Grade 2 | HISTORY AND SOCIAL STUDIES
WEEK 3 • TEACHER GUIDE AND ANSWER KEY • DAYS 11–15
Read each lesson aloud with the child and model the worked example before practice. Do not show this key during practice. Accept oral, drawn or written answers where the child cannot yet write the whole answer. On Day 15, read aloud if needed but give no hints.
Week 3 Student Textbook | Week 3 Practice Workbook | Week 3 Teacher Guide | Week 2 Student Textbook | Week 4 Student Textbook | Grade 2 index
Day 11: What Is a Colony?
Standard: SS24.2.1a
Practice record: Colony facts, printed on the Week 3 Practice Workbook.
Worked example: Across which ocean did English colonists sail to reach North America? Worked answer: The Atlantic Ocean.
- 13.
- Many American Indian nations.
- A colony is settled by people from another country and is ruled by that country. The colonists came from England, so England ruled the colonies even though it was far away. Accept any answer using the meaning of colony.
Teaching note: Use a map to point to England and the Atlantic coast. This connects to the Week 1 continents and oceans lessons.
Day 12: Jamestown, 1607
Standard: SS24.2.1a
Practice record: Jamestown timeline, printed on the Week 3 Practice Workbook.
Worked example: How many years ago was Jamestown started, counting to the year 2007? Worked answer: 400 years.
- 1607.
- Tobacco.
- They hoped to find gold or make money through trade. Earning money mattered because the settlers and the people who paid for the trip wanted the colony to succeed and pay them back. Accept gold, money or trade with a reason.
Teaching note: Day 9 of Week 2 taught decade and century. 1607 to 2007 is four centuries.
Day 13: Plymouth, 1620
Standard: SS24.2.1a
Practice record: Comparing two settlements, printed on the Week 3 Practice Workbook.
Worked example: What was the name of the ship that brought the Pilgrims? Worked answer: The Mayflower.
- Jamestown.
- 13 years.
- Many Jamestown settlers came hoping to find gold and make money. Many Plymouth settlers came for freedom to worship in their own way. One was mostly about money, and the other was mostly about freedom. Accept any comparison that names both reasons.
Teaching note: Keep the focus on reasons for settlement. Holiday details are taught later with SS24.2.13b.
Day 14: Many Reasons to Come
Standard: SS24.2.1a
Practice record: Why people came, printed on the Week 3 Practice Workbook.
Worked example: A family wanted their own land to grow crops. Which reason for coming does that show? Worked answer: Land to farm.
- To trade furs and earn money.
- The family.
- Some people, like the Africans who were captured and enslaved, did not choose to come. Knowing this helps us tell the whole truth about the colonies and remember everyone who lived there. Accept any answer about telling the full story or remembering those forced to come.
Teaching note: Keep the discussion of slavery honest and age-appropriate. Answer questions simply and truthfully.
Day 15: Independent Check: The Colonies
Standard: SS24.2.1a
Practice record: Letter from a colonist (written for this lesson), printed on the Week 3 Practice Workbook.
Worked example: In what year did the Pilgrims arrive at Plymouth? Worked answer: 1620.
- Corn and beans.
- Land to farm and freedom to worship.
- More like the Plymouth settlers, because the letter says they came to worship as they believe. Accept Plymouth with the worship clue. Also accept a reasoned answer that mentions both, such as land to farm.
Teaching note: Independent check: read the letter aloud if needed, but do not give the answers. The letter is an invented example, not a historical document.
Sources
National Park Service, Historic Jamestowne (founded 1607) | National Park Service, Cape Cod National Seashore: The Pilgrims (1620)
Week 3 Student Textbook | Week 3 Practice Workbook | Week 3 Teacher Guide | Week 2 Student Textbook | Week 4 Student Textbook | Grade 2 index