WATERFORD PUBLIC SCHOOLS

SOCIAL STUDIES CURRICULUM

GRADE 3

 

Unit Title: Mapping Skills

 

Standard:  9  Places and Regions,

10 Physical System,

11 Human Systems,

12 Human and Environmental Interaction

Estimated Number of Days to Complete Unit: On-going

 

ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS / DESIRED RESULTS

 

The student will understand that:

1.

 A map or globe gives me a picture of the world.

 

 

ASSESSMENTS / ACCEPTABLE EVIDENCE

 

1.

Label continents and oceans on a blank world map.

2.

Locate continents and oceans  

3.

Use a compass rose to locate areas on a map.

 

 

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

 

1.

What information does this map give us?

2.

How do maps help me make sense of the world?

 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

 

The student will be able to:

1.

Orient a map and note directions.

2.

Locate places on a map and globe.

3.

Use a scale and compute distances.

4.

Use a key to interpret map symbols and visualize what they mean.

5.

Compare maps and make inferences.

6.

Express relative location.

 

 

 

SUGGESTED RESOURCES

 

1.

World Atlas

2.

Waterford map

3.

Connecticut map

4. 

Globe Political/Physical

5.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com

6.

Eye Spy  Wildcats Series

7.

Continents and Oceans  Evan Moor

8.

How to Use a Map Evan Moor

9.

http://www.proteacher.com

 

 

 

 

 

Unit Title: Geography

 

Standard: 1 Historical Thinking,

2 Local, United States and World History,

3 Historical Themes,

4 Applying History,

8 International Relations,

9 Places and Regions,

10 Physical System,

13 Limited Resources,

14 Economic Systems,

15 Economic Interdependence 

 

Estimated Number of Days to Complete Unit: Four to Six Weeks

 

ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS / DESIRED RESULTS

 

The student will understand that:

1.

Where you live influences how you live.

 

 

ASSESSMENTS / ACCEPTABLE EVIDENCE

 

1.

Students create promotional posters or brochures of a place they have read about.

2.

Have students draw or paint a picture of their own that tells a story.  Have them write a poem about it.

3.

Have students select a photo from each continent and write a diary entry or post card explaining their trip to this area.  Include information on human, physical and cultural characteristics of this place.

4. 

Venn Diagram-Comparing cultures through literature.

5.

Invite students to make clay models of specified landforms.  Have them cut out labels and write facts on them about the land forms.

6.

Students will create a postcard describing an ocean, gulf, or sea, using the same characteristics of an actual postcard, and they can either post them in the classroom on a map that outlines their travels or even send them through the post office to their parent's home.

 

 

 

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

 

1.

How does where I live influence the how I live?

2.

What makes places unique and different?

 

 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

 

The student will be able to:

1.

Locate the seven continents.

2.

Locate the major oceans.

3.

Distinguish national boundaries.

4.

Analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments.

5.

Identify the ways the earth’s physical features change over time.

6.

Examine how environments influence culture.

7.

Compare and contrast geographical locations in literature.

8.

Draw upon a variety of stories, legends, songs, ballads, and tales in order to describe the environment of people in various countries.

9.

Compile information from fiction and non-fictional accounts in order to visualize the cultures of people around the world.

10.

Describe the ways historians learn about the past without written records and how this has changed over time.

 

 

SUGGESTED RESOURCES

 

1.

http://www.sfsocialstudies.com

2.

Discovery Teams Newbridge

3.

Matthew Henson: Arctic Explorer – Sunshine

4.

Ginger’s War – Sunshine

5.

What is Technology – Newbridge

6.

Send a Message – Newbridge

7.

Eye Spy – Wildcats

8.

Encyclopedia of a Rain Forest – Rigby

9.

Antarctica: The Last Great Wilderness – Rigby

10.

Connecting to the Internet – Rigby

11.

Always Elephant: A Traditional Tale – Rigby

12.

Artful Stories – Rigby

13.

Red Nose Frost: A Traditional Tale From Russia – Rigby

14.

Pueblo Ruins – Rigby

15.

The Four A’s  - Wildcats

16.

Santiago’s Silvermine – Pegasus

17.

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears – Pegasus

18.

Evan Moor – The Seven Continents

19.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com

20.

Time for Kids- Non-fiction Teaching Kit  #1, #2, #8, #11, #12

21.

