Grade 3 Social Studies Connecticut standards Standards

Communicate Conclusions and Take Informed Action

Evaluate Sources and Use Evidence

Apply Disciplinary Concepts and Tools

Develop Questions and Plan Inquiries

State Constitution and Government

Cultural Communities in Connecticut Present and Past

Innovation, Industry, and Economic Growth

Identify the responsibilities and powers of government officials at the state and local level (e.g., alderperson, council member, governor, judges, legislators, mayor, selectperson).

Explain how people influence rules and laws in Connecticut and how rules and laws influence people (e.g., taxes, regulation, advocacy, lobbying, protest).

Describe how Connecticut laws address public needs and concerns (e.g., education, safety, environmental issues, housing security, discrimination).

Explain how democracy relies on the responsible participation of individuals and groups within school, local and state communities (e.g., advocacy, census, compromise, jury duty, taxes, voting).

Explain the significance of the sovereignty of Northeastern Woodland Native American tribes of Connecticut.

Explain how a bill becomes a law in Connecticut.

Compare the origins, functions, and structures of the Constitution of the State of Connecticut while noting similarities and differences to the United States Constitution (e.g., amendments, branches of government, preamble).

Describe how people benefit from and face challenges working together in various settings to address problems (e.g., families, governments, schools, volunteer organizations, workplaces).

Describe ways in which families and communities in early United States history were organized to promote mutual benefit and address challenges (e.g., familial and social structures of Indigenous, European, and Black communities).

Explain how services in communities are paid for by local, state, and federal taxes (e.g., income tax, local and state budgets, property tax, sales tax).

Describe the ways in which Connecticut industries increase productivity by investing in education and technology (e.g., clean energy, job training, machinery, computer technology, partnerships with schools).

Identify examples of resources in Connecticut that are used to produce goods and services (e.g., aerospace engineering, insurance, small businesses, submarines, tobacco, tourism, universities).

Describe the role of financial institutions in Connecticut (e.g., banks, insurance industry).

Use maps and other visual representations to describe the relationship between the locations of places and regions throughout Connecticut and their environmental characteristics (e.g., access to natural resources, education, labor, population, transportation).

Use both local and state maps of Connecticut to describe location of cultural and environmental characteristics over time (e.g., civic spaces, economic centers, place, population density, settlement patterns, waterways).

Explain the impact of diverse cultures within a local community and throughout Connecticut (e.g., art, businesses, foodways, language, music, religion).

Explain the ways in which Northeastern Woodland Native American tribes and ethnic enclaves of Connecticut have worked to preserve their cultural identity over time (e.g., museums, celebration of festivals, community centers).

Describe how environmental and cultural characteristics influence where people live and work in Connecticut (e.g., rivers, parks, farmland, location of ethnic communities, transportation, urban development).

Explain how the location of Connecticut industries has been influenced by access to natural resources over time (e.g., Naval Submarine Base New London, textile mills, paper mill, quarries).

Employ chronological thinking to create a chronological sequence of events illustrating developments in innovations and industries throughout Connecticut.

Compare information provided by different historical sources about an event or issue in Connecticut’s history (e.g., patents, advertisements, paintings, illustrations, artifacts, newspaper articles, monuments, secondary sources).

Make inferences about the intended audience and purpose of a variety of historical sources from information within the source itself (e.g., diary entries, historical markers, letters, seals, symbols).

Generate questions about multiple historical sources and their relationship to important economic developments in Connecticut.

Compare the regional and cultural characteristics of Northeastern Woodland Native American tribes of Connecticut, present and past (e.g., customs, locations of tribal territories, material culture, oral histories).

Describe the lived experiences of diverse cultural groups by comparing life in specific historical time periods to life in Connecticut today (e.g., industry, local customs, migration, trade, traditions).

Generate questions about individuals and groups who represented communities committed to change in Connecticut (e.g., Thomas Hooker, Nathan Hale, Rev. James W. C. Pennington, Sarah Harris and Prudence Crandall, Noah Webster, Sengbe Pieh, Laura Wheeler Waring, Yung Wing, Thirman Milner, María Colón Sánchez, Harriet Beecher Stowe).

Summarize the information presented in multiple historical sources in order to explain the importance of a notable innovator or innovation in Connecticut (e.g., maps, oral histories, patents, photographs, primary documents, sketches).

Explain why compelling questions about Connecticut and Local History are important to others (e.g., peers, adults).

Explain how supporting questions help answer compelling questions in an inquiry about Connecticut history.

Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration the different opinions people have about how to answer the question.

Apply disciplinary knowledge and practices to demonstrate an understanding of social studies content.

Gather relevant information about Connecticut history.

Identify evidence from multiple sources in response to a compelling question about Connecticut history.

Use evidence to develop claims in response to a compelling question about a significant person or event in Connecticut history.

Construct arguments using claims and evidence from multiple sources about Connecticut history.

Construct explanations using reasoning, correct sequence, examples, and details with relevant information and data.

Critique arguments and explanations.

Present a summary of arguments and explanations to others using print, oral, and digital technologies.

Explain the challenges and opportunities, both present and past, in addressing local, regional, and global problems in Connecticut history.

Use a range of deliberative and democratic procedures to evaluate and implement strategies to address problems in classrooms and schools.