3rd grade Social Studies: how to help at home
What your child learns in 3rd grade social studies in the Oregon State Standards, and simple things to try at home.
Focus areas this year
- Our community and beyond
- Oregon's regions and counties, and the Pacific Northwest
- How communities change
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.
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.
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.
Oregon's Regions
Kinds of maps, latitude and longitude, Oregon's regions from the Coast to the High Desert, its rivers and borders, and how geography and natural resources shape Oregon communities.
Oregon's Counties
Oregon's counties and county seats, which counties are on the coast and which are east of the Cascades, and what county governments do.
Changemakers & Allies
Allies and bystanders, majority rule and minority rights, local issues and how to take part, sources about a community's past, and Oregonians who worked for equality and freedom.
Moving & Culture
Voluntary migration and forced displacement, push and pull factors, what families bring when they move, ideas and evidence about the first people in the Americas, and the many cultures of Oregon communities.
Money, Taxes & Our State
Oregon's state offices and leaders, taxes and public goods (Oregon has no sales tax), supply and demand, opportunity cost, advertising and peer pressure, and specialization in a community.
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 Oregon 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 Oregon State Standards 3rd grade social studies units include Needs Around the World, Communities Around the World, Working Together Fairly, Oregon's Regions, Oregon's Counties, Changemakers & Allies.
Free printable 3rd grade social studies practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.