Social Studies
In third grade, students draw upon knowledge learned in previous grades to develop more sophisticated understandings of how communities may be linked to form larger political units, and how there are cultural, geographic, and economic connections. Through their study of various patterns of community living, the students begin to understand that people’s activities are influenced not only by their geographic location, but also by how they use the earth’s materials, the physical environment, and how they express their diversity through culture. Students will understand the importance of being a citizen and identify the contributions of selected individuals in the local community. Students will recognize that Americans are comprised of people who have diverse ethnic origins and traditions who all contribute to American life. By looking at communities from a geographic perspective, students become aware of some of the cultural, political, geographic, historic, environmental and economic factors that help bind communities together through both time and space. Building upon experiences that demonstrate chronological thinking, students begin to expand their ability to think like a historian by asking questions that historians ask. Using both primary and secondary sources, students understand the significant role of the individual in shaping history and explore changes in communities and regions over time. Through the study of historical narratives, students are introduced to the concept of perspective by asking them to explain why people can describe the same event differently. This serves as a building block for more sophisticated analyses in subsequent grades.
History
History
- 3.H.1 Understand how events, individuals and ideas have influenced the history of local and regional communities.
- 3.H.1.1 Explain key historical events that occurred in the local community and regions over time.
- 3.H.1.2 Analyze the impact of contributions made by diverse historical figures in local communities and regions over time.
- 3.H.1.3 Exemplify the ideas that were significant in the development of local communities and regions.
- 3.H.2 Use historical thinking skills to understand the context of events, people and places.
- 3.H.2.1 Explain change over time through historical narratives (events, people and places).
- 3.H.2.2 Explain how multiple perspectives are portrayed through historical narratives.
- 3.G.1 Understand the earth’s patterns by using the 5 themes of geography: (location, place, human-environment interaction, movement and regions).
- 3.G.1.1 Find absolute and relative locations of places within the local community and region.
- 3.G.1.2 Compare the human and physical characteristics of places.
- 3.G.1.3 Exemplify how people adapt to, change and protect the environment to meet their needs.
- 3.G.1.4 Explain how the movement of goods, people and ideas impact the community.
- 3.G.1.5 Summarize the elements (cultural, demographic, economic and geographic) that define regions (community, state, nation and world). Compare various regions according to their characteristics.
- 3.E.1 Understand how the location of regions affects activity in a market economy.
- 3.E.1.1 Explain how location impacts supply and demand.
- 3.E.1.2 Explain how locations of regions and natural resources influence economic development (industries developed around natural resources, rivers and coastal towns).
- 3.E.2 Understand entrepreneurship in a market economy.
- 3.E.2.1 Explain why people become entrepreneurs.
- 3.E.2.2 Give examples of entrepreneurship in various regions of our state.
- 3.C&G.1 Understand the development, structure and function of local government.
- 3.C&G.1.1 Summarize the historical development of local governments.
- 3.C&G.1.2 Describe the structure of local government and how it functions to serve citizens.
- 3.C&G.1.3 Understand the three branches of government, with an emphasis on local government.
- 3.C&G.2 Understand how citizens participate in their communities.
- 3.C&G.2.1 Exemplify how citizens contribute politically, socially and economically to their community.
- 3.C&G.2.2 Exemplify how citizens contribute to the well-being of the community’s natural environment.
- 3.C&G.2.3 Apply skills in civic engagement and public discourse (school, community).
- 3.C.1 Understand how diverse cultures are visible in local and regional communities.
- 3.C.1.1 Compare languages, foods and traditions of various groups living in local and regional communities.
- 3.C.1.2 Exemplify how various groups show artistic expression within the local and regional communities.
- 3.C.1.3 Use non-fiction texts to explore how cultures borrow and share from each other (foods, languages, rules, traditions and behaviors).
Science
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Forces and Motion
3.P.1 Understand motion and factors that affect motion.
3.P.1.1 Infer changes in speed or direction resulting from forces acting on an object.
3.P.1.2 Compare the relative speeds (faster or slower) of objects that travel the same distance in different amounts of time.
3.P.1.3 Explain the effects of earth’s gravity on the motion of any object on or near the earth.
Matter: Properties and Change
3.P.2 Understand the structure and properties of matter before and after they undergo a change.
3.P.2.1 Recognize that air is a substance that surrounds us, takes up space and has mass.
3.P.2.2 Compare solids, liquids, and gases based on their basic properties.
3.P.2.3 Summarize changes that occur to the observable properties of materials when different degrees of heat are applied to them, such as melting ice or ice cream, boiling water or an egg, or freezing water.
Energy: Conservation and Transfer
3.P.3 Recognize how energy can be transferred from one object to another.
