New Mexico Content Standards 3rd Grade Social Studies Activities

NM.I: History: Students are able to identify important people and events in order to analyze significant patterns, relationships, themes, ideas, beliefs, and turning points in New Mexico, United States, and world history in order to understand the complexity of the human experience.

I-D: Skills: Understand time passage and chronology.

I-D:1. Interpret information from multiple resources and contexts to determine chronological relationships.

NM.II: Geography: Students understand how physical, natural, and cultural processes influence where people live, the ways in which people live, and how societies interact with one another and their environments.

II-A: Understand the concept of location by using and constructing maps, globes, and other geographic tools to identify and derive information about people, places, and environments.

II-A:1. Identify and use the mapping tools of scale, compass rose, grid, symbols and mental mapping to locate and draw places on maps and globes;

II-C: Be familiar with aspects of human behavior and man-made and natural environments in order to recognize their impact on the past and present.

II-C:3. Describe the consequences of human modification of the natural environment (e.g., use of irrigation to improve crop yields, highways).

II-D: Understand how physical processes shape the Earth's surface patterns and biosystems.

II-D:1. Identify the components of the Earth's biosystems and their makeup (e.g., air, land, water, plants, and animals).

II-E: Describe how economic, political, cultural, and social processes interact to shape patterns of human populations, and their interdependence, cooperation, and conflict.

II-E:1. Describe how patterns of culture vary geographically.

II-E:2. Describe how transportation and communication networks are used in daily life.

II-F: Describe how natural and man-made changes affect the meaning, use, distribution, and value of resources.

II-F:1. Identify the characteristics of renewable and nonrenewable resources.

NM.III: Civics and Government: Students understand the ideals, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship and understand the content and history of the founding documents of the United States with particular emphasis on the United States and New Mexico constitutions and how governments function at local, state, tribal, and national levels.

III-A: Know the fundamental purposes, concepts, structures, and functions of local, state, tribal, and national governments.

III-A:1. Explain the basic structure and functions of local governments.

III-B: Identify and describe the symbols, icons, songs, traditions, and leaders of local, state, tribal, and national levels that exemplify ideals and provide continuity and a sense of community across time.

III-B:1. Explain how symbols, songs, icons, and traditions combine to reflect various cultures over time.

III-D: Understand rights and responsibilities of ''good citizenship'' as members of a family, school and community.

III-D:1. Explain the significance of participation and cooperation in a classroom and community.

III-D:2. Understands the impact of individual and group decisions on communities in a democratic society.

III-D:3. Explain the significance and process of voting.

NM.IV: Economics: Students understand basic economic principles and use economic reasoning skills to analyze the impact of economic systems (including the market economy) on individuals, families, businesses, communities, and governments.

IV-A: Understand that individuals, households, businesses, governments, and societies make decisions that affect the distribution of resources and that these decisions are influenced by incentives (both economic and intrinsic).

IV-A:1. Explain that people want more goods and services than is possible to produce.

IV-C: Understand the patterns and results of trade and exchange among individuals, households, businesses, governments, and societies, and their interdependent qualities.

IV-C:1. Understand the purposes of spending and saving money.