Grade: 1

Rockford Public Schools

Grade 3 Social Studies

Communities

Curriculum Guide

 Unit 1 Community and Geography, pages 1-9

 Unit 2 America’s Early Communities, pages 10-19

 Unit 3 People Move from Place to Place, pages 20-27

 Unit 4 Community Government, pages 28-38

 Unit 5 Making Economic Choices, pages 39-

 Unit 6 Celebrating People and Other Cultures

August 2008





Grade: 3

Unit Number: 1

Unit Title: Community and Geography





Essential Question/s: What does community mean to you?





State Goals, Standards, and Objectives

GOAL 16 HISTORY Understand events, trends, individuals, and movements shaping the history of Illinois, the United

States, and other nations.

16.E Understand Illinois, United States and world environmental history.

16.E.1 (US) Describe how the local environment has changed over time.

16.E.2b (W) Identify individuals and their inventions (e.g., Watt/steam engine, Nobel/TNT, Edison/electric light) which influenced world

environmental history.



GOAL 17 GEOGRAPHY Understand world geography and the effects of geography on society, with an emphasis on the United States.

17.A Locate, describe and explain places, regions and features on the Earth.







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17.A.1a Identify physical characteristics of places, both local and global (e.g., locations, roads, regions, bodies of water).

17.A.1b Identify the characteristics and purposes of geographic representations including maps, globes, graphs, photographs, software,

digital images and be able to locate specific places using each.

17.A.2a Compare the physical characteristics of places including soils, land forms, vegetation, wildlife, climate, natural hazards.

17.A.2b Use maps and other geographic representations and instruments to gather information about people, places and environments.

17.B Analyze and explain characteristics and interactions of the Earth’s physical systems.

17.B.1a Identify components of the Earth’s physical systems.

17.B.1b Describe physical components of ecosystems.

17.B.2a Describe how physical and human processes shape spatial patterns including erosion, agriculture and settlement.

17.B.2b Explain how physical and living components interact in a variety of ecosystems including desert, prairie, flood plain, forest, tundra.

17.C Understand relationships between geographic factors and society.

17.C.1a Identify ways people depend on and interact with the physical environment (e.g., farming, fishing, hydroelectric power).

17.C.1b Identify opportunities and constraints of the physical environment.

17.C.1c Explain the difference between renewable and nonrenewable resources.

17.C.2c Explain how natural events in the physical environment affect human activities.

17.C.2c Explain how human activity affects the environment.

17.D Understand the historical significance of geography.

17.D.1 Identify changes in geographic characteristics of a local region (e.g., town, community).



Social Studies Content Social Studies Skills Content Area Content Area

Reading Strategies Reading Skills

Chapter 1 Chapter 1 Chapter 1 Chapter 1

Describe what a community is. Review standard features of a Summarize Main Idea and Details

map including map title, map key,

Explain the role of citizens in a and compass rose. Compare and Contrast

community.

Use cardinal and intermediated

Determine the reasons for rules directions on a map.

and laws in the community.



Describe the characteristics of an

urban, a suburban, and a rural

community.



Compare and contrast urban,

suburban, and rural communities.









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Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Chapter 2

Describe physical characteristics Identity United States climate Predict and Infer Main Idea and Details

of landforms and bodies of water. regions by using a map.

Categorize

Identify reasons why many people Interpret map information by using

live near oceans, rivers, or lakes. a map key. Draw Conclusions



Define climate. Use a map grid to determine Sequence

absolute location.

Locate major physical regions on

a map of the United States. Gather information using title,

table of contents, glossary, and

Identify major boundaries of water index.

in the U.S.



Identify three types of resources.



Explain uses of natural resources.



Identify ways that people can

modify the physical environment.



Describe the geography of Mexico

City.



Evaluate human impact on Mexico

City.



Identify ways citizens have

improved the city’s environment.



Cross-Curricular Activities

Language Arts: Write a Description – Ask students to think about a passenger in a helicopter flying over their community. Ask them to write a one-

page description of what that person would see during the flight. Point out that students should describe the geographical features of their

community, as well as its roads, streets, and buildings. Encourage them to include in their descriptions imagery to help readers visualize the

community.









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Math: Make a Bar Graph – Explain that meteorologists record the number of days of rain or snow in different cities. Using the data located in TE

H, have partners make bar graphs showing the number of days of rain or snow in New York City. Ask students to answer the following questions

based on the data: Which months had the most days of rain or snow? The fewest?



Science: Experiment with Water – Students will conduct an experiment to show how water heats up and cools down.



Unit 1 Video

Three key ways to use videos:

 Introduce or preview the unit – play the video before students get started.

 Reinforce an important concept – play before or after a pertinent lesson.

 Wrap it up – use the video to look back and summarize what students have learned.



Video: All About Land Formations

 This video describes various landforms and how they change over time.



Unit 1 Almanac Map and Graph Skills

The United States Today

 Critical Thinking: Reason – One group of five lakes in the United States is called the Great Lakes. Find the Great Lakes on the map. Why

do you think they are called the Great Lakes?

 Technology: GeoNet – www.eduplace.com/kids/hmss05/

 Math: What’s the Difference? – Ask students to use the diagram of U.S. heights to determine how much higher Denali is than Death

Valley. Because Death Valley is below sea level, the two heights should be added, not subtracted.

 Current Events: Web links to Weekly Reader – www.eduplace.com/kids/hmss/



Chapter 1 Opening Routines

Teacher Read Aloud: Splish-Splash



Vocabulary Preview



Chapter 1 Activities

Core Lesson 1: What Is a Community?

 Critical Thinking: Compare – How is students choosing a leader for their school group like citizens choosing leaders to make laws?

 Writing Activity: Suppose that you are in charge of a community clean-up day. Write a short speech about what you would do. Include

ways you would get citizens and leaders involved.

 Science: Communities in Nature – Explain that to scientists, a community means a group of plants and animals living in the same area

that depend on one another. Have students draw pictures and write captions of animals and plants that depend on each other. You might







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use as an example squirrels and birds that find food and shelter in trees, or bees that need the nectar of flowers to make honey.

 Language Arts: Write About a Favorite Place – Have students write a short paragraph about a favorite place in their community that is not

their home. Ask students to describe the place, using details about any building or people in their favorite place. They can tell why it is

their favorite.

(Optional) Extend Lesson 1: Poems from Our Communities

 Critical Thinking: Infer – Point out that “Walking Home from School” and “Neighborhood of Sun” are both spoken by a first-person narrator.

Ask students to infer the narrators’ attitudes toward the communities where they live.

 Draw Your Own: Make a poster showing what makes the community you live in special to you.

 Write About It: Write a poem about your community. Tell about the people and things you see every day.

 Language Arts: Write a Description – Invite students to write a description of the people and places they see and interact with on their way

home from school. Ask them to use the first-person point of view, and encourage them to express their feeling about what they describe.

Have small groups share and discuss their descriptions.

 Math: Word Problems

 Music: “This Land Is Your Land” – Invite small groups to prepare a presentation of the first two verses of “This Land Is Your Land.” Have

each group brainstorm gestures and movements to accompany the lyrics as they sing. Include musical accompaniment, if possible. Invite

students to discuss what the song means to them.

This land is your land. This land is my land

From California to the New York island;

From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters

This land was made for you and me.



As I was walking that ribbon of highway,

I saw above me that endless skyway:

I saw below me that golden valley:

This land was made for you and me.



 Graphic Organizer



Core Lesson 2: Kinds of Communities

 Critical Thinking: Predict – What might happen to a suburb’s population if jobs in the nearby city were moved to another place?

 Drawing Activity: Draw a picture of a main street in your town. Is it busy or quiet?

 Music: A Song About Communities – Have children create new words to the tune of “Did You Ever See a Lassie” to describe

characteristics of a city, a suburb, and a rural area. Have them begin “Did you ever see a city, a city, a city? Did you ever see a city that

looks like this? It has…”

 Language Arts: Write a Story – Ask students to write a story about a child who moves from one type of community to another, such as

from a rural community to a suburb. Encourage students to include details about how the new community is like the old one, and how it is

different.









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(Optional) Extend Lesson 2: Our Largest City

 Talk About It: Talk about ways people in a crowded place can get along with each other.

 Write About It: New York’s nickname is the Big Apple. Write your own slogan for the city and tell why you chose it.

 Art: Draw Skyscrapers – Have students look at the photo of the skyscrapers on pages 20-21. Point out that even though all the buildings

are tall, they each have different exterior and roof designs that make them individual. Ask students to draw their own skyscraper.

