Vermont State Standards for Social Studies: Grade 3

VT.6.1. Critical Evaluation: Causes and Effects in Human Societies: Students examine complex webs of causes and effects in relations to events in order to generalize about the workings of human societies, and they apply their findings to problems.

H&SS3-4:1. Grade Level Expectation: Social and Historical Questioning: Students initiate an inquiry by:

3-4:1.a. Asking relevant and focusing questions based on what they have seen, what they have read, what they have listened to, and/or what they have researched (e.g., Why was the soda machine taken out of the school? Why is the number of family farms in Vermont growing smaller?). 12
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:1.a.

H&SS3-4:2. Grade Level Expectation: Hypothesis/Research Statement: Students develop a hypothesis, thesis, or research statement by:

3-4:2.a. Using prior knowledge to predict results or proposing a choice about a possible action (e.g., using experience from a field trip to the nature center, propose a way to preserve Vermont's natural habitats). 6
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:2.a.

H&SS3-4:3. Grade Level Expectation: Research Plan: Students design research by:

3-4:3.a. Identifying resources for finding answers to their questions (e.g., books, videos, people, and the Internet). 6
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:3.a.

3-4:3.b. Identifying tasks and how they will be completed, including a plan for citing sources (e.g., I will interview the principal about why the soda machine was taken out of the school). 10
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:3.b.

3-4:3.c. Planning how to organize information so it can be shared. 14
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:3.c.

H&SS3-4:4. Grade Level Expectation: Conducting Research: Students conduct research by:

3-4:4.a. Referring to and following a plan for an inquiry. 6
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:4.a.

3-4:4.b. Locating relevant materials such as print, electronic, and human resources. 7
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:4.b.

3-4:4.c. Describing evidence and recording observations using notecards, videotape, tape recorders, journals, or databases (e.g., taking notes while interviewing the principal). 7
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:4.c.

3-4:4.d. Citing sources. 10
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:4.d.

H&SS3-4:5. Grade Level Expectation: Conducting Research: Students develop reasonable explanations that support the research statement by:

3-4:5.a. Organizing and displaying information in a manner appropriate to the research statement through tables, graphs, maps, dioramas, charts, narratives, and/or posters. 18
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:5.a.

3-4:5.b. Classifying information and justifying groupings based upon observations, prior knowledge, and/or research. 11
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:5.b.

3-4:5.c. Using appropriate methods for interpreting information such as comparing and contrasting. 6
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:5.c.

H&SS3-4:6. Grade Level Expectation: Students make connections to research by:

3-4:6.a. Explaining the relevance of their findings to the research question. 12
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:6.a.

3-4:6.b. Proposing solutions to problems and asking other questions. 6
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:6.b.

3-4:6.c. Identifying what was easy or difficult about following the research plan. 6
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:6.c.

H&SS3-4:7. Grade Level Expectation: Students communicate their findings by:

3-4:7.a. Giving an oral, written, or visual presentation that summarizes their findings. 8
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:7.a.

H&SS3-4:8. Grade Level Expectation: Students connect the past with the present by:

3-4:8.a. Explaining differences between historic and present day objects in Vermont, and identifying how the use of the object and the object itself changed over time (e.g., evaluating how the change from taps and buckets to pipelines has changed the maple sugaring industry). 14
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:8.a.

3-4:8.b. Describing ways that life in the community and Vermont has both changed and stayed the same over time (e.g., general stores and shopping centers). 14
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:8.b.

3-4:8.c. Examining how events, people, problems and ideas have shaped the community and Vermont (e.g., Ann Story's role in the American Revolution). 4
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:8.c.

H&SS3-4:9. Grade Level Expectation: Students show understanding of how humans interpret history by:

3-4:9.a. Identifying and using various sources for reconstructing the past, such as documents, letters, diaries, maps, textbooks, photos, and others. 13
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:9.a.

3-4:9.b. Differentiating among fact, opinion, and interpretation in various events. 10
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:9.b.

H&SS3-4:10. Grade Level Expectation: Students show understanding of past, present, and future time by:

3-4:10.a. Grouping historical events in the history of the local community and state by broadly defined eras . 4
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:10.a.

3-4:10.b. Constructing time lines of significant historical developments in the community and state, and identifying the dates at which each occurred. 4
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:10.b.

3-4:10.c. Interpreting data presented in time lines. 27
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:10.c.

3-4:10.d. Measuring calendar time by days, weeks, months, years, decades, and centuries (e.g., How old is your town?). 9
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:10.d.

3-4:10.e. Making predictions and/or decisions based on an understanding of the past and the present (e.g., What was farming in Vermont like in the past? What is it like now? What will it be like in the future?). 15
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:10.e.

