This is the year social studies zooms out from the neighborhood to the wider community. Students start asking real questions and looking for answers in maps, photos, and short readings instead of just trusting one source. They learn how local government works, why people trade and make choices with money, and how places and people change over time. By spring, they can read a map, explain a community rule, and back up an opinion with a fact they found.
Students start the year learning how to ask real questions about the people and places around them. They practice finding answers in books, on websites, and from trusted adults, and noticing which sources to believe.
Students read maps, photos, and globes to describe their town, state, and other regions. They look at how rivers, weather, and land shape where people live and how people change the land around them.
Students learn what mayors, governors, courts, and Congress actually do. They talk about rules, fairness, and voting, and practice the habits of a good citizen at school and in the neighborhood.
Students explore how families and businesses make choices when they cannot have everything. They look at prices, jobs, saving, and spending, and start thinking about smart money habits like setting some money aside.
Students study people and events from long ago and notice how life has changed and stayed the same. They hear more than one side of a story and use old letters, photos, and objects as evidence.
Students pull the year together by picking an issue they care about in their school or community. They share what they learned through writing, posters, or short talks, and propose a small action others can take.
Students come up with a big, open question about history, government, or the economy that can't be answered in one sentence. The question is interesting enough to dig into over time, not just look up in a book.
Students look at where information comes from and decide how much to trust it. Then they use the most reliable sources to back up what they want to say.
Students share what they learned about a social studies topic by writing, talking, or creating something others can see or read. The goal is to do something useful with what they found out.
Students pick a real problem in their neighborhood, school, or the wider world and use what they know about history, geography, or civics to figure out what could actually help.
| Standard | Definition | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Construct Compelling Questions | Students come up with a big, open question about history, government, or the economy that can't be answered in one sentence. The question is interesting enough to dig into over time, not just look up in a book. | IL-SS.IS.3.1 |
| Evaluate Sources and Use Evidence | Students look at where information comes from and decide how much to trust it. Then they use the most reliable sources to back up what they want to say. | IL-SS.IS.3.2 |
| Communicate Conclusions | Students share what they learned about a social studies topic by writing, talking, or creating something others can see or read. The goal is to do something useful with what they found out. | IL-SS.IS.3.3 |
| Take Informed Action | Students pick a real problem in their neighborhood, school, or the wider world and use what they know about history, geography, or civics to figure out what could actually help. | IL-SS.IS.3.4 |
Students learn what local, state, and national governments do and why they exist. They look at how each level is set up and what it's responsible for.
Students practice the habits that keep group decisions fair, like listening to others, taking turns speaking, and respecting majority votes. These habits apply in class, at school, and in the wider community.
Students look at a real issue in their community, such as a school rule or local problem, and figure out how laws or civic processes apply to it. They practice thinking through decisions the way citizens and leaders do.
| Standard | Definition | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Civic and Political Institutions | Students learn what local, state, and national governments do and why they exist. They look at how each level is set up and what it's responsible for. | IL-SS.CIV.3.1 |
| Participation and Deliberation | Students practice the habits that keep group decisions fair, like listening to others, taking turns speaking, and respecting majority votes. These habits apply in class, at school, and in the wider community. | IL-SS.CIV.3.2 |
| Processes, Rules, and Laws | Students look at a real issue in their community, such as a school rule or local problem, and figure out how laws or civic processes apply to it. They practice thinking through decisions the way citizens and leaders do. | IL-SS.CIV.3.3 |
Students learn to weigh the cost of a choice against what they gain from it. When deciding how to spend money or time, they practice comparing options to pick the one that makes the most sense.
Markets are places where people buy and sell things. In a free-market economy, prices rise and fall based on how many people want something and how much of it is available, and that process decides who gets what.
Third graders look at how decisions made by governments and banks shape prices, jobs, and trade between countries.