Encourage them to be creative. Display the drawings together to make it look like a city skyline.

 Graphic Organizer



Chapter 2 Opening Routines

Teacher Read Aloud: First Snow



Vocabulary Preview



Chapter 2 Activities

Core Lesson 1: Earth’s Land and Water

 Critical Thinking: Compare and Contrast – How are salt water and fresh water important to people?

 Math: Compare Fractions – Explain that every living thing is made up of water. Display this information: person = two-thirds water;

chicken = three-fourths water; pineapple = four-fifths water. Draw circles on the board to show each fraction and ask students which has

the largest fraction of water.

 Art: Before and After Pictures – Have students draw a picture of a body of water before people settled there. Then have them draw the

same body of water as a port, after people have settled.

 Critical Thinking: Compare and Contrast – Ask students to compare and contrast January weather where they live with January weather in

St. Petersburg, Florida, and Anchorage, Alaska.

 Writing Activity: Write a paragraph about the landforms or water you see in your community. Describe how people use them.

 Science: Water Experiments – Place one dish of water in a warm place, and another dish in a cold place. Ask students to observe

changes to the water over time. Ask students to explain what happens.

 Language Arts: Write a Poem – Ask students to write a poem about a landform, body of water, the climate, or the weather. Have them

read their poems aloud in small groups.

(Optional) Extend Lesson 1: Hurricanes Change the Land

 Think About It: What are some ways citizens can help the land, water, and people affected by hurricanes?

 Research It: Find out more about how hurricanes change the land. Present your findings in a report.

 Language Arts: Create a News Bulletin – Ask students to write a new bulletin that might have been issued on August 28, 2005, the day

before Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana. Encourage students to answer the questions What? When? Where? and Why? in

their news bulletins. Have students read their new bulletins aloud.

 Graphic Organizer









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Core Lesson 2: Our Country’s Geography

 Critical Thinking: Infer – Why do fewer plants grow in the desert than in other regions?

 Music: Write a Geography Song – Have small groups of students each pick a region of the country. Invite them to write a song describing

their region. You might suggest that they pick a well-known song for the tune.

 Math: Word Problems

 Critical Thinking: Infer – Ask students to infer how the presence of so much water affects the geography of Florida.

 Map Activity: Draw your own map of the United States from memory. Include mountains, oceans, and lakes. Then look at a classroom

map and compare it to your map.

 Science: Research Animal Life – Have groups of students research animals that live in the Appalachian Mountains, along the Coastal

Plain, or in the Everglades. Groups can make a booklet that gives facts about each animal and shows its picture.

 Language Arts: Write a Postcard – Ask students to imagine that they are taking a trip across the United States. Have each create a

postcard with a picture of a landform or water on the front and an address and message on the back.

(Optional) Extend Lesson 2: Protecting the Land

 Think About It: In what ways did John Muir and Marjory Stoneman Douglas show they were caring for the land?

 Present It: Think about an outdoor place you love in your community. Write and present a short description of its plants, animals, or

landforms.

 Science: Present a Report – Ask pairs of students to do additional research on Yosemite National Park and the Everglades National Park

today and efforts to protect the land and wildlife. Have students present oral reports to the class based on their findings.

 Graphic Organizer



Core Lesson 3: Communities and Resources

 Critical Thinking: Cause and Effect – What were the major effects of building the Oroville Dam?

 Writing Activity: Town leaders are asking your community to save water. Write a list of steps you would take to conserve water.

 Drama: A Puppet Play – Have pairs create a short play with stick puppets depicting natural resources and what they are made into or

used for. Share these examples. Draw a sheep and a girl wearing a sweater. Move the puppets and say, “I am a sheep. I gave my

wood to make this girl’s sweater.” Or draw the wind and a sailboat and say, “I am the wind; I move this boat.”

 Language Arts: Write a Persuasive Paragraph – Ask students why they think it’s important to protect our natural resources. Have them

write a paragraph in which they try to convince people in their community to conserve natural resources.

(Optional) Extend Lesson 3: What About Recycling?

 Readers’ Theater

 Critical Thinking: Form an Opinion – Ask students what they think about the third graders’ decision to work together to set up a recycling

program in their school. Students should give reasons that support their opinions.

 Critical Thinking: Predict – After reading, ask students to predict what the students and teachers will do next and how they will do this.

 Talk About It: What are the pros and cons of recycling? Are there others you can think of? Discuss your ideas with classmates.

 Write Your Own: Write a short Readers’ Theater about protecting the environment in your community.

 Language Arts: Write a Scene – Ask pairs to write another scene for this play telling what the third-graders and their teachers will do next







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to organize a recycling program at their school. Students can introduce new characters, if they choose. Call on volunteers to read their

scenes in class.

 Math: Make a Bar Graph

 Art: Recycled Art – Have students bring in materials that can be recycled, such as bottle caps, paper towel rolls, cereal boxes, and cloth

scraps. Organize these in boxes of like materials. Have students create sculptures from the recycled materials available. Have them

name and display their sculptures.

 Graphic Organizer



Core Lesson 4: Mexico City

 Critical Thinking: Generalize – What do you think life is like today for people who live in big cities, such as Mexico City?

 Writing Activity: Suppose you were able to visit Mexico City. List the things you might see there.

 Science: Make a Plan – Have pairs of students brainstorm possible ways to combat air, water, and land pollution. Students can organize

their ideas in a “Pollution Prevention” plan.

 Language Arts: Write a Pamphlet – Using information from this lesson, have students design a pamphlet encouraging people to visit

Mexico City. Suggest they use both illustrations and written text.

(Optional) Extend Lesson 4: The City on the Lake

 Explore It: Put yourself in the picture and talk about what it would be like to live in a city of gardens and canals.

Compare It: Compare and contrast Aztec canals to the roads used today. Or compare and contrast tools. Create a chart to show what is

alike and what is different.

 Language Arts: Write a Poem or a Short Story – Invite students to write poems or short stories that take placed in Tenochtitlan. Suggest

that students do additional research about Aztec life in reference to sources to get ideas for their writing. Have students read their poems

or stories in small groups.

 Graphic Organizer



Textbook Vocabulary District Vocabulary

community citizen

law erosion

citizen geography

map title intermediate directions

map key law

compass rose population

population suburban area

urban area

suburb

rural area

landform







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erosion

geography

climate

climate map

coast

desert

region

environment

natural resources

renewable resources

nonrenewable resources

map grid

capital

canal

pollution

table of contents

glossary

index



Unit Activity

Make a Community

 Think of different kinds of communities. Choose one.

 Make a list of features that might be part of that community, such as buildings, landforms, or parks.

 Create and label a map of a community that shows the features on your list.









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Grade: 3

Unit Number: 2

Unit Title: America’s Early Communities





Essential Question/s: Were people long ago like you?





State Goals, Standards, and Objectives

GOAL 14 POLITICAL SYSTEMS Understand political systems, with an emphasis on Illinois.

14.A Understand and explain basic principles of the United States government.

14.A2 Explain the importance of fundamental concepts expressed and implied in major documents including the Declaration of

Independence, the United States Constitution and the Illinois Constitution.



GOAL 16 HISTORY Understand events, trends, individuals, and movements shaping the history of Illinois, the United States, and other

nations.

16.A Apply the skills of historical analysis and interpretation.

16.A.1b Ask historical questions and seek out answers from historical sources (e.g., myths, biographies, stories, old photographs, artwork,

other visual or electronic sources).

16.A.1c Describe how people in different times and places viewed the world in different ways.

16.A.2c Ask questions and seek answers by collecting and analyzing data from historical documents, images and other literary and non-

literary sources.

16.B Understand the development of significant political events.

16.B.1a (US) Identify key individuals and events in the development of the local community (e.g., Founders days, names of parks, streets,

public buildings).

16.B.1b (US) Explain why individuals, groups, issues and events are celebrated with local, state or national holidays or days of recognition

(e.g., Lincoln’s Birthday, Martin Luther King’s Birthday, Pulaski Day, Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Veterans’ Day,

Thanksgiving).

16.B.1 (W) Explain the contributions of individuals and groups who are featured in biographies, legends, folklore and traditions.

16.B.2a (US) Describe how the European colonies in North America developed politically.

16.C Understand the development of economic systems.

16.C.1a (W) Identify how people and groups in the past made economic choices (e.g., crops to plant, products to make, products to trade)

to survive and improve their lives.









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16.C.1b (W) Explain how trade among people brought an exchange of ideas, technology and language.

16.D Understand Illinois, United States and world social history.

16.D.1 (US) Describe key figures and organizations (e.g., fraternal/civic organizations, public service groups, community leaders) in the

social history of the local community.

