3rd Grade Social Studies: What Happens
Topics: School and Academics, Milestones and Development, Middle Years (5-9), Fall, Third Grade, Inspiring Your Child's Love of Social Studies, more...
In third grade, social studies moves from the back seat, to a more visible part of the school week. Students focus on communities within the United States and around the world. Your child will learn more in-depth map skills, geography will play a big role, and economics and how money relates to your child's world enter the picture.
Curriculum varies from state-to-state but students working at the standard level at the beginning of third grade:
- Know the name of the president of the United States and some of the jobs he does.
- Know what state they live in and where it is in the country
- Know how to use a map and its key
- Can identify the seven continents
By the end of third grade, students working at the standard level:
- Can create symbols for real-life objects
- Can identify cardinal and intermediate directions on a map
- Can identify the equator and prime meridian
- Can identify the four hemispheres of the earth
- Can identify basic landforms
- Understand the law of supply and demand
Recommended Books:
Amy James is a former teacher and a national expert on school curriculum and testing. Her company, Six Things, Inc., provides consulting services for publishers and school districts on compliance with state and national education standards, as well as professional development for K-12 teachers.
Adapted with permission from "Third Grade Success: Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Child Learn" by Amy James (Jossey-Bass 2005)
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