3rd Grade Social Studies
| Web pages maintained by Victoria Surface, MWES Instructional Technologist surfacvm@pwcs.edu Updated January 3, 2008 |
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3.1 The student will explain how the contributions of ancient Greece and Rome have influenced the present
in terms of architecture, government (direct and representative democracy), and sports.
Activities
3.2 The student will study the early West African empire of Mali by describing its oral traditions
(storytelling), government (kings), and economic development (trade).
Activities
3.3 The student will study the exploration of the Americas by
a) describing the accomplishments of Christopher Columbus, Juan Ponce de Leon, Jacques Cartier, and
Christopher Newport;
b) identifying reasons for exploring, the information gained, and the results from the travels.
Activities
1. Using Inspiration the students will create a web about the 4 explorers. See example. They will create an
outline or a PowerPoint using the same web.
3.4 The student will develop map skills by
a) locating Greece, Rome, and West Africa;
b) describing the physical and human characteristics of Greece, Rome, and West Africa;
c) explaining how the people of Greece, Rome, and West Africa adapted to and/or changed their
environment to meet their needs.
Activities
3.5 The student will develop map skills by
a) positioning and labeling the seven continents and four oceans to create a world map;
b) using the equator and prime meridian to identify the four hemispheres;
c) locating the countries of Spain, England, and France;
d) locating the regions in the Americas explored by Christopher Columbus (San Salvador in the Bahamas),
Juan Ponce de Leon (near St. Augustine, Florida), Jacques Cartier (near Quebec, Canada), and Christopher
Newport (Jamestown, Virginia);
e) locating specific places on a simple letter-number grid system.
Activities
1. Show the class the Continents: What do you see? PowerPoint and discuss the shape of the continents.
Using the KidPix Continent template students will create a picture of something they see in the continents. See
Continent example.
2. Read parts of the book Maps and Symbols by Susan Lomas to the class (page 8 - A Bird's Eye View, page
10 - Mapping Landmarks, page 14 - Grids on Maps). Students will complete a Microsoft Excel map by following
the directions.
3. Students can create a European Explorers timeline using Timeliner. See example.
3.6 The student will interpret geographic information from maps, tables, graphs, and charts.
Activities
3.7 The student will explain how producers use natural resources (water, soil, wood, and coal), human
resources (people at work), and capital resources (machines, tools, and buildings) to produce goods and
services for consumers.
Activities
1. Using the Internet, view the video on making chocolate at www.hersheys.com/discover/chocolate.asp.
Discuss with the students the elements of economics in the video. Using the Kidspiration Hershey Economics
template (see below), the students will link the vocabulary of economics to the pictures representing each
word. As an enrichment students can create a Hershey Economics PowerPoint to illustrate the economics
vocabulary.
3.8 The student will recognize the concepts of specialization (being an expert in one job, product, or
service) and interdependence (depending on others) in the production of goods and services (in ancient
Greece, Rome, the West African empire of Mali, and in the present).
Activities
3.9 The student will identify examples of making an economic choice and will explain the idea of
opportunity cost (what is given up when making a choice).
Activities
3.10 The student will recognize why government is necessary in the classroom, school, and community by
a) explaining the purpose of rules and laws;
b) explaining that the basic purposes of government are to make laws, carry out laws, and decide if laws
have been broken;
c) explaining that government protects the rights and property of individuals.
Activities
1. Have the class watch the video The American Government: America at Its Best from
www.unitedstreaming.com. The students can complete an Inspiration bubble map about rights and
responsibilities. See example.
3.11 The student will explain the importance of the basic principles that form the foundation of a republican
form of government by
a) describing the individual rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and equality under the law;
b) identifying the contributions of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Rosa Parks,
Thurgood Marshall, and Martin Luther King, Jr.;
c) recognizing that Veterans Day and Memorial Day honor people who have served to protect the country's
freedoms.
Activities
1. Read the website www.pwcs.edu/marywilliams/georgewashington/georgewashington.htm with the class.
Using the Kidspiration George Washington Internet Scavenger Hunt template the students will answer
questions with information from the website. See below.
2. Students can create a Famous Americans Slideshow using Microsoft PowerPoint.
3. Students can complete an online Martin Luther King, Jr. crossword puzzle.
4. Students can create a George Washington timeline using Timeliner. See example.
5. Students can create a Martin Luther King, Jr. timeline using Timeliner. See example.
3.12 The student will recognize that Americans are a people of diverse ethnic origins, customs, and
traditions, who are united by the basic principles of a republican form of government and respect for
individual rights and freedoms.
Activities
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