Geography, Humans, and the Environment
Unit description: In this unit students will study how geography and natural resources shape where and how urban, suburban, and rural communities develop and how they sustain themselves. Students will examine how the location of physical features and natural resources often affects where people settle and may affect how those people sustain themselves. In addition, students will investigate how humans modify the environment of their communities through housing, transportation systems, schools, marketplaces, and recreation areas and how physical features and man-made structures can be described using symbols and specific geography vocabulary.
Download the complete Grade 2 Social Studies – Geography, Humans, and the Environment framework to customize for your own planning.
Standards
- Standard 3- Geography
- Standard 4- Economics
Essential Questions and Big Ideas
- Big Idea of the Unit: The environment impacts how communities develop and how they grow.
- How do natural resources and our geography affect our communities?
- The location of physical features and natural resources often affects where people settle and may affect how those people sustain themselves.
- What role do humans play in the environment and how they grow and sustain themselves?
- Humans modify the environment of their communities through housing, transportation systems, schools, marketplaces, and recreation areas.
- Can we use a map for more than just directions?
- The location and place of physical features and man-made structures can be described using symbols and specific geography vocabulary.
Prerequisite Skills
Grade 2 “My Community and Other Communities” is organized into five units of study—Individual Development and Cultural Identity; Civic Ideals and Practices; Geography, Humans, and the Environment; Time, Continuity, and Change; and Economic Systems. These units represent five of the unifying themes of social studies, and may be presented in any order.