Emily Smith
Curriculum Guide Analysis
I have chosen our Third Grade Social Studies curriculum to analyze. This curriculum is already
broken down into topics. I will actually be analyzing twelve weeks of material because one bundle is 4
weeks long and the other is 8 weeks. Our Social Studies curriculum “fits” into the UBD format a little
easier than our ELA curriculum. The only thing that was really missing from the Social Studies portion
was the essential question. Also, our activities section could be “fleshed” out a little more. Our
document also includes our four PLC questions that we discuss at our weekly curriculum meetings and
resources for the unit along with content-specific vocabulary.
Below you will find my two bundles in the BEFORE format.
*Everything in red tells you where you would have found this information on our document.
Lesson Topic: Citizenship
Grade level: Third Grade
Length of lesson: 20 days
Stage 1 – Desired Results
Content Standard(s):
(11) Citizenship. The student understands characteristics of good citizenship as
exemplified by historical and contemporary figures. The student is expected to:
(A) identify characteristics of good citizenship, including truthfulness, justice, equality,
respect for oneself and others, responsibility in daily life, and participation in
government by educating oneself about the issues, respectfully holding public officials to
their word, and voting;
(B) identify historical figures such as Helen Keller and Clara Barton and contemporary
figures such as Ruby Bridges and military and first responders who exemplify good
citizenship; and
(C) identify and explain the importance of individual acts of civic responsibility, including
obeying laws, serving the community, serving on a jury, and voting.
(12) Citizenship. The student understands the impact of individual and group decisions
on communities in a constitutional republic. The student is expected to:
(A) give examples of community changes that result from individual or group decisions;
(B) identify examples of actions individuals and groups can take to improve the
community; and
(C) identify examples of nonprofit and/or civic organizations such as the Red Cross and
explain how they serve the common good
Under TEKS
Understanding (s)/goals
Students will understand:
Characteristics of a good citizen
Essential Question(s):

Topic
Student objectives (outcomes):
Students will be able to:
identify characteristics of good citizenship, historical figures, and identify and explain the
importance of individual, and group acts of civic responsibility.
What do we want the students to learn?
Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence
Other Evidence:

Discuss daily life responsibilities –
home & school (journal entry/list);
The students will illustrate examples and
locate or illustrate pictures of
non-examples of good citizens.
examples/nonexamples; CHAMPS;
discuss boxes of hope, pennies
How will we know they have learned the skill?
from heaven, Lions Club; guest
speaker (ie, Angie Mauldin –
community outreach program)
Performance Task(s):


Product: create/design an
organization – identify causes,
sources of funding, etc.
*See binder for additional activities
Instruction/Workstation/Student Products
Stage 3 – Learning Plan
Learning Activities:
Books: Chrysanthemum, The Ant Bully, The Donkey and the Rock, Freedom School,
Yes!, Through My Eyes (Ruby Bridges)
TAKS TOPPER: Helen Keller , Clara Barton
Writing/Reading Focus
Lesson Topic: Communities
Length of lesson: 40 days
Grade level: Third Grade
Stage 1 – Desired Results
Content Standard(s):
(1) History. The student understands how individuals, events, and ideas have
influenced the history of various communities. The student is expected to:
(A) describe how individuals, events, and ideas have changed communities, past and
present;
(B) identify individuals, including Pierre-Charles L'Enfant, Benjamin Banneker, and
Benjamin Franklin, who have helped to shape communities; and
(C) describe how individuals, including Daniel Boone, Christopher Columbus, the
Founding Fathers, and Juan de Oñate, have contributed to the expansion of existing
communities or to the creation of new communities.
(2) History. The student understands common characteristics of communities, past and
present. The student is expected to:
(A) identify reasons people have formed communities, including a need for security,
religious freedom, law, and material well-being;
(B) identify ways in which people in the local community and other communities meet
their needs for government, education, communication, transportation, and recreation;
and
(C) compare ways in which various other communities meet their needs.
(3) History. The student understands the concepts of time and chronology. The student
is expected to:
(A) use vocabulary related to chronology, including past, present, and future times;
(B) create and interpret timelines; and
(C) apply the terms year, decade, and century to describe historical times.
Under TEKS
Understanding (s)/goals
Students will understand:
Essential Question(s):

Learning about communities, communities
over time, timelines
Topic
Student objectives (outcomes):
Students will be able to:

understand how individuals, events, and ideas influenced the history of
communities. Also, the student will identify and compare the common
characteristics of communities. The student will use vocabulary for time
and chronology and create and interpret timelines.
What do we want the students to learn?
Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence
Other Evidence:

Create a timeline of the life of
Pierre-Charles L’Enfant, Benjamin
Respond to a journal prompt: Describe two
Banneker, or Benjamin Franklin
changes from past communities to present

