Lesson Plan #2

Lesson Plan #2
Second Grade
Social Studies Standards:
2 G2.0.1 Compare the physical and human characteristics of
the local community with those of another community
2 G1.0.2 Use maps to describe the spatial organization of the
local community by applying concepts including relative location
and using distance, direction, and scale.
Materials and Resources Needed:
Envelope with pictures of key parts of a community (stores,
entertainment, restaurants)
Whiteboards
Big roles of white paper
Big Idea
What makes up a community and how can we make it better
1. Objective/Purpose
a. Students will demonstrate their understanding of
community by identifying pictures of their community and
defining the purpose of each location
b. The students will be able to construct a visual
representation of the communities they live in.
c. Students will evaluate what resources need to be added to
improve their communities.
2. Anticipatory Set
a. Get an envelope with various pictures and separate
identification cards will be placed on each table
b. The students will read the identifying cards and then match
the pictures to the cards.
c. Example: Major cities and their iconic features and they
would match the pictures with a city
3. Instructional Input
a. What makes up communities?
i. People living in the same place or sharing common
characteristics
ii. What makes us a community in Grand Rapids?
iii. Farmers in Iowa?
iv. Fishermen in Maine?
v. Movie stars in Los Angeles?
b. Important characteristics of a community
i. Ask the students if they were starting a community,
what would be the first parts of the community they
would start

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c. What would an ideal community look like?

i. Schools, hospitals, restaurants, stores,
entertainment, parks
1. Each of these serves a fundamental part in the
community
d. There is no perfect community, but we try to make it the
best we can.
i. High class, middle class, low class, there isnt a
perfect community, but we can try our best to
improve them.
Modeling/Guided Practice
a. Draw a community on a whiteboard in front of the class
and, with student support, map out what an ideal
community would look like.
b. Have the students collectively agree on what types of
characteristics should be drawn next until they are
satisfied.
c. I add parts if needed
Checking for Understanding
a. Teacher will get cards with various situations in the
community on it and the students will figure out if their
community is equipped to handle the situation
i. If there are 100,000 people and only one hospital
ii. If there are 50 schools for 1000
iii. If there are enough grocery stores for the population
b. What would happen if their communities couldnt handle it?
i. Explain how people move for political, economic,
social, or communal reasons.
Independent Practice
Rubric at the bottom
a. The students will construct a map of the community they
live in with features like grocery stores, entertainment
places, and churches.
b. Once each student finishes, they will compare their
community with another students community to see the
difference or how similar they are.
Closure
a. Each student will describe one location or attribute they
would like to add to his or her community with a few
reasons to back it up.