Outline the relevant rivers on one, and the regions on
another. Laminate, and you have two great teaching
tools!
• Find great maps of Georgia through the Carl Vinson
Institute at UGA: http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/gamaps.htm.
Teaching Unit Two:
Discuss everyday life in modern Georgia:
Review concepts of Time, Change, Continuity from Unit One
Introduce students to the things they will be comparing with the
historical figures all year: food, clothing, homes, transportation,
communication, recreation, rights, and freedoms.
Compare/contrast these items from one region to another within
modern Georgia: do kids in Waycross dress the same way that kids in
Elijay dress for Christmas? Why or why not? What food is unique to
Vidalia? Does your community have a public bus system – why or
why not?
Spend a little bit of time discussing the geography
taught in first grade – continent, nation, state, county,
city…
Teaching Unit Two:
• Don’t delay introducing economics – Labor Day
is the perfect time to do it!
– www.econedlink.org
– www.econed.org
• The K-2 Economics document also includes an
activity called “The Land of Snakes & Donuts”
that involves Play-dough. While there is more
than snakes & donuts involved in economics,
it’s a great hands-on way to get started!
Final Thoughts
• Why mess with concepts and enduring
understandings?
– Front end planning and instruction will pay off in the long
run.
– Students will know more than memorized dates, names,
and places.
– Make the concept wall an integral part of your teaching…it
will help you and the students make connections within
and between concepts.
• Try to incorporate some social studies content every
day – even if it’s just a quick review of a concept.