16.D.2a (US) Describe the various individual motives for settling in colonial America.

16.E

16.E.2a (US) Identify environmental factors that drew settlers to the state and region.



GOAL 18 SOCIAL SYSTEMS Understand social systems, with an emphasis on the United States.

18.A Compare characteristics of culture as reflected in language, literature, the arts, traditions and institutions.

18.A.1 Identify folklore from different cultures which became part of the heritage of the United States.

18.C Understand how social systems form and develop over time.

18.C.1 Describe how individuals interacted within groups to make choices regarding food, clothing and shelter.



Social Studies Content Social Studies Skills Content Area Content Area

Reading Strategies Reading Skills

Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Chapter 3

Describe the desert environment Identify and use different sources Question Problem and Solution

of the Navajo. of information to understand

history. Main Idea and Details

Explain how they adapted to their

environment. Identify the causes and effects of Sequence

historical events.

Describe the importance of nature Draw Conclusions

in Navajo culture today.



Describe the environment in which

the Yurok lived.



Explain how the Yurok used

natural resources.



Explain Yurok economy.



Describe the environment of the

Cherokee.









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Explain how the Cherokee

adapted to their environment.



Explain how Europeans changed

Cherokee life.



Describe the environment of the

Haudenosaunee.



Describe the Haudenosaunee

government.



Explain the Haudenosaunee

constitution.



Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Chapter 4

Summarize why explorers came to Read and interpret information on Monitor and Clarify Categorize

the Americas. a timeline.

Compare and Contrast

Describe the interactions of Define terms related to time,

explorers with the American including decade and century. Sequence

Indians.

Use cost and benefit analysis to

Identify some of the resources make a decision.

explorers found.

Understand how decisions can

Describe how early colonists influence events.

adapted to the land.



Describe Pilgrim and Wampanoag

interaction.



Evaluate how California became a

mix of Spanish and Indian

cultures.



Explain why colonists wanted







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freedom.



Identify key people who worked

for freedom.



Summarize the early history of the

United States Constitution.



Identify where early settlers from

Canada came from.



Compare and contrast how

independence was gained in the

United States and in Canada.



Identify evidence of the past in

Canada today.



Cross-Curricular Activities

Language Arts: Write a News Bulletin – Have students choose an event from the unit and write a one-paragraph news bulletin. Remind them to

answer the questions Who, What, Where, When, and Why in their paragraphs. They should also include a headline. Ask students to share their

bulletins in small groups. Then, display them on a classroom bulletin board.



Math: Using a Timeline – Explain to students that they can subtract to find out the number of years between important events on a timeline. Write

the events listed on TE 67H on the board as a timeline. Have students make up and solve word problems, using the information on the timeline.

For example: How old was George Washington when the Declaration of Independence was signed?



Drama: Role-Play an Interview – Ask students to select one historical figure from this unit and role-play that person and several reporters. The

interview could take place before or after an event in which the individual took part. Students playing the reporters should each prepare and

practice two questions. Have groups present the interview to the class.



Unit 2 Video

Three key ways to use videos:

 Introduce or preview the unit – play the video before students get started.

 Reinforce an important concept – play before or after a pertinent lesson.

 Wrap it up – use the video to look back and summarize what students have learned.









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Video: America’s Early Communities

 Students meet the Pilgrims, Squanto, and other historical figures as they learn about the Mayflower crossing, Mayflower Compact, and the

colonies.



Unit 2 Almanac Map and Graph Skills

North America, 1750s

 Critical Thinking: Analyze – Which two European countries claimed some of the same land in North America?

 Technology: GeoNet – www.eduplace.com/kids/hmss05/

 Math: After the Fact – Ask students to calculate how many years passed between when Americans declared their independence and

when Canadians gained independence.

 Current Events: Web links to Weekly Reader – www.eduplace.com/kids/hmss/



Chapter 3 Opening Routines

Teacher Read Aloud: A Navaho Weaving Lesson



Vocabulary Preview



Chapter 3 Activities

Core Lesson 1: The Navajo

 Critical Thinking: Cause and Effect – Why did the Navajo build hogans facing east?

 Art Activity: Make a booklet of drawings or pictures with captions or pictures with captions that ell about your family’s culture. Include

details such as language, foods, or family stories.

 Science: Natural Dyes – Tell students that before 1800, Navajo blankets were mainly black and white. Later weavers used color dyes

created from the bark, flowers, and roots of plants. Have students use the library or Internet to help them make a chart that shows the

color of a dye and the plant and plant part from which it comes. Students can dye pieces of white yarn in food coloring to make yarn

pictures.

 Language Arts: Write a Journal Entry – Have students think about what it would be like to be travelers passing through Navajo land 200

years ago. Ask them to write a journal entry describing the traditional Navajo life. Suggest that they include facts about Navajo farming,

herding, weaving, building homes, and holding ceremonies.

(Optional) Extend Lesson 1: Navajo Sand Painting

 Think About It: Why is it important for the figures in the painting to be right?

 Write About It: Write a poem about sand painting. What might the helper see and hear as he paints with sand?

 Graphic Organizer



Core Lesson 2: The Yurok

 Critical Thinking: Drawing Conclusions – What do you think most influenced the way the Yurok lived?







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 Art Activity: Create your own money. Draw a picture of it. Explain who much it is worth and what materials you would use to make it.

 Math: Making Money – The Yurok had a system of money based on tooth shells. In today’s United States, we have paper currency and

metal coins. Have students work in pairs to devise their own money system. They can choose objects and decide on their value. Then

they can make up a list of goods and determine the cost of the goods in their money system.

 Language Arts: Booklet – Have partners begin a booklet about American Indian communities. Have them draw pictures and write

paragraphs about the Yurok and Navajo that include a description of where they live, their jobs, the food they eat, what they make, and

special traditions or activities.

(Optional) Extend Lesson 2: Yurok Money

 Talk About It: Look at the chart. Which item did the Yurok value most? Why might that item have been so valuable?

 Chart It: If you could use something besides paper dollars and metal coins for money, what would you use? Create a chart showing the

value of your “money” and what it might buy.

 Science: The Truth About Tooth Shells – Explain that tooth shells are the shell of a type of mollusk and get their name from their shape.

Have students research mollusks. Students can choose one mollusk to draw and describe its habitat.

 Graphic Organizer



Core Lesson 3: The Cherokee

 Critical Thinking: Analyze – Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? The settlers treated the Cherokee unfairly.

 Writing Activity: The Cherokee have many traditions, such as sharing stories. Write a short paragraph about a tradition that your family

has.

 Physical Education: Play the Cherokee Game “Hoop and Pole” – Cherokee men and boys played this to improve their throwing skills. You

will need one hula hoop per group and one long stick per player. One person rolls the hoop with the opening facing the players. As it

rolls, the players try to throw their sticks through the hoop.

 Language Arts: Make a Speech – Have students place themselves in the role of Sequoyah, making a speech to a group of important

Cherokee leaders about his plan to create a Cherokee alphabet. Tell students to explain why this is important as a way to preserve the

Cherokee language and culture. Students can take notes first. Have volunteers give speeches from their notes.

(Optional) Extend Lesson 3: Sequoyah

 Talk About It: In what ways do you think Sequoyah’s writing system changed the lives of the Cherokee people?

 Make Your Own: Create your own alphabet. Translate a poem or song into your own writing system.

 Language Arts: Write a Newspaper Article – Have students think about how exciting it must have been the first time a newspaper was

printed using the Cherokee alphabet. Have students write an article telling about the creation of the Cherokee alphabet. Have them

answer the questions who, what, where, when, why, and how.

 Graphic Organizer



Core Lesson 4: Haudenosaunee

 Critical Thinking: Infer – What might have happened if the five Haudenosaunee nations did not agree to unite in peace?

 Math: Size of a Longhouse – In a longhouse, each two-family section and shared fire pit was about 20 feet long with one family on each







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side. Have students draw a picture and find out the length of a house for six and ten families.

 Art: Masks and Dance – The Haudenosaunee produced false face masks, carved from living trees and painted red or black. They used

them in curing ceremonies. Have students create their own false-face masks from cardboard shaped slightly larger than their faces. They

can glue on lips, ears, and eyes, and yarn for hair. Have them create a dance and then perform it, holding their masks in front of their

faces.

 Writing Activity: Write a short poem telling how the Haudenosaunee united.

 Drama: A Meeting of the Haudenosaunee Government – In groups of five, have students create a short play about meeting of the

Haudenosaunee government. Each person is there to speak for his or her nation about important decisions concerning trade, war, and

problems with the European settlers. Have students make up specific problems to discuss.

