Colorado Academic Standards Online
Use the options below to create customized views of the Colorado Academic Standards. For all standards resources, see the Office of Standards and Instructional Support.
Current selections are shown below (maximum of five)
clear Content Area: Social Studies - 2022 // Grade Level: Second Grade // Standard Category: All Standards Categories
Social Studies - 2022
Second Grade, Standard 1. History
keyboard_arrow_down keyboard_arrow_up
Prepared Graduates:
- 1. Apply the process of inquiry to examine and analyze how historical knowledge is viewed, constructed, and interpreted.
Grade Level Expectation:
1. Ask questions and discuss ideas taken from primary and secondary sources.
Evidence Outcomes:
Students Can:
- Explain that the nature of history involves stories of the past preserved in various primary and secondary sources. For example: Images, oral and written accounts, etc.
- Organize historical events by creating timelines and explaining the information conveyed by them.
- Identify local historical primary and secondary sources from multiple diverse perspectives and generate questions about their functions, significance, and perspective. For example: Maps, photographs, letters, etc.
Academic Contexts and Connections:
Colorado Essential Skills:
- Identify key attributes of a variety of information products. For example: Books, newspapers, online or print articles, etc. (Media Literacy).
- Demonstrate curiosity about events and people from the past using primary and secondary sources (Media Literacy).
Inquiry Questions:
- How can two people understand the same event differently?
- Why is it important to use more than one source for information?
- How can putting events in order by time help describe the past?
- What kinds of tools and sources do historical thinkers use to investigate the past?
Nature and Skills of History:
- Historical thinkers gather firsthand accounts of history through a variety of sources, including differing accounts of the same event.
- Historical thinkers use primary sources to investigate the past.
Disciplinary, Information, and Media Literacy:
- Apply disciplinary concepts such as perspective to create accounts of the past.
- Listen for main idea and sequence of events in a social studies text.
- Analyze different texts (including experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia texts) to compare and contrast competing theories, points of view, and arguments in the discipline.
keyboard_arrow_down keyboard_arrow_up
Prepared Graduates:
- 2. Analyze historical time periods and patterns of continuity and change, through multiple perspectives, within and among cultures and societies.
Grade Level Expectation:
2. Describe how people of various cultures influence neighborhoods and communities over time.
Evidence Outcomes:
Students Can:
- Compare and contrast neighborhoods and/or communities, both past and present, through studies of their people and events. For example: The National Western Stock Show, state/county fairs, and community events.
- Describe the changes within one neighborhood and/or community over time.
- Analyze the interactions and contributions of various people and cultures that have lived in or migrated to neighborhoods and/or communities, including African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Indigenous Peoples, LGBTQ, and religious minorities.
Academic Contexts and Connections:
Colorado Essential Skills:
- Recognize and describe cause-and-effect relationships and patterns in everyday experiences (Critical Thinking and Analysis).
- Recognize and describe patterns within and between neighborhoods and communities (Critical Thinking and Analysis).
- Investigate to make observations and draw conclusions about neighborhoods and communities (Critical Thinking and Analysis).
Inquiry Questions:
- What are the cultural attributes of a neighborhood or community?
- How can understanding the past impact our understanding of communities today?
- How have people, events, and ideas from the past shaped the identity of communities and neighborhoods today?
Nature and Skills of History:
- Historical thinkers investigate relationships between the past and present.
- Historical thinkers organize findings in chronological order as one way to examine and describe the past.
- Historical thinkers examine concepts of change, continuity, and causation in order to explain the past.
Disciplinary, Information, and Media Literacy:
- Apply disciplinary concepts such as change, continuity, and causation to create accounts of neighborhoods and communities in the past.
- Demonstrate positive social behaviors when using technology.
- Begin to identify differing perspectives.
Social Studies - 2022
Second Grade, Standard 2. Geography
keyboard_arrow_down keyboard_arrow_up
Prepared Graduates:
- 3. Apply geographic representations and perspectives to analyze human movement, spatial patterns, systems, and the connections and relationships among them.
