2ndGrade
2ndGrade
2ndGrade
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The Michigan Open Book About the Authors - Families and Schools
Project McAnn Bradford
KND Elementary
Kaleva Normon Dickson Schools
Avid lover of all things History and Technology. Loves to find and use new ways to get topics
Project Manager: Dave Johnson,
and information to my students. My goal is that every student learns one thing they didn’t
Wexford-Missaukee Intermediate School
know each day! When I am not teaching, I am reading, crafting, traveling, and spending time
District with people .
Authors
Tami Cronce
Thomas Edison Elementary
McAnn Bradford - Kaleva Normon Dick-
Port Huron Area Schools
son Schools
Tami received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan with a major in Lan-
guage Arts and a minor in Social Studies. She obtained her Masters Degree from Mary-
Tami Cronce - Port Huron Area Schools grove College. She has taught for the Port Huron School District for 14 years, co-coaches
an after school enrichment STEAM class, helps with the Running Club, and tutors K-2 stu-
Tami Morris - Port Huron Area Schools dents in her spare time. Recently, she was nominated for and accepted a position as ac-
tive board member for the Port Huron Schools Endowment Fund. Her passions include
attending church, watching U of M ball, hiking, Jeep off-roading, and spending time with
Vicki Shearer - Holland Public Schools
her husband Rob and 2 children, Paige and Cam.
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Vicki Shearer
The Michigan Open Book
Holland West K-7
Holland Public Schools Project
I love my family! My husband, Tom, and I have two sons, Chris and Tim, one daughter Special Thanks to:
in law, Amber, and one future daughter in law, Alina. We love walking on the beach of
Lake Michigan from our house. We can often be seen riding bikes, canoeing, or hiking
trails. We are trying to visit as many National Parks as we can. We feel very blessed to Jannan Cotto
live in the greatest country of the world!
Dorothy Perry
Amanda Weinert
Carol Bacak-Egbo from Little Traverse Bay Bands
Editor of Odawa Indians for their
Oakland University Special Lecturer
Carol Egbo has more than 40 years of experience in education as a teacher, curriculum de- assistance ensuring some of the
veloper, staff development specialist, and social studies consultant. She is currently a spe- cultural inclusiveness of our
cial lecturer in the Teacher Development and Educational Studies Department at Oakland
University, and a contract consultant for the Oakland Intermediate School District. She has
work!
been the project director for two federal Teaching American History Grants, and was the
primary curriculum designer and writer for grades 2-6 of the MC3 Project. She has exten-
sive experience in presenting professional development for teachers including summer in-
stitutes at University of California-Los Angeles, institutes for the Michigan Department of
Education, teacher networks, national and state conferences, teacher seminars sponsored
by Michigan State University, Saginaw Valley State University and Oakland University. She
is the recipient of numerous awards including the MCSS Elementary teacher of the year
award, the MCSS Mentor Award, WDIV/Newsweek Teacher of the Year Award, and the
WXYZ Michigan Teacher of the Year award.
David A. Johnson
Project Manager
Michigan Open Book Project
Dave began his career teaching 8th grade United States History in Mesick, Michigan.
After almost a decade in the classroom, he took a job at Wexford-Missaukee Intermedi-
ate School District (WMISD) as an Instructional Consultant for Social Studies. He is
shared across 11 ISDs in Northern Michigan that form the Northern Michigan Learning
Consortium. He completed his Masters in Educational Leadership through Central
Michigan University in 2011 and is Co-Project Director of the Performance Assess-
ments of Social Studies Thinking (PASST) Project in addition to his duties as the Project
Manager for MI Open Book.
The Michigan Open Book About the Readers - Community Studies
Project Joseph Baumann -
Special Thanks to: Joe joined the Cadillac Footliters in 2016, coming from having performed many times on the stage
with Riverwalk Teater in Lansing, Michigan. Some of his favorite roles have been Lancelot in
Camelot, Captain Scott in Terra Nova, and Nathan Rothschild in the Rothschilds.
Jim Cameron - Michigan
Department of Education
Melissa Kendell -
Carol Gersmehl - Michigan Melissa has enjoyed performing in productions like Into the Woods and a Christ-
Geographic Alliance mas Story. She’s been a part of various charity performances including the annual
United Way Murder Mystery and Dancing with the Y Stars.
