3rd Grade Michigan Studies

Teacher: Ashley Fisher

Course Length: Approximately 34 weeks, accounting for Thanksgiving Break,
Winter Break, Spring Break, Teacher-In Service Days, and Snow Days
Period Length: Each class length will be 50 minutes for 5 days a week
Number of Students: 30
Type of School: Elementary School in a Rural Community

Course Expectations:
This Michigan Studies 3rd grade course is designed to delve into the social studies
disciplines of history, geography, civics and government, and economics to discover their
importance through the context of Michigan. Students will build upon prior knowledge from
previous social studies courses in these disciplines and apply new concepts learned to understand
the intricate social environment of the state. By creating a strong knowledge base of Michigan, it
will further them along in their more sophisticated studies of later social studies concepts that
deal with worldly issues.
During the History component of this course, students will learn within the mind of a
historian by viewing the questions they ask through a historian lens. They will sequence periods
of Michigan history, from exploration through attaining statehood, by creating timelines to aid in
this understanding. Students will begin learning this history with simple sources, but eventually
move to the use of primary and secondary sources, again viewing these sources through a
historian lens. Providing interconnectedness with language arts, students will learn about and
analyze the early history of Michigan through these sources. The history of American Indians in
Michigan will also be incorporated into this course, learning how the Indians interacted with
their environment through the use of traditional stories and informational text. Again connecting
language arts to this course, students will construct historical narratives and causal relationships
among events through the context of daily life in the early settlements. Being able to do so will
guide students in the more sophisticated writings and analyses that they will have to perform in
later grades pertaining to United States history.
Geographical learning will also be incorporated into this course in which students will
create more complex understandings of geographic concepts using the context of Michigan.
Using maps, students will develop higher spatial awareness and region skills. They will learn the
different ways that Michigan can be divided into regions, and the different regions to which
Michigan belongs to. This course will create an understanding for the ways in which location
affects economic activities and the movement of goods, people, jobs, and information to, from,
and within Michigan. Human-environment interaction is further delved into as students will
analyze how people use and modify the complex social environment. This environment also
contains pertinent natural resources that contribute to the functioning of the state in which
students will analyze the consequences of their use. Learning these geographical concepts
through the context of Michigan will build a solid foundation for further concepts to be learned
in future geography classes pertaining to the country and world.
In prior social studies classes, students center their learning on scarcity and choice. In this
course the goal is to push students to create relationships between scarcity, choice, and
opportunity costs through their economic decision making. As was introduced in geography,
natural resources play a key role in the states economic activities and students will examine this
role. Through the concepts of entrepreneurship, specialization, interdependence, and new

business development, students analyze the relationship between Michigan, the national, and the
global economies.
In any social studies course, incorporating concepts to become an informed citizen is
crucial. In this course, students will expand their knowledge and practice of an informed citizen
from the local community to the state of Michigan. Alongside the subject of civics, students will
also analyze the role of government, building upon their previous knowledge of the local
government to learning of the state government. They will examine the powers of each branch of
state government, along with the concepts of separation of power and resolving conflicts through
state courts. Through the learning of individual rights, citizens rights and responsibilities, rules
of law, and representative government, students will be prepared for their role of a responsible
citizen.
Simply learning about the role of a responsible citizen is not enough. In this course,
students will discover the importance of putting this responsibility into action through social
issues. They will identify these social issues and discuss ways in which they can provide
alternative resolutions to improve society. This allows students to form their own opinions and
justify them with knowledgeable facts, showing them how, when, and where to communicate
their positions on public issues.
Aside from merely learning the historical, geographical, economic, and civic concepts,
this course will also lay the foundation for a level of critical thinking that the student will master
by the time this course is completed. The student will be able to analyze the relationships among
people, places, events, and time periods. Along with this goal is incorporated taking on the
various perspectives of different people and events. Instead of simply learning how the settlers of
Michigan viewed their situation upon settlement, students will also analyze the impact of
settlement upon Native Americans living in Michigan at the time. Regarding the reading material
that students will be engaged in, they will begin to learn the skills of how to critically read
primary and secondary documents to establish points of view and contexts. They will also be
able to read a document and clearly express what they read either orally, visually, or through
writing. These above mentioned goals will help the student start to build a foundation for higher
level thinking and enable this to be further shaped and molded in following social studies
courses.
The above structure and expectations will be met through various in class and out of class
activities. Students will participate in group discussions/projects, class discussions, unit tests,
unit projects, and homework assignments. However, the unit tests will be kept short in length
because the aim is to be able to cater to all learning styles through the use of hands on learning
activities as well. These forms of assessment will be graded according to demonstration of
knowledge and effort displayed. A major goal of this course is to create an interactive learning
environment in which the students are excited to learn about Michigan history. Attempting to

steer solely away from the traditional textbook/lecture structure, students will be actively
learning and participating each and every day.
While it is important that students learn the content that this course has to offer, the one
hit home goal that is aimed to come out of this course is how our 3rd grade students can relate
this information to their daily lives. This will be done by learning information that relates
directly to them because they are residents of Michigan. Whether we talk in historical context or
economic context, students will have a deeper understanding and caring of the information
because it pertains to their home state. Therefore, each unit in this course will aim to describe to
students how it relates to their daily lives, which is essentially the take home message.

