Overview
In Grade 3 social studies, students are introduced to some of the diverse groups and communities, including a few First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities, that existed in Canada between approximately 1780 and 1850. Students will explore what life was like for different groups of people during that time period and will compare the lives of these people to those of present-day Canadians. They will use primary sources such as journals, letters, maps, and paintings to investigate how people in early Canada responded to challenges in their lives. Students will also learn about the physical regions, municipal regions, First Nations communities, and/or Métis regions of Ontario. They will explore the relationship between the natural environment, land use, and employment opportunities, and how different uses of land and resources affect the environment. Students will continue to develop their spatial skills, extracting information from graphs, globes, and maps, constructing print and digital maps, and using mapping programs to help them determine the relationship between the environment and land use in both the past and the present.
The Grade 3 social studies expectations provide opportunities for students to explore a number of concepts connected to the citizenship education framework, including beliefs and values, culture, identity, relationships, and stewardship.
The following two-part chart presents an overview of the Grade 3 social studies curriculum, and is meant to provide a starting point for planning instruction. For each overall expectation (listed in the first column), it identifies a related concept (or concepts) of social studies thinking and a big idea (see an explanation of big ideas and the concepts of disciplinary thinking and definitions of the concepts of social studies thinking). General framing questions are provided for each strand to stimulate students’ curiosity and critical thinking and to heighten the relevance of what they are studying. These broad and often open-ended questions can be used to frame a set of expectations, a strand, or a cross-disciplinary unit. The final column suggests ways in which spatial skills can be introduced and/or developed at this grade level, and indicates specific expectations with which they can be used (see a description of spatial skills).
Strand A. Heritage and Identity: Communities in Canada, 1780–1850
Overall Expectations | Related Concepts of Social Studies Thinking | Big Ideas | Framing Questions | Sample Spatial Skills/Activities to Be Introduced/Developed |
A1. compare ways of life among some specific groups in Canada, including a few First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities, from around 1780 to 1850, and describe some of the changes between that era and the present day | Continuity and Change; Perspective | The different communities in early-nineteenth-century Canada influence the way we live today. |
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Graphs
Maps* and Globes
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A2. use the social studies inquiry process to investigate some of the major challenges that various groups and communities, including a few First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities, faced in Canada from around 1780 to 1850, and key measures taken to address these challenges | Significance; Cause and Consequence | Social and environmental challenges were a major part of life in all communities in early-nineteenth- century Canada. | ||
A3. identify some of the communities in Canada, including a few First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities, from around 1780 to 1850, and describe their relationships to the land and to each other | Interrelationships | Canada was already a multicultural society in 1800. |
Strand B. People and Environments: Living and Working in Ontario
Overall Expectations | Related Concepts of Social Studies Thinking | Big Ideas | Framing Questions | Sample Spatial Skills/Activities to Be Introduced/Developed |
B1. demonstrate an understanding of some key aspects of the interrelationship between the natural environment, land use, employment opportunities, and the development of municipal regions, First Nations communities, and/or Métis regions in Ontario | Interrelationships; Patterns and Trends | The natural features of the environment influence land use and the type of employment that is available in a region or a community. |
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Graphs
Maps* and Globes
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B2. use the social studies inquiry process to investigate some of the environmental effects of different types of land and/or resource use in Ontario municipal regions, First Nations communities, and/or Métis regions, as well as some of the measures taken to reduce the negative impact of that use | Cause and Consequence; Perspective | Human activities and decisions about land use may alter the environment. | ||
B3. describe major landform regions and types of land use in Ontario and some of the ways in which land use in various Ontario municipalities, including First Nations communities, and/or Métis regions, addresses human needs and wants, including the need for jobs | Significance | Human activities affect the environment, but the environment also affects human activities. |
* The term map refers to print, digital, and interactive maps. Students may analyse and create maps on paper or using mapping programs.