Melissa Kieswetter - Michigan
Department of Civil Rights
Kelli Simons -
Kelli has been in many local theater productions including the Mother in
a Christmas Story, the Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods, Tansy McGinnis in
the Nerd. She comes from a talented theatrical family.
Chapter 1
Why Do
People Live in
Communities?
What is a community?
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In Kindergarten and First Grade these terms are just lists of
words. The teacher introduces the terms while exploring the
reading with the students. This book begins the transition into
later grades where they serve as a place for students to refer
back to in conjunction with the glossary.
Finally, over the course of the last few years the Open Book
materials have been kept alive by diligent teachers who scout
ahead and report when things have stopped working properly. If
you run into a widget that doesn’t work when going through this
book, return to this page and use the “bug report”. Generally,
when a bug report comes in we have a fix in place within a few
hours. If you leave your email address we’ll contact you as soon If something in this book stops working, return here to
report it! We will get back with you quickly when we’ve
as it is up and running again. got it fixed!
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Section 1
What is a Family?
QUESTIONS TO GUIDE INQUIRY You probably learned about families in first grade. A
1. What is a community? family is a group of people who love each other. A
2. How are communities alike?
family is a group of people who take care of each
3. How are communities different?
other. Who are the members of your family?
TERMS
basic needs: things people need to People like to live in families. Why
have to live.
do you think that is true?
shelter: another word for house or
home.
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Interactive 1.2 Different Kinds of Families
Complete the interactive above. How was your family like your partner’s family? How
was it different? Was it the same size as your family? Families come in all different
sizes! Some are small. Even two people can be a family! Some families are large. They
might have many people.
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Families and Basic Needs
Families help people meet their basic needs. Basic needs are things that
all people need. Food is a basic need. Clothing is a basic need.
Shelter is a basic need. Shelter is another word for house or
home. Your family provides food, clothing and shelter for you.
Click to see some family photographs. These show the families of the people who helped write this book! How
are they alike? How are they different?
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Families Live in Communities
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You will be learning all about communities in this book. You will learn how important
they are to families.
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Section 2
TERMS
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Communities Have Places Where People
Live
All communities have places where people work. People might work in a factory. A
factory is where people make things like toys. People might work in a store. People
might work in a school. Where do people work in your community?
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Communities Have Places Where People
Play
A characteristic is a way to
describe something. People have
characteristics. What are some of
your characteristics? What color is
your hair? What color are your
eyes? Communities have
characteristics, too! A heron in a tree in a city park. Image source: Iolya/Shutterstock
All communities have natural characteristics. These are things that were
not made by people. Trees are natural characteristics. Rivers are natural
characteristics. What are some of the natural characteristics of your
community?
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Communities Have Human Characteristics
All communities have human characteristics. These are things that were
made by people. Humans and people mean the same thing! Your school is
a human characteristic. Bridges are human characteristics. Roads are
human characteristics. What are some of the human characteristics of your
community?
Look at the picture below. What is a natural characteristic in the picture? What is a
human characteristic?
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Image source: Radoman Durkovic/Shutterstock
Interactive 1.6 Human and Natural Characteristics
Can you tell the difference between a natural characteristic and a human characteristic??? Click
here to find out!
Something is Missing!
You have learned that all communities have places to live. They all have places to
work. They all have places to play. They all have natural characteristics such as trees.
They all have human characteristics such as buildings. Something very important is
missing!
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Interactive 1.7 What is another thing all communities have?
Think about it for a minute, then click here to learn the answer! Did you have the same answer?
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Image source: ET1972/Shutterstock
You have learned that communities are alike in many ways. Next, you will learn how
they are different.
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Section 3
TERMS
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Look at these pictures of three communities. Can you see any differences? What are
some of the differences?
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Image source: Igor Link/Shutterstock
Interactive 1.8 Discovering Differences
You just learned that communities can be different sizes. Some are very big. They
have many people. They have many buildings. They have many roads. This kind of
community is a city. Some communities are small. They have fewer people than a
city. They have fewer buildings. They have fewer roads. This kind of community is a
town. Some communities are even smaller than a town. This kind of community is a
village.
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City Town Village
Some communities are not near water. They are in dry places. A desert is a dry place
where there is little water.
