Subscribe

3rd grade · Social Studies · Unit 2 of 10

Communities Around the World

How land, climate, resources and culture shape daily life in communities far and near.

What your child practices

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.

Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards benchmark: 3.3.14.1 · physical and human regions, past and present

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Homes, food and work in a community suit its land and weather.
  2. Culture is the songs, stories, food and celebrations people share.
  3. Use respectful words about differences: “different,” not “weird.”

Example: Which sentence is respectful: “Their food is weird” or “Their food is different from mine”? Respectful words don’t make others feel bad. “Different” describes without judging. Answer: Their food is different from mine.

Communities Around the World in Minnesota

In the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards, this is unit 2 of 10 in 3rd grade Social Studies, after Needs Around the World and before First Farmers.

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: Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)

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

    If your community and another both celebrate with food, you share…

    • the same house
    • something in common
    • nothing at all

  2. Question 2

    Natural resources are…

    • machines
    • things from nature that people use
    • toys

  3. Question 3

    Before you decide what a faraway place is like, you should…

    • look at more than one source
    • never learn about it
    • believe the first picture

  4. Question 4

    Housing in a very hot, dry place is often built to…

    • hold in the heat
    • stay cool
    • float on snow

  5. Question 5

    Is every community around the world alike?

    • Yes, all the same
    • Only big ones differ
    • No, they are diverse

  6. Question 6

    Which statement best compares your daily life to life in another community?

    • Some things are alike and some are different
    • Nothing is the same
    • Everything is the same

More 3rd grade