3rd grade Social Studies: how to help at home
What your child learns in 3rd grade social studies in the Alaska content standards, and simple things to try at home.
Focus areas this year
- Alaska's land and regions
- Alaska's history, from the first peoples to statehood
- How Alaska is governed, and Alaska Native cultures today
Easy ways to practice social studies at home
- Look at a map of your community and find places you visit.
- Ask an older relative or neighbor what the area was like when they were young.
- Read stories from many communities, including Indigenous authors, and talk about what is the same and different.
- Talk about how rules and jobs help a community work.
What each unit covers
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.
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.
Alaska's Land & Regions
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 Through Time
Alaska history in order: Russian America, the purchase of 1867, the gold rushes, territory and statehood in 1959, the 1964 earthquake, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, the pipeline and the Permanent Fund, with timeline and arithmetic practice.
Governing Alaska
How Alaska is governed: the three branches of state government in Juneau, the Legislature's 40 representatives and 20 senators, how a bill becomes law, boroughs and cities, Tribal governments, and the rights and responsibilities of Alaska residents.
Alaska Native Cultures
An introduction to Alaska Native cultures as living communities: where some of Alaska's many Native peoples live, Alaska's 20 official Native languages, subsistence, sharing and trade, and how Elders pass on history. Kept light and in the present tense.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Beginning
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Approaching
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practicing the tricky parts.
- Meeting
- Has it! Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Exceeding
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the Alaska report card guide.
Common questions
Look at a map of your community and find places you visit. Ask an older relative or neighbor what the area was like when they were young. Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
The Alaska content standards 3rd grade social studies units include Needs Around the World, Working Together Fairly, Alaska's Land & Regions, Alaska Through Time, Governing Alaska, Alaska Native Cultures.
Free printable 3rd grade social studies practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.