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Look at the pictures of two communities. One is near water. One is near a desert.
A city near a lake. Image source: Sean Pavone/Shutterstock A city in a desert against a backdrop of mountains. Image source
Turtix/Shutterstock
These communities are different. This is because they are in different places.
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Interactive 1.9 Communities Around the World
The world has many different kinds of communities. Click on the interactive above to
visit some!
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Every Community is Special
It does not matter if your community is big or small. It does not matter if your
community is near water or near a desert. Your community is special to you. It is
special to everyone who lives there.
Draw a picture of your favorite place in your community. This place makes your community special to you!
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You have learned that communities are
different. They are different sizes.
Some are big. Some are small. They
are in different places. Some may be
near water. Some may be near a
desert.
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Chapter 2
We use two Michigan based communities for comparison in this Interactive 2.1 Making a Classroom Map
chapter. The idea is that you can potentially bring a third to the
table.
Printable PDFs with many of the images you may choose to use
in your classroom model are available here:
Greenboards
Section 1
QUESTIONS TO GUIDE INQUIRY You have learned that communities have places
1. How can we show where things are where people live. Communities have places where
located inside communities?
people work. Communities also have places where
2. How can we compare communities?
TERMS
Have you ever seen someone use a map?
map: a picture or drawing of a place
What did they use it for? Have you ever
symbol: something that stands for
something else. For example, a curvy used a map? What did you use it for?
line on a map can stand for a river.
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What is a Map?
A map is a picture or drawing of a place. Maps can show us where things are located
in a place. This means maps can show us where to find things. What if you wanted to
show where things are in your classroom? What could you do? You could make a
map!
Interactive 2.2 Making a Classroom Map
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Now, it is your turn! You probably don’t have a Super Shrinking Machine. You might
not have time to make a model of your classroom, however, you can still make a map!
Here’s how:
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What are the Parts of a Map?
Look at the map below. How do you know it is a map of a classroom? Maybe it is a
map of a bedroom!
How do you know? It says it is a classroom map! It has a title: My Classroom Map.
The title of a book tells you what the book is about. The title of a map tells you what
the map is about!
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What are the brown rectangles in the map? Are they book shelves? Are they desks?
These brown rectangles are called symbols. A symbol is something that stands for
something else. The brown rectangles could stand for
bookshelves. They could stand for desks? How would we
know?
This map needs a map key. A map key tells what the symbols
on a map mean. Maps need a title and a map key.
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Look again at the classroom map. What else does it have? It has compass direction
words! You learned about compass direction words when you saw how the class
made its map earlier. The class used compass direction words to name the walls in
the classroom. Compass direction words include north, south, east and west.
Directions help us find things in a place. Where are the bookshelves in the classroom
shown on the map? Use directions to help you answer!
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The bookshelves are near the east wall. Are
the walls in your classroom named? If not, ask
your teacher to help you name them!
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You have learned that maps help us find where things are in a place. They have a title.
They have a map key. They have directions. These map parts help us understand the
map.
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Section 2
TERMS:
bird’s eye view: looking down on a Think about your community. What
place from above two things would you put on a map of
state: one of the 50 parts of our your community?
country
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Learning About a Special Place in a Community
Look at the pictures below. They show a special place in a community. What kind of a
place do they show?
Did you guess that these pictures show a school playground? If you did, you were
right!
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What if you wanted to make a map of the playground? It would be hard to put it in a
Super Shrinking Machine! It would be hard to make a model of it.
Interactive 2.4 Making a Map of a Playground
How would you make a map of something as big as a playground? Click here to find
out.
How do you make a map of a big place? You look at a bird’s eye view of the place! A
bird’s eye view is when you look down on a place from above.
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Exploring a Community Map
Now you know how to read a playground map. It’s time to explore a map of a bigger
place. It’s time to explore a map of a community!
Interactive 2.5 Exploring a Community Map
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Maps of Bigger Places
You just learned how to read a map of Beal City. You learned the elementary school
was inside of Beal City. The hardware store was inside of Beal City. The school and
the hardware store were smaller than Beal City.
What is bigger than Beal City? What is Beal City inside of? Click here to
find out!
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You just learned that Beal city is inside the state of Michigan. A state is one of the 50
parts of our country. Michigan is inside our country.
