All Social Studies Units

Explore a menu of Social Studies unit plans from PreK–Grade 8, featuring engaging, standards-aligned lessons that build historical and civic understanding.

Paid-members only

Grade 3 Social Studies Units

Unit Plan 30 (Grade 3 Social Studies): Working and Saving for Goals

Understand why people work and how earning, saving, spending, trade, and opportunity cost shape smart choices through hands-on market and decision-making simulations.

Paid-members only

Grade 3 Social Studies Units

Unit Plan 29 (Grade 3 Social Studies): Producers and Consumers in Our Community

Identify producers and consumers, understand goods and services, and learn why people work, earn, save, and spend to meet personal and community goals.

Paid-members only

Grade 3 Social Studies Units

Unit Plan 28 (Grade 3 Social Studies): Needs, Wants, and Scarcity

Learn needs vs. wants and how scarcity forces choices through hands-on simulations, using simple charts and photos to make smart decisions with limited resources.

Paid-members only

Grade 3 Social Studies Units

Unit Plan 27 (Grade 3 Social Studies): Midyear Review—Our History, Our Home

Create a collaborative “Our History, Our Home” display where students use timelines, sources, traditions, and local stories to show how their community’s past and present connect and evolve.

Paid-members only

Grade 3 Social Studies Units

Unit Plan 26 (Grade 3 Social Studies): How Communities Grow and Change

Explore why communities grow and change by comparing past and present places, examining human–environment interaction, and learning how people adapt, modify, and conserve their surroundings.

Paid-members only

Grade 3 Social Studies Units

Unit Plan 25 (Grade 3 Social Studies): Community Landmarks and Monuments

Discover how local landmarks and monuments honor important people, groups, and events, helping students explore human-made features, community history, and why these places matter.

Paid-members only

Grade 3 Social Studies Units

Unit Plan 24 (Grade 3 Social Studies): Primary and Secondary Sources

Students learn to tell primary from secondary sources and use both to answer 5W questions, evaluate facts vs. opinions, and create simple Source Detective Reports.

Paid-members only

Grade 3 Social Studies Units

Unit Plan 23 (Grade 3 Social Studies): Traditions and Culture Through Time

Students explore traditions like music, food, and celebrations, learning how culture is shared across generations while practicing respect and inclusion.

Paid-members only

Grade 3 Social Studies Units

Unit Plan 22 (Grade 3 Social Studies): Important People in Local History

Students research local historical figures and explain their contributions using evidence from multiple sources and simple citations.

Paid-members only

Grade 3 Social Studies Units

Unit Plan 21 (Grade 3 Social Studies): Change and Continuity in Communities

Students compare past and present through old and new photos and maps, identify change and continuity in their community, and evaluate sources for facts, opinions, and perspectives.

Paid-members only

Grade 3 Social Studies Units

Unit Plan 20 (Grade 3 Social Studies): Sources Tell Us About the Past

Students act as history detectives, using photos, artifacts, maps, and short texts to answer 5W questions and summarize the past with evidence from multiple sources.

Paid-members only

Grade 3 Social Studies Units

Unit Plan 19 (Grade 3 Social Studies): Telling Our Stories with Timelines

Students learn to read and create timelines using chronological vocabulary, sequencing personal and community events to understand order, change, and history over time.

Paid-members only

Grade 3 Social Studies Units

Unit Plan 18 (Grade 3 Social Studies): Midyear Inquiry Project — Our Community Atlas

Students investigate their community using maps, photos, texts, and interviews, then create an evidence-based class atlas that highlights local geography, traditions, and human–environment interaction.

Paid-members only

Grade 3 Social Studies Units

Unit Plan 17 (Grade 3 Social Studies): Maps Around the World

Students learn continents and oceans, compare political and physical maps, use titles, legends, and directions, and evaluate which maps are most reliable for answering questions.

Paid-members only

Grade 3 Social Studies Units

Unit Plan 16 (Grade 3 Social Studies): Caring for Our Environment

Students explore how people impact the environment and create evidence-based conservation messages to promote reducing waste and protecting land, water, and air.

Paid-members only

Grade 3 Social Studies Units

Unit Plan 15 (Grade 3 Social Studies): Human-Made Features and Transportation

Students explore roads, bridges, and tunnels to learn how transportation routes support travel, trade, and the natural, human, and capital resources behind local industries.

Paid-members only

Grade 3 Social Studies Units

Unit Plan 14 (Grade 3 Social Studies): Urban, Suburban, and Rural Regions

Students compare urban, suburban, and rural communities and learn how people adapt, modify, and care for their environments in each region.

Paid-members only

Grade 3 Social Studies Units

Unit Plan 13 (Grade 3 Social Studies): Weather, Climate, and Where We Live

Students compare climates and explore how people adapt, modify, and protect their environment through daily choices, structures, and stewardship.

Paid-members only

Grade 3 Social Studies Units

Unit Plan 12 (Grade 3 Social Studies): Landforms and Waterways

Students explore landforms and waterways, how they shape communities, and how people adapt, modify, and protect their environment.

Paid-members only

Grade 3 Social Studies Units

Unit Plan 11 (Grade 3 Social Studies): Using Cardinal and Intermediate Directions

Students use all eight directions to read and create maps, locate landforms and waterways, and explain how geography shapes human activities.

Paid-members only

Grade 3 Social Studies Units

Unit Plan 10 (Grade 3 Social Studies): Reading Maps and Legends

Students learn map basics—titles, legends, symbols, and directions—to locate places, read routes, and create simple maps of familiar areas.

Paid-members only

Grade 3 Social Studies Units

Unit Plan 9 (Grade 3 Social Studies): Our Community Then and Now

Students compare past and present using photos, maps, and stories to learn community history and create simple “Then and Now” comparisons.

Paid-members only

Grade 3 Social Studies Units

Unit Plan 8 (Grade 3 Social Studies): Sharing What We Learn

Grade 3 students turn community research into short, evidence-based presentations—posters, slides, or PSAs—using clear claims, source citations, and simple action ideas to inform and inspire change.

Paid-members only

Grade 3 Social Studies Units

Unit Plan 7 (Grade 3 Social Studies): Gathering and Sorting Information

Help Grade 3 students gather and sort information from photos, maps, and texts while learning to spot facts, opinions, perspectives, and choose relevant community sources.

Paid-members only

Grade 3 Social Studies Units

Unit Plan 6 (Grade 3 Social Studies): Asking Good Questions About Our World

Build inquiry skills as Grade 3 students craft compelling questions about their community and use diverse sources—maps, charts, photos, texts, and interviews—to explore answers and think like young social scientists.