Grade 3
Social Studies
Unit: 03
Lesson: 02
Suggested Duration: 04 days
Las personas se adaptan a las características físicas de nuestra
comunidad
Lesson Synopsis:
Students use geography skills to review what they have learned about characteristics of the physical environment, extend
their learning to include physical processes, and then apply what they have learned to make predictions about the
physical environment of communities. Students also investigate more deeply the local community and apply their learning
to the local community.
TEKS:
3.1
3.1A
3.4
History. The student understands how individuals, events, and ideas have influenced the history of various
communities. The student is expected to:
Describe how individuals, events, and ideas have changed communities, past and present.
Geography. The student understands how humans adapt to variations in the physical environment. The
student is expected to:
3.4A
Describe and explain variations in the physical environment including climate, landforms, natural
resources, and natural hazards.
3.4B
Identify and compare how people in different communities adapt to or modify the physical environment in
which they live such as deserts, mountains, wetlands, and plains.
3.4C
Describe the effects of physical processes such as volcanoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes in shaping the
landscape.
3.5
Geography. The student understands the concepts of location, distance, and direction on maps and globes.
The student is expected to:
3.5A
Use cardinal and intermediate directions to locate places on maps and globes such as the Rocky
Mountains, the Mississippi River, and Austin, Texas, in relation to the local community.
3.5B
Use a scale to determine the distance between places on maps and globes.
3.5C
Identify and use the compass rose, grid system, and symbols to locate places on maps and globes.
3.5D
Create and interpret maps of places and regions that contain map elements including a title, compass rose,
legend, scale, and grid system.
Social Studies Skills TEKS:
3.17
Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired
from a variety of valid sources, including electronic technology. The student is expected to:
3.17C
Interpret oral, visual, and print material by identifying the main idea, distinguishing between fact and
opinion, identifying cause and effect, and comparing and contrasting.
3.17E
Interpret and create visuals, including graphs, charts, tables, timelines, illustrations, and maps.
3.18
3.18B
Social studies skills. The student communicates in written, oral, and visual forms. The student is expected
to:
Use technology to create written and visual material such as stories, poems, pictures, maps, and graphic
organizers to express ideas.
GETTING READY FOR INSTRUCTION
Performance Indicator(s):

Sketch a map showing the physical characteristics of the local community. In call-out boxes, explain how the
physical characteristics of the local community (climate, landforms, natural resources, natural hazards) affect the
lives of people in the area, causing them to adapt to the physical environment.
Key Understandings and Guiding Questions:

Las características físicas de un lugar causan que las personas se adapten al medio ambiente físico.
— ¿En qué se diferencian los medios ambientes físicos?
— ¿Cómo las personas de diferentes comunidades se adaptan al medio ambiente físico?
— ¿Cuáles son los efectos de los procesos físicos para dar forma al paisaje?
©2012, TESCCC
04/05/13
page 1 of 6
Grade 3
Social Studies
Unit: 03 Lesson: 02
— ¿Cómo se utilizan las direcciones intermedias y cardinales para localizar lugares en mapas y globos
terráqueos?
Vocabulary of Instruction:



adaptar
balanza
cuadrícula de
coordenadas




procesos físicos
medio ambiente
clima
accidentes geográficos


recursos naturales
peligros naturales
Materials:

Refer to the Notes for Teacher section for materials.
Attachments:




Teacher Resource: PowerPoint: Geography of a Place
Handout: Natural Processes Cause-Effect (1 per student)
Handout: Texas Map (1 per student)
Handout: Ways People Adapt to Physical Characteristics in Our Community (1 per student)
Resources and References:

