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3rd grade · Social Studies · Unit 3 of 11

Ask, Find & Record

Ask good questions, find information, organize it and name your sources.

What your child practices

Practices the first steps of social studies research: gathering information from oral, visual, material, print and electronic sources, organizing and recording it in charts and maps, naming sources, choosing tools and forming research questions.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) teks student expectation: 3.14(A); 3.14(C) · asking questions, gathering information about the community and sorting it

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Start with a good question, like “How did people travel in the past?”
  2. Find answers in books, pictures, objects, websites and by asking people.
  3. Record what you find in a chart or map, and write down your sources.

Example: Which is a research question: “Trains are cool” or “How did people travel 100 years ago?” A research question asks something you can find out. It often starts with how, why or what. Answer: How did people travel 100 years ago?

Ask, Find & Record in Texas

In the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), this is unit 3 of 11 in 3rd grade Social Studies, after Working Together Fairly and before People Who Built Communities.

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: Texas Education Agency (TEA)

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 tool would help you tell the time you spent on a task?

    • A ruler
    • A clock or timer
    • A paintbrush

  2. Question 2

    Which tool would you use to look closely at a leaf?

    • A ruler
    • A magnifying glass
    • A broom

  3. Question 3

    A concept map shows…

    • a recipe
    • how ideas connect
    • a game score

  4. Question 4

    Which technology helps you look up a word?

    • A dictionary or a safe website
    • A spoon
    • A hammer

  5. Question 5

    A chart with columns is a good way to…

    • compare information
    • hide it
    • paint a picture

  6. Question 6

    You are asked to find out how a pond animal lives. Which is the best first step?

    • Ask a question and choose sources
    • Guess
    • Paint the pond

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