Course Goals:
By the end of this course, students will be able to

Use historical thinking to understand Michigans past through primary and secondary
sources
Use informational text and visual aids to analyze how Native Americans and settlers in
the early history of Michigan used and modified their environment, and interacted with
each other
Construct a historical narrative about the daily life in the early settlements of Michigan
Describe how certain individuals affected the history of Michigan
Describe how Michigan attained statehood
Create a timeline to sequence early Michigan history
Use cardinal directions to describe significant locations in Michigan
Use maps to describe physical and human characteristics of Michigan
Describe the ways in which Michigan can be divided into regions
Describe the different regions to which Michigan belongs
Describe the major kinds of economic activity in Michigan and explain the factors
influencing these activities
Describe the movement of goods, people, and ideas to, from, and within Michigan and
explain why this movement occurs
State the natural resources in Michigan and explain the consequences of using them
Describe how people use and modify these natural resources of Michigan
Explain how Michigans government works to fulfill the purpose of government
Distinguish between state and local government
Identify the three branches of government and their powers
Describe the purpose of the Michigan Constitution
Identify rights and responsibilities of Citizenship
Identify the relationship between scarcity, opportunity costs, and choices
Analyze how Michigans natural resources influence its economic development
Describe Michigans importance to national and international economy

Identify public issues within Michigan and offer various resolutions

Become active, responsible citizens within the state as a whole
***Main Goal: Explain how the knowledge learned in this course relates to the students
life through each of the social studies disciplines (history, geography, economics, civics
and government)

Units Overview:
Unit One: History of Michigan- Early Settlements and Native American Life (4 weeks)
Why were the relationships between early settlers and Native Americans important to Michigan
attaining statehood?
In this unit based upon the early settlers and Native Americans of Michigan, students will
first learn to think in terms of historians, viewing Michigans past through a historians lens.
They will analyze the basic questions Who,What, When, Where, Why, and How of Michigans
early history. Students will study traditional Native American stories, both primary and
secondary sources, in order to gain a knowledge basis of what daily life was composed of for
these people. The first interactions between Native Americans and settlers will be learned, also
providing an idea for what daily life was like in Michigan, pre-statehood. Lastly, students will
analyze how Native Americans and early settlers used and modified their natural resources and
environment.
Goals for Unit One:

Use historical thinking to understand Michigans past through primary and secondary
sources
Use informational text and visual aids to analyze how Native Americans and settlers in
the early history of Michigan used and modified their environment, and interacted with
each other
Construct a historical narrative about the daily life in the early settlements of Michigan
***Main Goal: Explain how the knowledge learned in this course relates to the students
life through each of the social studies disciplines (history, geography, economics, civics
and government)

Major Activities:

Native American Journal: pick a Native American tribe and write a daily journal for one
week as if you were a member of that tribe. What would living conditions be like, what
would your daily activities be, and how would your life change after your people came in
contact with the early settlers?
Early Settler Journal: pretend that you are an early settler just moving to Michigan (prestatehood) and write a daily journal for one week as if you were a member of that

community. What would daily life be like, what would your daily activities be, and how
would your life change after your people came in contact with the early settlers? This
activity allows for students to gain a different perspective from the Native American
journal.
Create a color coded map of the major Native American tribes in Michigan, prior to
statehood. Then color in where the major groups of settlers came to.
Create a flip book of the natural resources that Native Americans and settlers used stating
what the natural resource is, how the people used it, and what changes this made to the
environment.
Homework Assignments

Unit Two: Michigan History- Attaining Statehood (5 weeks)

Why and how did Michigan attain its statehood?
In this unit pertaining to the statehood of Michigan, students will learn how and why
Michigan became its own state. Attributing to this statehood, students will discuss how the
actions and ideas of specific individuals attributed to this event. After this unit students will be
able to describe relationships between events in Michigans early history, for example: settlers,
Erie Canal, statehood. Once this information is learned, students will be able to express this
knowledge by creating a timeline to sequence early Michigan history.
Goals of Unit Two:

Describe how certain individuals affected the history of Michigan

Describe how Michigan attained statehood
Create a timeline to sequence early Michigan history
***Main Goal: Explain how the knowledge learned in this course relates to the students
life through each of the social studies disciplines (history, geography, economics, civics
and government)

Major Activities:

Be A Historical Figure Day: each student will pick a person that was important to the
early history of Michigan, whether it be a specific person, a Native American, or a settler.
The student will then do research (class time will be given) on this person and find out
how that person was important to Michigans early history. They will also create a poster
board displaying these findings. The optional part will be if the student wants to create a
costume for their character as well that they can dress up in. Then, the student will
present their findings to the class as if they are that character.
Create a Map: Students will draw a map of Michigan with the major cities that were
important to Michigan attaining statehood, along with the state flag, tree, flower, animal,
etc.

Create a Human Timeline: Students will trace each others bodies on a large piece of
paper, and then they will create the timeline of Michigans early history within their body
framework.
Homework Assignments

Unit Three: Geography of Michigan- Directions and Characteristics (4 weeks)

Why/How does the geography of Michigan attribute to important events that have happened in
its history, and events that are still happening today?
In this unit based upon the geography of Michigan, students will first create a basic
knowledge of direction by learning their cardinal directions: north, east, south, west. Once these
skills are mastered, the student can use these directions to describe the location of significant
places within Michigan. This unit will also entail the student being able to describe physical and
human characteristics, including natural resources, of Michigan using maps. Using these map
skills, students will also describe the ways in which Michigan can be divided into regions, and
the different regions to which Michigan belongs.
Goals of Unit Three:

Use cardinal directions to describe significant locations in Michigan

Use maps to describe physical and human characteristics of Michigan
Describe the ways in which Michigan can be divided into regions
Describe the different regions to which Michigan belongs
State the natural resources in Michigan and explain the consequences of using them
Describe how people use and modify these natural resources of Michigan
***Main Goal: Explain how the knowledge learned in this course relates to the students
life through each of the social studies disciplines (history, geography, economics, civics
and government)

Major Activities:

Create a Compass: Students will create their own compass that will aid in learning the
cardinal directions
Create a Life Size Map: students will create a large map that will include many items:
physical characteristics, human characteristics, and regions. This will be worked on
throughout the entire unit. We will laminate the maps and hang them around the room.
Homework Assignments

Unit Four: Geography of Michigan- Movement and Culture Groups (4 weeks)

How are people, goods, and ideas moving to, from, and within Michigan to create various
culture groups?
In this unit that continues to build upon the geography of Michigan, students will analyze
how people, goods, and ideas are moving to, from, and within Michigan. This movement is
creating various culture groups within Michigan, and we will discuss these groups and their
significance to the growth of Michigan.
Goals of Unit Four:

Describe the movement of goods, people, and ideas to, from, and within Michigan and
explain why this movement occurs
***Main Goal: Explain how the knowledge learned in this course relates to the students
life through each of the social studies disciplines (history, geography, economics, civics
and government)

Major Activities:

Picture Book: students will create a picture book in which they decide whether they want
to be a good, people, or idea, and explain its movement across Michigan. For example, if
they picked an apple as a good, they would explain in a picture book how it moves from
an orchard, to a store, to a house, to an apple pie, etc.
Cultural Awareness: Students will create a family tree and then write a story about their
family culture group, based upon their own ancestors and where the students family and
friends are located now. They will discover and write about the kinds of things they and
their families do, eat, activities they partake in, etc. This will create awareness of the
various culture groups that exist in Michigan.
Homework Assignments

Unit Five: Economics in Michigan- Market Economy (3 weeks)

Why does the economy of Michigan function in the way that it does?
In this unit based upon the economics, students will learn about the market economy of
Michigan. The concepts of scarcity, opportunity costs, and choice will be incorporated to discuss
what influences the economic decisions that people make. Students will also learn how
Michigans location and natural resources affect its economic development and activities. The
role of entrepreneurs and small businesses will also be discussed, as this relates to the childs
everyday life.
Goals of Unit Five:

Describe the major kinds of economic activity in Michigan and explain the factors
influencing these activities

Identify the relationship between scarcity, opportunity costs, and choices

Analyze how Michigans natural resources influence its economic development
***Main Goal: Explain how the knowledge learned in this course relates to the students
life through each of the social studies disciplines (history, geography, economics, civics
and government)

Major Activities:

Assembly Line: students will think of a product that is sold in Michigan (as a class), and
then create assembly lines to make this product. For example, a pen.
Visit an apple orchard (if possible) to discuss its importance to Michigan, since Michigan
is the second largest apple growing state in the country
Homework Assignments

Unit Six: Economics of Michigan- National and International Economy (3 weeks)

How does the state of Michigan contribute to the functioning of the National and International
Economy, and vice versa?
In this unit based upon the National and International Economy, students will learn how
Michigans economy contributes to the functioning of each, and vice versa. Key concepts such as
specialization and interdependence will be used to describe this process. At the end of this unit
students will also be able to identify products produced in other countries that are consumed by
people here in Michigan.
Goals of Unit Six:

Describe Michigans importance to national and international economy

***Main Goal: Explain how the knowledge learned in this course relates to the students
life through each of the social studies disciplines (history, geography, economics, civics
and government)

Major Activities:

International Product Chart: students will create a chart in which for one day they take
note of all the products they use, eat, or wear, that are made from a different country. We
will then share some of these products in class
Homework Assignments

Unit Seven: Civics and Government in Michigan (6 weeks)

How does Michigans government function, not just within the state, but within your life as
well?
In this unit based upon Michigans civics and government, students will first learn how
the government functions as far as what its duties and powers are. Students will then learn how
the government is at work in their daily lives through various rights, laws, and responsibilities of
citizenship.
Goals of Unit Seven:

Explain how Michigans government works to fulfill the purpose of government

Distinguish between state and local government
Identify the three branches of government and their powers
Describe the purpose of the Michigan Constitution
Identify rights and responsibilities of Citizenship
***Main Goal: Explain how the knowledge learned in this course relates to the students
life through each of the social studies disciplines (history, geography, economics, civics
and government)

Major Activities:

Constitution: students will create a classroom constitution in which they describe their
rights and laws allowed within their classroom.
Flipbook: students will create a flipbook of the different powers of each branch of
government.
Role play: a courtroom. Students will create a classroom courthouse based upon various
classroom issues (this is to start them out small on the basis of arguing points).
Homework Assignments

Unit Eight: Being a Responsible Citizen (5 weeks)

Why is it so important to become a responsible citizen and how can we do so?
In this unit based upon learning how to become a responsible citizen and why it is so
important, students will focus on social issues of our daily lives. Students will learn how to take
a stand on one side of an issue and support this stance. Learning how and when to create a plan
of action to make a change in the community and how to participate in community projects will
also be learned.
Goals of Unit Eight:

Identify rights and responsibilities of Citizenship

Identify public issues within Michigan and offer various resolutions
Become active, responsible citizens within the state as a whole

***Main Goal: Explain how the knowledge learned in this course relates to the students
life through each of the social studies disciplines (history, geography, economics, civics
and government)

Major Activities:

Voting: create a classroom situation where we vote on certain issues (learning how to
weigh the pros and cons to make a responsible citizen decision)
Mini Essay: Take a stance on a position and learn to support this stance
Community Project: Create a classroom project in which we can share with the
community. Or participate in a community event (cleaning the park for example).
Homework Assignments

Course Project
*Students will participate in an end of the course project. This project will entail that the student
pick one example of how something they learned throughout the entire year relates to their own
life. This can be expressed in any type of format: essay, poster, storybook, etc. This will allow
me to see if the student mastered my most important goal of this course!

Textbook Comparison:
Our Michigan Adventure by David B. McConnell
Strengths:

Aligns nicely with the Michigan Content Standards for 3rd grade:
o Chapter 1: Meet Michigan- Discusses the state symbols, the importance of the
Great Lakes, and how to be map smart. This aligns with the standard of using
maps to understand characteristics of Michigan and a general overview of
Michigan in general
o Chapter 2: Michigans First People: Discusses who the first people to inhabit
Michigan were and what their daily life was like. Aligns with the standard of
exploring early Michigan Life.
o Chapter 3: Explorers From Far Away: Discusses the explorers who first came to
Michigan. Aligns with the standard of European explorers in Michigan.
o Chapter 4: Becoming a State-It Was Not Easy!- Aligns with the standard of
Michigan attaining statehood.
o Chapter 6: Using Natures Gifts- Discusses the natural resources of Michigan.
Aligns with the Geography and Economic standard of discussing the importance
of natural resources.

o Chapter 7: On the Move-Rivers, Roads, Ships, Trains, and Cars- Discusses the
ways in which people, goods and ideas travel in Michigan. This aligns with the
standard of geography that discusses movement.
o Chapter 10: Neat Stuff We Make and Grow- Discusses the economy of Michigan.
Aligns with economic standard through Michigan.
o Chapter 13: It Happens in Lansing-Our State Government- Discusses the state
government processes. Aligns with the Civic and Government standards through
Michigan.
At the end of each section there are Questions to Think About and Brain Stretchers which
both require students to assess in their minds the information they just learned and apply
it to various scenarios.
Each concept is represented by pictures which allow students to get a visual for what they
are learning.
There is a glossary in the back of the textbook that defines keywords used throughout the
text that are bolded.
Text is large and easy to read.
Throughout the text there questions and stories incorporated into the concepts which
allow students to relate to what they are learning with their personal lives.
Up to date information

Weaknesses

Some of the stories may make the content seem too fluffy.

