Second Grade ...Authentic Learning connected to reading unit and social studies standards....

Grade 2 is engaged in an integrated economic unit that explores the question, "How do families work together?" Students have been reading expository texts that give information about how families collaborate to keep the home running smoothly and to make decisions about how to spend time and money. Throughout this process, the students have developed their conceptual understanding about needs vs. wants, and goods and services. Second graders learned that another way families work together is for the adult members to have jobs that allow them to earn money to purchase the family's needs and wants. These jobs are either service-based or related to producing/distributing goods. This week, a variety of community members visited EES to share about what they do each day at their jobs. The students learned about a wide-range of occupations. The visitors shared how their varied interests led them to find careers related to things they loved to do. Our unit will conclude with children considering their interests and how they might lead to a profession some day. We will also take a field trip to Woodmans to learn how a business runs. These authentic opportunities for learning truly allow students to consider how learned ideas and concepts apply to the real-world.