Maps show a bird’s eye view of a community. They show what the community looks
like from above. Maps can be used to find things inside of communities.
Maps can show what is inside bigger places also. Maps can show what is inside of a
state.
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Work with your teacher and your class to
locate your community on this map of
Michigan.
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Section 3
1. How can we show where things Maps show a bird’s eye view of a community. They show
are located inside communities? what the community looks like from above. Maps can be
2. How can we compare
used to find things inside of communities.
communities?
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You learned that maps can help you compare communities. They can help you
compare where communities are located inside of Michigan. They can help you
compare the size of communities. What else can you use to compare communities?
Look at the two photographs below. One shows the community of Holland from
above. One shows the community of Beal City from above. What differences do you
see?
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The photographs show that Holland has many more buildings. It has many more
roads. It is a much larger community than Beal City.
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How Can We Use Words to Compare Communities?
Read the words in the two boxes. Look for ways Holland and Beal City are alike. Look
for ways Holland and Beal City are different.
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We can use maps to compare communities. We can use photographs to compare
communities. We can use words to compare communities.
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Section 4
How and Why Do People Change the Natural Environment of their Community?
QUESTIONS TO GUIDE INQUIRY You have learned that people like to live in
1. How can we show where things communities. Communities help people meet their
are located inside communities?
basic needs. Basic needs include food, clothing
2. How can we compare
communities? and houses. Communities have places where
3. How do people use the people can live. Communities have places where
environment of their community?
people can play. Communities have places where
4. How do people change the
environment of their community? people can work.
TERMS
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All Communities have a Natural
Environment
The flowers in the photograph are natural characteristics. The trees are natural
characteristics. The river is a natural characteristic. The grass is a natural
characteristic. The dirt the grass is growing in is a natural characteristic. There is even
a natural characteristic that you can’t see! What is it? Air is a natural characteristic.
You can’t see air!
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All these natural characteristics make up the natural environment of a place. The
natural environment is everything around you that is not made by humans.
Do people sometimes change the natural environment of their community? How would
they do that? Why would they do that? Click here to find out.
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Changing the Natural Environment of a Community
What did people do to build the community of Holland? They changed the natural
environment of their community. People cut down trees. People filled in swamps. This
made space for roads. This made space for houses. This made space for farms.
Many times bad things also happen when you change the environment.
What happened to the animals that were living in the forests? What
happened to the animals that were living in the swamps? They lost their
homes.
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Bad things can happen when you change the natural environment. Cutting down too
many trees changes the environment. It causes problems.
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Dumping garbage in a river changes the natural environment. It hurts the river.
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Making Good Choices
People in a community often have to change the environment. They might need to cut
down trees to make space for houses. How many trees should they cut down? How
can they make good choices?
How can you make good choices about changing the environment? Click here to find
out!
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People often have to change the natural environment of their community. This can
cause good things to happen. This can also cause bad things to happen. That is why
people need to make good choices when they change the environment.
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Chapter 3
How Do People
Work Together in
a Community?
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Section 1
What is Scarcity?
QUESTIONS TO GUIDE INQUIRY You have learned that communities have places
1. How does scarcity affect people? where people live. Communities have places where
2. How can people make good
people work. Communities have places where
economic choices?
TERMS:
Where are the places in your community where
goods: things we buy that we can
touch or hold
your family buys things? Make a list or draw a
picture showing some of these places.
services: things that others do for you
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Goods and Services
People want many things! That is why communities have many places where you can
buy things. Sometimes people want to buy goods. Goods are things we buy that we
can touch or hold. A bike is a good.
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Sometimes people want to buy services. Services are things that others do for you.
When you pay for a haircut you are buying a service.
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Interactive 3.1 Goods and Services
Do you know the difference between a good and a service? Click here to show
what you know.
People want many goods and services! What about you? What would you like to be
able to buy? What are some goods? What are some services?
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Interactive 3.2 If You Give A Pig A Pancake
Listen to this book about a pig. What did the pig want?
What happened when the pig was given one thing? It wanted another thing! People
are a lot like the pig! Pretend you buy a new gaming station. Now what do you want?
Games to play on it!