Grade Level Expectation:
1. Use geographic terms and tools to locate and describe spatial patterns and places.
Evidence Outcomes:
Students Can:
- Use map keys, legends, symbols, intermediate directions, and a compass rose to locate and describe spaces and places.
- Identify the purpose of the map being presented. For example: A weather map vs. street map.
- Identify the hemispheres, Equator/Prime Meridian, and the North/South poles.
- Identify and locate cultural, human, political, and natural features using map keys and legends.
Academic Contexts and Connections:
Colorado Essential Skills:
- Identify key attributes of a variety of geographic tools. For example: Globes, maps, and a compass rose (Data Literacy).
- Find information using geographic technologies. For example: GPS and satellite imagery (Critical Thinking and Analysis).
Inquiry Questions:
- How do you define, organize, and think about the space around you?
- What is a human feature and a physical feature?
- Why do we use geographic tools such as maps, globes, grids, symbols, and keys?
- How would you describe a location without using geographic words?
- How can using the wrong geographic tool or term cause problems?
Nature and Skills of Geography:
- Geographic thinkers use visual representations of the environment.
- Geographic thinkers identify data and reference points to understand space and place.
Disciplinary, Information, and Media Literacy:
- Construct maps, graphs, and other representations of familiar places.
- Describe spaces and places and the relationships and interactions that shape them using geographic tools. For example: Maps, graphs, photographs, and other representations.
- Use maps, globes, and other geographic models to identify cultural and environmental characteristics of places.
- Analyze and use information presented visually in a text that supports the words in a text. For example: Graphs, charts, flowcharts, diagrams, models, and tables.
- Analyze different texts (including experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia texts) to compare competing theories, points of view, and arguments in the discipline.
keyboard_arrow_down keyboard_arrow_up
Prepared Graduates:
- 4. Examine the characteristics of places and regions, and the changing nature among geographic and human interactions.
Grade Level Expectation:
2. Explain how people in communities manage, modify, and depend on their environment.
Evidence Outcomes:
Students Can:
- Explain how communities manage and use nonrenewable and renewable resources.
- Explain how the environment influences why people settle in certain areas.
- Identify examples of how human activity influences environmental characteristics of a place over time.
- Identify examples of how culture and lifestyle are impacted by environmental characteristics.
Academic Contexts and Connections:
Colorado Essential Skills:
- Recognize problems within a community related to the environment and their respective solutions (Critical Thinking and Analysis).
- Make observations and draw conclusions about the relationship between a community and their environment (Critical Thinking and Analysis).
Inquiry Questions:
- How do available resources and their uses impact a community?
- How do we know when we are being good stewards of renewable and non-renewable resources? For example: Reduce, reuse, and recycle.
- How does the environment influence people’s decisions about where they live?
- How do humans change the environment of a place over time?
- How does the environment influence the culture and lifestyles of a place?
Nature and Skills of Geography:
- Geographic thinkers compare information and data and recognize that environmental factors influence change in communities.
- Geographic thinkers study the uneven distribution and management of resources.
- Geographic thinkers recognize that problems can be identified, and possible solutions can be created.
- Geographic thinkers identify and reflect upon personal connections to community systems.
- Geographic thinkers understand that they must manage resources in the environment such as conserving water, safeguarding clean air, managing electricity needs, and reducing the amount of waste.
- Geographic thinkers, within communities, collaborate to modify, manage, and depend on the environment. For example: Elected officials decide how to manage resources, and communities may limit hunting, water usage, or other activities.
- Geographic technology is used to gather, track, and communicate how resources might be managed or modified. For example: Ski areas track snowfall rates, analyze data for avalanche danger and even create snow.
Disciplinary, Information, and Media Literacy:
- Describe how human activities affect the cultural and environmental characteristics of spaces or places.