*See binder for additional activities
Instruction/Workstation/Student
Products
communities, i.e. transportation,
businesses, schools, entertainment
Interpret timeline.
Performance Task(s):
How will we know they have learned the skill?
Stage 3 – Learning Plan
Learning Activities:
Books: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Roxaboxen, Aurora Meets Dawn, Saturday
Sancocho, City Green, Desert Town, Mountain Town, Mama Talks too Much, I Live in the
City, River Town, I Remember Papa, A Farming Town, Something Beautiful, The Ant
Bully, Mama Provi and the Pot of Rice, My Great Aunt Arizona, Right Here on this Spot,
Dreamplace, School in Grandma’s Day, Iron Horses, Boom Town, Mailing May, Having
Fun in Grandma’s Day, The Milkman’s Boy
Writing/Reading Focus
Horizons textbook
Unit 1: Learning about Communities pp1-64
Chapter 3: Communities are people pp 10-33
Lesson 1 – People Live in Communities
Lesson 2 – People Work at Many Jobs
Lesson 3 – Many People, One Community
Lesson 4 – People Getting Along
Chapter 4: Communities are Places pp 34-59
Lesson 1 – Where on Earth is Your Community?
Lesson 2 – Communities are Different Sizes
Lesson 3 – Every Community has a story
Time Readers for Kids: Cities: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, Pioneer Living, and
International Space Station
Horizons textbook
Unit 5: Communities Over Time pp280-368
Chapter 9: Learning about the Past pp 290-323
Lesson 1 – Continuity and Change
Lesson 2 – Exploring Your Community’s Past
Lesson 3 – Tracing a Community’s History
Lesson 4 – Communities in Ancient Times
Chapter 10: Our Nations History pp 324-363
Lesson 1 – America’s Earliest Communities
Lesson 2 – Newcomers Arrive
Lesson 3 – A New Nation
Lesson 4 – Building the Nation’s Capital
Lesson 5 – The Nation Grows
Lesson 6 – United States in Modern Times
Time Readers for Kids: Transportation: Yesterday and Today, Lewis & Clark, World
Monuments
UnitedStreaming Video:
Planning the Party: Timelines & Charts
Materials/Tools
Recommendations of how to change the curriculum are represented in the bundles below.
Lesson Topic: Citizenship Grade level: Third Grade
Length of lesson: 20 days
Stage 1 – Desired Results
Content Standard(s):
(11) Citizenship. The student understands characteristics of good citizenship as
exemplified by historical and contemporary figures. The student is expected to:
(A) identify characteristics of good citizenship, including truthfulness, justice, equality,
respect for oneself and others, responsibility in daily life, and participation in
government by educating oneself about the issues, respectfully holding public officials to
their word, and voting;
(B) identify historical figures such as Helen Keller and Clara Barton and contemporary
figures such as Ruby Bridges and military and first responders who exemplify good
citizenship; and
(C) identify and explain the importance of individual acts of civic responsibility, including
obeying laws, serving the community, serving on a jury, and voting.
(12) Citizenship. The student understands the impact of individual and group decisions
on communities in a constitutional republic. The student is expected to:
(A) give examples of community changes that result from individual or group decisions;
(B) identify examples of actions individuals and groups can take to improve the
community; and
(C) identify examples of nonprofit and/or civic organizations such as the Red Cross and
explain how they serve the common good
Understanding (s)/goals
Essential Question(s):
Students will understand:
 What could you change in your life
to make yourself a better citizen?
 Characteristics of a good citizen
 What is your civic responsibility as
and
a student of North Elementary?
 How groups and individuals impact
 What makes an organization
the community
nonprofit?
Student objectives (outcomes):
Students will be able to:

identify characteristics of good citizenship, historical figures, and identify and
explain the importance of individual, and group acts of civic responsibility
 identify examples of how individuals and groups can improve the community and
some changes that are a result of individual/group decisions, and examples of
nonprofit organizations and how they serve the community
Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence
Performance Task(s):
Other Evidence:

Discuss daily life responsibilities –
home & school (journal entry/list);
CHAMPS; discuss boxes of hope,
 Create a “Perfect Citizen” graphic
organizer and a “Bad Citizen”
pennies from heaven, Lions Club;
graphic organizer. Have the kids
guest speaker (ie, Angie Mauldin –
fill them in with characteristics and
community outreach program)
examples for each. Grade with
rubric.
 Do a jigsaw activity where the class
is divided into groups and they
research an organization that has
affected the community positively
and report that back to the class.
Grade by teacher created rubric.
Stage 3 – Learning Plan
Learning Activities:

Books: Chrysanthemum, The Ant Bully, The Donkey and the Rock, Freedom
School, Yes!, Through My Eyes (Ruby Bridges): The students can complete
Reader’s Response journal entries to any of these books.

Helen Keller and Clara Barton: Take the TAKS Topper stories for these two
examples of good citizens and together with the class (WE DO) fill in a KWL
chart before and after reading. Then, in workstations, provide a selection a
reading material for them to choose an individual from and create their own KWL
chart.

Have a representative from the Red Cross come and speak to the children. Use
Marzano’s note-taking strategy to take notes during the presentation.

Have a representative from the Hallsville Outreach come and speak. Use
Marzano’s note-taking strategy to take notes during the presentation.