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Image source: Mix3r/Shutterstock
People want a lot of things! Why can’t they have everything they want? They can’t
because of scarcity. Scarcity means there is not enough. Think about that gaming
station again. What if it is a good that many, many people want? It will be hard to find
in a store. There will not be enough of them. There will be a scarcity of that kind of
gaming station.
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What would you do if you could not buy the
gaming station you wanted?
Making Choices
What would you do? Would you buy a different kind of gaming station? Would you
wait until you could buy the one you wanted? Would you buy something different like
a bike? You would have to make a choice. A choice is when people choose one thing
and give up other things.
What if you chose to buy a bike instead? You would have to give up the gaming
station.
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Interactive 3.3 Section 1 Review
People want many goods and services. Because of scarcity they cannot have
everything they want. Scarcity means not enough. Scarcity means people have to
make choices.
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Section 2
QUESTIONS TO GUIDE INQUIRY People cannot have all the goods and services they
1. How does scarcity affect people? want. Why? Because of scarcity! Scarcity is when
2. How can people make good
there is not enough. Because of scarcity people
economic choices?
TERMS:
opportunity cost: the second Think about a time when you had to make a choice
thing you want most when you when you were buying something. What were the
make a choice
things you wanted? Which one did you choose?
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What is an Opportunity Cost?
Sometimes it is hard to make a choice. It is hard because once you make your choice,
you have to give something up. Every time you make a choice there are other things
that are not chosen.
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You just learned that an opportunity cost is the second thing you want most when
you make a choice. What was your opportunity cost? Was it the paint set? Was it the
candy? Was it the kite?
Think about the choice you just made. How did you decide between the kite, the paint
set and the candy?
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You will have to make many choices in your life! It is important to make good ones!
Interactive 3.5 Making Good Choices
How can you make a good choice? Click here to find out!
Which pet did you choose? Did you choose the fish? Did you choose the kitten? Did
you choose the dog? How did the chart help you make a good choice?
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Because of scarcity people have to make choices. It is important to make good
choices!
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Imagine your community has to make a choice between buying these three things:
new playground equipment for the park, a new police car, a small swimming pool for
the park. Work with your teacher and your class to make a good choice by completing
the chart below.
Class Activity
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Section 3
QUESTIONS TO GUIDE INQUIRY You have learned that people need and want
1. How does scarcity affect people? goods. Goods are things people buy that they can
2. How can people make good economic
touch or hold. How do people make goods? People
choices?
TERMS:
What does it take to make a wooden
resource: something people use to make
goods pencil? Think of two different things then
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Image source: Visual Generation/
What are Capital Resources?
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Interactive 3.6 How to Make a Pencil
Is that all it makes to make a pencil? A tree, a tree cutter and a saw??? Click here to find out.
You just saw that it takes a lot of resources to make a pencil. You saw many machines
in the video. What kind of resource are machines? Are they natural, human or capital
resources?
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Image source: AntartStock/Shutterstock
Let’s think this out! Machines were made by people. So they can’t be a natural
resource. Machines are NOT people. So they can’t be a human resource. Machines
must be a capital resource. A capital resource is a good used to make other goods!
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Interactive 3.7 Lemonade Stand
Time to Practice! What resources do you need to make lemonade? Click to show
what you know!
Businesses are a very important part of communities. Businesses are places that
make or sell goods. Think about that wooden pencil again. Where might you go to buy
one in your community?
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Image source: Michael C. Gray/Shutterstock
Think about the lemonade again. Could you open your own lemonade business in
your community? You would be making and selling a good.
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Interactive 3.8 A Community Business
People want many goods. Goods are made with resources. There are three kinds of
resources. There are natural, human and capital resources. Businesses in a
community use resources to make goods. Businesses also sell goods.
87
Work with your teacher and your
class to make a list of businesses in
Class Activity your community. Use the chart
below to make the list. Then, invite
someone who owns a business to
visit your class!
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Section 4
QUESTIONS TO GUIDE INQUIRY You have learned that people want many goods.
1. How does scarcity affect people? You have also learned that goods are made with
2. How can people make good economic
resources. There are three kinds of resources.
choices?
TERMS:
What do businesses do in a community?
specialization: when people produce, or Why are they important?
make, certain kinds of goods or services
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Businesses in a community use resources to make goods. Businesses also sell
goods. Businesses are an important part of a community.