- Generate questions to guide research, gather information from print and digital sources, determine biases and credibility of sources, cite sources accurately, and use evidence to answer their research question.
- Demonstrate positive social behaviors when using technology.
- Synthesize information from multiple sources to demonstrate understanding of a topic.
Social Studies - 2022
Second Grade, Standard 3. Economics
keyboard_arrow_down keyboard_arrow_up
Prepared Graduates:
- 5. Evaluate how scarce resources are allocated in societies through the analysis of individual choice, market interaction, and public policy.
Grade Level Expectation:
1. Explain how scarcity of resources means individuals may not have access to the goods and services they want or need.
Evidence Outcomes:
Students Can:
- Explain scarcity of goods and resources.
- Identify and categorize goods and services and provide examples of each.
- Give examples of choices people make when resources are scarce.
- Identify possible solutions when there are limited resources and unlimited wants.
Academic Contexts and Connections:
Colorado Essential Skills:
- Demonstrate an understanding of cause and effect related to personal decisions (Critical Thinking and Analysis).
- Recognize problems that arise from scarcity and their respective solutions (Critical Thinking and Analysis).
Inquiry Questions:
- How does scarcity affect purchasing decisions?
- What goods and services do you use?
- How are resources used in various communities?
- What do people and communities do when a resource is scarce?
Nature and Skills of Economics:
- Economic thinkers analyze choices that individuals make to predict patterns and determine demand.
- Economic thinkers analyze how goods and services are produced and priced.
- Economic thinkers analyze scarcity of resources and its impact on the cost of goods and services.
Disciplinary, Information, and Media Literacy:
- Apply disciplinary concepts such as decision-making, exchange, and markets to determine the benefits and costs of a particular choice.
Social Studies - 2022
Second Grade, Standard 4. Civics
keyboard_arrow_down keyboard_arrow_up
Prepared Graduates:
- 6. Express an understanding of how civic participation affects policy by applying the rights and responsibilities of a citizen.
Grade Level Expectation:
1. Investigate ways in which ideas and actions can improve communities.
Evidence Outcomes:
Students Can:
- Compare ways that people may effectively express their ideas and viewpoints while being respectful to others.
- Analyze how community members, including African American, Latino, Asian American, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Indigenous Peoples, LGBTQ, and religious minorities advocate for their interests and responsibly influence decisions in their community.
- Describe ways in which you can take an active part in improving your school or community.
- Identify and compare examples of civic responsibilities, such as volunteering in the community, that are important to privileged and marginalized individuals, families, and communities.
- Describe the characteristics that enable a community member to engage in the community responsibly and effectively.
Academic Contexts and Connections:
Colorado Essential Skills:
- Identify and reflect upon personal connections to community systems (Civic Engagement).
- Model positive behaviors for others (Civic Engagement).
Inquiry Questions:
- What are beliefs that help people live together in communities?
- What civic responsibilities do you think are important?
- How can different cultures and beliefs influence a community?
- What are responsible ways to advocate for ideas in a community?
- How do we make sure that all perspectives are represented?
- What are responsible ways to gather information in order to make informed decisions and advocate for the community?
- How do we know when information is factual or someone’s opinion? How does that influence how I use the information?
Nature and Skills of Civics:
- Civic-minded individuals listen and participate responsibly as a member of a group.
- Civic-minded individuals collaborate to responsibly advocate for the ideas they think will improve society. For example: A group lobbies the city council to create a new park or employ more firefighters.
Disciplinary, Information, and Media Literacy:
- Use technology resources for problem solving, communication, and illustration of thoughts and ideas.
- Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic.
- Write opinion pieces in which students introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.
- Write informative/explanatory texts in which students introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.
- Present arguments or information in a logical sequence with a clear claim, supportive evidence, and effective presence that builds credibility.
keyboard_arrow_down keyboard_arrow_up
Prepared Graduates:
- 7. Analyze the origins, structures, and functions of governments to evaluate the impact on citizens and the global society.