Students learn what to do with money: when to save it, when to spend it, what it means to borrow it, and how putting money to work over time can help it grow.
| Standard | Definition | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Economic Decision Making | Students learn to weigh the cost of a choice against what they gain from it. When deciding how to spend money or time, they practice comparing options to pick the one that makes the most sense. | IL-SS.ECON.3.1 |
| Exchange and Markets | Markets are places where people buy and sell things. In a free-market economy, prices rise and fall based on how many people want something and how much of it is available, and that process decides who gets what. | IL-SS.ECON.3.2 |
| The National and Global Economy | Third graders look at how decisions made by governments and banks shape prices, jobs, and trade between countries. | IL-SS.ECON.3.3 |
| Financial Literacy | Students learn what to do with money: when to save it, when to spend it, what it means to borrow it, and how putting money to work over time can help it grow. | IL-SS.ECON.3.4 |
Students use maps, photos, and other geographic information to study real places and regions. They look closely at what an area looks like, where things are located, and what makes that place different from others.
Students look at what makes a place look and feel the way it does, from rivers and hills to roads and neighborhoods, then explain how people change the land around them and how the land shapes how people live.
Students look at maps and records to figure out where groups of people moved, where they settled, and how their food, language, or traditions spread to new places.
| Standard | Definition | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Geographic Tools | Students use maps, photos, and other geographic information to study real places and regions. They look closely at what an area looks like, where things are located, and what makes that place different from others. | IL-SS.GEO.3.1 |
| Place and Environment | Students look at what makes a place look and feel the way it does, from rivers and hills to roads and neighborhoods, then explain how people change the land around them and how the land shapes how people live. | IL-SS.GEO.3.2 |
| Movement and Migration | Students look at maps and records to figure out where groups of people moved, where they settled, and how their food, language, or traditions spread to new places. | IL-SS.GEO.3.3 |
Students look at how life in different places and time periods stayed the same or changed, such as how people worked, traveled, or governed themselves. They start to see why those changes happened and what stayed constant.
Students look at the same historical event through more than one person's eyes and explain how those different viewpoints change the way we understand what happened.
Students look at old photographs, documents, or artifacts and decide how trustworthy each source is. Then they use what they find to back up a claim about what happened in the past.
Students look at why a historical event happened and what changed because of it, then use facts from sources to back up a claim about that event.
| Standard | Definition | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Change, Continuity, and Context | Students look at how life in different places and time periods stayed the same or changed, such as how people worked, traveled, or governed themselves. They start to see why those changes happened and what stayed constant. | IL-SS.HIST.3.1 |
| Perspectives | Students look at the same historical event through more than one person's eyes and explain how those different viewpoints change the way we understand what happened. | IL-SS.HIST.3.2 |
| Historical Sources and Evidence | Students look at old photographs, documents, or artifacts and decide how trustworthy each source is. Then they use what they find to back up a claim about what happened in the past. | IL-SS.HIST.3.3 |
| Causation and Argumentation | Students look at why a historical event happened and what changed because of it, then use facts from sources to back up a claim about that event. | IL-SS.HIST.3.4 |
Federally administered sample-based assessment in reading, mathematics, science, and writing. NAEP results inform state-by-state comparisons rather than individual student or school accountability.
Students learn about communities. That means how local government works, how maps show where people live, how families and groups have changed over time, and how people spend and save money. The focus is the community around them before zooming out to the state and country.
Talk about the news at dinner. Point out a mayor, a police officer, a bus driver, or a store owner, and ask what their job adds to the community. When you pass a map at the mall or in the car, stop and read it together for a minute.
Not really. Students should know a few key people and events tied to their community and country, but the bigger goal is asking good questions about the past and backing up answers with evidence. Storytelling matters more than flashcards.
A common path starts with inquiry routines and classroom community, then moves through civics, geography, economics, and history. Anchoring each unit in a compelling question keeps inquiry skills active all year instead of front-loading them in September.
Sourcing and evidence. Students can share an opinion, but pointing back to a specific line in a text or a detail on a map takes practice. Build short routines where students underline or highlight the part of a source that proves their claim.
Short articles, maps, photos, and primary sources work better than long textbook chapters at this age. Plan for a mix of read-alouds, partner reading, and independent reading, and keep each source short enough to discuss in one sitting.
Students think about choices: if a dollar buys this, it can't also buy that. They start to understand saving, spending, and the idea that everything has a cost, even time. A weekly allowance jar or a savings goal at home reinforces it well.
Mostly through short writing, posters, presentations, and class discussions tied to a question they investigated. A strong end-of-year project often asks students to research a local issue and propose an action, pulling civics, inquiry, and writing together.
They can ask a real question about a place or event, find information in a book or map, and explain their answer with at least one piece of evidence. They should also be able to name a few ways people participate in their community.