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3rd grade · Social Studies · Unit 3 of 6

Alaska's Land & Regions

Mountains, rivers and Alaska's regions on the map

What your child practices

Alaska's place on the map and its land: neighbors and oceans, Denali and the Yukon River, the Southeast, Southcentral, Interior, Southwest and Far North regions, permafrost, tundra and glaciers, and why most Alaskans live where they do.

Alaska content standards learning standard: SS.3.1.18.1; SS.3.1.17.1; SS.3.3.16.1 · making maps of Alaska, why environments differ among Alaska's regions, and how land and climate shape where people live

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Alaska’s regions: Southeast, Southcentral, Interior, Southwest and the Far North.
  2. Denali is the tallest mountain in North America. The Yukon is Alaska’s longest river.
  3. The north has tundra and permafrost, ground that stays frozen.

Example: Juneau, the capital, is in which Alaska region? Juneau is in the narrow strip of land near the islands. That region is the Southeast. Answer: Southeast

Alaska's Land & Regions in Alaska

In the Alaska content standards, this is unit 3 of 6 in 3rd grade Social Studies, after Working Together Fairly and before Alaska Through Time.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Which ocean lies north of Alaska?

    • the Indian Ocean
    • the Arctic Ocean
    • the Atlantic Ocean

  2. Question 2

    On a map, a compass rose shows…

    • people's names
    • directions
    • mountain heights

  3. Question 3

    Which is the longest river in Alaska?

    • the Yukon River
    • the Kenai River
    • the Mississippi River

  4. Question 4

    Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula are in which region?

    • Southcentral
    • Southeast
    • the Far North

  5. Question 5

    The frozen ground that stays frozen all year in the north is called…

    • tundra
    • glacier
    • permafrost

  6. Question 6

    On a map of the US, Alaska is often drawn in a small box. Why can that be confusing?

    • it makes Alaska look small and close to Hawaii
    • it shows the real size
    • it hides all the roads

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