None identified
Advance Preparation:
1. Become familiar with content and procedures for the lesson.
2. Refer to the Instructional Focus Document for specific content to include in the lesson.
3. Select appropriate sections of the textbook and other classroom materials that support the learning for this
lesson.
4. Preview available resources and websites according to district guidelines.
5. Prepare materials and handouts as needed.
Background Information:
Climate: Climate is the weather at a particular place over a period of years. Those who study climate consider the
averages and extremes of temperature, wind velocity, precipitation, and other weather elements. Factors which
influence the climate of a place include distance from the equator (latitude), proximity to large bodies of water and the
nature of the body of water (cold ocean currents versus warm ocean currents), location on a continent (continentality),
and elevation.
Landform: Landforms are features on Earth’s surface which include plains, mountains, deserts, hills, and canyons.
The shape of landforms (tall and jagged, flat with steep sides, etc.), the nature of the landforms (easy to live on,
difficult to live on, etc.), and the processes that continue to affect the landforms (erosion and deposition) are important
factors to consider in studying the influence of these physical characteristics on humans.
Natural resources: Natural Resources are items provided by nature from which people produce goods and provide
services. Some examples of natural resources include water, soil, trees, and oil as well as minerals and metals such
as gold and iron ore. Even abundant fish can be a natural resource.
Natural hazards: A natural hazard is a process or event in the physical environment, not caused by humans and not
predictable, but which can destroy human life and property. Natural hazards include hurricanes, earthquakes,
tornadoes, volcanoes, fires, floods, and insect infestations.
Physical processes: Some physical processes including changes in landforms, weather, climate, vegetation, and
soils occur over long periods of time and their impact on the landscape can be barely obvious to humans. Continental
drift or plate tectonics is a physical process, as are erosion and tornadoes. Other physical processes have an
immediate and powerful impact on the environment as in the case of floods or earthquakes.
GETTING READY FOR INSTRUCTION SUPPLEMENTAL PLANNING DOCUMENT
©2012, TESCCC
04/17/13
page 2 of 6
Grade 3
Social Studies
Unit: 03 Lesson: 02
Instructors are encouraged to supplement and substitute resources, materials, and activities to differentiate instruction to address the needs of
learners. The Exemplar Lessons are one approach to teaching and reaching the Performance Indicators and Specificity in the
Instructional Focus Document for this unit. Instructors are encouraged to create original lessons using the Content Creator in the Tools Tab
located at the top of the page. All originally authored lessons can be saved in the “My CSCOPE” Tab within the “My Content” area.
INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES
Instructional Procedures
Notes for Teacher
ENGAGE
1. Display slides 2 and 3 of the Teacher Resource: PowerPoint:
Geography of a Place and allow students time to study them.
NOTE: 1 Day = 50 minutes
Suggested Day 1 – 10 minutes
Attachments
 Teacher Resource: PowerPoint:
Geography of a Place
2. Show slide 4 and ask:
 What can you tell about this place?
TEKS: 3.4A, 3.17E
3. Facilitate a discussion where students use the academic language
learned in Lesson 1 to talk about the physical environment of the place in
the picture. (climate, landforms, natural hazards, natural resources,
prairies, etc.)
Purpose:
Review earlier learning and provide an
opportunity for students to apply
learning to a different situation
4. Show slide 5 and continue discussion to include latitude.
Instructional Notes
Background notes for teacher are
provided at slide 4.
5. Students add the location of Ashkum, Illinois, to their maps. Discuss what
else students can identify on the map (such as Canada, Mexico, Atlantic
Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Florida, Alaska, Great Lakes)
6. Show slides 6 and 7 and continue discussion to include climate.
7. Show slide 8 and summarize discussions.
EXPLORE – Map Practice
1. Show slide 9 (same as slide 5, map of the United States with state
boundaries). Students identify Texas and add Austin, the capital of Texas
to their map. Students use the scale (utilize rulers or string to measure) to
gauge the distance from Austin, Texas, to Ashkum, Illinois (in actual road
miles it is about 1100 miles).
2. Help students identify where the local community would be and then add
it to the map. Students use the map’s scale and cardinal and intermediate
directions to help identify where the local community belongs, discussing
their decision-making process with a neighbor.
3. Show slide 10 and allow students to speculate on what they see. (This is
a relief map. Colors represent elevation.)
4. Lead students to recognize the mountains.