3-4:10.f. Identifying an important event in their communities and/or Vermont, and describing a cause and an effect of that event (e.g., Excessive rain caused the flood of 1927, and as a result communication systems have changed to warn people.). 4
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:10.f.

VT.6.7. Geography: Geographical Knowledge: Students use geographical knowledge and images of various places to understand the present, communicate historical interpretations, develop solutions for problems, and plan for the future.

H&SS3-4:11. Grade Level Expectation: Students interpret geography and solve geographic problems by:

3-4:11.a. Identifying characteristics of surrounding towns and the state of Vermont using resources such as road signs, landmarks, models, maps, photographs and mental mapping. 4
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:11.a.

3-4:11.b. Observing, comparing, and analyzing patterns of local and state land use (e.g., agriculture, forestry, industry) to understand why particular locations are used for certain human activities. 4
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:11.b.

3-4:11.c. Locating the physical and political regions of Vermont (e.g., six regions, towns, counties). 4
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:11.c.

3-4:11.d. Locating countries and major cities in North America. 3
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:11.d.

3-4:11.e. Locating major global physical divisions, such as continents, oceans, poles, equator, tropics, Arctic and Antarctic Circles, tropical, mid-latitude and polar regions. 7
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:11.e.

3-4:11.f. Creating effective geographic representations using appropriate elements to demonstrate an understanding of relative location, location, size, and shape of the local community, Vermont, the U.S., and locations worldwide (e.g., create a representation of a globe, including continents, oceans, and major parallels). 11
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:11.f.

3-4:11.g. Identifying and using basic elements of the map (e.g., cardinal directions and key). 9
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:11.g.

3-4:11.h. Using grid systems to locate places on maps and globes (e.g., longitude and latitude). 10
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:11.h.

3-4:11.i. Asking appropriate geographic questions and using geographic resources to answer them (e.g., what product is produced in a region and why; atlas, globe, wall maps, reference books). 15
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:11.i.

H&SS3-4:12. Grade Level Expectation: Students show understanding of human interaction with the environment over time by:

3-4:12.a. Describing how people have changed the environment in Vermont for specific purposes (e.g., clear-cutting, sheep raising, interstate highways, farming, ski resorts). 4
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:12.a.

3-4:12.b. Identifying and participating in ways they can contribute to preserving natural resources (e.g., creating a class or school recycling center). 15
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:12.b.

3-4:12.c. Describing a community or state environmental issue (e.g., creating a slide show describing the environmental issues surrounding Lake Champlain). 4
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:12.c.

3-4:12.d. Describing how patterns of human activities (for example, housing, transportation, food consumption, or employment) relate to natural resource distribution (e.g., how population concentrations in Vermont developed around fertile lowlands, French/English/Indian conflict for furs in northern Vermont.) 15
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:12.d.

3-4:12.e. Recognizing patterns of voluntary and involuntary migration in Vermont (e.g., use maps and place names to hypothesize about movements of people). 3
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:12.e.

H&SS3-4:13. Grade Level Expectation: Students analyze how and why cultures continue and change over time by:

3-4:13.a. Identifying expressions of culture in Vermont and the U.S., such as language, social institutions, beliefs and customs, economic activities, behaviors, material goods, food, clothing, buildings, tools, and machines (e.g., discovering how Abenaki oral tradition reflects and influences their society). 6
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:13.a.

3-4:13.b. Describing the contributions of various cultural groups to Vermont and the U.S. (e.g., describing French cultural diffusion in Vermont). 6
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:13.b.

3-4:13.c. Identifying ways in which culture in Vermont has changed (e.g., Colonists learning maple sugaring from the Indians, Indians acquiring metal tools in exchange for furs). 4
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:13.c.

VT.6.9. Citizenship: Meaning of Citizenship: Students examine and debate the meaning of citizenship and act as citizens in a democratic society.

H&SS3-4:14. Grade Level Expectation: Students act as citizens by:

3-4:14.a. Identifying the rights and responsibilities of citizenship in a school and local community (e.g., the right to use town roads and speak one's mind at town meeting, the responsibility to pay town taxes). 8
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:14.a.

3-4:14.b. Demonstrating positive interaction with group members (e.g., working with a group of people to complete a task). 6
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:14.b.

3-4:14.c. Identifying problems, planning and implementing solutions in the classroom, school or community. 6
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:14.c.

3-4:14.d. Explaining their own point of view on issues that affect themselves and society (e.g., forming an opinion about a social or environmental issue in Vermont, then writing a letter to a legislator to try to influence change). 4
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:14.d.

