Social Studies Strands Patriotism & Citizenship Grade 3 ED 417 Dr. Helms By: Emily Bosch & Amber Richison

Table of Contents Strand I American Heritage Strand II People in Societies Strand III World Interactions Strand IV Decision Making & Resources Strand V Democratic Process Strand VI Citizenship Rights & Responsibilities

Strand I American Heritage

Activities Students will participate in a large group discussion on the history of the American Flag after reading The American Flag: True Book, by Ryon Quiri. After studying the differences between the American Flag and other nation’s flags, students will discuss the meaning behind the symbols that are used on flags and write a journal entry on the meaning of our country’s flag

Activities Cont. Each student will create a flag for an imaginary country using symbols to represent their beliefs. Students will view a presentation of the proper care of the flag by local military veterans. The presentation will include the raising & folding of the flag and these traditions will then be explored through literature. At the start of the day, the class will recite the pledge of allegiance and research who wrote the pledge and what it means, using the internet.

Websites

Websites cont. ag.htm

Strand II People in Societies

Activities Students will discuss what it means to be an American and how one obtains citizenship, after reading Hannah’s Journal: The Story of an Immigrant by Marissa Moss. After learning about the diversity of races and cultures, students will discuss the term racism and how it infringes upon others’ right to freedom. The class will then create a poster against racism to display for the school.

Activities cont. After learning the diversity of races, students will discuss and explore their heritage by making a family tree. They will research this information on the Internet. Students will write a journal entry about their heritage and how it makes them feel special. Each student will recreate their own family crest using various symbols and colors to represent their heritage.

Websites

Websites cont. ows/secret/search/nehistgensociety 1.html books/jewish-children-teens- historicalfict-america.htm

Strand III World Interactions

Activities The class will read about current events and discuss the effects it has on America and other countries. Students will learn what embassies are and use thumbtacks to pinpoint the locations of five different embassy locations on a map.

Activities cont. Students will write a letter to another country’s embassy in Washington D.C. asking them questions. The class will join a pen pal group and talk to kids from other countries. Students will make their own globes our of paper mache and paint and label different countries.

Websites ji/keypal.htm#students

Websites cont.

Strand IV Decision Making & Resources

Activities The students will list the resources our country depends on and discuss how we obtain these resources. The class will read about imports and exports and create a map labeling each major country.

Activities cont. The class will be divided into small groups and each group will be assigned a resource or product that will be exported Each group will be required to find a way to get their resource or product to the proper country. The class will discuss ways to recycle or reuse the resource in order to protect the environment.

Websites sapeake_bay_for_kids.html o.html

Websites cont. htm

Strand V Democratic Process

Activities Students will learn about the voting process and hoe elections work by watching the video “Hail to the Chief: Presidential Elections,” by Sunburst Films. The class will participate in a mock election with the other third grade classes. Two of the 3rd grade teachers will be the candidates and students will help campaign and organize the election.

Activities cont. Students will take a field trip to the Board of Elections and learn about the registration process. Students will then create posters, buttons, and slogans for the third grade election. Students will vote and be a part of counting the votes to experience the entire process.

Websites tml

Websites cont. std/Elect_Act1.html ction_2000.shtml

Strand VI Citizenship Rights & Responsibilities

Activities Students will learn about the Constitution and Bill of Rights by watching the video “Understanding the Constitution” by Sunburst Films. The class will get to see a copy of the Constitution and read about who wrote the document.

Activities cont. Each student will write a journal entry on how our country would be different with our the Constitution. The class will discuss the importance and process of respecting others’ rights. As a large group the class will create and write a class constitution. Students will be given a word search to complete in order to reinforce new vocabulary.

Websites titution/home.html e/companion/qconstitution.html

Websites cont. tml gconstitution/2_writingsonstitution. htm