3rd grade Social Studies
10 units matched to the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards. Kids see this subject as “Our World”.
Focus areas
- Theme: The Ancient World
- Daily life, inventions and sources from ancient times
- Physical and human regions
- Minnesota's 11 Tribal Nations
Units
Unit 1
Needs Around the World
Everyone needs food, water, shelter and clothing. How people in different places meet these needs using what the land and climate offer, and why caring for the land matters.
Benchmark: 3.3.15.1 · where people live in relation to natural resources in different parts of the world
Unit 2
Communities Around the World
Practices daily life in communities around the world: homes, food, work and technology that suit the land and weather, cultural expression, respectful language about differences and how media can show only part of a place.
Benchmark: 3.3.14.1 · physical and human regions, past and present
Unit 3
First Farmers
The long story of early humans, how farming began about 12,000 years ago, domestication, food surpluses, and how settling down led to specialized jobs and the first cities.
Benchmark: 3.4.21.1; 3.4.18.2 · how farming changed life long ago, and comparing ancient life with today
Unit 4
Where Civilizations Grew
How geography shaped Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley and Shang China along their rivers, plus Greece, Rome and the Maya. Includes a reading passage about the Nile flood.
Benchmark: 3.4.21.2; 3.3.13.1 · how rivers and land shaped where ancient peoples moved and settled
Unit 5
Mesopotamia & Egypt
Why civilizations grew along the Tigris, Euphrates and Nile, cuneiform and hieroglyphs, Hammurabi's Code, pharaohs and pyramids.
Benchmark: 3.4.19.1; 3.4.22.1 · daily life in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, and what they gave the world
Unit 6
Ancient India & China
The Indus Valley and Yellow River, Chinese dynasties and the Mandate of Heaven, Confucius, Hinduism and Buddhism, and inventions such as paper and zero.
Benchmark: 3.4.19.1; 3.4.21.1 · daily life in ancient India and China, and inventions that changed life
Unit 7
Greece & Rome
Athens and Sparta, direct and representative democracy, the Roman Republic and Empire, and the Greek and Roman ideas found in US government.
Benchmark: 3.4.22.1; 3.4.19.1 · how ancient Greece and Rome shaped the world we live in
Unit 8
Time & Evidence
Counting years in BCE and CE, centuries and calendars, artifacts and archaeology, and judging primary and secondary sources about the ancient world.
Benchmark: 3.4.20.1; 3.4.18.1 · historical sources that survive from the ancient world, and ways of marking time
Unit 9
Working Together Fairly
Practices group skills: sharing ideas, decisions and responsibilities, being fair and respectful, considering other people's views, listening actively and choosing ways to present information.
Benchmark: 3.1.3.1 · majority rule with minority rights, and respectful talk
Unit 10
Minnesota's 11 Tribal Nations
Where Minnesota's 11 Tribal Nations are (seven Anishinaabe, four Dakota), what it means that each is sovereign, and how Tribal governments work with local and state governments.
Benchmark: 3.1.6.1; 3.1.4.1 · locating the 11 Tribal Nations of Minnesota and how they interact with local and state government
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