Grade 3 Social Studies Oklahoma standards Standards

Content Standards

Practice Standards

The student will analyze the purpose of government and traits of responsible citizens.

Describe the principle of democracy as government by the people.

Explain how representatives of the people make and carry out laws in our communities, state, and nation.

Explain that the Constitution of the United States and the Oklahoma Constitution are written plans for organizing the functions of government, which is composed of both state and national levels of authority.

Explain how the Preamble to the Oklahoma Constitution reflects the power of the people and their reliance on spiritual guidance.

Describe the structure of Oklahoma’s government, including the role of major elected and appointed leaders in each of its three branches, such as the governor, state legislators, and court justices.

Identify basic responsibilities of state and local governments (e.g., public safety, education, public works) and explain how taxes pay for services provided by local and state governments.

Describe how American Indian Tribal governments are also based upon written constitutions and exercise the right to govern themselves (sovereignty) by making laws for Tribal lands and citizens, providing for schools and healthcare, and preserving Native culture and traditions.

Explain how Oklahomans are united through our heritage, state symbols, and special commemorations that reflect common ideals.

Describe the significance of symbols represented on the State Seal and Oklahoma Flag, explaining how the name of Oklahoma is derived from the Choctaw language and reflects the state’s American Indian heritage.

Explain how Tribal people and their governments are represented by flags and seals, reflecting the unique culture, history, and traditional symbols of each Tribe.

Examine the significance of community, state, and national holidays, including commemoration of Statehood Day, November 16, as the joining of Indian and Oklahoma Territories and admission of Oklahoma to the United States in 1907.

Identify and explain the meaning of the Oklahoma motto, “Labor omnia vincit,” reflecting the importance of hard work and labor.

Explain how Oklahomans exhibit the “Oklahoma Standard” when they unite as neighbors during difficult times, such as recovering from the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.

Define the concepts of civic virtue and examine the responsibilities of citizens.

Examine why civility, cooperation, self-reliance, and respect for the law are important civic traits that support our communities, state, nation, and Tribes.

Explain the importance of voting in elections and running for public office to the preservation of representative democracy.

Describe how citizens can serve their community through jury duty and community service.

Explain how military service is one of many ways that Oklahomans express their patriotism and sense of duty, exemplified by the Buffalo Soldiers, Native Code Talkers, and the 45th Infantry.

The student will examine Oklahoma’s geography and how people of Oklahoma interact with their environment.

Use maps, graphs, photographs, charts, and geographic technology to organize information about people, places, and environments of the state.

Examine Oklahoma’s political and physical features using physical and political maps.

Explain the relative location of the student’s school and the state of Oklahoma to surrounding states and major physical regions of the United States.

Distinguish between relative location and absolute location (latitude and longitude) to describe the location of Oklahoma’s major natural and human features on maps and globes.

Interpret thematic maps of Oklahoma using essential map elements (e.g., title, legend, scale, compass rose) to examine geographic features of the state.

Use both political and physical maps to identify Oklahoma’s major landforms, bodies of water, and major metropolitan centers, recognizing the Native origins of many place names.

Describe the state’s climate and various natural vegetation zones, explaining how climate can affect natural vegetation and economic activities.

Describe ways early inhabitants of present-day Oklahoma satisfied their basic needs and wants by interacting with the environment and using the natural resources of the region.

Explain that people both adapt to and modify their environment in order to meet their basic needs and wants.

Describe how the environment contains natural resources used by humans and identify the characteristics of renewable versus non-renewable resources by providing examples found in Oklahoma.

Identify the ways in which physical geography influenced early American Indian cultures of the region (e.g., bison hunting, fur trading, farming).

Describe how early settlers to the region adapted to and modified their environment (e.g., sod houses, windmills, irrigation of cash crops).

Examine how Oklahomans continue to adapt and modify their environments to meet their needs.

Summarize how weather events, such as floods and tornadoes, impact the people and economy of Oklahoma.

Explain how Oklahomans changed their environments to support development of the state (e.g., recreational lakes, hydroelectric dams, wildlife refuges, the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System).

Examine the concepts of scarcity and surplus of natural resources and describe the role of citizens in conserving the state’s resources (e.g., water rationing, recycling efforts).

The student will analyze the significant historical events and people contributing to the development of Oklahoma.

Examine the state’s earliest peoples and the significance of their interactions.

Explain that today Oklahoma is the home to thirty-nine American Indian Nations with unique traditions and ways of life, comparing Tribal cultures.

Explain how accounts of people’s origins vary among different cultures (e.g., Native oral histories, the Hebrew creation story).

Describe how prior to European exploration of the region, American Indian cultures (e.g., Wichita, Caddo) traded goods using well-developed systems of intertribal trade routes.

Examine reasons for early European and American explorations into present-day Oklahoma and summarize observations regarding the land, people, and resources.

Describe the experiences of forced removals and relocation of American Indians to Indian Territory, explaining significant changes to American Indian cultures and ways of life.

Describe the development of the state and its resources.

Explain the importance of the cattle industry to the early economy, including the influence of Hispanic ranching traditions on the cowboy culture and how cattle trails, such as the Great Western and Chisholm Trails, became major transportation routes.

Describe continued migration by various newcomers to the region, such as the Boomer Movement, explaining different points of view held by American Indians and settlers regarding the settling of Native lands.

Explain how many African Americans (often called “Exodusters” referencing the Hebrew Exodus) migrated to Oklahoma, considering it a "promised land" where farming communities, businesses, schools, and churches could grow (e.g., historic Black towns, Tulsa’s Greenwood District).

