3rd grade · Geography
What a 3rd grade student learns in Geography
Grade 3 geography centers on strengthening spatial thinking with map/globe skills and examining physical and human characteristics of places and regions, especially how geography influences communities across the United States and the world. Students learn to analyze human-environment interaction at local-to-global scales.
The skills for the year
- 1Use cardinal and intermediate directions to describe relative location on maps and globes
- 2Interpret map legends, symbols, and scale bars measured in miles
- 3Locate and label the seven continents and five oceans
- 4Distinguish physical maps from political maps and extract information from each
- 5Identify and describe major landforms (mountains, plains, plateaus, valleys, deserts) and bodies of water (rivers, lakes, gulfs)
- 6Locate the United States, the home state, state capital, and major U.S. cities on maps
- 7Identify and compare the five U.S. regions (Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, West) by landforms and climate
- 8Introduce absolute location with simple grids and basic latitude/longitude lines
- 9Compare regional climates using temperature in degrees Fahrenheit and precipitation patterns
- 10Identify common natural resources and classify them as renewable or nonrenewable
- 11Describe ways people depend on, adapt to, and modify the physical environment
- 12Explain how physical geography influences settlement patterns, jobs, and transportation
- 13Identify human features such as cities, roads, bridges, dams, and canals
- 14Compare urban, suburban, and rural communities and their geographic settings
- 15Examine how geography shapes cultural practices and daily life in different regions
- 16Use maps, globes, and geographic vocabulary to answer questions about places and regions
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