Seattle Public Schools

Grade 3 Social Studies Standards (Geography)

Standard (Curriculum)

Instruction and Assessment

Standard 1. The student uses maps, charts, and other geographic tools to understand the spatial arrangement of people, places, resources, and environments on Earth's surface

1.1 GEOGRAPHY - Uses and constructs maps, charts, and other resources to gather and interpret geographic information
* Examines and describes mapping elements (e.g., title, legend, directions, symbols, scale, location)
* Uses basic elements to construct a map that displays information, (e.g., home, school grounds) (Location)

1.2 GEOGRAPHY - Recognizes spatial patterns on Earth's surface and understands the processes that create these patterns
* Locates places and physical features, and shows an understanding of cultural regions using maps, globes, and other sources (Region)
* Identifies and describes the physical and human processes that have an effect upon spatial patterns on Earth's surface (Human/Environment Interaction, Region, Movement)

Social Studies Skills
1. Inquiry and Information
* Selects a social studies topic and explores that topic guided by central question
* Identifies key words
* Identifies appropriate and varied sources
* Uses basic research skills
* Uses table of contents and indexes as social studies reference materials
* Locates particular facts
* Depicts data using graphic organizers (e.g., timelines, maps, tables, charts)
* Presents a product (e.g., models, reports, newspapers) that demonstrate understanding of information and responds to central questions
* Presents product to audience

2. Interpersonal and Group Process Skills
* Communicates own feelings and beliefs; recognizes that there are other viewpoints on social studies issues
* Identifies roles of different members of a group; serves in different roles in a group
* Asks relevant questions of appropriate people and records answers

3. Critical Thinking Skills
* Identifies central issue
* Recognizes fact vs. opinion, recognizes point of view, identifies main message
* Suggests solutions to problems describing why to take a specific course of action
* Recognizes cause and effect relationships and explores the impacts
* Constructs a timeline and places events (past present, and future) in chronological order
* Recognizes and values other peoples' points of view

Instructional Support Materials

Storypath
* Communities and Their Decisions
* Radio Station
* Toy Company

Harcourt Brace
* Living In Our World

Nystrom Geography
* Exploring Where and Why
* People and Places Everywhere
* Map Champ Atlas
* World/US Desk Maps
* Globe Skills
* World/US Map Skills

Instructional Strategies

* Buried Treasure: Create a map of a buried treasure, then write cardinal directions to find it. Starting from a given point, switch with a partner, and search
* Construct a detailed map of a familiar environment (e.g., home, school, park, neighborhood) using all mapping elements
* Describe what landforms look like on the relief map. Then have students design symbols that could represent them on a flat map. Using those symbols, have students make a physical map of the relief map

Assessment

* Construct maps of the classroom using all mapping elements
* Given a large physical map with numbered flags on landforms (e.g. lake, mountain, valley) identify marker flags with the appropriate landform
* Given a completed map including all mapping elements, draw an arrow to each with a description of the function it serves at the end

Standard 2. The student understands the complex physical and human characteristics of places and regions

2.1 GEOGRAPHY - Describes the natural characteristics of places and regions and explains the causes of their characteristics
* Identifies and describes the physical characteristics of a region and recognizes the affects they have on that region (Region, Location)
* Compares and contrasts the physical characteristics of various regions (Region, Location)

2.2 GEOGRAPHY - Describes the patterns humans make on places and regions
* Identifies and describes the human characteristics and their impact on the community/region (e.g., community businesses, land-use patterns) (Place, Human/Environment Interaction, Location)

2.3 GEOGRAPHY - Identifies the characteristics that define the Pacific Northwest and the Pacific Rim as regions
* Identifies and examines the natural resources of the Pacific Northwest and how they impact people in the regions (Human/Environment Interaction, Region, Place)
* Compares and contrasts the characteristics of the Pacific Northwest to another given region (Place, Region)

Instructional Support Materials

Storypath
* Communities and Their Decisions
* Radio Station
* Toy Company

Harcourt Brace
* Living In Our World

Nystrom Geography
* Exploring Where and Why
* People and Places Everywhere
* Map Champ Atlas
* World/US Desk Maps
* Globe Skills
* World/US Map Skills

Instructional Strategies

* Discuss various habitats (e.g., mountains, deserts, temperate rain forests). Have students choose one to recreate in a box (a diarama), for example
* Use relief maps of Washington State to locate and identify mountains, lakes, rivers, valleys, oceans, bays, etc.
* Create a 3-D landscape and begin to populate it, discussing the changes made on the environment (roads, towns, shops, etc.)
* Compare and contrast before and after pictures of Seattle, placing on a timeline
* Study a Pacific Northwest tribe. Assign parts of research to various groups (e.g., housing, family structure, food)

Assessment

* Given a list of physical landforms in Washington State (e.g., Mt. Rainier, Puget Sound) and an enlarged map of the state, identify where they can be found
* Write a reflection on what happened to their 3-D landscape, what happened to the land? To the people? How did it change?
* Create a collage identifying natural resources of the Pacific Northwest
* Given two regions (e.g., Pacific Northwest, Southwest), create a Venn Diagram identifying similarities, differences of both

Standard 3. The student observes and analyzes the interaction between people, the environment, and culture

3.1 GEOGRAPHY - Identifies and examines people's interaction with and impact on the environment
* Identifies and describes the specific choices people have about their interactions with the environment and the affect those choices have upon it (Human/Environment Interaction, Movement)

3.2 GEOGRAPHY - Analyzes how the environment and environmental changes affect people
* Compares and contrasts differing environments and how they provide opportunities and set limits for people (Location, Region, Human-Environment Interaction)
* Examines and analyzes how people adapt to their environment to meet their basic needs (Human/Environment Interaction)

3.3 GEOGRAPHY - Examines cultural characteristics, transmission, diffusion, and interaction
* Understands that individuals are born into various societies with their own cultural traditions (e.g., art, religion, dress, food) (Place, Location)
* Understands and describes the impact of cross cultural interactions (Movement, Region, Place)

Instructional Support Materials

Storypath
* Communities and Their Decisions
* Radio Station
* Toy Company

Harcourt Brace
* Living In Our World

Nystrom Geography
* Exploring Where and Why
* People and Places Everywhere
* Map Champ Atlas
* World/US Desk Maps
* Globe Skills
* World/US Map Skills

Instructional Strategies

* Use examples of folk art from many cultures to make observations about the people: who created them and where they lived. Then study toys and games from around the world (jigsaw and share)
* Study the reasons for deforestation in various rain forests and the effect it has on animals, environment, and the world. Connect back to their lives by collecting recycled paper for a period of time and then make new paper from it
* Choose a country to study, researching information on art, religion, dress, food, geography, etc., and create a travel brochure
* Study various cultures (e.g., Inuits, African tribes) and how their environment defines their culture/values/traditions/dress

Assessment

* Hold an "international" day where students are representatives of their country and can orally communicate an understanding of the culture found in the country they studied
* Create a poster teaching a younger grade, communicating knowledge of how human choices affect the earth
* Choose a habitat from a hat and pretend they have been "dropped off" there for a summer. Students explain in writing how the environment impacts their needs and wants