Suggested Day 1(cont’d)– 10 minutes
Materials
 Teacher Resource: PowerPoint:
Geography of a Place from
Engage
 Handout: Map of the United States
from Engage
 Small rulers or string for measuring
and using the map’s scale
 Map pencils
 Maps of natural processes and
natural hazards
TEKS: 3.1A, 3.4A, 3.4C, 3.5A, 3.5B,
3.5C, 3.5D, 3.17C, 3.17E
6. Students add the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River to their
maps.
Instructional Note
The National Atlas site has many
different natural processes and natural
hazards that can be explored if time or
interest allows.
EXPLAIN – Map Talk
Suggested Day 1(cont’d)– 10 minutes
5. Show slide 11 and explain the Continental Divide (green line added).
1. Students talk to a partner, using academic language to tell 3 things they
have learned to do using a map (example: relative location, cardinal and
intermediate directions, compass rose, scale, distance, legend, symbols)
2. Allow partners a short amount of time to plan what to say. Partner A talks
©2012, TESCCC
04/17/13
page 3 of 6
Grade 3
Social Studies
Unit: 03 Lesson: 02
Instructional Procedures
Notes for Teacher
for 30 seconds while Partner B listens. Then Partner B talks for 20
seconds, adding new information that Partner A did not provide, while
Partner A listens.
EXPLORE – Natural Processes and Natural Hazards
3. Show slide 14 (volcanoes) and discuss patterns (see slide 15).
Suggested Day 1(cont’d)– 20 minutes
Materials
 Teacher Resource: PowerPoint:
Geography of a Place from
Engage
 Handout: Map of the United States
from Engage
 Map pencils
 Maps of natural processes and
natural hazards
4. Show slide 16 (hurricanes) and discuss patterns (related to weather
patterns while the other 2 are not; beach erosion, flooding)
TEKS: 3.1A, 3.4A, 3.4C, 3.5A, 3.5B,
3.5C, 3.5D, 3.17C, 3.17E
5. If desired, show slide 17 (Pacific hurricanes, little impact on US)
Instructional Note
The National Atlas site has many
different natural processes and natural
hazards that can be explored if time or
interest allows.
1. Continue discussion of the physical environment of the United States,
referring back to the discussion of Ashkum, where glacial action created
the flat prairies. Glacial action is a natural process. There are other
natural processes that change the landscape. One other natural process
is earthquakes.
2. Show slide 12 (earthquakes) and discuss patterns (see slide 13).
6. To deepen their understanding of natural processes and their effects on
the physical landscape, students read and investigate appropriate
sections in the textbook, other classroom and library resources, and
approved internet sites. (This can be completed as homework.)
EXPLAIN – Summarize Natural Processes
1. Distribute the Handout: Natural Processes Cause-Effect. Student pairs
discuss the learning from Day 1 and then complete the handout to
summarize their learning. Students can draw pictures to help explain the
processes.
2. Teacher circulates, listening, probing with questions, and clarifying and
correcting information.
3. Student volunteers share their answers.
EXPLORE – Texas
1. Show slide 18 and allow students to tell what they see (Mountains, rivers,
high plains, coastal plain, bodies of water)
2. Show slide 19 and allow students to tell what they see now (Texas,
mountains, high plains, hills, coastal plain, Gulf of Mexico, surrounding
states, etc.
3. And then slide 20 with the rivers added. (rivers flow to the Gulf of Mexico)
Suggested Day 2 – 10 minutes
Attachments
 Handout: Natural Processes
Cause-Effect (1 per student)
Instructional Note
Three Natural Processes were included
in this lesson, with others being
optional. Students choose 2 to include
on their handout.
Suggested Day 2(cont’d)– 25 minutes
Materials
 Teacher Resource: PowerPoint:
Geography of a Place from
Engage
 Textbook or other resource with a
map of Texas with a scale and with
Austin marked
 Small rulers or pieces of string for
measuring distance with the scale
4. Distribute the Handout: Texas Map and the rulers or string.
5. Student pairs use a map in their textbook or other resource with Austin
marked. They identify the location of Austin on the marked map and
problem-solve how to accurately add it to their handout map. (Hint: use
geographic tools such as the map’s scale, latitude and longitude
markings, etc.)
6. Students follow the same procedure with the local community (and any
other features the teacher decides), finding the location, adding it to their
map, and then practicing explaining the relative location of the local
©2012, TESCCC
04/17/13
Attachments
 Handout: Texas Map (1 per
student)
Instructional Note
 If the third grade textbook does not
have a map of Texas with Austin
marked, the fourth grade textbook
should.
page 4 of 6
Grade 3
Social Studies
Unit: 03 Lesson: 02
Instructional Procedures
Notes for Teacher
community from Austin, from other cities, etc. (If desired, they can go
back to the map of the United States and locate the local community and
measure distance to places in the United States such as Ashkum, Illinois,
Washington, D.C., etc.)