Abuela's Weave, by Omar S. Casteneda (Lee & Low Books, Inc., New York, NY, 1993)

22.

http://www.proteacher.com

 

 

 

Unit Title: Waterford History

 

Standard: 1 Historical Thinking,

 2 Local, United States and World History,

 3 Historical Themes,

 4 Applying History,

 9 Places and Regions,

11 Human Systems,

14 Economic Systems

 

Estimated Number of Days to Complete Unit: 4-6 weeks

 

ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS / DESIRED RESULTS

 

The student will understand that:

1.

Geography and natural resources influence the development of communities.

2.

Societies develop systems of exchange to meet their needs.

3.

Where we come from shapes who we are.

 

 

ASSESSMENTS / ACCEPTABLE EVIDENCE

 

1.

Interviews with resident historians

2.

Venn Diagrams to compare and contrast Waterford in the past to the present day.

3.

KWL

4.

Hyperstudio or KidPix slide show illustrating changes over time in Waterford.

5.

Create brochures of colonial Waterford that would convince people to settle in the area.  The brochures should highlight the unique qualities of colonial Waterford.

6.

Use graphs to show major employment categories to trace changes that have occurred in how people earn a living in Waterford.

 

 

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

 

1.

How do people shape a community?

2.

How does the community evolve as the political, economic and physical make-up changes?

 

 

 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

 

The student will be able to:

1.

Identify historical changes that have occurred in Waterford.

2.

Identify famous Waterford residents and their contributions to Waterford History.

3.

Compare and contrast current events in Waterford to events in Connecticut and American history.

4.

Compare and Contrast education during Waterford’s colonial times to the present school system.

 

5.

Identify ways people of Waterford of exchange goods and service past and present.

 

 

SUGGESTED RESOURCES

 

1.

Waterford Historical Society

2.

 Guest Speaker-Jerry Theiler President of  The Historical Society of Waterford

3.

History of Waterford Bachman

4. 

Toeing the Mark Bachman

5.

Sheep to Shawl

6.

Down Buttermilk Lane, by Barbara Mitchell with illustrations by John Sandford (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, New York, NY, 1993)

 

 

 

Unit Title: Connecticut

 

Standard: 1  Historical Thinking,

2  Local, United States and World History,

3  Historical Themes,

4  Applying History,

6  Rights and Responsibilities of Citizens,

9  Places and Regions,

10 Physical System,

11 Human Systems,

12 Human and Environmental Interaction,

13 Limited Resources,

14 Economic Systems,

15 Economic Interdependence

 

Estimated Number of Days to Complete Unit: Four to Six weeks

 

 

ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS / DESIRED RESULTS

 

The student will understand that:

1.

A community can benefit from location and the natural resources surrounding it.

2.

The efforts made by past citizens are reflected in the progress of today’s people.

3.

The United States is one nation with many states contributing to its success.

4.

Every level or branch of government has a special job.

5.

A community is as strong as the citizens that participate in it.

 

 

ASSESSMENTS / ACCEPTABLE EVIDENCE

 

1.

Produce a Connecticut Booklet/Report/ Visual Presentation

2.

Create and label a map of Connecticut

3.

Branches of Government Poster

4.

Design a state flag to embody a principal that captures the state’s spirit.(computerized or handwritten)

5.

 Students create a responsibility chain and record each duty of citizenship in linked ovals.  Then extending from the appropriate oval, students add specific details in additional circles.

 

 

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

 

1.

What are the different levels of government?

2.

What is the relationship among the different levels of government?

3.

What are the roots of our state? How does that shape who we are?

5.

What makes a good citizen?

 

 

 

 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

 

The student will be able to:

1.

Label physical properties on a Connecticut map.

2.

Locate major cities, towns, and countries on a Connecticut map.

3.

Identify Connecticut’s borders

4.

Illustrate their knowledge of modern State Government structure (Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches) and its importance.

5.

Compare and contrast CT economy and industry from past (colonial times) to present day.

6.

Describe the characteristics of a good citizen.

7.

Identify important acts of civic responsibility such as obeying laws and voting.

 

 

SUGGESTED RESOURCES

               

1.

Historical Album of Connecticut

2.

The Connecticut Atlas

3.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/connecticut/

4.

http://www.sfsocialstudies.com

5.

The Connecticut Historical Society

6.

http://www.worldalmanacforkids.com/explore/states/connecticut.html