 Language Arts: Write a Diary Entry – The earliest European contact with the Haudenosaunee was in the 1530s. These explorers kept

written accounts of everything they saw. Have students think about the explorers who have come to a Haudenosaunee town. Have them

write a diary entry detailing what the explorers might have seen, such as the houses, people, food, and jobs.

(Optional) Extend Lesson 4: Eagle Song

 Critical Thinking: Compare – Books, pictures, signs, songs, and movies are all ways of conveying information. Have students compare

them, discussing the advantages and disadvantages of using each method to convey information and tell a story.

 Talk About It: What objects does Mr. Bigtree show to the students as he tells them about the Iroquois?

 Draw Your Own: Draw a symbol that is special to you. Write a description of the symbol and explain why it is important to you.

 Language Arts: Write a Personal Narrative – Danny was teased by his class. It turned out that his father was a member of the Mohawk

Nation. This was probably a surprise to his classmates and made them think about Danny differently. Have students write about a time

they learned something unexpected about someone in their class, school, or neighborhood. If they can’t think of a real incident, they can

invent one.

 Math: Solve Word Problems

 Science: Eagles – The bald eagle is an important symbol of the United States. Have students research facts about the bald eagle, such

as what it eats. They can present what they have learned as a short report.

 Art: A Mosaic Story – The wampum belts were not like cartoons with different squares. Each had a simple design that, when explained,

told an important story. Have students create a simple design that represents a story they would like to tell. Using small cut or torn

squares of colored construction paper, have them create a mosaic of their design.

 Graphic Organizer



Chapter 4 Opening Routines

Teacher Read Aloud: A Sailor’s Journal, 1492



Vocabulary Preview



Chapter 4 Activities

Core Lesson 1: Explorers Arrive







16

 Critical Thinking: Draw Conclusions – Do you think the French government was pleased with Champlain?

 Art Activity: Use library resources to learn about Columbus’s voyages. Draw a map showing the complete route of one of the voyages.

 Math: How Many Years? – Write the dates 1492, 1542, and 1608. Have students tell what happened in each year. Have them answer

questions such as: In 1608, Champlain helped to found Quebec, Canada. How many years are there between 1492 and 1608? How

many years are there between the time Columbus sailed west from Spain and Cabrillo sailed north from Mexico?

 Language Arts: Create a Poster – Have pairs of students use reference books or the Internet to learn more about Columbus, Cabrillo, or

Champlain. Have them draw a picture of the man and list interesting information that tells why he is remembered.

(Optional) Extend Lesson 1: Champlain’s Map

 Talk About It: Why do you think old maps are so different from today’s maps?

 Make Your Own: From memory, draw and label a map of your school and the surrounding neighborhood. Which things are hard to

remember and draw? Which ones are easier?

 Graphic Organizer



Core Lesson 2: Colonies in America

 Critical Thinking: Fact and Opinion – What facts led the king of Spain to believe that England was a threat to Spanish lands?

 Writing Activity: Write a short story in which a Pilgrim thanks a Wampanoag for his or her help.

 Math: How Many Years? – Have students read and solve the following problems. The Spanish settled in California in 1765. The Pilgrims

settled in Massachusetts in 1620. How many years apart did they settle those areas? Between 1769 and 1823, thousands of American

Indians moved into missions. For how many years did this happen?

 Language Arts: Write a Descriptive Paragraph – Display books about the Pilgrims or early American colonies. Have students select an

illustration from a book and write a descriptive paragraph about it. Then have volunteers show their pictures and read their paragraphs.

(Optional) Extend Lesson 2: Thanksgiving

 Talk About It: What Thanksgiving traditions do you know about?

 Write About It: Write a paragraph explaining how the feast in 1621 is alike and different from Thanksgiving today.

 Math: Addition and Subtraction – Have students use addition and subtraction to solve the following problems: How many years ago was

the first Thanksgiving? In 1621, approximately how many people were at the celebration of the year’s harvest? Thanksgiving became a

national holiday in 1863. How many years ago was that?

 Graphic Organizer



Core Lesson 3: Becoming a Country

 Critical Thinking: Summarize – Read about and summarize the discussions American leaders had about the plan for government.

 Writing Activity: Benjamin Franklin helped to write the Constitution. List three questions a reporter might have asked Franklin about his

work.

 Music: Patriotic Songs – Write the words to the first verses of “America” and “America the Beautiful.” Sing these songs with students. In

addition, teach students the chorus of “You’re a Grand Old Flag,”

 Language Arts: Write a Dialogue – Tell students to think about what it would be like to talk to the writers of the Constitution. Have each







17

student identify a law they think should be included in the Constitution. Have them write a dialog with Benjamin Franklin telling him to

include this law in the Constitution.

(Optional) Extend Lesson 3: Freedom’s Heroes

 Make It: Make biography cards of Franklin, Jefferson, and Adams. Tell how they showed patriotism, or love of country.

 Write About It: Write a letter to Franklin, Jefferson, or Adams. Say what you think about that person’s work for freedom.

 Drama: Readers’ Theater – Have students work in small groups to write a conversation between Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson,

and Abigail Adams. They can use information from the biographies and also think about what these people might say about changes in

their new country.

 Graphic Organizer



Core Lesson 4: Canada

 Art Activity: The symbol on the Canadian flag is a maple leaf. Create a flag for your classroom. Include a symbol that stands for

something special about your class.

 Math: Create a Bar Chart – Students create a bar graph to show the populations of Canadian provinces.

 Language Arts: write a Letter – Have students think about the life of a colonist in Canada in the 1700s. Have them write a letter that a

colonist might have written to a relative back home describing life in Canada. Encourage them to use sensory words from all five senses

in their letter.

(Optional) Extend Lesson 4: Canada’s Resources

 Draw It: Draw a large map of Canada. Use an atlas to find the location of rivers and lakes, then mark them on your map.

 Report It: Use an encyclopedia to find out more about one of Canada’s natural resources. Write a short report summarizing what you

learned.

 Science: Natural Resources – Have pairs each choose a province of Canada and write an illustrated report about the province’s

environment, including the plants and animals found there.

 Graphic Organizer



Textbook Vocabulary District Vocabulary

adapt barter / trade

culture Constitution

religion tradition

ceremony

reference book

Internet

trade

barter

economy

piedmont







18

history

tradition

cause

effect

government

Constitution

trade route

explorer

decision

colony

mission

independence

democracy

timeline

decade

century

heritage

symbol



Unit Activity

Make a Fact Foldout

 Choose an American Indian nation from the unit.

 Research the people, listing information in a fact file.

 Fold a sheet of paper in half. On one side, list the facts you found.

 On the other side, draw the Indian community. Label your picture.









19

Grade: 3

Unit Number: 3

Unit Title: People Move from Place to Place





Essential Question/s: Why do communities change over time?





State Goals, Standards, and Objectives

GOAL 14 POLITICAL SYSTEMS Understand political systems, with an emphasis on Illinois.

14.A Understand and explain basic principles of the United States government.

14.A.1 Describe the fundamental principles of government including representative government, government of law, individual rights and the

common good.

14.B Understand the structures and functions of political systems of Illinois, the United States and other nations.

14.B.1 Identify the different levels of government as local, state and national.

14.C Understand the election processes and responsibilities of citizens.

14.C.1 Identify concepts of responsible citizenship including respect for the law, patriotism, civility and working with others.

14.D Understand the roles and influences of individuals and interest groups in the political systems of Illinois, the United States and other

nations.

14.D.1 Identify the roles of civic leaders (e.g., elected leaders, public service leaders).

14.E Understand United States foreign policy as it relates to other nations and international issues.

14.E.1 Identify relationships that the federal government establishes with other nations.

14.F Understand the development of United States political ideas and traditions.

14.F.1 Describe political ideas and traditions important to the development of the United States, including democracy, individual rights and

the concept of freedom.



GOAL 15 ECONOMICS Understand economic systems, with an emphasis on the United States.

15.C Understand that scarcity necessitates choices by producers.

15.C.2c Describe how entrepreneurs take risks in order to produce goods or services.

15.E Understand the impact of government policies and decisions on production and consumption in the economy.

15.E.1 Identify goods and services provided by the government.



GOAL 16 HISTORY Understand events, trends, individuals, and movements shaping the history of Illinois, the United States, and other









20

nations.

16.B Understand the development of significant political events.

16.B.1b (US) Explain why individuals, groups, issues and events are celebrated with local, state or national holidays or days of recognition

(e.g. Lincoln’s Birthday, Martin Luther King’s Birthday, Pulaski Day, Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Veterans’ day, Thanksgiving).