TODAL: T=Title, O=Orientation
(directions), D=Date of map,
A=Author’s name, L=Labels and
Legend
7. Students identify and add other features and locations to the map of
Texas and then label them and create a legend to explain elements
added (water parks I’ve been to, state parks, places I’ve visited, major
cities, towns with ball teams, etc.)
8. Students make sure their map has all the required elements (TODAL)
EXPLAIN – Talking Geography
1. Distribute a variety of maps to students.
2. Student pairs take turns describing the relative location between places
using geographic tools (grid, symbols/legend, scale, compass rose)
Suggested Day 2 (cont’d) – 15 minutes
Materials
 A variety of maps with geographic
tools (grid, symbols/legend, scale,
compass rose)
3. Switch partners and describe other locations.
EXPLORE/EXPLAIN – Local Community
1. Distribute maps of the local community.
2. Working in pairs, students apply what they have learned about climate,
landforms, natural resources, natural hazards, and natural processes to
identify the explain the impact of these elements on the local community
and the way the elements have caused people to adapt to their
environment. (See example chart in Notes for Teacher).
3. Students make a list of effects and use call-out boxes to label evidence of
the characteristics they find (e.g., XYZ Lumber Company makes lumber
for building houses from the timber natural resources on the local
community; Little Joe’s Marina and Ski School is on Friendship Lake,
showing one way people have adapted to the physical environment; the
movie theater was rebuilt to stronger building codes after the hurricane
destroyed it; native plants that require less water were put in after the
drought.)
ELABORATE – Summarizing
Suggested Day 3 – 35 minutes
Materials
 Map of the local community with
appropriate scale and other
geographic tools marked (grid,
legend, directions) (1 per student)
Example Chart
Ways People Adapt to Physical
Characteristics in
Our Community
Climate
Adaptations
(cause)
(effect)
Hot in the
Lighter clothing
summer
Landforms
Adaptations
Wetlands
Build homes on solid
ground, or on stilts
Natural
Adaptations
Resources
Wind
Plant rows of trees
to block wind;
Windmills to harness
power
Natural
Adaptations
Hazards
Hurricanes
Build homes up on
pillars, off the
ground
Drought
Store water; pipe in
water; irrigation
Suggested Day 3 – 15 minutes
1. Facilitate a discussion where students summarize their learning by
©2012, TESCCC
04/17/13
page 5 of 6
Grade 3
Social Studies
Unit: 03 Lesson: 02
Instructional Procedures
Notes for Teacher
answering the guiding questions and providing evidence to support the
Key Understanding.
 Physical characteristics of a place cause people to adapt to the
physical environment
— How do physical environments differ?
— How do people in different communities adapt to the
physical environment?
— What are the effects of physical processes in shaping the
landscape?
— How are cardinal and intermediate directions used to locate
places on maps and globes?
EVALUATE

Sketch a map showing the physical characteristics of the local
community. In call-out boxes, explain how the physical characteristics
of the local community (climate, landforms, natural resources, natural
hazards) affect the lives of people in the area, causing them to adapt
to the physical environment.
©2012, TESCCC
04/17/13
Suggested Day 4 – 50 minutes
Materials:
 Drawing paper
 Map pencils
page 6 of 6