Third Grade - History/Social Studies

Priority Standards Link to this section

What students will know, what students will do, and what thinking skills students will develop to apply and transfer History/Social Studies/Ethnic Studies understandings that endure within the discipline, leverage deeper understandings, and/or support readiness for success at the next grade level. 

In third grade, students focus on these critical areas:

Instruction: Signature Elements Link to this section

Below are signature elements of SFUSD History/Social Studies instruction that students should experience regularly throughout third grade as they develop as historians & social scientists.

Materials

Beyond the Third-Grade Unit Overview, there are no required materials.

Units

Units for Third-Grade History/Social Studies/Equity Studies are currently in development. See below for guidance and examples of how you might structure your own units. (Click here for the same information below in an easy-to-read format: Overview and Examples for 3rd Grade Units)

Unit Design

Incorporation of the Four Dimensions of the Inquiry Arc Across the Three Bends of a Unit

Developing Questions and Planning Inquiries Applying Disciplinary Tools and Concepts Evaluating Sources and Using Evidence Communicating Conclusions and Taking Informed Action
A compelling question supported by Investigation questions Investigate the ideas, tools, and concepts of 
  • Geography
  • History
  • Civics
  • Economics
Gather evidence from reliable sources Do something with the knowledge and skills acquired
Inquiry Investigation Informed Action

 

Units

Here are some practical examples. Each class may go on a slightly different path (culturally/community-relevant) but are still likely headed in the same general content-driven direction. Students engage with a compelling question. Students learn more through exploring media (books, videos, etc), interviews, field trips, etc..(historically responsive literacy). Students generate new questions based on what they learned, explore more (inquiry), and eventually and/or during the process create artifacts that represent their learning and/or contribute to their community in some fashion (informed action).

California Indian Unit
Provided Unit Outline & Resources

Do this first:

2 week Launch

 

 

Please click here to access this unit

 

This unit was made as a fourth-grade unit but covers the CA HSS standards for 3rd grade and can be used at this grade level. The focus of this unit is the Ohlone people who have never ceded the land that is now known as San Francisco. We are using this unit as we adopt/adapt a new HSS curriculum for our district. 

Any questions regarding this unit should be addressed to:
MaryHelen Sherman

Do this first:

2 week Launch

 

Curriculum outline

  • Lessons 1.1 - 1.4: Who are the Ohlone? Where did they live?
  • Lessons 2.1 - 2.4: Ohlone Culture & Identity 
  • Lessons 3.1 - 3.4: Ohlone Stories
  • Lessons 4.1 - 4.4: Student reflections 

 

Additional Resources
These lessons are based on the curriculum written by Beverly R. Ortiz, Ph.D. Ohlone Curriculum and Introduction to Delta Yokuts.

 

HSS Department Resources
More can be found on the Elementary HSS Elementary Webpage including:

  • Land acknowledgment
  • American Indians in Children’s Literature - AICL
Unit 2: Landforms, Natural Resources, & Community Development (Example)
Inquiry Possible Investigations Possible Informed Actions

Compelling Question: How has the land we live on changed over time and influenced the way people live today?

This should lead to investigative questions from the students. Here is a possible way to elicit those questions:
Get some different kinds of maps of California and do a See Think Wonder.

 

Some sites for maps:

 

 

  • Create a 3D model of California and identify major landforms, resources and cities
  • Create a presentation of man made modifications to the environment, the reasons it was done and the impact on the environment and people of the area (both positive and negative)
  • Small groups create a slideshow presentation of how different cities in California have changed over time and then present to the rest of the class, other grade level, parents or to the school
  • Students focus on San Francisco and create a book that shows the way people have changed the land over time
  • Students create a service project that addresses ways we can preserve the environment around us while still meeting the needs of the city.
Unit 3: Important Issues in Our Community (Example)
Inquiry Possible Investigations Possible Informed Actions

Compelling Question: How do communities determine what issues are important?

This should lead to investigative questions from the students. Here is a possible way to elicit those questions:
Instead of sharing ideas, have them come up with questions and stop and jot as a class between mingling sessions
Mingle Pair Share | Inquiry Lesson Plan Strategy
 

  • Discuss the difference between community wants/needs
    • Brainstorm some wants
    • Brainstorm some needs
    • Determine if there are overlaps
  • Research important local issues from the past
    • Determine who and how it was decided that these issues were important
      • Investigate if all members of the community were represented in these decisions
      • If not, was there a negative impact for a segment of the community
    • Look at photographs of San Francisco from different decades
      • Look in particular at famous landmarks
      • Discuss the reasons that some of these landmarks exist
      • Who built them and why? What is the process of city development?
  • Determine how community issues are addressed today
  • Examine how economic issues (land use, access to natural resources, jobs, the distribution of wealth…etc.) influence decisions regarding important issues
    • Determine who has been harmed and who has benefited from decisions in the past and now
    • How will (or have) these decisions impact(ed) the environment
  • Examine the ways that the immigration/migration of different groups of people over time have changed the perspective what are important issues in our local community and in our state
  • Investigate the correlations between local, state and national decision making bodies and they types of issues they address
  • Take a field trip to City Hall to see where local decisions are made
    • Call 415-554-6139 for a reservation
    • Please try to keep groups 25 or less
    • Fridays are NOT advisable
  • Invite a local community leader come into the classroom as a guest speaker
  • Investigate different community groups that are addressing local issues
    • Determine ways that students can safely address those issues in partnership with local groups/leaders

**This unit could be used at the same time or after ELA Spiral 3 Unit 3.3 Read Aloud Lesson Plans that discuss the 3 Branches of Government to help integrate student studies and deepen understanding

 

  • In small groups, figure out a realistic plan to address an important issue in our community
  • In small groups, make a slideshow about an important issue in our community and ways that other students can help address it in their daily lives
  • Invite local leaders to participate in a panel discussion of local issues and create interview questions for them.
  • Identify school issues that are important to students and determine ways to address them as a class
  • Design a building with a purpose for San Francisco
    • Write a persuasive argument to detail why it is needed and how it will benefit the community.
  • Find opportunities to volunteer in our local community and decide as a class on which opportunity to take
  • Students write a persuasive essay to convince others to address an important community issue
  • Students debate whether a current local issue is a want or a need 
  • Brainstorm a set of important local issues
    • Narrow the choices to a top 3
    • Vote on which issue they want to address as a class 
    • Find/Create a service project to address the issue

Here is a graphic organizer to help with Persuasive writing


 

Planning Guide

Many elements of third-grade History/Social Studies can and should be integrated across the day and year. That being said, three periods of roughly five weeks are set aside each trimester for more intensive History/Social Studies learning. Through these units, Third-grade students will learn ...

1st Trimester 2nd Trimester 3rd Trimester
1 week Community Building then California Indian Unit Landforms, Resources and Development Important Issues in Our Community
16 lessons 5 weeks of 4 lessons per week 5 weeks of 4 lessons per week

 

Reflection Questions Link to this section

  1. How are students' developmental needs, communities, and experiences being reflected and honored, or how could they be?
  2. What opportunities do you see for developing equitable access & demand, inquiry, collaboration, and assessment for learning?
  3. What are the implications for your own practice? What strengths can you build upon? What will you do first?

This page was last updated on August 21, 2023