3rd Grade Science and Social Studies
Fall Semester | ||||
Unit Title | Environment: Geography and Change | Heroes Change Communities | Launching Into Space Systems | Business Matters |
Time | 5 Weeks | 3 Weeks | 4 Weeks | 5 Weeks |
Understandings | Students will identify practices of scientists, engineers, and historians, including: safety procedures, using tools, asking questions, gathering information, solving problems, collecting observations and data, and communicating ideas and conclusions.
Students will identify and describe the importance of safety practices during science investigations.
Students will identify and explore tools used to gather information and make observations in science and social studies.
Students will explore ways to use C-E-R and OPTIC as routines to organize information and communicate ideas.
Students will use cardinal and intermediate directions and map elements to locate Juneau, AK, San Francisco, CA, and Hawaii, HI in relation to San Antonio on a map and globe.
Students will use tools to observe and compare the day to day weather in Juneau, AK, San Francisco, CA, and Hawaii, HI.
Students will construct an appropriate table to record weather data including air temperature, wind direction, and precipitation in all 3 locations.
Students will describe the climate of each location.
Students will use a scale to determine the distance between two locations on a map. compare landforms in each of the 3 locations.
Students will explain that people make choices about recreation, transportation, clothing, and shelter based on the physical environment they live in.
Students will describe the different types of recreation and transportation in Juneau, AK, San Francisco, CA, and Hawaii, HI and explain how climate and landforms affect these.
Students will define natural resources as anything found in nature that people use to meet their wants or needs.
Students will compare natural resources found in Juneau, AK, San Francisco, CA, and Hawaii, HI.
Students will explain how the extraction of natural resources is an example of how humans modify the physical environment.
Students will explain how humans use natural resources in construction, agriculture, transportation, and to make products.
Students will use science tools (hand lenses and Smartscopes) to observe soil samples and describe the components of each sample.
Students will investigate to find evidence of weathered rock and organic matter in soil and record findings.
Students will use physical properties to describe different types of soil.
Students will describe soil components to peers using evidence from investigations.
Students will explain how sand and clay can be combined to make bricks used for buildings.
Students will use models to show how volcanoes, earthquakes, and landslides can be both constructive and destructive forces.
Students will describe how volcanoes, earthquakes, and landslides change the Earth’s surface.
Students will compare natural hazards that occur in Juneau, AK, San Francisco, CA, and Hawaii, HI.
Students will compare models to natural phenomena to identify advantages and limitations.
Students will complete a STEM Challenge to engineer a barrier to protect cars and roads from landslides. | Students will describe what military and first responders do when responding to natural disasters.
Students will identify examples of nonprofit organizations and explain how they serve the common good by providing for the needs of many in the community.
Students will describe how Clara Barton exemplified good citizenship by caring for others, displaying bravery, showing generosity, solving problems, and considering the needs of all individuals in society.
Students will identify characteristics of good citizenship and provide examples of how individuals can demonstrate good citizenship in their community.
Students will become humanitarians, by completing a project where they create their own nonprofit organization that will serve the common good of their community.
Students will describe how Hector Garcia was a hero, including being a civil rights activist and representing the rights of hispanic veterans.
Students will describe how Harriet Tubman was a hero, including helping enslaved people escape to freedom.
Students will explain how Ruby Bridges exemplified good citizenship by showing bravery and courage during the desegregation of schools. Students will use a timeline to learn about history.
Students will describe how civil rights activists changed communities by fighting against social injustices and promoting equal rights for minority groups.
Students will describe scientific breakthroughs such as Salks’ polio vaccine, Pasteur’s pasteurization process and vaccines, and Evans’ brain cancer research.
Students will describe innovative technology such as McCormick’s mechanical reaper, Gates’ Microsoft software, and Kwolek’s Kevlar. | Students will describe heroic deeds of James Lovell, including leading the return of the damaged Apollo 13 back from an orbit around the moon to land safely back on Earth.
Students will describe how astronauts, such as Neil Armstrong, Mae Jemison, Ellen Ochoa, and Christa McAuliffe have changed their communities by seeking new knowledge and inspiring others.
Students will use charts and timelines to gather and share information from a variety of resources about astronauts, both past and present.
Students will explain that a system includes parts (Sun and planets) that make up a whole (solar system).
Students will identify the order of the planets in relation to the Sun and the asteroid belt.
Students will analyze linear and elliptical models of the solar system and explain their advantages and limitations.
Students will recognize and use scale to describe the sizes of the planets in relation to each other and the Sun.
