Unit Plan 36 (Grade 2 Social Studies): Cumulative Synthesis & Exhibition
Explore key Grade 2 Social Studies ideas—citizenship, maps, history, and economics—as students create interactive “Civic Fair” displays to showcase their year-long learning.
Focus: Help students synthesize their learning about rules and citizenship, maps and places, past and present, and needs, wants, and work by creating displays for a class “Civic Fair.”
Grade Level: 2
Subject Area: Social Studies (Civics • Inquiry • Geography • History • Economics)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 30–45 minutes per session
I. Introduction
In this culminating unit, students bring together everything they have learned in Grade 2 Social Studies. They revisit key ideas about rules and fairness, community helpers, maps and places, timelines and change, needs/wants, and work and resources. Working in small “booths,” students plan and create Civic Fair displays that may include maps, timelines, civic action posters, and community helper profiles. The week ends with a celebration where classmates (and, if possible, visitors) tour the fair, ask questions, and give positive feedback.
Essential Questions
- What are the most important ideas we learned this year about being a good citizen?
- How do maps, timelines, and stories help us understand our community and its history?
- How do people and jobs in our community work together to meet needs and wants?
- How can we share what we know with others in a way that is clear, kind, and helpful?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Review and explain key Grade 2 Social Studies ideas using student-friendly language (rules, community helpers, maps, timelines, needs/wants, resources).
- Work in a small group to plan and create a Civic Fair display that includes at least two features (e.g., a map, timeline, poster, or mini-report).
- Use inquiry skills to choose a focus question and gather simple information from class charts, books, and previous work.
- Communicate their learning using labeled visuals, short written pieces, and oral explanations during the Civic Fair.
- Reflect on how they have grown as citizens, map users, historians, and economic thinkers this year.
Standards Alignment — 2nd Grade (Comprehensive spiral)
This unit revisits and integrates key skills and concepts from across the year:
- 2.C3.Inq (Inquiry) — Asking and refining questions; gathering information from simple sources; sorting/evaluating evidence; sharing conclusions with visuals and short texts; planning small actions.
- 2.C3.Civ (Civics) — Understanding rules, laws, and consequences; recognizing leaders and community helpers; practicing participation, respect, and inclusion; interpreting symbols and traditions.
- 2.C3.Geo (Geography) — Using and creating simple maps with symbols, legends, and cardinal directions; identifying places and features; explaining how people adapt to and care for environments.
- 2.C3.Hist (History) — Using timelines, photos, artifacts, and stories to distinguish past and present; recognizing important people, events, and traditions; explaining change over time.
- 2.C3.Econ (Economics) — Distinguishing needs and wants; identifying producers and consumers; describing work, earning, saving, and spending; recognizing natural, human, and capital resources.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can explain some of the big ideas we learned in Grade 2 Social Studies.
- I can help my group plan and create a Civic Fair display with pictures, labels, and a few sentences.
- I can use maps, timelines, or charts to show what I know.
- I can speak clearly and kindly when I explain my work to visitors.
- I can tell one way I have grown as a citizen and community helper this year.