Discover Michigan by David B. McConnell

Strengths

This textbook follows the guidelines just like the previous textbook does. The chapters
include: Getting Acquainted with Michigan, Lay of the Land, Our Very Early History,
Europeans Come to Michigan, Pioneers Arrive, On the Road to Statehood, Interesting
Products we Make Today, Good Things to Eat From Michigan.
Glossary of key terms at the back of the book
In each chapter there is a box that says Words you should know, highlighting the key
words from the chapter that are then also defined in the glossary
At the end of each chapter there are review questions

Weaknesses

The pages are very wordy, may be too complicated for some 3rd graders
The book is older, from 1981
Kind of bland in appearance

Recommendation
In choosing between these two textbooks for this course, I would choose Our Michigan
Adventure by David McDonnell. While both books align with the Content Standards, this book is
visually more appealing along with the richness in content, which will keep the students more
engaged. At this age, too wordy of textbooks can be a turn off for the students. Our Michigan
Adventure provides students with plenty of graphs, charts, pictures, and examples for the
students to be able to see what they are learning. Also, since this book is from 2002 instead of
1989, it provides more up to date information. Lastly, it is important that this book highlights key
words throughout the text because it allows students to key in on the main concepts, aligning
with the state standards.
In addition to using Our Michigan Adventure, I would also want to use Michigan Activity
Masters by David McConnell. This is a supplementary resource book for the teacher that
provides tons of activity sheets and ideas that can be used in lesson plans for this course. The
goal of this book says reproducible activities designed to help educators who are teaching
Michigan studies in response to the Michigan Framework for Social Studies Education Content
Standards and Benchmarks. This would be a very beneficial tool for the teacher to draw ideas
from.

Classroom Procedures:
Classroom Expectations:
As a classroom community, we will always practice the 3 Rs:
1. Be Responsible: Come to class with homework completed and materials ready to go for
the class.
2. Be Respectful: Respect yourself, your peers, your teacher, and your classroom. In return,
we will respect you.
3. Be Ready to Learn: Be engaged and interactive in what we are learning. If ever in doubt,
ask questions!
*Always have fun as well!
Attendance: Follow school policy in your Student Handbook. If you miss a day, check the
Agenda Calendar located on the whiteboard in the front of the classroom to see what we did in
class on the day you missed. Also, check inside the Absent folder to see if any handouts were
given. If you have any questions about what you missed, please ask me. I understand there may
be days where you might have to miss due to certain situations, but please remember that we will
be doing quite a bit of in class work, so we would love to have your shining face here every day
with us!

Late Assignments: Each student will be given 3 Constitution Currency slips at the start of the
school year that can act as late pass freebies. If turning in a late assignment, staple one of your
Constitution Currencies to it and put the assignment in the Late Assignment folder located on my
desk, with no penalty. If you run out of your Constitution Currency slips, you can still turn in
your late assignment, but 3 points will automatically be deducted each day it is late. I will only
accept late work up to one week after its original due date. After one week, the assignment is an
automatic zero.
Assessments:

Unit Projects
Homework Assignments
Course Project

Missing Tests: If you are absent the day of a test, you will have one week after the test was
originally given to make it up, either before or after school. The day after you come back from
being absent, sign your name on the Make Up Work sheet, and write what assignment/test you
have to make up next to your name. I will call you up to my desk at some point during the day to
discuss with you when the best time to make up that test will be.

Materials Needed: Each history class period you should have the following materials ready with
you before class starts:

History Notebook and Folder

Pen or Pencil
Textbook
Any homework assignments due that day
Any questions you may have
Your Learning Brain ready to learn and have fun!

Homework Club: If at any point during the year you feel that you do not understand the
material that we are learning in class, please come to Homework Club to get extra help.
Homework Club will be held every Monday and Thursday for one hour after school. During this
time you can get help from both me and other classmates who may be there. Even if you dont
need extra help, but just want to get your homework done, this is a great time to do that!
Children are the worlds most valuable resource and its best hope for the future