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Image source: Vicki Shearer
Interactive 3.9 Making a Wooden Car
What did Anthony need to build his car? Click here to find out.
Why did Anthony and his Dad have to go to some many places? They went to three
different businesses. Why couldn’t they just go to one?
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Anthony needed many things for his car. He needed a piece of wood and sandpaper.
He needed wheels. He needed paint and brushes. No business in his community had
all those things. That is why he had to go to three different businesses.
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What is Specialization?
Most businesses choose certain things to make or sell. This is called specialization.
Specialization is a big word! But it is easy to understand. Specialization is when
people produce, or make, certain kinds of goods or services.
You wouldn’t go to a pizza place to have your hair cut! You would go to a business
that specializes in cutting hair. You wouldn’t go to a shoe store to buy candy. You
would go to a candy store. You would buy your shoes from the shoe store.
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Image source: MilkyM/Shutterstock
Interactive 3.10 Specialization
Mrs. Lewis wanted the wooden toy train for her toy shop. How did she get it? She
traded with Mr. Chavez for it! She traded money for the toy. What did Mr. Chavez do
with the money? He traded it for the paint!
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People specialize. They might make a certain good.
They might provide a certain service. They earn money
for the work they do. Then, they trade the money for
the things they need and want.
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Chapter 4
How do people
get along
together in a
community?
Why Do People Need Community Governments?
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Section 1
98
People Need Rules!
We give another name to rules in a community. We call them laws. Laws are what
rules are called in a community.
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Interactive 4.1 Lawless Town
What would it be like to live in a community without any laws? Click here to find out!
100
People Need to Be Safe
People want to feel safe in their community. Would you feel safe in a car in Lawless
Town? Probably not! Laws help keep people safe. Lawless Town needs some laws
about driving!
101
Interactive 4.2 Characteristics of Community Government Leaders
You learned that characteristics are ways to describe something. What characteristics do you think community government leaders
should have? Click here to decide!
102
People Need Community Services
104
People Need Help Solving Problems
In your classroom your teacher helps solve problems. In a community the community
government helps solve problems.
105
People in a community need laws. Laws help people feel safe in a community. A
community government is a group of people chosen to make laws for a community. A
community government helps keep people safe. A community government also
provides services. It provides police officers. It provides firefighters. A community
government also helps people solve problems.
106
Section 2
TERMS
common good: what is best for everybody What is one important rule in your
individual rights: things a person is allowed to classroom? Why do you have that rule?
have or to do.
107
Why Do Communities Make Laws?
108
Mr. Johnson made the rule in order to solve a problem. What was the problem?
Students were leaving the classroom a mess. Two students had to clean the mess up.
The same thing happens in communities. Communities make laws in order to solve
problems. Read the community law below. What problem do you think the community
had?
It is the responsibility of the owner of any dog to
keep the dog on the owner's property.
109
Interactive 4.4 Garbage in Lawless Town
How did Lawless Town try to solve the garbage problem? Click here to find out!
110
Should Laws Protect People’s Rights?
Do you think Mr. Jones liked the new Garbage Law? He probably
didn’t! He felt it was his right to throw his garbage on his lawn!
When communities make laws they also have to think about the common
good. The common good is what is best for everybody. Most people in
Lawless Town felt the garbage law would be best for everybody.
111
Think about a seesaw, or a teeter totter. It can be hard to balance each side. That’s
why making laws can be hard. A community needs to balance the common
good and individual rights. It needs to protect individuals. It also needs to do
what is best for everybody.
112
Work with your teacher and your
Class Activity class to find some of your
community laws. Work together to
figure out what problems they
were trying to solve.
Class Activity
113
Section 3
TERMS
election: to choose government leaders by Who makes the rules in your family? Who
voting
makes the rules in your classroom?
council: a group of people who make the laws in
a community
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Who Makes the Laws in a Community?
You learned that Lawless Town had a new law about garbage. Who made the law?
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The people of Lawless Town held an election. They voted on five
people to make their laws. Your community also has a
group of people who make your laws. In many
communities this group is called a council. A council is a
group of people who make the laws in a community.
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Who Makes Sure People Follow the Laws in a Community?