Grade Level Expectation:
2. Explain the roles and characteristics of people who govern different communities.
Evidence Outcomes:
Students Can:
- Identify the role(s)of government. For example: Establish order, provide security, and accomplish common goals.
- Identify the roles and characteristics of various leaders at the local, state, and national levels. For example: The President of the United States, the Governor of Colorado, and the city mayor.
- Identify qualities of positive leadership and how leaders contribute to a group or community.
- Identify services provided by the local or state government. For example: police and fire protection, maintenance of roads, and snow removal.
Academic Contexts and Connections:
Colorado Essential Skills:
- Compare attitudes and beliefs as an individual to others (Social Awareness).
- Appropriately express a range of emotions to communicate personal ideas/needs (Self-Management).
Inquiry Questions:
- What can happen when someone has too much power and/or authority and abuses it?
- What are ways leaders collaborate to solve differences?
- What are the characteristics of positive leaders?
- Who are positive leaders in the group or community?
- What are some examples in the community of people helping others? For example: Collecting food for the hungry.
Nature and Skills of Civics:
- Civic-minded individuals examine how culture influences the disposition of rules, laws, rights, and responsibilities.
- Civic-minded individuals can identify the President of the United States, the Governor of Colorado, and other elected officials.
- Civic-minded individuals can discuss the responsibilities of the governor and other elected officials to make and enforce laws.
Disciplinary, Information, and Media Literacy:
- Begin to identify differing perspectives.
- Use technology resources for problem solving, communication, and illustration of thoughts and ideas.
- Analyze different texts (including experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia texts) to compare and contrast competing theories, points of view, and arguments in the discipline.
Social Studies - 2022
Second Grade, Standard 5. Personal Financial Literacy
keyboard_arrow_down keyboard_arrow_up
Prepared Graduates:
- 8. Apply economic reasoning skills to make informed personal financial decisions.
Grade Level Expectation:
1. Investigate costs and benefits to make informed financial decisions.
Evidence Outcomes:
Students Can:
- Assess priorities when making financial decisions.
- Classify financial goals. For example: A need or want, or short-term or long-term goals.
- Recognize that different goods and services have different monetary values.
- Acknowledge that financial priorities vary among people and communities for goods and services. For example: Going to the hairdresser, buying brand name items.
- Predict positive and negative consequences when making financial decisions. For example: If… Then... decision making.
- Solve simple financial word problems to aid in making financial decisions. For example: A video game costs $20. If I earn $5 per week in allowance, I will need to save for ____ weeks to earn enough money.
Academic Contexts and Connections:
Colorado Essential Skills:
- Identify consequences (positive and negative) of a financial decision (Critical Thinking and Analysis).
- Understand how to reduce risk depending on the financial choices they make (Critical Thinking and Analysis).
- Demonstrate an understanding of cause and effect related to different financial decisions (Critical Thinking and Analysis).
Inquiry Questions:
- What is a financial goal?
- What strategies can help individuals achieve their financial goals?
- What influences your financial goals and priorities?
- How do individuals analyze the positive and negative consequences of financial decisions?
- How can I use my math skills and strategies to help me make financial decisions?
Nature and Skills of Personal Financial Literacy:
- Financially capable individuals use good decision-making tools in planning their spending and saving.
- Financially capable individuals make financial decisions based on responsible evaluation of the consequences.
- Financially capable individuals make purchase decisions based on such things as quality, price, and personal goals. For example: You decide whether to spend money on candy or the movies.
Disciplinary, Information, and Media Literacy:
- Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace.
- Compare the benefits and costs of individual choices.
- Identify positive and negative incentives that influence the decisions people make.
- Present arguments or information in a logical sequence with a clear claim, supportive evidence, and effective presence that builds credibility.
Need Help? Submit questions or requests for assistance to bruno_j@cde.state.co.us