Grade 3 Social Studies Social Studies Grade(s) 3rd Course Overview Students will learn about a variety of communities. Students will learn about the geography and resources of communities. Students will study the history of communities. Students will look at how citizens live and work in communities. Students will look at the governing bodies of communities. Students will examine the many cultures that form a community. Scope And Sequence Timeframe Unit Instructional Topics 6 Week(s) 6 Week(s) 6 Week(s) 6 Week(s) 6 Week(s) People Build Communities Communities Have History Communities at Work Communities have Government Many Cultures, One Country Materials and Resources Our Communities, Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Unit: People Build Communities 1. Life in communities 2. Communities and geography 1. Early communities in America 2. People on the move 3. New ideas change communities 1. Living and working 2. Working in communities 1. How government works 2. Citizens in action 1. People and culture 2. Communities and culture Course Details Duration: 6 Week(s) Communities are places where people live, work, and play together. In the U. S. there are many different communities. Communities are influenced by their geography and the natural resources available to them. People in communities work to protect these resources. Topic: Life in communities A community is a place where people live, work and have fun together. Our country is made up of many different kinds of communities. However, all communities have many things in common, and yet each one is special in its own way. Compare ways in which people in different types of communities meet their needs. Describe how citizens work together to improve communities. Identify how people in a community have fun and earn a living. Obtain information from a primary source to learn more about a community. Topic: Communities and geography Most communities have unique landforms and bodies of water. These features influence how people live, work and have fun in communities. People in communities work together to solve problems that affect the environment. Describe different landforms and how people interact with them. Describe how people adapt to and modify the physical environment of their communities. Describe different landforms. Discuss how people adapt to life in a fishing community. Summarize how people can take responsibility in caring for their natural resources. Explain the significance of Douglas's actions to improve the community. Identify characteristics of good citizenship and explain the importance of taking responsibility for the common good. Identify and use the compass rose, grid, and symbols to locate places on maps. Use a landform map. landform map compass rose compass Identify different types of natural resources. Explain how people work to protect natural resources. Page 1
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Grade 3 Social Studies Social Studies Grade(s) 3rd Natural resources mineral renewable resource nonrenewable resource environment recycle Identify how citizens can take action to improve their community. Identify how to read bar graphs and line graphs. Locate information using a bar graph or a line graph. Unit: Communities Have History Students will examine important historical figures and events that shaped our communities. Duration: 6 Week(s) Topic: Early communities in America Duration: 10 Day(s) Early Native American groups establish the first communities in N. America. The English establish a colony at Jamestown and must work to overcome many problems. Describe how people in different communities adapt to and modify the physical environment. Describe how past event have changed Native American communities over time. Explain the cultural heritage of Native American story telling. Describe how the formation of colonies changed people's lives long ago. Identify Native American and English leaders who shaped the community of Jamestown. Use a scale to determine the distance between places on a map Topic: People on the move Duration: 10 Day(s) Throughout our country's History, people have moved from place to place to start new communities and build better lives. Sometimes hey have moved from communities within our country and sometimes they came from communities located around the world. Describe how the events of Civil War changed communities. Identify reasons African Americans moved to new communities in the North. Summarize ways the Civil Rights movement influenced communities around our country. Explain why people moved west to build new communities in the 1800s. Describe how Daniel Boone, Lewis and Clark, and Sacagawea contributed to the expansion of communities in our country. Identify reasons why immigrants move to new communities including the need for security and material well-being. Describe how immigrants helped change communities over time. Interpret and make a time line. Use intermediate directions to locate places on a map. Identify and use a compass rose to locate places on a map. Topic: New ideas change communities Duration: 10 Day(s) Inventions and discoveries long ago and today have influenced communities around the world. New technologies have improved the health and safety of people in communities and changed they way they communicate with each other. Analyze information by comparing and contrasting. Discuss how Alexander Graham Bell invented new technologies that affected communities around the world. Explain how the Great Chicago Fire changed a community. Identify inventors and analyze how their technologies affected communities. Identify how individual decisions can bring about community changes. Identify and summarize how scientists have created new technologies to help improve the health and safety of communities. Page 3