16.C Understand the development of economic systems.

16.C.1b (US) Explain how the economy of the students’ local community has changed over time.

16.D Understand Illinois, United States and world social history.

16.D.1 (W) Identify how customs and traditions from around the world influence the local community.

16.D.2b (US) Describe the ways in which participation in the westward movement affected families and communities.



GOAL 17 GEOGRAPHY Understand world geography and the effects of geography on society, with an emphasis on the United States.

17.A Locate, describe and explain places, regions and features on the Earth.

17.A.2b Use maps and other geographic representations and instruments to gather information about people, places and environments.



GOAL 18 SOCIAL SYSTEMS Understand social systems, with an emphasis on the United States.

18.B Understand the roles and interactions of individuals and groups in society.

18.B.1a Compare the roles of individuals in group situations (e.g., student, committee member, employee/employer).



Social Studies Content Social Studies Skills Content Area Content Area

Reading Strategies Reading Skills

Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Chapter 5

Identify reasons why St. Louis Read and interpret historical data Question Main Idea and Details

grew in the 1800s. using a line graph.

Categorize

Describe the economies Use a map scale to determine

established by the settlers in St. actual distances.

Louis.



Identify ways in which St. Louis

has changed and stayed the same

over time.



Name modes of transportation

used to move west during the

1800s.



Summarize developments in







21

transportation and communication

impacted society.



Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Chapter 6

Describe the experiences of Differentiate between primary and Predict and Infer Draw Conclusions

African Americans during the secondary sources.

1700s and 1800s. Main Idea and Details



Describe the experiences of

immigrants who came to the East

and West Coasts.



Identify some contributions that

immigrants have made in the

United States.



Identify reasons why immigrants

have settled in Brazil.



Describe how traditions can be

passed from one generation to the

next.



Identify ways that communication

links people and communities.



Cross-Curricular Activities

Language Arts: Write a Letter – Ask students to write a letter from the viewpoint of someone who came to America during the 1800s or early

1900s or who went west during the period. Remind them to include details about the imaginary person’s life, including his or her feelings about a

new life in the United States or a new western home. Have students share their letters in small groups.



Math: Make a Bar Graph – Pairs of students will make a bar graph that shows third grade student population.



Music: Create a Song – Review the description of people moving west or arriving in the United States during the 1800s. Discuss with students

how these new Americans felt and what they experienced. Have students pairs make up original verses for a song that reflect some of these

experiences and feelings. Help students choose appropriate music from the classroom or school music library.









22

Unit 3 Video

Three key ways to use videos:

 Introduce or preview the unit – play the video before students get started.

 Reinforce an important concept – play before or after a pertinent lesson.

 Wrap it up – use the video to look back and summarize what students have learned.



Video: President’s Day

 The video introduces the history of the holiday, presidential firsts, and the role of the President of the United States.



Unit 3 Almanac Map and Graph Skills

U.S. Immigration, 1870-1880

 Technology: GeoNet – www.eduplace.com/kids/hmss05/

 Math: Estimate the Breakdown – Ask students to use the pie graph to estimate if one half or one quarter of people in San Francisco were

newcomers in 1870.

 Current Events: Web links to Weekly Reader – www.eduplace.com/kids/hmss/



Chapter 5 Opening Routines

Teacher Read Aloud: Adventure in the West



Vocabulary Preview



Chapter 5 Activities

Core Lesson 1 Settlers in St. Louis

 Critical Thinking: Predict – What might have happened to St. Louis if settlers moving west had been able to bring what they needed from

the East?

 Map Activity: The Mississippi River flows through 10 states. Use a map to find out what states they are. Where does the river begin and

end?

 Math: Create Word Problems – Have students make up word problems about buying and selling goods in St. Louis. For instance: Three

newcomers each want five horses. How many horses do they need altogether? Have them solve the problems that a classmate has

created. Suggest that students use goods common to the early 1800s.

 Language Arts: Write a Newspaper Article – Remind students that some St. Louis entrepreneurs started newspapers. Ask each student to

write a short newspaper article about a business in St. Louis in the 1800s. Encourage students to answer the questions Who? What?

When? Where? Why or How? Share and display the articles.

(Optional) Extend Lesson 1: Hello, St. Louis!

 Readers’ Theater

 Critical Thinking: Draw Conclusions – Point out to students that Anna, Rebecca, and Benjamin Boone all talk about the schools and







23

lectures available in St. Louis. Using this information, ask students what conclusion they can make about the Boone family’s feelings

about education.

 Critical Thinking: Ask students why the help offered to the Boone family by the Fitzgeralds will make it easier for them to adjust to life in St.

Louis.

 Talk About It: If you were one of the Boones, would you rather stay in St. Louis or travel to California? Why?

 Act It Out: Write the next scene in which the Boones start their new business.

 Language Arts: Write a Letter – Ask students to choose a character in the Readers’ Theater and, pretending to be that person, write a

letter to a relative or friend back East. Encourage students to tell about their life in St. Louis and to refer to other characters from the

Readers’ Theater. Have students read their letters in small groups.

 Math: Calculations – Students work out solutions to three questions about their business that sold mules and horses.

 Science: The Hardy Mule – Have students use reference books or materials to learn more about mules, such as what they look like, what

kind of care they need, and what kind of work they do. Have students focus on how they helped transportation in the 1800s. Have them

present their findings in an oral report. They might also write questions for classmates to answer after listening to the report.

 Graphic Organizer



Core Lesson 2: Moving West

 Critical Thinking: Compare and Contrast – How were messages sent by Pony Express and telegraph alike and different?

 Writing Activity: The first train has just arrived in a western town. Write two headlines about the event for the town’s newspaper.

 Math: Pony Express Math – Have students figure out how many horses a Pony Express rider will need to carry mail 250 miles. Tell

students that the rider will change horses every 10 miles. Some students may want to draw a visual representation to help them figure

this out. Encourage students to create other Pony Express word problems using other operations.

 Language Arts: Say It in Morse Code – Display the alphabet and its Morse code symbols. Have students write one sentence in Morse

code that tells about something they learned in this lesson. Have them exchange coded messages with a partner to translate.

(Optional) Extend Lesson 2: Transportation Then and Now

 Draw It: Suppose your job is to sell tickets for the first cross-country train ride. Make a poster to persuade people to make the trip.

 Figure It Out: How much faster is a jet today than a train from the 1800s?

 Math: How Many? – Students will solve word problems.

 Graphic Organizer



Chapter 6 Opening Routines

Teacher Read Aloud: A New Home



Vocabulary Preview



Chapter 6 Activities

Core Lesson 1: Coming to America







24

 Critical Thinking: Cause and Effect – Why do you think most of the immigrants who came to California were from Asian countries or from

Mexico?

 Math: Mining for Gold – Students use pebbles (gold nuggets) to solve math problems.

 Art: A Suitcase for Moving – Have students draw an outline of a large suitcase. Tell students to think of things they would take with them if

they were moving to a new place. Have them draw pictures of these items inside their suitcase. Have students label each item and

explain why they chose it.

 Critical Thinking: Fact and Opinion – Which of these statements is a fact and which is an opinion? Some immigrants spoke no English

when they came to America. The Chinese were the hardest-working group of immigrants.

 Writing Activity: Different countries have different kinds of food. Find the restaurant section in your phone book. List three countries

shown and write a sentence for each telling what you know about the people there or their foods.

 Drama: Role-play a Conversation – Have pairs of students role-play a conversation between a reporter and an immigrant to either the

West or the East coasts of the United States. In the conversation, the student who takes the part of the immigrant should explain his or

her reasons for making the journey.

 Language Arts: Write a Story – Have students write a story about a child their age who immigrates with his or her family to either the East

or West coast of the United States in the late 1800s. Encourage them to weave information from this lesson, such as arriving at Angel

Island or Ellis Island, into their stories.

(Optional) Extend Lesson 1: Hannah’s Journal

 Critical Thinking: Analyze a Character’s Statement – How students think about why Samuel called Ellis Island “the Island of Tears.”

 Critical Thinking: Generalize – Ask students how the different characters referred to in Hannah’s journal were alike.

 Talk About It: Describe three things Hannah sees when she arrives in America.

 Write About It: Hannah says, “In America, it matters what you know!” Do you agree? Do you disagree? Write a statement telling what

you think.

 Language Arts: Write a Journal Entry – Ask students to write another journal entry from the point of view of Esther or Samuel that

describes the trip to America and going to Ellis Island. Tell them to base their entry on information from Hannah’s journal and to include

other characters. Have students read their journal entries aloud.

