What the Town Could Do
A 40-minute Grade 2 lesson on planning a town action with a cost, an authoriser and a way to tell if it worked.
What the Town Could Do is a free 40-minute Kindergarten to Grade 2 social studies lesson plan for Common Core standard D4.7.K-2 — name ways to help with a problem near you or far away. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the mathematics, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.
- Grade:
- Kindergarten to Grade 2
- Length:
- 40 minutes
- Standard:
- D4.7.K-2
Kindergarten to Grade 2 · Communicating Conclusions and Taking Informed Action
D4.7.K-2
Identify ways to take action to help address local, regional, and global problems.
Objective
Students will be able to plan an action with a cost, an authoriser and a success measure.
Students are successful when they can
- Names the action and its cost.
- Names who must authorise it.
- Names how success would be measured.
What you need
- The council minutes for the cost of the roof
- The class problem list
- The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan
The lesson
Warm-up — promised in 1912
5 min- The river wall was promised and not built.
- Ask what a proposal needs that a promise does not.
Teach — four columns, one of them a number
13 min- Name the action and estimate a cost against the roof's 800.
- Name who must authorise it.
- Name how you would know it worked, in something countable.
- Say the Grade 2 addition: a proposal with a number attached can be voted on; one without cannot.
- Draft a one-sentence proposal with all four.
“They promised the wall and never costed it. That is why it is still not built.”
Guided practice — four columns
12 min- Pairs plan an action with all four columns.
- They compare their cost with the roof's.
- They pick the most affordable and defend it.
Independent practice
8 min- Students complete the what-could-we-do page.
- Read each problem aloud.
Close
2 min- Take one proposal and its success measure.
What goes wrong, and why
Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.
Proposes without a cost.
Why: The idea is the interesting part.
Fix: The 1912 wall. Uncosted proposals do not get built.
Names no success measure.
Why: Doing it feels like enough.
Fix: Name something countable afterwards.
Names no authoriser.
Why: Good ideas feel self-executing.
Fix: Somebody has to vote or sign.
If they are not there yet
- Three columns rather than four.
- Give the cost to compare.
If they finish early
- Plan an action needing two authorisers.
- Say what to do if the vote fails.
- Compare two proposals for value.
Exit ticket
Plan an action for a town problem: cost, authoriser, and how you would know it worked.
What to look for: All three. A missing cost means the 1912 example needs revisiting.
Printable practice for D4.7.K-2
Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.
- What the Town Could DoDraw a line from each problem to something that would help.
Questions about What the Town Could Do
How long does the What the Town Could Do lesson take?
40 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 13 min, guided practice 12 min, independent practice 8 min, close 2 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.
Which standard does What the Town Could Do teach?
D4.7.K-2 — D4.7.K-2, Communicating Conclusions and Taking Informed Action for Kindergarten to Grade 2: “Identify ways to take action to help address local, regional, and global problems.” In plain terms, name ways to help with a problem near you or far away.
What do I need to teach this lesson?
The council minutes for the cost of the roof, the class problem list and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.
What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?
Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: proposes without a cost; names no success measure and names no authoriser. The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.
How do I know whether the lesson worked?
The exit ticket asks: “Plan an action for a town problem: cost, authoriser, and how you would know it worked.” All three. A missing cost means the 1912 example needs revisiting. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.
Is there a worksheet to go with What the Town Could Do?
Yes — 1 printable D4.7.K-2 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.
Is What the Town Could Do free to use?
Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on 7 September 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.
Last reviewed 2026-09-07. Aligned to D4.7.K-2 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.