Victorious Vocabulary

Social Studies Word Study

Objective:
By the completion of the lesson:
Students will be able to define vocabulary centering around citizenship.
Students will be able to recognize that individuals born in the United States are called American
Citizens.
Students will be able to list the responsibilities of United States citizens.
Grade Level:
Second Grade
Allotted Time:
Two thirty minute sessions
NJCCCS Addressed:
6.1.4.A.1
Explain how rules and laws created by community, state, and national governments protect the rights of
people, help resolve conflicts, and promote the common good.
6.1.4.A.2
Explain how fundamental rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights (i.e.,
freedom of expression, freedom of religion, the right to vote, and the right to due process) contribute to the
continuation and improvement of American democracy.
6.1.4.A.7
Explain how the United States functions as a representative democracy, and describe the roles of elected
representatives and how they interact with citizens at local, state, and national levels.
6.1.4.A.8
Compare and contrast how government functions at the community, county, state, and national levels, the
services provided, and the impact of policy decisions made at each level.
6.1.4.A.11
Explain how the fundamental rights of the individual and the common good of the country depend upon all
citizens exercising their civic responsibilities at the community, state, national, and global levels.
Day 1:
Required Materials:
Social Studies textbook
Pencils
Crayons
Glue sticks
8 x 11 inch paper
8 x 2 strips of red, white and blue construction paper
Step-By-Step Procedures:
Introduce the lesson by telling the class that if you were born within the United States that you are a United
States citizen. People who are citizens have certain rights and responsibilities.
Citizenship will then transition into the role of those within the government.
Engage the students by asking
What does it mean to have rights and responsibilities?
Once students have sufficiently answered, students will then be asked
What is the government and what important jobs do they have?
Each student will receive a piece of white paper. The paper will be folded twice vertically and three times
horizontally in order to create six boxes.
At the top of the page they will create a title United States Citizenship. Within each box the students will be
drawing an illustration to demonstrate either the rights of citizens or the role of individuals within the
United States government.
To introduce the lesson, the teacher will read aloud a selection from the text regarding citizenship
with particular emphasis on the vocabulary words exercised.
In order to model the activity, the teacher will demonstrate how to illustrate pictures based on the
definition of the words being exercised.
The teacher will begin by focusing the students attention to the center box of the paper. The
teacher will introduce the word congress and briefly describe its meaning based on the read aloud.
Following the explanation, the teacher will create a building that is similar to the United States
Capitol on the blackboard.
Students will copy as the teacher is modeling.
Students will then transition into whole class instruction.
Once the teacher has modeled the exercise, the students will continue to read through the unit
within their leveled groups.
The first box, located at the top left-hand corner, will be president. Students will draw an
illustration of what it means to be president.
In the second, top middle box, students will illustrate a picture of a service that is provided through
taxes. This can include a firefighter, a police officer, a library, or any government run building.
The third box, located at the top right-hand corner, will demonstrate a museum.
Located in the following row, beginning on the left-hand side, students will illustrate a monument.
This can vary among different United States monuments that have been discussed as well as
pictures depicted in their textbooks.
Concluding the middle row, located to the right of the center row, the students will draw an
illustration of what it means to vote.
Once students have completed their illustrations, they will share their drawing within their groups
for four five minutes.
The teacher will then transition into whole group instruction by asking the class
What rights do you have within the classroom?
What are some of the roles of important people within the building?
(Teachers, Vice principal, Principal)
The teacher will then explain that the school is similar to a government as we have rights and
responsibilities and that we are part of a community. Define community, a group of people living
in the same area and under the same government; a class or group having common interests and
likes.)
As a wrap up activity, students will be handed three or four strips of construction paper. They will
write down one job of a citizen and one job of a member of the government on each slip.
During this practice, the teacher will explain that each job fulfills a role and that by working
together they create a community.
The strips will be connected in order to form a chain.
Assessment Based On Objectives:
Teacher based observation of student responses to introductory questions.
Students illustrations of vocabulary words.
Wrap up chain activity created by the students.






















Day 2:
Required Materials:
Glue sticks
Construction paper
Scissors
Tangram handout
Step-By-Step Procedures:
The teacher will engage the students by tapping into their prior knowledge and asking
What does it mean to be a citizen?
Once students have successfully responded, the teacher will then extend by asking
What are some of the responsibilities of citizens?
The teacher will then transition to a follow up questions asking
What are some of the roles of individuals who work within the government?
*If students have difficulty with answering questions, the teacher will refer back to the previous days
lesson.
Following the review, the teacher will explain that there are various ways of demonstrating the meaning
behind words that represent citizenship. The teacher will then refer back to the student work from the
previous days lesson. The teacher will explain that the meaning of words can be expressed through
illustration.
Once the teacher has shown how word meanings can be demonstrated through illustration, they can also be
demonstrated by their definition.
Tangram handouts will be distributed to the students. The teacher will then introduce the definition
exercise.
Demonstrating on the board, the teacher will show the students that each side of the shape has either a
definition of a vocabulary word.
Using the board, the teacher will demonstrate how the words will match up to a definition.
After the teacher has matched two of the shapes together, the students will then transition into independent
practice, cutting the shapes and matching them to their appropriate definition.
Following the conclusion of the independent practice, the students will discuss the figure that was created
by the tangram and how they fulfilled their role within the classroom community.
Assessment Based On Objectives:
Teacher based observation of introductory questioning.
Student completion of tangram assignment.