3-4:14.e. Demonstrating the role of individuals in the election processes (e.g., voting in class or mock elections). 3
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:14.e.

3-4:14.f. Describing the roots of American culture, its development and many traditions, and the ways many people from a variety of groups and backgrounds played a role in creating it. 8
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:14.f.

3-4:14.g. Participating in setting, following and changing the rules of the group and school. 2
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:14.g.

H&SS3-4:15. Grade Level Expectation: Students show understanding of various forms of government by:

3-4:15.a. Comparing similarities of rules and laws (e.g., how are bike helmet and seatbelt laws similar?). 1
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:15.a.

3-4:15.b. Knowing where to locate written rules and laws for school and community. 3
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3-4:15.c. Explaining what makes a just rule or law (e.g., provides protection for members of the group). 3
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:15.c.

3-4:15.d. Describing how characteristics of good leadership and fair decision-making affect others (e.g., cooperative group behavior). 6
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:15.d.

H&SS3-4:16. Grade Level Expectation: Students examine how different societies address issues of human interdependence by:

3-4:16.a. Explaining how a community promotes human rights. 2
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:16.a.

3-4:16.b. Identifying and describing ways regional, ethnic, and national cultures influence individuals' daily lives (e.g., reading myths and legends to learn about the origins of culture). 12
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:16.b.

3-4:16.c. Defining their own rights and needs - and the rights and needs of others - in the classroom, school, and community (e.g., establishing a clothing drive/swap for the needy; creating a park for roller blades). 5
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:16.c.

3-4:16.d. Giving examples of ways that she or he is similar to and different from others (e.g. gender, race, religion, ethnicity.). 5
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:16.d.

3-4:16.e. Citing examples, both past and present, of how diversity has led to change (e.g., Native Americans moving to reservations). 10
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:16.e.

3-4:16.f. Identifying examples of interdependence among individuals and groups (e.g., buyers and sellers; performers and audience). 19
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3-4:16.g. Identifying behaviors that foster cooperation among individuals. 4
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:16.g.

3-4:16.h. Identifying different types of conflict among individuals and groups (e.g., girls and boys, religion, material goods). 12
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:16.h.

3-4:16.i. Explaining different ways in which conflict has been resolved, and different ways in which conflicts and their resolutions have affected people (e.g., reservations and Indian schools; Green Mountain Boys; treaties). 7
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:16.i.

H&SS3-4:17. Grade Level Expectation: Students examine how access to various institutions affects justice, reward, and power by:

3-4:17.a. Describing ways in which local institutions promote the common good (e.g., state police, library, recreation programs). 4
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:17.a.

VT.6.15. Economics: Knowledge of Economic Principles: Students use the basic principles of economics to interpret local, state, national, and international economic activity.

H&SS3-4:18. Grade Level Expectation: Students show an understanding of the interaction/ interdependence between humans, the environment, and the economy by:

3-4:18.a. Tracing the production, distribution, and consumption of goods in Vermont (e.g., after visiting a sugar house, tracing the distribution of locally-produced maple syrup). 6
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:18.a.

3-4:18.b. Describing how producers in Vermont have used natural, human, and capital resources to produce goods and services (e.g., describing the natural, human, and capital resources needed to produce maple syrup). 4
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:18.b.

3-4:18.c. Describing the causes and effects of economic activities on the environment in Vermont (e.g., granite industry). 4
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:18.c.

H&SS3-4:19. Grade Level Expectation: Students show understanding of the interconnectedness between government and the economy by:

3-4:19.a. Identifying goods and services provided by local and state governments (e.g., firefighters, highways, museums). 4
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:19.a.

3-4:19.b. Explaining the relationship between taxation and governmental goods and services in Vermont (e.g., town taxes provide for road upkeep). 6
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:19.b.

3-4:19.c. Describing and discussing the advantages and disadvantages of using currency vs. bartering in the exchange of goods and services (e.g., an advantage of bartering is that one doesn't need money, a disadvantage is determining fairness). 3
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:19.c.

H&SS3-4:20. Grade Level Expectation: Students make economic decisions as a consumer, producer, saver, investor, and citizen by:

3-4:20.a. Examining factors that influence supply and demand (e.g., Why is Vermont considering investing in wind energy?). 1
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:20.a.

3-4:20.b. Explaining ways people meet their basic needs and wants (e.g., people buy oil because they need heat; people buy video games because they want entertainment). 14
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:20.b.

3-4:20.c. Comparing prices of goods and services. 1
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3-4:20.d. Explaining how people save (e.g., by giving up something you want, by saving your allowance, by putting money in the bank). 1
Suggested Titles for Vermont Social Studies State Standard 3-4:20.d.