Students will understand how the Sun, Earth, and Moon interact as a system, recognize that the Moon orbits the Earth and that together the Earth and Moon orbit the Sun.
Students will construct multiple models of the Sun, Earth, and Moon orbits and explain their advantages and limitations.
Students will recognize and use scale to examine the distance between the Earth, Moon, and Sun.
Students will recognize and use proportion to compare the sizes of the Earth, Moon, and Sun.
Students will explain how the space program has different careers that contribute to successful space flights and exploration.
Students will identify Maria Mitchell as the first female professional astronomer and describe how she changed society by opening the door for women to pursue careers in astronomy.
Students will describe how the female African American mathematicians, now known as the Hidden Figures, contributed to the advancement of space exploration.
Students will describe the importance of organizations such as NASA and SpaceX and how their new technologies have benefited society and improved the space program.
Students will complete a STEM Challenge to design shock absorbers for a lunar module that will protect two astronauts when they land on the moon. | Students will describe at least one way that HEB serves the community through donating profits or providing resources and services to those in need.
Students will identify the Butt Family as the founders and entrepreneurs who started HEB.
Students will create a timeline to show important events in the history of HEB.
Students will use cardinal and intermediate directions to describe the locations of HEB on a map of our local community.
Students will describe the free enterprise system in the United States.
Students will identify ways people (including themselves) choose to earn, spend, save, and donate and explain the reasoning for making these choices.
Students will use a given budget to make choices about how to spend their money at HEB.
Students will explain that when supply is higher than demand the price of a good or service decreases, and when supply is lower than demand the price of a good or service increases.
Students will define scarcity as a time when a community does not have enough of a resource to meet the demand of consumers.
Students will identify examples of scarcity such as toilet paper during the COVID pandemic or the availability of new technology when it is first released (i.e. video games, gaming systems, etc.).
Students will define profit as the amount of money a business makes after production costs.
Students will explain how profit may increase or decrease depending on both production costs (including materials and labor) and sales price.
Students will explain that everything around us is made of matter.
Students will define a solid as the state of matter that has a definite shape.
Students will define a liquid as the state of matter that does not have a definite shape and takes the shape of its container.
Students will explore a variety of everyday objects and observe the relationships between objects’ shapes and containers.
Students will define a gas as the state of matter that does not have a definite shape and fills the space of its container.
Students will create a graphic organizer to classify everyday objects as solids, liquids, and gases.
Students will explain and justify to a peer why I classified everyday objects as solids, liquids, and gases.
Students will predict, observe and record changes when heat is added to or removed from solids, liquids, and gases.
Students will use safe practices to investigate and describe the processes of melting, freezing, evaporation, and condensation that occur when heat is added or removed from from matter.
Students will use digital scales and thermometers to measure the mass and temperature of matter.
Students will plan and conduct an investigation that tests how the physical properties of different materials affect the time it takes matter to change from one state to another.
Students will use physical properties to justify decisions made in their everyday lives.
Students will complete a STEM Challenge to improve the design of the shopping cart.
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TEKS | Science 3.10A, 3.11A, 3.5F, 3.10B, 3.6A, 3.6D, 3.10C , 3.5B
Social Studies 3.4A, 3.4B, 3.4C, 3.3A, 3.2B, 3.3B, 3.3A | Science
Social Studies 3.11A, 3.9D, 3.5A, 3.9B, 3.1A, 3.9A, 3.11B, 3.13A, 3.13B | Science 3.5D, 3.9B, 3.5C, 3.9A, 3.4A, 3.4B
Social Studies 3.11A, 3.1A, 3.13A, 3.13B, 3.14D
| Science 3.6B, 3.6C, 3.6A, 3.5B, 3.5G, 3.5F, 3.6D
Social Studies 3.1A, 3.5A, 3.6D, 3.4A, 3.5B, 3.6A, 3.6B 3.6C, 3.6, 3.13B |
Skills TEKS | Science 3.1C, 3.1D, 3.3B, 3.1F, 3.3A, 3.3B, 3.1D, 3.1E, 3.3C, 3.1A, 3.1G, 3.2A, 3.1B, 3.2D, 3.4A, 3.4B
Social Studies 3.14A, 3.14C, 3.14D, 3.16B | Science 3.4A
Social Studies 3.15D, 3.14C, 3.15B, 3.14A
| Science 3.4B, 3.2A, 3.1A, 3.1B, 3.1C, 3.1D, 3.1E, 3.1G, 3.2D, 3.3A, 3.4A
Social Studies 3.14D, 3.16 | Science 3.1E, 3.3B, 3.1F, 3.1C, 3.1D, 3.1A, 3.1B, 3.3C, 3.4A
Social Studies 3.15B, 3.15A 3.14C, 3.15D, 3.16 |
Spring Semester | |||
Unit Title | Wonders of the Wetlands | We The People: Our Government System | The Forces that Keep Communities Connected |
Time | 6 Weeks | 3 Weeks | 11 Weeks |
Understandings | Students will describe wetlands as an ecosystem in a low-lying area that is covered by water most of the year.
