LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Social Studies — Grade 3

Goal 2: The learner will analyze the multiple roles that individuals perform in families, workplaces, and communities.

Objective 2.03. Describe similarities and differences among communities in different times and in different places.

Additional related resources

We’re in the process of aligning our content for students to the Standard Course of Study. As we do, you’ll find it here.

Tobacco bag stringing: Elementary activity three
In this activity for grades 3–6, students will read and evaluate primary source letters from the Tobacco Bag Stringing collection. This should be done after Activity one, which is the introductory activity about tobacco bag stringing.
Format: article
By Pauline S. Johnson.

General resources

Aligned lesson plans

Tobacco bag stringing: Elementary activity two
This activity for grades 3–6 will teach students how examining photographs can help them to better understand the past. This activity can be used as an introduction to looking at primary source photographs.
Format: lesson plan (multiple pages)
Postcards of the past
Students will participate in Heritage Day activities that will enhance students' awareness of their heritage. They will take digital pictures of activities to include on a web page and research and report on information gathered. Students will create a web page to present their information.
Format: lesson plan (grade 3 English Language Arts, Information Skills, and Social Studies)
By Karol Leaptrott, Rebecca Watt, and Regina Welsted.
Families - Then and now
Students apply their knowledge of communities as they compare and contrast the home life described in Sarah Plain and Tall to the home life described in Because of Winn-Dixie.
Format: lesson plan (grade 3 Information Skills and Social Studies)
By Debbie Fox and Sherri Hendrix.
Comparing proverbs
The lesson will feature comparisons of American and African proverbs.
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–4 English Language Arts and Social Studies)
By Pat Chancer.

Resources on the web

Understanding tenement life
In this ARTSEDGE lesson, students explore what daily life was like for the millions of poor Irish, German, Jewish, and Italian immigrants living in tenement apartments at the turn of the century. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–4 English Language Arts and Social Studies)
Provided by: ArtsEdge
Sodbusters!
Students examine photographs of sod houses, build a model sod house, and picture themselves living in a ‘soddie’ to gain a firsthand perspective on the frontier period of American history. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3 Visual Arts Education and Social Studies)
Provided by: National Endowment for the Humanities
Pioneer America: Pioneer living
In this ARTSEDGE lesson, students learn about what life was like for early American pioneers. After reading about pioneers in Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie, students conduct independent research on one aspect of pioneer... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 Social Studies and Theater Arts Education)
Provided by: The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
A Nepalese village and your town: What's the difference?
In this Xpeditions lesson, students explore the cultural customs of rural Nepal and consider the differences between Nepalese culture and their own. Students will: discuss what it would be like to travel to a country very different from... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3 Social Studies)
Provided by: Xpeditions
Marketplaces of Asia
In this Xpeditions lesson, students explore kinds of marketplaces and view goods as a reflection of the characteristics of a region. This lesson is one in a series developed in collaboration with The Asia Society, with support from the Freeman Foundation. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3 Social Studies)
Provided by: National Geographic
A lens into the past
This ARTSEDGE lesson uses photographs to describe the transition from old world to New World experienced by immigrants to the United States. Students gain an understanding of the new life of immigrants in this country, and learn how the medium of photography... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–4 Visual Arts Education, English Language Arts, and Social Studies)
Provided by: ArtsEdge
Human migration: The story of a community's culture
In this Xpeditions lesson, students come to understand key concepts of human migration through the examination of maps and migration patterns. Students research and document the impact of migration on a region's cultural landscape. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3 Social Studies)
Provided by: National Geographic
History in quilts
Students will recognize how people from different cultures and time periods have passed down the tradition of quiltmaking. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 Visual Arts Education and Social Studies)
Provided by: National Endowment for the Humanities