Describe challenges faced by citizens during the Dust Bowl, focusing on how Oklahomans adapted to harsh environmental conditions and survived economic hardships.

Identify when and under what circumstances the student’s own town or city was founded and describe the different groups of people who have influenced its growth and development.

Describe how individuals have contributed to the development of Oklahoma by describing the achievements of notable citizens in the fields of

Science and Medicine (e.g., Shannon Lucid, Thomas Stafford, Dr. Nazih Zuhdi)

Technology (e.g., Sequoyah, Wiley Post)

the Arts (e.g., Maria Tallchief, Kiowa Six, Will Rogers, Woody Guthrie, Enoch Kelly Haney)

Politics (e.g., Standing Bear, Clara Luper, Carl Albert, Wilma Mankiller)

Sports (e.g., Bill Pickett, Jim Thorpe, Mickey Mantle, Shannon Miller).

The student will identify and describe basic economic activities creating prosperity for the state.

Describe the features of a market economic system.

Explain how citizens make their own decisions about what goods or services to produce and what to buy, using examples from the local community.

Explore how the laws of supply and demand impact people's choices about buying, producing, and consuming goods and services.

Examine how entrepreneurs have contributed to the state’s economy.

Explain how labor (human effort), land (natural resources), and capital (tools, machinery, technology) are used to produce goods and services.

Describe how notable Oklahoma entrepreneurs (e.g., Gordon and May Lillie, O.W. Gurley, Frank Philips, Tom and Judy Love, Bill Braum) used their labor, land, and capital to build businesses and make a difference in their communities and the state.

Describe the importance of Oklahoma’s goods and services to the state’s economic growth.

Explain how Oklahoma’s oil and gas discoveries, such as the Glenn Pool and Oklahoma City Oil Field, affected the economic well-being of many Oklahomans and continue to be a significant economic sector.

Examine how the development of recent economic activities has contributed to the state’s economy, identifying examples of goods and services provided by local businesses and industries (e.g., commercial agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, Tribal enterprises, and military installations).

Describe how the state’s economy is connected to national and international trade by identifying major exports originating from Oklahoma (e.g., oil, aircraft, beef, wheat).

The student will apply critical thinking skills to address authentic civic issues.

Demonstrate an understanding of the virtue of civil discourse to analyze and address real- world problems.

Explain how people make decisions in a democracy, using examples from their community and state.

Use democratic processes to consider and propose actions to address authentic, real-world problems in the community and state.

Describe a range of local and state problems and how communities and local governments are trying to address them.

Develop practices which demonstrate an understanding that social studies involves the evaluation of evidence.

Ask and respond to enduring essential questions of common concerns to the community and state.

Develop responses to supporting questions relevant to specific social studies content knowledge.

Reinforce critical thinking skills by regularly asking and responding to levels of open-ended questions.

Demonstrate understanding of social studies content through completion of authentic tasks and assessments.

The student will use interdisciplinary tools to acquire, apply, and evaluate content understanding of the four strands of social studies.

Demonstrate an understanding of the principles of government, the benefits of democratic systems, and their responsibilities as citizens.

Describe civic virtues and democratic principles such as equality, fairness, and respect for legitimate authority.

Describe the basic structure of government at the local, state, and Tribal levels, including the importance of citizen participation

Explain the purposes of laws and government in the community and state, examining the role of elected officials in making laws.

Develop skills which demonstrate an understanding of historical events and the people who shaped our history.

Explain the difference between a primary and secondary source of information; gather basic information (i.e., author, date, facts).

Define point of view and give examples relevant to the student’s experiences.

Generate possible reasons for an event and draw conclusions from simple timelines by identifying immediate cause and effect relationships.

Demonstrate a mastery of geographic concepts and the use of geographic tools to understand the impact of geography on the past and present.

Ask and answer geographic questions, using geographic information about the student’s community and state.

Describe the community and state’s human and physical environment by creating and using maps, graphs, and other geographic models, including aerial photography.

Identify and describe how humans modify and adapt to their physical environment, using its natural and human resources.

Identify the principles of economic systems and develop an understanding of the benefits of a market system in local, national, and global settings.

Gather basic economic data from various types of graphs and charts.

Describe freedom of choice when determining needs and wants in a free market, including costs and benefits resulting from economic decisions.

Describe examples of the goods and services that local and state governments provide, explaining why people trade.

The student will engage in critical, active reading of primary and secondary sources related to social studies concepts.

Comprehend, evaluate, and synthesize textual sources to acquire and refine knowledge in the social studies.

Summarize the main idea and locate supporting details of a text (e.g., primary and secondary sources).

Use graphic features of a text (e.g., photographs, titles, headings, subheadings, charts, illustrations, and graphs) to understand content.

Apply critical reading and thinking skills to interpret, evaluate, and respond to a variety of complex texts and perspectives.

Determine the author’s purpose, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe in informational texts.

Locate facts (e.g., who, what, where, when, why, how) to demonstrate an understanding of key details in a text.

Ask and answer questions to clarify information and engage in collaborative discussions about appropriate topics in social studies.

The student will develop a variety of evidence-based written products designed for multiple purposes.

Summarize and paraphrase, integrate evidence, and cite sources to create written products, research projects, and presentations for multiple purposes related to social studies content.

Compose informative written products, focusing on the facts about a topic, including a main idea with supporting details.

Express an opinion about a topic by composing a written product and providing logical reasons as support.

Engage in authentic research to acquire, refine, and share knowledge through written presentations and products.

Generate a list of topics of interest and individual questions about a specific topic in social studies.

Organize information found during group or individual research, using graphic organizers or other aids.

Create a simple presentation to communicate ideas and thoughts gathered from research.