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Grade 3 Social Studies Social Studies Grade(s) 3rd Identify scientists and inventors who have created or invented new technologies. Evaluate the impact of the new technology on the local community and communities around the world. Unit: Communities at Work Students will look at a market economy and examine the different career choices available. Duration: 6 Week(s) Topic: Living and working People work to earn money and buy things they need. People plan to spend and save the money they earn. Identify examples of civic organizations and explain how they serve the common good. Understand how businesses operate in the U.S. freeenterprise system. Identify ways an individual exemplified good citizenship in improving the community. Identify ways of earning, spending, and saving money. Analyze a simple budget that allocates money for spending and saving. Understand how a simple business operates in the U.S. free-enterprise system. Identify goods and services. Explain the importance of businesses to communities. Topic: Working in communities Some people in communities far, while others work in factories or own their own businesses. The U.S. sells many of the goods it produces to other countries. OUr country also buys many goods from other countries. Identify the principle of domestic and international trade. Explain how scarcity affects the interdependence of people and products in the world. Interpret and make a flow chart. Make and interpret a transportation map. Understand how a manufacturing business works. Identify how Henry Ford's new business changed people's lives. Explain how supply and demand affected the price of early cars. Understand supply and demand and scarcity for a farming business. Identify farming as a way of earning money. Explain the impact of scarcity of interdependence within communities. Unit: Communities have Government Duration: 6 Week(s) In this unit students will look at local, state, and federal components of government. The roles of political leaders and branches of government will be discussed. Topic: How government works Each community and state in our country has a government that provides important services to people Our national government makes decisions that influence our country and the world. Compare and contrast the histories of Mexico and the United States. Compare and contrast local and national governments of the United States and Mexico. Describe Mexico City and the cultural heritage of Mexico. Explain how Washington D.C. came to be our nation's capital. Discuss the basic structure and function of the three branches of government. Explain the basic structure and functions of local government. Identify the services commonly provided by local government. Compare local and state governments. Interpret a grid map. Draw and index a grid map. Page 5
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Grade 3 Social Studies Social Studies Grade(s) 3rd Topic: Citizens in action Citizens can work for the common good of the community in many ways. including honoring their responsibilities and volunteering. Volunteers and nonprofit organizations provide shelter medical help, and many other service to people. Mexico City is the capital of Mexico. Its government is similar to that of the United States. Analyze information by comparing and contrasting different point of view to solve a problem. Analyze information by comparing and contrasting different points of view to solve a problem. Describe characteristics of good citizenship. Identify ways individual actions can serve the common good of a community. Name individuals and groups who work for the common good and describe how they help the community. Identify examples of nonprofit organizations and describe how they serve the common good. Identify examples of actions groups can take to improve the community. Identify Helen Keller as a historic figure who overcame difficulties to work for the common good. Unit: Many Cultures, One Country Duration: 6 Week(s) People in communities celebrate their cultures by honoring heroes and special events from their history. We all celebrate our heritage as Americans. New Orleans is a special community and Ghana is a special country because of their diverse cultures. Writers tell of our national heroes, while artists picture our history and diverse culture. Topic: People and culture Many communities in our country include people from many different cultures. The stories they tell and the art that they make help shape our country's unique culture. Compare and contrast the contributions of different cultural groups to our country today. Identify the beliefs American citizens hold in common. Distinguish between primary and secondary sources. Identify language that establishes a primary source. Identify the heroic deeds of national heroes. Retell the stories of characters found in folktales and legends. Identify writers, photographers, and artists who have shared their cultural heritage with communities around the world. Explain the importance of writers and artists to communities in our country and around the world. Describe how Maya Lin contributed to the cultural heritage of our country. Locate the four hemispheres on a globe. Topic: Communities and culture Communities around the world celebrate their culture and history in many different ways. Their music, dance, art, and celebrations shape the way people in the United States and around the world live. Identify examples of how the cultural heritage of different peoples around the world can influence the cultural heritage of a community. Explain the significance of individuals and cultural heritages on the music and food of a community. Identify individuals and historic events and deeds that are celebrated in communities. Compare cultural and ethnic celebrations in communities across the United States. Explain the importance of community celebrations. Identify ordinary people who exemplify good citizenship. Define examples of actions individuals and businesses can take to improve communities. Identify the cultural heritage of Ghana. Describe cultural celebrations in Ghana. Page 7
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