Have Carol Greer come and talk to the children about our bond and how the
community’s votes built our school we are in now. Use Marzano’s note-taking
strategy to take notes during the presentation.
Lesson Topic: Communities
Grade level: Third Grade
Length of lesson: 40 days
Stage 1 – Desired Results
Content Standard(s):
(1) History. The student understands how individuals, events, and ideas have
influenced the history of various communities. The student is expected to:
(A) describe how individuals, events, and ideas have changed communities, past and
present;
(B) identify individuals, including Pierre-Charles L'Enfant, Benjamin Banneker, and
Benjamin Franklin, who have helped to shape communities; and
(C) describe how individuals, including Daniel Boone, Christopher Columbus, the
Founding Fathers, and Juan de Oñate, have contributed to the expansion of existing
communities or to the creation of new communities.
(2) History. The student understands common characteristics of communities, past and
present. The student is expected to:
(A) identify reasons people have formed communities, including a need for security,
religious freedom, law, and material well-being;
(B) identify ways in which people in the local community and other communities meet
their needs for government, education, communication, transportation, and recreation;
and
(C) compare ways in which various other communities meet their needs.
(3) History. The student understands the concepts of time and chronology. The student
is expected to:
(A) use vocabulary related to chronology, including past, present, and future times;
(B) create and interpret timelines; and
(C) apply the terms year, decade, and century to describe historical times.
Understanding (s)/goals
Essential Question(s):
Students will understand:
 What vocabulary is related to
chronology?
 How various communities have


been influenced throughout history
Past and present communities’
characteristics, and how they
function
Concepts of time and chronology
and its vocabulary



What information can you learn
from a timeline?
Why have people formed
communities and how do they meet
their needs once those
communities are formed?
How can an individual affect a
community through shaping and
expansion?
Student objectives (outcomes):
Students will be able to:

understand how individuals, events, and ideas influenced the history of
communities.
 identify and compare the common characteristics of communities past and
present
 use vocabulary for time and chronology and create and interpret timelines.
Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence
Performance Task(s):
Other Evidence:

Create a timeline of the life of
 Have the children watch a video on
Pierre-Charles L’Enfant, Benjamin
their nano of a teacher from the
Banneker, or Benjamin Franklin
one room schoolhouse describing

Have the students journal
what it was like. Then, have the
responses to prompts on how they
students record each other
could change their community
describing Hallsville schools today
(could even have them journal on
and how and why they have
ideas of how they could change
changed.
their classroom community).
 Interpret timeline: Using a timeline,
have the students answer
questions based on information
from the timeline. Grade their
responses.
Stage 3 – Learning Plan
Learning Activities:

Books: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Roxaboxen, Aurora Meets Dawn,
Saturday Sancocho, City Green, Desert Town, Mountain Town, Mama Talks too
Much, I Live in the City, River Town, I Remember Papa, A Farming Town,
Something Beautiful, The Ant Bully, Mama Provi and the Pot of Rice, My Great
Aunt Arizona, Right Here on this Spot, Dreamplace, School in Grandma’s Day,
Iron Horses, Boom Town, Mailing May, Having Fun in Grandma’s Day, The
Milkman’s Boy: Students can journal a Reader’s Response to any of these read
alouds.
Horizons textbook - Unit 1: Learning about Communities pp1-64
 Chapter 3: Communities are people pp 10-33
 Lesson 1 – People Live in Communities



Lesson 2 – People Work at Many Jobs
Lesson 3 – Many People, One Community
Lesson 4 – People Getting Along




Chapter 4: Communities are Places pp 34-59
Lesson 1 – Where on Earth is Your Community?
Lesson 2 – Communities are Different Sizes
Lesson 3 – Every Community has a story
Time Readers for Kids: Cities: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, Pioneer Living, and
International Space Station
Horizons textbook - Unit 5: Communities Over Time pp280-368
 Chapter 9: Learning about the Past pp 290-323
 Lesson 1 – Continuity and Change
 Lesson 2 – Exploring Your Community’s Past
 Lesson 3 – Tracing a Community’s History
 Lesson 4 – Communities in Ancient Times







Chapter 10: Our Nations History pp 324-363
Lesson 1 – America’s Earliest Communities
Lesson 2 – Newcomers Arrive
Lesson 3 – A New Nation
Lesson 4 – Building the Nation’s Capital
Lesson 5 – The Nation Grows
Lesson 6 – United States in Modern Times
Time Readers for Kids: Transportation: Yesterday and Today, Lewis & Clark, World
Monuments
UnitedStreaming Video:
 Planning the Party: Timelines & Charts
 Up in the Attic – how things have changed over time, timelines (See M. Walker)
I do think that the UBD format is more teacher friendly than our current curriculum document, if you
have a thorough understanding of the terminology. I like how our current document has our 4 PLC
questions already incorporated into it. That is a time saving strategy that will help us in the long run. I
did find that as I was creating this I constantly referred back to make sure I was staying on the right path.
I think that is so important and so often not done. Because I did this, I found where I had to correct things
that were previously done because the outcomes didn’t match the goals or the performance tasks didn’t
match the activities. I do think that this curriculum could be improved further if I sat down and regrouped
the TEKS into more cohesive units.