Communities have a group of people who make the laws. Is that enough to just make
laws? What if people don’t follow them?
You have rules in your classroom. Who makes sure you follow them? Your teacher!
Your teacher reminds you about the rules. Your teacher enforces the rules. Enforce
means to make sure people follow rules or
laws.
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What Happens if People Don’t Understand a Law?
Sometimes laws in a community can be very hard to understand. Look at this law:
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Wow! That law has a lot of big words. Who helps people in a community understand a
law like this? Who interprets the law for them? Interpret means to
explain what something means.
Why can’t one group do everything in a community? They could make the
laws. They could enforce the laws. They could interpret the laws.
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Letting one person do everything would give that person a lot of power. That might be
a problem. That person might become a bully. That person might make unfair laws.
Letting one group do everything would give that group a lot of power. That might be a
problem. That group might become a group of bullies. That group might make unfair
laws.
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Work with your teacher and your
class to find out how your
Class Activity
community government is
organized.
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Section 4
1. Why Do People Need Community group of people chosen to make laws and choices for
Governments?
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People in a community also have civic responsibilities. Civic responsibilities are
things a citizen is supposed to do. A citizen is a member of a community, state or
country. Helping keep the community clean is a civic responsibility.
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What are Some Important Civic Responsibilities?
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Voting is another important civic responsibility. Remember how the people of Lawless
Town used voting to choose their leaders. In your community people choose leaders
by voting too!
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You just learned that it is not enough to just vote. You need to vote wisely. You need to
learn about the people you are voting for. You need to vote for the person you think
will do the best job.
Time to show what you know! Click here to sort civic and personal responsibilities!
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Chapter 5
What is History?
To that end, our compelling question for the chapter is “How and
why do communities change over time?” With the basic
overview we provide we hope you will find many opportunities to
compare where you live with Beal City and Holland.
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Section 1
What is History?
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What is history?
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You have a history! What are some important events that happened in your past? Do
you have photographs that show your history? Do you have a toy that you have had
for a long time?
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Your school has a history! How old is
your school? How has it changed
over time? How could you learn more
about the history of your school? As
you can see history is filled with
questions!
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What do historians do?
A historian is someone who studies the past. Historians ask a lot of questions.
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Audio 5.1 The
Aldrich Family
(Click to Listen)
You just worked like a historian! You studied old photographs. You learned about the
past! You learned that families in the past often listened to the radio.
Historians often compare the past and the present. This helps them understand how
things have changed. Families don’t often listen to the radio together anymore. What
do they do now?
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What are some of the things your family
likes to do together?
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Work with your teacher and your class
to find out about the history of your
school. Try to find old photographs.
Talk to people who worked at your
school in the past. Talk to people who
went to your school in the past.
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Section 2
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Learning about the past from
photographs
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Photographs show us pictures of
the past. They show us the
clothes people wore. They show
us what homes were like. They
show us the things people liked
to do.
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People have been taking photographs for over 150 years. We can use these
photographs to learn about communities in the past.
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This photograph shows what the community of Holland looked like about 100 years
ago. Study the photograph. What can you learn about Holland in the past?
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This photograph shows what the community of Beal City looked like about 100 years
ago. Study the photograph. What can you learn about Beal City in the past?
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Learning about the past from artifacts
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You can visit a historical museum if you want to see artifacts from the past. A
museum is a building where artifacts are stored. The artifacts are put on display so
people can see them.
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Interactive 5.2 Putting
artifacts in Order
Studying artifacts can help us understand how things have
changed. Long, long ago people cleaned their floors with
brooms. Then, vacuum cleaners were invented. These worked
when you plugged them in. They made it easier to clean a floor.
Today some people use a robotic vacuum cleaner. It is a Time to be a historian again! Click
to put artifacts in the right order.
machine that cleans a floor all by itself!
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Interactive 5.3 The Ox-Cart Man
Click here to learn about what life was like long, long ago.
You can learn about the past with photographs and artifacts. You can also read books
to learn about the past. Books can help you understand what life was like in the past.
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Think about the family in the story. What were some of the things they did during the
year? What was their home like? Think about the community in the story. What was
the community like?
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There are many ways to learn about the past. You can look at old photographs. You
can study artifacts. You can read a book. You can talk to people about the past. When
you do these things you are being a historian!