 Math: Make a Bar Graph – Tell students that records were kept of people who immigrated to the United States in the 19 and early 20

th th



centuries. Write the information shown and have students use it to make a bar graph and make up word problems.

 Drama: Act It Out – Group students in fours to take the parts of Hannah, Esther, Samuel, and the inspector. Have students plan how they

would act out the story and what each character would say. Have each group act out the story. Have some of the other students take the

parts of the firs- and second-class passengers or other immigrants.

 Graphic Organizer



Core Lesson 2: Brazil

 Critical Thinking: Compare and Contrast – How are the Internet and the cell phone the same and different?

 Writing Activity: Write a list of three or four questions about the ways people use satellites to communicate.

 Art: Make a Poster – Ask pairs of students to make a poster with a drawing of a computer and telephone. Have them research five or







25

more facts about each kind of communication, including who developed it and when, and why it is considered to be an important invention.

 Language Arts: Write Descriptions – Have students write one paragraph about what everyday inventions they use that their great

grandparents did not have. Encourage them to include many descriptive details. Have students gather in small groups to share their

paragraphs.

(Optional) Extend Lesson 2: Hi-Tech Brazil

 Talk About It: What thinks do you do that depend on information from satellites?

 Write About It: If you could design a satellite to help you with tasks on Earth, what would your satellite do? Write a paragraph telling about

it.

 Science: Learn More About Satellites – Ask pairs of students to look up satellites in a reference book or on the Internet. Have them

choose one kind of satellite. Have each student pair present their research in the form of a booklet that includes both illustrations and text.

Students can share their booklets in class.

 Graphic Organizer



Textbook Vocabulary District Vocabulary

goods ancestor

service diversity

entrepreneur goods / services

profit immigrant

line graph map scale

transportation profit

steam engine transportation

railroad

telegraph

map scale

diversity

slavery

immigrant

primary source

secondary source

ancestor

generation



Unit Activity

Make a Pair of “Then and Now” Pictures

 Choose a city that has changed over time. Research new buildings, population growth, and other changes.

 Pick two years that show a great contrast in how the city looked.









26

 Draws two scenes of the city, one in the early year and one in the later year. Add labels.









27

Grade: 3

Unit Number: 4

Unit Title: Community Government





Essential Question/s: What makes someone a good citizen of the United States?





State Goals, Standards, and Objectives

GOAL 14 POLITICAL SYSTEMS Understand political systems, with an emphasis on Illinois.

14.A Understand and explain basic principles of the United States government.

14.A.1 Describe the fundamental principles of government, government of law, individual rights and the common good.

14.B Understand the structures and functions of political systems of Illinois, the United States and other nations.

14.B.1 Identify the different levels of government as local, state and national.

14.B.2 Explain what government does at local, state and national levels.

14.C Understand the election processes and responsibilities of citizens.

14.C.1 Identify concepts of responsible citizenship including respect for the law, patriotism, civility and working with others.

14.C.2 Describe and evaluate why rights and responsibilities are important to the individual, family, community, workplace, state and nation

(e.g., voting, protection under the law).

14.D Understand the roles and influences of individuals and interest groups in the political systems of Illinois, the United States and other

nations.

14.D.1 Identify the roles of civic leaders (e.g., elected leaders, public service leaders).

14.D.2 Explain ways that individuals and groups influence and shape public policy.

14.E Understand United States foreign policy as it relates to other nations and international issues.

14.E.1 Identify relationships that the federal government establishes with other nations.

14.F Understand the development of United States political ideas and traditions.

14.F.1 Describe political ideas and traditions important to the development of the United States including democracy, individual rights and

the concept of freedom.



GOAL 15 ECONOMICS Understand economic systems, with an emphasis on the United States.

15.E Understand the impact of government policies and decisions on production and consumption in the economy.

15.E.1 Identify goods and services provided by the government.

15.E.2b Identify which public goods and services are provided by differing levels of government.









28

GOAL 16 HISTORY Understand events, trends, individuals, and movements shaping the history of Illinois, the United States, and other

nations.

16.A Apply the skills of historical analysis and interpretation.

16.A.1b Ask historical questions and seek out answers from historical sources (e.g., myths, biographies, stories, old photographs, artwork,

other visual or electronic sources).

16.B Understand the development of significant political events.

16.B.1 (W) Explain the contributions of individuals and groups who are featured in biographies, legends, folklore and traditions.



GOAL 17 GEOGRAPHY Understand world geography and the effects of geography on society, with an emphasis on the United States.

17.A Locate, describe and explain places, regions and features on the Earth.

17.A.1b Identify the characteristics and purposes of geographic representations including maps, globes, graphs, photographs, software,

digital images and be able to locate specific places using each.

17.A.2b Use maps and other geographic representations and instruments to gather information about people, places and environments.



GOAL 18 SOCIAL SYSTEMS Understand social systems, with an emphasis on the United States.

18.B Understand the roles and interactions of individuals and groups in society.

18.B.1a Compare the roles of individuals in group situations (e.g., student, committee member, employee/employer).

18.B.1b Identify major social institutions in the community.

18.b.2b Describe the ways in which institutions meets the needs of society.



Social Studies Content Social Studies Skills Content Area Content Area

Reading Strategies Reading Skills

Chapter 7 Chapter 7 Chapter 7 Chapter 7

Explain how citizens can help Understand and apply the process Summarize Main Idea and Details

improve their community. of conflict resolution.

Compare and Contrast

Identify ways to promote the

common good in a community.



Name some rights of citizenship.



Identify the U.S. Constitution as

document that helps protect our

rights.



Name some responsibilities of







29

citizenship.



Chapter 8 Chapter 8 Chapter 8 Chapter 8

Describe how people choose their Recognize and respect different Monitor and Clarify Draw Conclusions

government leaders. points of view.

Main Idea and Details

Identify services provided by local Interpret information give on an

government and explain how they inset map. Categorize

are paid for.

Problem and Solution

Identify different kinds of local

government.



Identify the three branches of

state government and their

responsibilities.



Explain how the branches of state

government make and enforce

state law.



Describe ways states and the

nation interact.



Describe the roles of the three

branches of national government.



Identify important symbols and

monuments of the United States.



Explain the role of ambassadors.



Explain how the United Nations

helps nations work together.



Summarize how black South

Africans gained equal rights.







30

Cross-Curricular Activities

Language Arts: Write a Speech – Help students to brainstorm a list of important issues affecting their schools or community. Write student

responses on the board. Ask students to choose one of the issues and write short speeches expressing their points of view. Remind students to

include reasons for their opinions in their speeches. Call on students to present their speeches in class.



Math: Make a Circle Graph – Students will make a circle graph about a class election.



Drama: Role-play an Election Speech – In small groups have students take turns giving a brief speech about why they would make a good class

president. Two students in each group take parts of candidates. The other students will ask questions of each candidate. Ask students to

prepare their speeches by listing what they would do as class president. Have students vote on one student from their group to give an election

speech to the class. You may want to have the class vote and select a class president.



Unit 4 Video

Three key ways to use videos:

 Introduce or preview the unit – play the video before students get started.

 Reinforce an important concept – play before or after a pertinent lesson.

 Wrap it up – use the video to look back and summarize what students have learned.



Video: Community Government

 Overview of the planning and building of our capital city, important government buildings, and special national monuments.



Unit 4 Almanac Map and Graph Skills

Levels of Government

 Critical Thinking: Reason – Does the United States have more state or cities? Explain your answer.

 Technology: GeoNet – www.eduplace.com/kids/hmss05/

 Math: On the Rise – Using the line graph, have students determine which twenty-year span showed the greatest increase in the number of

women in Congress.

 Current Events: Web links to Weekly Reader – www.eduplace.com/kids/hmss/



Chapter 7 Opening Routines

Teacher Read Aloud: Good Work!



Vocabulary Preview



Chapter 7 Activities







31

Core Lesson 1: Citizens Make a Difference

 Critical Thinking: Cause and Effect – Why did students in Arizona want to raise money?

 Writing Activity: Think about your own community and what you would like to improve. Write a letter to the editor of a newspaper

explaining your ideas.

 Math: School Fundraising – Students create fundraising story problems for classmates to solve.

 Language Arts: Write a Newspaper Article – Have students write a sample article for the local newspaper explaining a project their class I

organizing. The article should tell how the community can help. Encourage students to answer the questions who, what, when, where,

why and how in their article.

