Social Studies
Vocabulary Words
Third Grade
by
Serena Georges
century
A period of 100 years
climate
The temperature,
precipitation and winds that
characterize a region
citizen
A person who is a
member of a
community or country
citizenship
A person’s
membership within a
community
Columbus
Day
The legal holiday
commemorating the landing
of Columbus in the
Bahamas in 1492 (Oct. 12)
communication
Ways people send and
receive messages
community
A group of people living
in the same locality
compass
rose
A set of arrows that
show where north,
south, east, and west
are on a map or globe
constitution
The final version was
produced on September
17th, 1787
consumers
People who buy and use
goods and services to
satisfy economic wants
Constitution
Day
On September 17th, we
celebrate the signing of our
Constitution
culture
The language, traditions,
beliefs, clothing, and
activities of a group of
people
cultural
celebrations
A celebration of
traditions and diversity
decade
A period of 10 years
economic
decision
A choice to produce or
consume a good or
service.
Because we cannot have everything we want, we
have to decide what we will choose and what we
will give up
equality
When each member of a
group, class or society
are regarded as equal
Don Pedro
Menedez de
Aviles
Founder of St.
Augustine, Florida in
1565
Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr.
Nobel peace prize
winner who fought for the
equal rights of all people
economics
The production,
distribution and
consumption of goods
and services
education
The action or process of
education or being
education; gain knowledge
ethnic
group
A group of people
whose members
identify with each other
future
Coming after the
present; time that is to
come
geography
The study of people, place
and environment focusing
on the earth’s surface and
processes that shape it
globe
A model of Earth
goods
Things that are made or
grown that satisfy
economic wants
grid
system
Uses coordinates to
describe a location or
a point on a map
government
An organization that is
the governing authority
of a country or nation
Hernando
de Soto
Was an explorer for Spain
who explored areas of the
southeastern United
States
Hispanic
Heritage
Month
Hispanic Heritage Month begins on September 15,
the anniversary of independence for five Latin
American countries—Costa Rica, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In addition,
Mexico declared its independence on September
16, and Chile on September 18.
invention
Something invented; a
product of a person’s
imagination
Iroquois
a member of a North American Indian
confederacy, the Five Nations,
comprising the Mohawks, Oneidas,
Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas,
and later the Tuscaroras.
immigrant
Ellis Island, New York
a person who migrates to
another country
Jacques
Cartier
French explorer who
discovered the St.
Lawrence River in Canada
Jamestown
first permanent English
settlement in North
America 1607
Juan
Ponce de
Leon
Spanish explorer who
was the first to reach
Florida
justice
quality of being just;
rightfulness or
lawfulness
landform
A natural shape or
feature of the Earth’s
surface
law
a system or collection
of rules
legend
A key that explains the
meanings of symbols
on a map
map
A model of Earth or a
part of the Earth that is
drawn on a flat surface
opportunity
cost
The next best (secondbest) choice that is given
up when a decision
(choice) is made
past
Having existed or
taken place in a time
before the present
present
Being or going on now;
to happen right now
population
The amount of people
who live in a region
product
A good or service made
with resources
production
The process of making a
product, either a good or
service
Quebec
City
Quebec City is the capital of
Quebec and, after Montreal,
the second largest city in the
province
region
An area that shares
common
characteristics
rule
a principle or regulation
governing conduct,
action, procedure,
arrangement
resources
Things that can be
used to produce a
good or service
rural
An area with a low
population density
Samuel de
Champlain
French explorer who
mapped much of
Northeastern North America
and started a settlement in
Quebec
scale
An area characterized
as a city or town where
the population density
is greater
services
Actions (jobs) that
people do for each
other
St.
Augustine
A seacoast city in NE
Florida: founded by the
Spanish 1565; oldest city
in the U.S.
suburban
An outlying part of city
or town; a residential
area adjacent to a city
or large town
transportation
Ways goods and
people move from
place to place
timeline
a linear representation of
important events in the
order in which they
occurred
tradition
A custom or belief that
is handed down from
generation to
generation
truth
The values and beliefs that
are learned and shared by
members of a community or
society
urban
An area characterized
as a city or town where
the population density
is greater
valley
A landform; a lowland
area between higher
land such as mountains
Veteran’s
Day
We honor and thank
veterans for serving in the
armed forces during times of
war and peace – Nov. 11th
vote
a formal expression of
opinion or choice, made
by an individual or body of
individuals
year
A period of 365 or 366 days,
divided into 12 calendar
months, as beginning Jan. 1
and ending Dec. 31