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

Focus: Examine reasons people move, build, and change their environment, and compare past and present to see change and continuity in how communities grow and how people practice human–environment interaction (adapt, modify, conserve).

Grade Level: 3

Subject Area: Social Studies (Geography • History)

Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 45–60 minutes per session

I. Introduction

In this unit, students explore how communities grow and change over time. They examine reasons people move to new places (work, safety, family, resources), why they build and change their surroundings (homes, roads, parks, bridges), and how they adapt to, modify, and sometimes conserve the environment. Students compare past and present photos, maps, and simple accounts of the same place to notice what has changed and what has stayed the same (continuity). By the end of the week, each student will create a “Then & Now: Our Changing Community” mini-poster or map that shows one place at two times, explains reasons for change, and suggests one stewardship action to care for the environment.

Essential Questions

• Why do people move, build, and change their environment as communities grow?
• How can we see change and continuity in a place by comparing past and present photos, maps, or stories?
• What does human–environment interaction mean, and how do people adapt, modify, and conserve their surroundings?
• How can we help our community grow in a healthy way while also caring for the environment?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Describe at least three reasons why people move to or within a community (e.g., jobs, family, safety, environment) and how this affects growth.
2. Explain how people change their environment using examples of adapt, modify, and conserve (e.g., building roads, planting trees, protecting parks).
3. Use artifacts, photos, maps, and short accounts to distinguish past and present in one place and identify change and continuity.
4. Compare a “then” picture or map and a “now” picture or map of a community space and note at least two changes and one thing that stayed the same.
5. Create a “Then & Now: Our Changing Community” mini-poster or map that shows a place at two times, explains why it changed, and suggests one stewardship action to care for the environment today.

Standards Alignment — 3rd Grade (C3-based custom)

• 3.C3.Geo.5 — Analyze human–environment interaction (adapt, modify, conserve) and propose stewardship actions.
  • Example: Recommend two ways to reduce litter at a local park and justify with evidence.
• 3.C3.Hist.2 — Distinguish past and present using artifacts, photos, maps, and accounts; note change and continuity.
  • Example: Compare a 1900s street photo with today’s street view.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can explain why people move and how that can make communities grow and change.
• I can give examples of how people adapt to, modify, and conserve the environment.
• I can look at past and present photos or maps of the same place and tell what has changed and what has stayed the same.
• I can make a Then & Now mini-poster that shows one place at two times and explains why it changed.
• I can name at least one way we can take care of our community and its environment as it grows.