Social Studies

Grade 2 Big Ideas:

• Canada is made up of many diverse regions and communities.
• Local actions have global consequences, and global actions have local consequences.

Content Learning Standards – Students are expected to know the following:

• diverse characteristics of communities and cultures in Canada and around the world, including at least one Canadian First Peoples community and culture
  • Sample topics:
    • daily life in different communities (e.g., work, housing, use of the land, education, access to public services and utilities, transportation)
    • key cultural aspects (e.g., language, traditions, arts, food)
    • cultural diversity within your community
  • Key question:
    • What does community mean to you?
• how people’s needs and wants are met in communities
  • Sample topics:
    • how people acquire goods and services (e.g., by buying or renting, or through public funding)
    • needs and wants in different communities: different needs and wants depending on the climate; different goods and services depending on the size of the community (i.e., small versus large)
    • differences between psychological and physical needs and wants
  • Key questions:
    • How do the local environment and culture affect the goods and services available in your community?
    • How do different communities help people who can’t meet their basic needs?
• relationships between people and the environment in different communities
  • Sample topics:
    • impact of different economic activities and ways of life on the environment
    • impact on the environment by small and large communities
    • impact of recreational activities on the environment
    • community values regarding conservation and protection of the environment
  • Key question:
    • What types of environmental challenges do people face in different communities (e.g., natural disasters, climate change, lack of natural resources)?

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Grade 3 Big Ideas:

• People from diverse cultures and societies share some common experiences and aspects of life.

Content Learning Standards – Students are expected to know the following:

• aspects of life shared by and common to peoples and cultures
  • Sample topics:
    • family
    • work
    • education
    • systems of ethics and spirituality
• relationship between humans and their environment
  • Sample topics:
    • protocols around the world that acknowledge and respect the land
    • reshaping of the land for resource exploration and development
    • domestication of animals
    • organization and techniques of hunting and fishing