Grade 2 Social Studies: how to help at home
What your child learns in Grade 2 social studies in the Nunavut Curriculum, and simple things to try at home.
The Big Ideas this year
- Nunavusiutit: heritage and culture, history, geography, environmental science, and civics and economics, with a focus on Nunavut and its links to Canada and the circumpolar world.
- Inuuqatigiit, the curriculum from the Inuit perspective, shapes how the strand is taught.
- Skills of inquiry, working with others and respecting different points of view.
Easy ways to practise social studies at home
- Look at a map of your community and find places you visit.
- Ask an older relative or neighbour what the area was like when they were young.
- Read stories from many communities, including Indigenous authors, and talk about what is the same and different.
- Talk about how rules and jobs help a community work.
What each unit covers
Then & Now
Generations in a family, using photos, interviews and timelines, and how technology and traditions change from the past to the present.
Needs & Wants
Telling needs from wants and how communities help meet people's needs.
Caring Citizens
Rights and responsibilities, community helpers, and how small local actions help the planet.
Working Together Fairly
Cooperating, resolving conflicts peacefully, listening actively, using respectful language, leading with care, and valuing contributions to the community.
Finding Out and Sharing Ideas
Asking research questions, gathering and organizing information, weighing advantages and disadvantages, forming and revising opinions, noticing media influence, and presenting ideas.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Beginning
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Approaching
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practising the tricky parts.
- Meeting
- Has it! Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Exceeding
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the Nunavut report card guide.
Common questions
Look at a map of your community and find places you visit. Ask an older relative or neighbour what the area was like when they were young. Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
The Nunavut Curriculum Grade 2 social studies units include then & now, needs & wants, caring citizens, working together fairly, finding out and sharing ideas.
Free printable Grade 2 social studies practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.