(Optional) Extend Lesson 1: Saving Soccer

 Critical Thinking: Compare and Contrast – Have students compare and contrast the ways for expressing opinions about the proposal to

build a movie theater on the soccer field. They could: write a letter to the newspaper editor; start a petition against the idea; or attend and

speak up at a town board meeting. Ask them which would reach the most people and which would be most effective.

 Critical Thinking: Analyze – Ask students to indicate what the kids on the soccer team decided to do to help save their soccer field. Have

them analyze why the kids chose these ways of making their opinions known rather than protesting outside the meeting.

 Talk About It: As the soccer team talked, how did they show respect for each.

 Research It: What does freedom of expression mean? Find out what the U.S. Constitution says about it. Does it apply to young people

as well? Share what you learn with your classmates.

 Language Arts: Give a Speech – Have students write a speech to give at a town board meeting. The speech should summarize the

reasons why a movie theater should not be built where the soccer field is now. Remind students to make their speech interesting,

detailed, and forceful. Have students deliver their speeches in class.

 Math: Solve the Problem – Students solve math problems.

 Drama: A Public Debate – Assign these parts: soccer kids and parents, mayor and town board members, representative of the developer,

citizens for and against the movie theater. Guide students in presenting a role-play about a meeting to talk about building a movie theater

on the present soccer field. Have the mayor call on characters to express their views.

 Physical Education: Soccer – Have the entire class play a game of soccer. Ask students who play soccer in local leagues to explain the

positions and rules to the rest of the class. Don’t forget to have students warm up and stretch first.

 Graphic Organizer



Core Lesson 2: Rights and Responsibilities

 .Critical Thinking: Cause and Effect – What happens if people choose not to vote?

 Art Activity: Make a poster that tells people why voting is important and reminds them to vote.

 Math: Make a Graph – Have children suggest four ideas for a stuffed animal that could be the classroom mascot. Then have children vote

for their favorite one. Indicate the number of votes for each mascot. Have students create a graph that shows how many students voted

for each mascot.

 Language Arts: Write an Interview – Have students write an interview between a reporter and a citizen. Have the reporter ask the

following questions: What right is most important to you and why? What responsibility do you take seriously?







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(Optional) Extend Lesson 2: Class President

 Critical Thinking: Compare and Contrast – Point out that characters in realistic fiction have personalities as do real people. Invite students

to help you fill in a Venn diagram comparing Julio and Cricket.

 Think About It: What are some of the qualities of a good leader? Is Julio a good leader? Would you vote for him? Why or why not?

 Write About It: As Julio, write a short speech thanking your classmates for having elected you class president.

 Language Arts: Write a Continuation – Have students reread the last paragraph of “Class President.” Ask them to brainstorm some of the

plans they think Julio might have for the class. Invite them to write a short continuation of the story, telling what Julio did for the class after

he was elected president.

 Math: Graph It: Have students reread the fifth and sixth paragraphs on page 219. Ask them to make two bar graphs, one graphing what

Julio thought the vote count would be and one graphing the actual vote count.

 Art: Design a Ballot Box – Invite students to describe some of the methods of voting that they know about, such as marking ballot papers,

punch cards, touch pads, and so forth. Have students look at the ballot box on page 215. Have them describe the method of voting being

used there. Invite groups to design an attractive ballot box for class elections which incorporates images that they think are important.

 Music: Campaign Song – Explain that songs are often a feature of campaigns and give as an example “Happy Days Are Here Again,” from

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidential run. Invite small groups to write the lyrics to a campaign song for Julio. Suggest they use the melody

of a song they know. Tell them that their song should present reasons why his classmates should vote for Julio.



Happy Days Are Here Again (Music and Lyrics by J. Yellen and M. Ager)



So long sad times

Go long bad times

We are rid of you at last



Howdy gay times

Cloudy gray times

You are now a thing of the past



Happy days are here again

The skies above are clear again

So let's sing a song of cheer again

Happy days are here again



Altogether shout it now

There's no one

Who can doubt it now

So let's tell the world about it now







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Happy days are here again



Your cares and troubles are gone

There'll be no more from now on

From now on ...



Happy days are here again

The skies above are clear again

So, Let's sing a song of cheer again



Happy times

Happy nights

Happy days

Are here again!



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Chapter 8 Opening Routines

Teacher Read Aloud: A Bird’s Eye View of Washington, D.C.



Vocabulary Preview



Chapter 8 Activities

Core Lesson 1: Local Government

 Critical Thinking: Infer – What would happen if some students didn’t follow a classroom rule that had been voted on?

 Art: Create a Community Medal – Have students work in small groups to list the services that local government provides. Have them

create models of buildings where these services take place. They can use cardboard boxes and paint to create the town library, police

and fire stations, and schools.

 Math: Monthly Calendar – Have students draw a month’s calendar and add these meeting dates: the School Committee on the first

Thursday; the Library Committee on the third Wednesday; and the mayor and council on the second and fourth Mondays. Have them

make up oral math problems about the calendar.

 Writing Activity: Write a friendly letter to a city council. Thank the members for providing services that children and schools use. Include

details to describe these services.

 Drama: Role-play of Local Government – As a class, brainstorm ideas for a community problem to be discussed or a rule (law) that they

would like made. Choose one. Have students plan and present a role-play in which they take the parts of the mayor, city manager,

council members, or county commissioners as they discuss the problem or make a new one.









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 Language Arts: Make a Pamphlet – Have students create a pamphlet to explain their local government to a newcomer in their community.

Before creating the pamphlet, encourage students to do research about their town government on the Internet or write a letter with

questions to a town official. Have them use both text and pictures in the pamphlet.

(Optional) Extend Lesson 1: How to Vote

 Draw It: Make a poster encouraging people to fulfill their responsibility by voting in the next election.

 Write About It: Write an editorial explaining why it is important for students to learn the steps it takes to vote.

 Language Arts: Public Service Announcements – Have students create slogans and tips to promote awareness of the importance of

voting. Students should brainstorm and then create awareness tips and slogans that could be used on signs, buttons, and car bumper

stickers.

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Core Lesson 2: State Government

 Critical Thinking: Drawing Conclusions – Why do you think states provide parks?

 Research Activity: Use library resources to find out about your governor and your community’s state lawmakers. List some facts you

learned.

 Art: Tax Dollars at Work – Have students think of more examples of government services in their community. Students should illustrate

two examples and write a short paragraph explaining why the services are important.

 Language Arts: Write a Biography – Have students research the life of your state governor and write a short report. Suggest that they

include any laws that the governor has signed or the important issues in their state at this time.

(Optional) Extend Lesson 2: State Capitals

 Tell About It: Use an encyclopedia to find and share fun facts about your state capital.

 Remember It: Test your knowledge of states and their capitals. Make flash cards for each state and practice with them.

 Physical Education: Assign each student a state and have him or her make a sign for that state’s capital city. Have students tape the sign

to themselves and stand in a circle. Give a student a ball and name a state. That student names the state capital, tosses the ball to the

student who is wearing that sign and sits down. Follow the same procedure until all states and capitals have been matched.

 Graphic Organizer



Core Lesson 3: National Government

 Critical Thinking: Analyze – Why do you think many people think the bald eagle makes a good symbol of freedom?

 Art Activity: There are many symbols that represent the United States. Choose one, and draw a picture of it. Tell what it symbolizes and

why it is important to you.

 Math: Money Sense – Tell students that every bill, whether a $1 bill or a $100 bill, costs about 3 cents for paper and printing. Ask how

much it would cost to print three $1 bills. Ask how much it would cost to print 100 $5 bills.

 Language Arts: Write a Description – Have students write a description of what they might see or do if they went to Washington, D.C.,

today. Have them use information from the lesson as well as from other resource books or the Internet.

(Optional) Extend Lesson 3: Red, White, and Blue







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 Think About It: Why do you think people added stars to the flag as the nation grew?

 Make It: Draw or paint a flag that stands for your classroom. It might include symbols such as stars or circles.

 Music: “You’re a Grand Old Flag” – Copy the words to the song “You’re a Grand Old Flag” by George M. Cohan and distribute them.

Have students listen to a recording of this song and then sing along. Or teach students the song and have them sing it with you. Discuss

the meaning of different phrases in the song.



You're a Grand Old Flag by George M. Cohan



You're a grand old flag,

You're a high flying flag

And forever in peace may you wave.

You're the emblem of

The land I love.

The home of the free and the brave.

Ev'ry heart beats true

'neath the Red, White and Blue,

Where there's never a boast or brag.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

Keep your eye on the grand old flag.



You're a grand old flag,

You're a high flying flag

And forever in peace may you wave.

