Social Studies Strands Grade 3 - Communities Sara Wagner Kris Rone

Table of Contents Strand One - American Heritage 3-7 Strand Two - People in Societies 8-12 Strand Three - World Interactions Strand Four - Decision Making & Resources Strand Five - Democratic Processes Strand Six - Citizenship Rights & Responsibilities Strand Seven - Science & Technology 30-34

Strand One American Heritage

American Heritage Activities Students will read about the local history of their community and create a timeline by plotting important dates. Students will read the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution and discuss its meaning and significance to our country. They will then write an essay explaining how this document affects their lives today.

American Heritage Activities Continued After reading a 1950’s newspaper the students will create a chart to compare community life in the 1950’s to life today (Ex: price of groceries, mayor, local hotspots, etc.). After visiting a local historical museum or park, (Ex: Carillon Park), the students will create a “Then and Now” poster containing illustrations of one aspect of community life in its beginning and now.

American Heritage Activities Continued The students will visit a local historical cemetery. After picking a name from a gravestone, they will write a story about this person detailing what their life was like when they were alive.

American Heritage Websites ature/geograph/intro urce/yourtown dult/ref/localhis.html partners/ddn/epaper

Strand Two People in Societies

People in Societies Activities Students will take a field trip to Sunwatch Indian Village to learn about local Native American tribal cultures On a map of Ohio, students will plot Native American Settlements that were present at the time of colonization.

People in Societies Activities Continued Students will read Giving Thanks: The 1621 Harvest Feast, by Kate Waters, and discuss what life was like for the first pilgrims and the Native Americans who helped them. Students will call their local Chamber of Commerce to find out the different cultural groups living in their community and their respective populations and construct a bar graph illustrating the cultural diversity of their community.

People in Societies Activities Continued The students will recreate the first thanksgiving by bringing in a piece of fruit to make a fruit salad. The students and teacher will discuss how their own sharing is similar to the pilgrims’ sharing what they had with the Native Americans who helped the survive in the new world.

People in Societies Websites merican_History/Nat ive_Americans merce.com idays/thanksgv.htm

Strand Three World Interactions

World Interactions Activities On a map of the U.S.A., students will locate their community and describe its location relative to the following bodies of water: Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Great lakes, Ohio River and Mississippi River. The class will discuss the importance of a community’s location to a major water source.

World Interactions Activities Continued Students will read Children Just Like Me by Anabel and Barnabas Kindersly. As they read they will locate on a globe the home of each child in the book. Students will choose a child from the book above on which to write an essay in which they will compare/contrast their lifestyle with that of the child from the book.

World Interactions Activities Continued After a lesson on map reading, students will draw a map of their neighborhood. This map will include cardinal directions, a linear scale to denote distances between places, and a basic key to reference landmarks such as restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations and the post office. Students will utilize the CD-Rom “Maptastic Voyage: Explore the World of Map Making and Geography” to reinforce their knowledge of left and right, cardinal directions, how to follow directions and map-reading skills.

World Interactions Websites com on/teacher/what-do- maps-show/index.html

Strand Four Decision Making and Resources

Decision Making and Resources Activities Students will chart the amount of money they have made by doing chores for one month. The class will discuss what would happen if that money was deposited into a savings account for one month vs. sitting in their piggy bank. A class store will be created, open once a month, in which items can be bought by money earned for good behavior.

Decision Making and Resources Activities Continued Students create 5 criteria for a desirable city and compare/contrast their own community to this criteria. Students create a brochure of their community and it’s services for a realtor to use to advertise the community.

Decision Making and Resources Websites ge.com/SS23.htm ames/yougottobekidding/i ndex.html om/cat_12.html m/kids.html com/

Strand Five Democratic Processes

Democratic Processes Activities Students will play the game “How does government affect me?” online at pbs.org where they can click on various places in their community to learn what role the government plays. A police officer will come to the room and discuss processes in the community that affect children. Students create a classroom bill of rights.

Democratic Processes Activities Continued The students find five articles from a local newspaper that directly relate to their lives. The students role play a robbery and discuss what should be done to the guilty party and what would be done in our own justice system.

Democratic Processes Websites acy/kids/mygovt/index.html titanica.org/index.shtml org/

Strand Six Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities

Citizenship Rights Activities Students create a bulletin board entitled “Citizenship City” by decorating a house and attaching a citizenship pledge explaining how they will fulfill community responsibility. Students will brainstorm ways that they can improve their community, develop a plan of action, and get to work! Students will elect classmates to lead certain activities biweekly.

Citizenship Rights Activities Continued As a group students will survey members of their community by asking: what makes the community special, how do they feel about it, and how has it changed. They will then present their findings to the class. As a group, students will develop and illustrate improvements for their school and present it to the school principal.

Citizenship Rights Websites /cchr/ /usnews/wash/citizen.ht m very.com/teachers/

Strand Seven Science and Technology

Science and Technology Activities Students will research the history of an invention of their choice and report their findings in a class presentation. Students will choose one invention and write an essay explaining how this invention has changed people’s lives.

Science and Technology Activities Continued Students will create a chart that will list both positive and negative effects that technology and science have on people’s lives. Students will take a field trip to the Wright Brothers’ Museum and Bicycle Shop at Carillon Park to learn about these legendary inventors.

Science and Technology Activities Continued Students will take a field trip to their local police station to learn how police officers and dispatchers use computers and technology to keep their community safe.

Science and Technology Websites fly.com/information/links.htm ords/ discover 900