Grade: Three Unit: World Geography and Natural Resources Unit Narrative Students locate and label major

landmarks on a world map (this knowledge of world geography will come into play again in the Communities Around the World unit). Students also learn basic map skills (grid, cardinal directions, etc.). The introduction of map skills can be a jumping off point for studying how humans use land and natural resources, and how the location of those resources affects human activities (ex: look at landforms or resources on a map and compare with human activities there). Students will also learn how their own activities can preserve natural resources. How do people influence a community?

Overarching Essential Question(s) Topical Essential Questions

How can the location of a community be described? What is the relationship between human activity and human and natural resources?

Power Standards

PS #3 PHYSICAL & CULTURAL GEORGRAPHY

Students learn, and apply physical geography skills and the tools to identify locations; then investigate, understand, and analyze how cultures form and change over time and across various locations.

PS#4 CIVICS, GOVERNMENT & SOCIETY

Students examine the democratic principle to compare and contrast different types of governments, debate the rights and obligations of citizenship within them, and evaluate the concept of human rights and responsibilities within those institutions from local, national, and global perspectives in various times.

PS#5 ECONOMICS

Students recognize and analyze the relationships among the needs and wants of individuals, societies, and governments, and identify and evaluate the economic and environmental factors that influence choices and decisions while accounting for the availability of resources.

FNWSU Social Studies Grade Three June 2010

Power Indicators

*Locate and label the continents, oceans, the poles, and equator on a map and a globe. *Use a grid system to find locations on the map, and discuss location, size, shape, keys, and cardinal directions. *Compare and analyze patterns of land use within the broader community. (ie, agriculture, forestry, industry) and why these areas are used for certain human activities *Identify ways to preserve natural resources within the broader community. (ie, recycling, turning off electricity, limit use of water, gardening, closing doors, etc) *Discuss how patterns of human activities relate to distribution of natural resources. (ie, Why is there a marina in Grand Isle? Why is there no ski resort in Swanton?) *Examine examples of interdependence in your community.

Inquiry Focus Assessment Concepts/ Vocab

Identify and use simple resources to gather information. Use a focus question to analyze information about the broader community.

town city state country continent ocean hemisphere North Pole/South Pole equator compass rose key/legend symbol grid system agriculture industry forestry mining natural resource conservation interdependence globe region 2

FNWSU Social Studies Grade Three June 2010

Grade: Three Unit: Communities Over Time Unit Narrative Whereas students learned what constitutes their present community in 2nd grade, now students look at the history of their community. In this case, community can mean their town, or it can stretch as far as the broader region, ex. Franklin County, Missisquoi River Basin. (However, remember that they will be studying Vermont geography and history in depth in 4th grade). Choose an event from the communitys past and explore how that event impacted the community over time. Use the knowledge of the past to make predictions about the future. How do people influence a community? Why do communities change over time? How does past shape the present? How do peoples ideas and experiences influence their description of an event? PS #2 HISTORY
Students analyze the influences of the past on the present, and their implication for the future by understanding and interpreting periods of conflict, change, and continuity in history.

Overarching Essential Question(s) Topical Essential Questions Power Standards

Power Indicators

* Discuss things that have changed and things that have stayed the same and how they have impacted the broader community. (ie, general stores, farming techniques, maple sugaring, transportation, school life, energy, etc) * Identify an event in the community that influenced significant change over time. (ie, fire, flood, disease, closing of factory, one-room school house, building of interstate, creation of larger stores or companies and the influence of this on smaller, local businesses, etc) *Use the calendar to discuss historical community events, including terminology that includes centuries, decades, years. *Make predictions about the future of the community based on understanding of past and present. (ie, How will farming be different in the future? How will schools change because of technology?) *Develop a collection of artifacts and resources (maps, photographs, and interviews, using perspectives of local historians) which they use to interpret various events, recognizing fact and opinion.

FNWSU Social Studies Grade Three June 2010

Inquiry Focus Assessment Concepts/ Vocab

Identify and use simple resources to gather information. Use focus question to analyze information about the broader community.

century decade year past present future primary resource secondary resource cause/effect fact /opinion

FNWSU Social Studies Grade Three June 2010

Grade: Three Unit: Communities Around the World Unit Narrative Students will compare elements of their own culture with another cultural group somewhere in the world. This is probably most manageable if a teacher focuses on just one other place in the world in the form of a case study. Focus should be on three or four specific traits of culture: economy (jobs, trade, providing for needs); government (rules/fairness, governmental support, citizen rights); daily life (food, recreation, clothing); and/or one other trait (history, arts, religion, language, social groups).

Overarching Essential Question(s) Topical Essential Questions Power Standards

How do people influence a community?

How are communities similar and different around the world? How do citizens make decisions that impact themselves and their communities? PS #3 PHYSICAL & CULTURAL GEORGRAPHY
Students learn, and apply physical geography skills and the tools to identify locations; then investigate, understand, and analyze how cultures form and change over time and across various locations.

PS#4 CIVICS, GOVERNMENT & SOCIETY

Students examine the democratic principle to compare and contrast different types of governments, debate the rights and obligations of citizenship within them, and evaluate the concept of human rights and responsibilities within those institutions from local, national, and global perspectives in various times.

PS#5 ECONOMICS

Students recognize and analyze the relationships among the needs and wants of individuals, societies, and governments, and identify and evaluate the economic and environmental factors that influence choices and decisions while accounting for the availability of resources.

FNWSU Social Studies Grade Three June 2010

Power Indicators:

*Identify characteristics of broader community using resources such as road signs, landmarks, maps, photographs. *Give examples of jobs, resources, goods, and services within a broader community. *Identify choices people make as consumers and why those choices are made within a broader community. *Recognize fairness in rules and laws (conflict & resolution) *Identify and demonstrates the rights and responsibilities of citizens within the classroom, school and broader community. *Identify the ways in which the local government benefits the community. *Explain how we support the government and how the government supports us.

Inquiry Focus Assessment Concepts/ Vocab

Make and implement a plan to display information for presentation. Use research gathered to develop a second question for inquiry.

culture trade economy goods services consumer law right responsibility citizen government belief

FNWSU Social Studies Grade Three June 2010