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Government Worksheets for 2nd Grade

9 free PDFsUS Letter or A4Answer key includedNo login

Local, state and national government, leaders, voting, laws and taxes, and the services government provides.

Download the government worksheets

Levels of government

A three levels poster, a local, state or national sort with its cut and paste twin, and government words.

  • Preview of the printable “Levels of government poster for kids” worksheet: describing local, state and national government and their leadersView larger

    Levels of government poster for kids

    Describing local, state and national government and their leaders

    US LetterPDFA4PDF

    1 page83 KB

  • Preview of the printable “Local, state or national government sort” worksheet: sorting leaders and jobs into local, state and national governmentView all 2 pages

    Local, state or national government sort

    Sorting leaders and jobs into local, state and national government

    Answer key on page 2

    US LetterPDFA4PDF

    2 pages47 KB

  • Preview of the printable “Local, state or national cut and paste” worksheet: sorting leaders and jobs into local, state and national governmentView all 2 pages

    Local, state or national cut and paste

    Sorting leaders and jobs into local, state and national government

    Answer key on page 2

    US LetterPDFA4PDF

    2 pages62 KB

  • Preview of the printable “Government words fill in the blank” worksheet: using government vocabulary: mayor, governor, president, vote, laws and taxesView all 2 pages

    Government words fill in the blank

    Using government vocabulary: mayor, governor, president, vote, laws and taxes

    Answer key on page 2

    US LetterPDFA4PDF

    2 pages36 KB

Voting

Read about Election Day and read the results of a class vote on a bar graph.

What government does

Sort government services and businesses, imagine being mayor, and check facts with true or false.

  • Preview of the printable “Government services sort worksheet” worksheet: telling services the government provides from goods and services sold by businessesView all 2 pages

    Government services sort worksheet

    Telling services the government provides from goods and services sold by businesses

    Answer key on page 2

    US LetterPDFA4PDF

    2 pages234 KB

  • Preview of the printable “If I were mayor writing worksheet” worksheet: describing the responsibilities of a local leader and ways to improve a communityView larger

    If I were mayor writing worksheet

    Describing the responsibilities of a local leader and ways to improve a community

    US LetterPDFA4PDF

    1 page24 KB

Print at 100% (actual size) for the cleanest tracing lines.

About these government worksheets

Who fixes the potholes on your street? Who leads the whole country? Second graders learn that government works at three levels, local, state and national, and that citizens vote to choose many of its leaders.

These government worksheets start with a three levels poster, then sort leaders and jobs into local, state and national, as a table or a cut and paste page. Children learn government words, read about Election Day, read a class vote on a bar graph, and tell government services from businesses.

Pages are black and white with short directions a 2nd grader can read, print on US Letter or A4, and have answer keys on page 2 when there are right answers.

Standards

  • C3 D2.Civ.5.K-2Explain what governments are and some of their functions.
  • C3 D2.Civ.1.K-2Describe roles and responsibilities of people in authority.
  • C3 D2.Civ.8.K-2Describe democratic principles such as equality, fairness, and respect for legitimate authority and rules.
  • C3 D2.Civ.11.K-2Explain how people can work together to make decisions in the classroom.
  • C3 D2.Eco.12.K-2Describe examples of the goods and services that governments provide.
  • CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.MD.D.10Draw a picture graph and a bar graph (with single-unit scale) to represent a data set with up to four categories. Solve simple put-together, take-apart, and compare problems using information presented in a bar graph.

How to use them

  1. Find out the names of your mayor and governor before you start, and add them to the poster.
  2. Use the sort or its cut and paste twin, then the fill in the blank page for the key words.
  3. Hold a real class vote with paper ballots after the Election Day passage, then graph the results.
  4. Walk around the school neighborhood and list government services you see: roads, a fire hydrant, a library, a park.
  5. Finish with the If I Were Mayor writing page.

Teaching tips

  • A mayor leads a city or town, a governor leads a state and the president leads the country.
  • Laws are rules for everyone in a place. Leaders make laws; police and courts help people follow them.
  • Taxes are money people pay to the government to pay for shared services like parks, roads and fire stations.
  • In most elections, the choice with the most votes wins, and every vote counts the same.
  • Some services are shared between levels in some places. Accept good reasoning on borderline cases.

Questions teachers and parents ask

What are the three levels of government for kids?

Local government runs a city or town and is led by a mayor. State government runs one of the 50 states and is led by a governor. National government runs the whole United States and is led by the president.

Who can vote?

In the United States, citizens who are 18 or older can vote. Children can practice voting with class votes.

What does government do?

Government makes laws and provides services that everyone shares, like roads, parks, libraries, police and fire departments, paid for with taxes.