3.P.3.1 Recognize that energy can be transferred from one object to another by rubbing them against each other.
3.P.3.2 Recognize that energy can be transferred from a warmer object to a cooler one by contact or at a distance and the cooler object gets warmer.
Earth in the Universe
3.E.1 Recognize the major components and patterns observed in the earth/moon/sun system.
3.E.1.1 Recognize that the earth is part of a system called the solar system that includes the sun (a star), planets, and many moons and the earth is the third planet from the sun in our solar system.
3.E.1.2 Recognize that changes in the length and direction of an object’s shadow indicate the apparent changing position of the Sun during the day although the patterns of the stars in the sky, to include the Sun, stay the same.
Earth Systems, Structures and Processes
3.E.2 Compare the structures of the Earth’s surface using models or three -
dimensional diagrams.
3.E.2.1 Compare Earth’s saltwater and freshwater features (including oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, and glaciers).
3.E.2.2 Compare Earth’s land features (including volcanoes, mountains, valleys, canyons, caverns, and islands) by using models, pictures, diagrams, and maps.
Structures and Functions of Living Organisms
3.L.1 Understand human body systems and how they are essential for life: protection, movement and support.
3.L.1.1 Compare the different functions of the skeletal and muscular system.
3.L.1.2 Explain why skin is necessary for protection and for the body to remain healthy.
Ecosystems
3.L.2 Understand how plants survive in their environments.
3.L.2.1 Remember the function of the following structures as it relates to the survival of plants in their environments:
Roots - absorb nutrients
Stems - provide support
Leaves - synthesize food
Flowers - attract pollinators and produce seeds for reproduction
3.L.2.2 Explain how environmental conditions determine how well
plants survive and grow.
3.L.2.3 Summarize the distinct stages of the life cycle of seed plants.
3.L.2.4 Explain how the basic properties (texture and capacity to hold water) and components (sand, clay and humus) of soil determine the ability of soil to support the growth and survival of many plants.
3.P.1 Understand motion and factors that affect motion.
3.P.1.1 Infer changes in speed or direction resulting from forces acting on an object.
3.P.1.2 Compare the relative speeds (faster or slower) of objects that travel the same distance in different amounts of time.
3.P.1.3 Explain the effects of earth’s gravity on the motion of any object on or near the earth.
Matter: Properties and Change
3.P.2 Understand the structure and properties of matter before and after they undergo a change.
3.P.2.1 Recognize that air is a substance that surrounds us, takes up space and has mass.
3.P.2.2 Compare solids, liquids, and gases based on their basic properties.
3.P.2.3 Summarize changes that occur to the observable properties of materials when different degrees of heat are applied to them, such as melting ice or ice cream, boiling water or an egg, or freezing water.
Energy: Conservation and Transfer
3.P.3 Recognize how energy can be transferred from one object to another.
3.P.3.1 Recognize that energy can be transferred from one object to another by rubbing them against each other.
3.P.3.2 Recognize that energy can be transferred from a warmer object to a cooler one by contact or at a distance and the cooler object gets warmer.
Earth in the Universe
3.E.1 Recognize the major components and patterns observed in the earth/moon/sun system.
3.E.1.1 Recognize that the earth is part of a system called the solar system that includes the sun (a star), planets, and many moons and the earth is the third planet from the sun in our solar system.
3.E.1.2 Recognize that changes in the length and direction of an object’s shadow indicate the apparent changing position of the Sun during the day although the patterns of the stars in the sky, to include the Sun, stay the same.
Earth Systems, Structures and Processes
3.E.2 Compare the structures of the Earth’s surface using models or three -
dimensional diagrams.
3.E.2.1 Compare Earth’s saltwater and freshwater features (including oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, and glaciers).
3.E.2.2 Compare Earth’s land features (including volcanoes, mountains, valleys, canyons, caverns, and islands) by using models, pictures, diagrams, and maps.
Structures and Functions of Living Organisms
3.L.1 Understand human body systems and how they are essential for life: protection, movement and support.
3.L.1.1 Compare the different functions of the skeletal and muscular system.
3.L.1.2 Explain why skin is necessary for protection and for the body to remain healthy.
Ecosystems
3.L.2 Understand how plants survive in their environments.
3.L.2.1 Remember the function of the following structures as it relates to the survival of plants in their environments:
Roots - absorb nutrients
Stems - provide support
Leaves - synthesize food
Flowers - attract pollinators and produce seeds for reproduction
3.L.2.2 Explain how environmental conditions determine how well
plants survive and grow.
3.L.2.3 Summarize the distinct stages of the life cycle of seed plants.
3.L.2.4 Explain how the basic properties (texture and capacity to hold water) and components (sand, clay and humus) of soil determine the ability of soil to support the growth and survival of many plants.