Students will identify Mitchell Lake as a wetland and describe its unique physical characteristics including climate, landforms, and natural resources.
Students will locate Mitchell Lake on a map of San Antonio.
Students will define functions as the job or role of a structure that helps an animal meet its needs.
Students will explore the relationship between structures and functions that help animals survive in their environments by allowing them to move, protecting them from prey, keeping them warm or cool, and getting food and water.
Students will simulate how different types of bird beak structures help birds acquire the food that best fits their needs within various habitats in the wetlands ecosystem.
Students will understand the advantages and limitations of using a simulation to model how animals behave in the real world.
Students will research temperature and precipitation patterns of Mitchell Lake over time.
Students will explain why each year colder temperatures cause some animals to hibernate or migrate, and some plants to go dormant in order to survive.
Students will explain why each year a lack of precipitation may cause some Texas native plants to go dormant.
Students will ask a question, plan and carry out a descriptive investigation, and use scientific tools to observe and learn about the different stages in the life cycles of lady beetles, mealworms, radishes, and/or lima beans.
Students will use a table to record observations and measurements.
Students will draw, label, and describe the stages of the life cycles of lady beetles, mealworms, radishes, and/or lima beans.
Students will compare and contrast the life cycles of lady beetles, mealworms, radishes, and/or lima beans.
Students will identify food chains within the wetlands ecosystem and explain how energy from the sun moves from one organism to the next.
Students will construct a flow chart or graphic with arrows that demonstrates and explains how energy moves through the food chain.
Students will make predictions about how organisms may increase or decrease when there is a change in a food chain and justify these predictions with evidence.
Students will define a drought as a period of time without precipitation leading to a shortage of water.
Students will explain how a drought could affect the organisms of Mitchell Lake.
Students will use a timeline to learn about the history of Mitchell Lake
Students will communicate my understanding of the history of Mitchell Lake by using the terms year, decade, and century.
Students will describe how people adapt to living in a wetlands ecosystem, such as choosing certain clothing, shelter, transportation, and recreation.
Students will explain how people modify the wetlands ecosystem, including draining water to expand farm land and to build new homes, stores, and roads.
Students explore the cause and effect relationship between human processes and the environment, such as building new homes and pollution resulting in changes to the landscape, destruction of plant and animal habitats, and the loss of natural resources.
Students will define conservation as preventing the wasteful use of resources.
Students will explain how conservation efforts, such as reducing, reusing, or recycling, make land safe for people to enjoy and allow plants and animals to thrive.
Students will identify local nonprofit and government organizations that support conservation of Mitchell Lake, such as SAWS, the Audubon Society, Keep San Antonio Beautiful.
Students will describe conservation efforts at Mitchell Lake, such as prohibiting sewage dumping, removing non-native plants and planting native grasses, bringing in water-filtering plants to treat the lake water, prohibiting hunting, capturing, and killing any migratory birds, and educating the public about conservation.
Students will identify figures who serve and improve the local community and promote conservation, such as Greg Wukasch, and explain how they exemplify good citizenship
Students will complete a STEM Challenge to design a solution to address the effects of an invasive species on a Wetlands ecosystem. | Students will make a list of the reasons people form communities.
Students will explain how Pierre-Charles L'Enfant, Benjamin Banneker, and Benjamin Franklin impacted the communities they were a part of.
Students will describe how Daniel Boone contributed to the creation and expansion of communities.
Students will describe how the Founding Fathers’ created the U.S. constitution based on their beliefs of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, which made it possible for Americans to settle, form communities, and live freely.
Students will explain the purpose of the Declaration of Independence as declaring the 13 colonies as independent states, free from rule by Great Britain.
Students will explain the purpose of the U.S. Constitution as a document that outlines the structure of the U.S. government, and shows how power and responsibility should be shared between different groups (branches) of government leaders.
Students will explain the purpose of the Bill of Rights to ensure the basic rights of U.S. citizens such as freedom of religion, speech, the right to bear arms, and the right to a trial by jury.