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Section 3
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An Anishinaabek community of long, long ago
Holland was not the first community to be in that place. There had been an
Anishinaabek village there for many, many years. The Anishinaabek were some of the
first people in Michigan. They had been in Michigan for thousands of years before the
Dutch came. They had been living along the lake. They had been living near the
swamps and forests.
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The Anishinaabek summer village was close to Lake Michigan. People could fish in
the lake. They could grow things like corn near the lake. In the winter this place was
very cold. It was very windy. That is why they traveled to their winter village in the
south.
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The Anishinaabek ate fish they caught from Black Lake. They ate corn they had stored
from summer. They ate berries. They hunted for deer and other animals. They made
maple sugar from maple trees in the forest. They used cattail plants from the swamp
to make sleeping mats.
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The land gave them everything they needed. They did not think of their home as just
the wigwam they lived in. They saw all the land as home.
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A change comes to the village
Chief Joseph Waukazoo had led his people for many years. He was a wise and great
leader. He guided them from the summer village to the winter each year. He helped
them solve problems. He helped them work together. Sadly when he was quite old he
died.
His son became leader. He was also named Joseph. He became known as Young
Chief Joseph Waukazoo. He decided it was time for a change. He decided it was time
to stay in one place. It was time to have just one village. The people agreed. They
began to stay at Black Lake for the whole year.
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The Dutch come and begin
another community
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The Dutch and the Anishinaabek saw things in different ways. Read these two
descriptions. How are they different?
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Another change
The Anishinaabek and the Dutch stayed in the same area for a few years. They got
along but there were problems. As you just learned they sometimes viewed things in
different ways.
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How do we know about the Anishinaabek village?
The Anishinaabek village was there long, long ago. We do not have photographs of it.
We do not have writing they left behind. However, there are stories about the village.
These stories have been passed down through the years. We also have historians
who can teach us about the Anishinaabek and their village.
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Meet a Historian
Eric Hemenway is a historian. He is from the area where Chief Waukazoo’s summer
village was located. He is one of many Anishinaabek people who still live in Michigan.
He has been studying about his people for a long time. What does Mr. Hemenway
think about history? Read on to find out!
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Learning about the history of Beal City from Photographs
The Anishinaabek community you learned about began long, long ago. There are no
photographs of that community. Beal City is a newer community. It was started about
140 years ago. There are photographs that show the past in Beal City.
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Did you have trouble keeping track of the years as you learned about the history of
Beal City? Did you have trouble keeping track of what was happening? Historians use
a tool to keep track of time. The tool is called a timeline. A timeline is a number line
that shows the order in which things happened in the past.
How can a timeline help you learn about the past? Click here to find out!
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Learning about the history of Beal City from a book
When Beal City turned 100 years old there was a big celebration there. It was like a
birthday party for the community! As part of the celebration a book was written about
the history of Beal City.
Here is a short part from the book. What can it tell you about the history of Beal City?
These words describe what happened the day the first store
opened. There were no cars. Mr. and Mrs. Beal went for a
ride in a horse and buggy!
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Mr. and Mrs. Beal took a ride up and
down the road! This word was
misspelled in the book! You might have
trouble with spelling sometimes. But
don’t give up! Spelling can be tricky!
Sometimes words are even misspelled in
books!
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Learning about the history of Beal City from a special
person
Meet Edna “Dolly” Rau! She was born in Beal City almost
100 years ago. He father owned the store that had been
built by Nicholas Beal. Dolly worked at the store. After she
married Walt Rau, she and Walt took over the store. They
ran it for many years.
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What was it like to own the store? Read Dolly’s answer:
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Solving problems in the past
You have learned that people in communities have to work together to solve
problems. It was the same in the past. The Anishinaabek lived where winters were
very cold and snowy. That was
a problem! How did they solve
it? They built a winter village in
a warmer area.
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The first church built in Beal City burned. That was a problem! The church was gone.
How did the people solve it? They built a new church! Then, lightning hit that second
church and it burned down. The people may have given up. But, they did not! They
built a third church! That church is still standing in Beal City!
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Work with your teacher and your class
to find out about the history of your
community. Talk to people who know
about the history. Try to find old
photographs. Visit a community
museum if you have one. Look for a
book about your community.
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