You're the emblem of

The land I love.

The home of the free and the brave.

Ev'ry heart beats true

'neath the Red, White and Blue,

Where there's never a boast or brag.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

Keep your eye on the grand old flag.



 Graphic Organizer



Core Lesson 4: Nations Work Together

 Critical Thinking: Predict – What might happen if only certain students in your classroom had their rights taken away?







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 Writing Activity: If you were a U.S. ambassador, what would you tell people about your country? Write a speech about it. Revise your

speech once.

 Drama: World Ambassadors – Have small groups of students each choose a different country and gather facts about their country that

would interest visitors. Have groups elect an ambassador and help the ambassador plan a speech to be given at the United Nations. The

speech should tell why their country would be a good place to visit.

 Language Arts: Make a Greeting Card – Discuss the value of being able to speak different languages in today’s world. Ask students if

they know words such as hello, get well, congratulations, or happy birthday in other languages. Have students create cards using these

words.

(Optional) Extend Lesson 4: Nelson Mandela

 Talk About It: In what ways did Nelson Mandela show fairness throughout his life?

 Write About It: Suppose it is 1989. Write a letter to the South African government, asking Mandela to be freed.

 Art: Make a Poster – Have partners use reference materials or the Internet to find out more about Nelson Mandela’s life. Have them

create a poster showing three events in Nelson Mandela’s life: one before 1962, one while in prison, and one after he was released from

prison is 1990.

 Graphic Organizer



Textbook Vocabulary District Vocabulary

common good common good

volunteer council

conflict election

compromise governor

right mayor

responsibility right / responsibility

vote

election

tax

mayor

council

county

point of view

capitol

governor

legislature

executive branch

judicial branch

monument









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inset map

ambassador

treaty



Unit Activity

Create an Election Button

 Think about ways citizens help leaders get started.

 Make a list of issues you would support in a person running for office.

 Use that list to create an election button and a poster that states what your person stands for.









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Grade: 3

Unit Number: 5

Unit Title: Making Economic Choices





Essential Question/s: Why do you think people work?





State Goals, Standards, and Objectives

GOAL 15 ECONOMICS Understand economic systems, with an emphasis on the United States.

15.A Understand how different economic systems operate in the exchange, production, distribution and consumption of goods and services.

15.A.1b Describe how wages/salaries can be earned in exchange for work.

15.A.2a Explain how economic systems decide what goods and services are produced, how they are produced and who consumes them.

15.B Understand that scarcity necessitates choices by consumers.

15.B.1 Explain why consumers must make choices.

15.B.2a Identify factors that affect how consumers make their choices.

15.B.2b Explain the relationship between the quantity of goods/services purchased and their price.

15.B.2c Explain that when a choice is made, something else is given up.

15.C Understand that scarcity necessitates choices by producers.

15.C.1a Describe how human, natural and capital resources are used to produce goods and services.

15.C.1b Identify limitations in resources that force producers to make choices about what to produce.

15.C.2a Describe the relationship between price and quantity supplied of a good or service.

15.C.2b Identify and explain examples of competition in the economy.

15.D Understand trade as an exchange of goods or services.

15.D.1b Know that barter is a type of exchange and that money makes exchange easier.

15.D.2a Explain why people and countries voluntarily exchange goods and services.

15.D.2b Describe the relationships among specialization, division of labor, productivity of workers and interdependence among producers

and consumers.



Social Studies Content Social Studies Skills Content Area Content Area

Reading Strategies Reading Skills

Chapter 9 Chapter 9 Chapter 9 Chapter 9









39

Chapter 10 Chapter 10 Chapter 10 Chapter 10





Cross-Curricular Activities

.



Unit 5 Video

Three key ways to use videos:

 Introduce or preview the unit – play the video before students get started.

 Reinforce an important concept – play before or after a pertinent lesson.

 Wrap it up – use the video to look back and summarize what students have learned.



Video: Where Food Is Grown

 Students learn about farming around the world, the effects of weather and climate, and food distribution from farms to stores and

restaurants.



Unit 5 Almanac Map and Graph Skills

Products of the United States

 Critical Thinking: Predict – Based on the map, what kind of work do people in Nebraska do?

 Technology: GeoNet – www.eduplace.com/kids/hmss05/

 Math: How Many Miles? – Ask students to use the legend on the map to estimate how many miles farm products from Florida travel to

reach New York.

 Current Events: Web links to Weekly Reader – www.eduplace.com/kids/hmss/



Chapter 9 Opening Routines

Teacher Read Aloud:



Vocabulary Preview



Chapter 9 Activities

Core Lesson 1:







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(Optional) Extend Lesson 1:

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Core Lesson 2:

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(Optional) Extend Lesson 2:

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Chapter 10 Opening Routines

Teacher Read Aloud:



Vocabulary Preview



Chapter 10 Activities

Core Lesson 1:



(Optional) Extend Lesson 1:

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Core Lesson 2:

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(Optional) Extend Lesson 2:

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Core Lesson 3:

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(Optional) Extend Lesson 3:

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Textbook Vocabulary District Vocabulary







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income assembly line

budget import / export

interest industry

opportunity cost producer / consumer

competition

scarcity

interview

producer

consumer

supply

demand

human resources

capital resources

factory

assembly line

flow chart

market

import

export

industry



Unit Activity









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Grade: 3

Unit Number: 6

Unit Title: Celebrating People and Cultures





Essential Question/s: In what ways are people all the same?





State Goals, Standards, and Objectives

GOAL 16 HISTORY Understand events, trends, individuals, and movements shaping the history of Illinois, the United States, and other

nations.

16.B Understand the development of significant political events.

16.B.1a (US) Identify key individuals and events in the development of the local community (e.g., Founders days, names of parks, streets,

public buildings).

16.B.1 (W) Explain the contributions of individuals and groups who are featured in biographies, legends, folklore and traditions.

16.E

16.E.2b (US) Identify individuals and events in the development of the conservation movement including John Muir, Theodore Roosevelt

and the creation of the National Park System.



GOAL 17 GEOGRAPHY Understand world geography and the effects of geography on society, with an emphasis on the United States.

17.A Locate, describe and explain places, regions and features on the Earth.

17.A.2b Use maps and other geographic representations and instruments to gather information about people, places and environments.



GOAL 18 SOCIAL SYSTEMS Understand social systems, with an emphasis on the United States.

18.A Compare characteristics of culture as reflected in language, literature, the arts, traditions and institutions.

18.A.1 Identify folklore from different cultures which became part of the heritage of the United States.

18.A.2 Explain ways in which language, stories, folk tales, music, media and artistic creations serve as expressions of culture.

18.B Understand the roles and interactions of individuals and groups in society.

18.B.1b Identify major social institutions I the community.



Social Studies Content Social Studies Skills Content Area Content Area

Reading Strategies Reading Skills

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 Chapter 11 Chapter 11









43

Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Chapter 12





Cross-Curricular Activities

.



Unit 6 Video

Three key ways to use videos:

 Introduce or preview the unit – play the video before students get started.

 Reinforce an important concept – play before or after a pertinent lesson.

 Wrap it up – use the video to look back and summarize what students have learned.



Video: Celebrating People and Cultures (National Observances)

 Overview of holidays such as Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Election Day, and Independence Day.



Unit 6 Almanac Map and Graph Skills

The United States Today

 Critical Thinking: Infer – Find the Cabrillo National Monument in California and the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument in Florida.

Based on these names, can you infer which Europeans first settled these areas?

 Technology: GeoNet – www.eduplace.com/kids/hmss05/

 Math: Monument Trip – Ask students to use the scale on the map to estimate how many miles they would travel if they went from the

Craters of the Moon National Monument to Hanford Reach National Monument.

 Current Events: Web links to Weekly Reader – www.eduplace.com/kids/hmss/



Chapter 11 Opening Routines

Teacher Read Aloud:



Vocabulary Preview



Chapter 11 Activities







44

Core Lesson 1:



(Optional) Extend Lesson 1:

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Core Lesson 2:

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(Optional) Extend Lesson 2:

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Chapter 12 Opening Routines

Teacher Read Aloud:



Vocabulary Preview



Chapter 12 Activities

Core Lesson 1:



(Optional) Extend Lesson 1:

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Core Lesson 2:

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(Optional) Extend Lesson 2:

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Core Lesson 3:

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(Optional) Extend Lesson 3:

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Textbook Vocabulary District Vocabulary

legend equator

ethnic group principle

custom

participate

latitude

equator

longitude

primer meridian

holiday

principle

honor

liberty

patriotism

legacy

justice

fact

opinion



Unit Activity









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