Students will define “consent of the governed” as an idea where citizens participate in government by voting for representatives that will make decisions on their behalf.
Students will describe the structure of the local, state, and national government as being made of 3 branches or groups which share power and responsibility.
Students will identify the 3 branches of the local, state, and national government as the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
Students will create a visual to show the structure of government and explain the responsibility of each branch of government.
Students will identify different officials at the local, state, and national government levels. Students will explain the difference between electing and appointing, and identify which government officials are elected or appointed.
Students will identify services provided by the government, and tell whether they are provided by the local, state, or national government.
Students will identify characteristics of good citizenship.
Students will identify figures who exemplify good citizenship and explain how their actions show the characteristics of good citizenship.
Students will identify figures whose acts of civic responsibility have impacted the good of their community, such as Jennifer Keelan’s work within the disability rights movement.
Students will describe the importance of civic responsibility.
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| Students will define communities as a group of people who live in the same location and interact with each other or a group of people who share a common bond.
Students will identify the communities they are a part of.
Students will explore their local community by identifying ways people learn, communicate, travel, and play.
Students will explore how people in other communities learn, communicate, travel, and play.
Students will recognize that energy is always present and can be observed when changes occur.
Students will identify examples of light, sound, thermal, and mechanical energy and explain how they are used in everyday life.
Students will collect evidence of energy within their school.
Students will demonstrate and explain that forces of magnetism, pushes, and pulls can cause change to an object’s motion and position through contact.
Students will demonstrate and explain that forces of magnetism and gravity can cause change to an object’s motion and position from a distance.
Students will use the force of magnetism to test if different items can be described by the physical property of magnetism.
Students will use scientific practices to plan and conduct descriptive investigations that explore the forces of pushes and pulls on other objects, changes in the speed of an object’s motion, magnetic forces, and the force of gravity.
Students will identify examples of forces including gravity, magnetism, pushes, and pulls in school, such as playground equipment, activities during PE and/or field day, and in classroom supplies.
Students will identify different forms of communication such as face-to-face, phone calls, letters, texting, face-time, emails, video conferencing, television, social media, websites, advertisements, nonverbal communication, tone of voice, signs, sounds, etc. Students will compare how people in various communities use different forms of communication to stay connected.
Students will identify examples of energy found in different forms of communication.
Students will identify different forms of transportation such as cars, buses, bicycles, walking, trains, boats, airplanes, etc.
Students will compare how people in various communities use different forms of transportation to move within and across communities.
Students will explain how transportation helps people to meet their wants and needs.
Students will identify examples of forces found in different forms of transportation
Students will complete a STEM Challenge to design and improve a life vest.
Students will describe their own culture such as their language, religion, celebrations, traditions, stories, art, music, literature, clothing, food, activities, beliefs, and any other aspects of their culture they feel represent them.
Students will identify various cultural celebrations and explain the significance of cultural celebrations in their own and other communities.
Students will compare cultural celebrations in their own and other communities.
Students will identify specific writers and authors and explain how they contribute to the cultural heritage of a community
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TEKS | Science 3.13A, 3.5F 3.12A, 3.5A, 3.5B, 3.5G, 3.13B, 3.12B, 3.12C, 3.5D, 3.5E, 3.12D, 3.11B, 3.11C, 3.9A, 3.12B
Social Studies 3.3A, 3.4C, 3.2, 3.3B, 3.3C, 3.7C, 3.9A, 3.9B, 3.9C, 3.9D, 3.15E | Science
Social Studies 3.2A, 3.2B, 3.1A, 3.1B, 3.1C, 3.8A, 3.8B, 3.7A, 3.7B, 3.7C, 3.11A, 3.9A, 3.9B, 3.9C | Science 3.8A, 3.7A, 3.6A, 3.7B, 3.8B, 3.5B, 3.5G
Social Studies 3.2A, 3.2B, 3.8A, 3.10A, 3.10B, 3.12 |
Skills TEKS | Science 3.1D, 3.1G, 3.2A, 3.3B, 3.1B, 3.1E 3.1F, 3.3A, 3.1A, 3.1C, 3.1E, 3.2D
Social Studies 3.15B, 3.15C, 3.16
| Science
Social Studies 3.15E | Science 3.1A, 3.1B, 3.1C, 3.1D, 3.1E, 3.1F, 3.1G, 3.2B, 3.2C, 3.3B, 3.2D
Social Studies 3.14B, 3.15E, 3.16, 3.15E, 3.14A
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