Course Description:
Semester A: In third grade, social studies students will begin to explore the fundamentals of social studies including geography, civics, and economics. Learners will begin by looking at the beginning of civilization and examining the ancient Hebrew civilization, the Phoenicians, and the Kush tribe of ancient Africa. They will then move on to examining the Native American tribes of the Cherokee, Sioux, and Hopi. Students will also look at the first explorers of the Americas and learn about the beginning of the United States. In the first semester students will learn important geographical factors which have impacted ancient civilizations, Native American tribes and the development of the United States. Students will increase their skills by creating maps and looking at the landscapes. They will take a close look at their own personal heritage by mapping their ancestry. Learners will follow a step-by-step approach for successfully completing each lesson, which includes storytelling, repetition, projects, arts and crafts, and videos. Semester B: The second semester begins with introducing learners to economics and the role that money plays in every civilization. Students learn the difference between natural, human, and capital resources. They also examine the production of goods, trade, specialization, and interdependence, and come to understand the importance that each individual play in a society's economy. Learners are introduced to Civics by discussing the governmental structure of the Ancient Hebrews and Phoenicians. The purpose and importance of laws and how they are enacted as well as the establishment of government are shown through stories of the Ancient Phoenicians and Native Americans. The course ends by discussing the purpose and nature of government as it relates to the United States
Course Prerequisites:
None
Required Materials:
None
Course Accessibility:
Tutoring/help w/ district coach and/or other district educators, Text to speech K-12, Canvas Accessibility checker, Language tool for ELL, Accommodations and modifications to students with IEPS and 504s
Course Participation: Student participation in this course is documented by the following:
- Student active time in course logged by the learning management system.
- Coursework submissions recorded by the learning management system.
No
- Academic-based communication between the student and virtual education teacher or learning coach and virtual education teacher.
- When this course is taken by a student in a school with a district-assigned learning coach, seat time attendance may be used to document participation.
- The virtual education teacher verifies participation in the course 1-3 times a week.
- A student is expected to meet progress requirements for the course weekly (flexibility- for example: student can choose to complete weekly progress for a course earlier in the week)
