Grade Level Modification
3rd Grade
8th Grade
Social Studies Standards
3.C&G.1 Understand the development, structure and function of local government.
3.C&G.1.2 Describe the structure of local government and how it functions to serve citizens.
3.C&G.1.3 Understand the three branches of government, with an emphasis on local government.
3.C&G.2 Understand how citizens participate in their communities.
3.C&G.2.1 Exemplify how citizens contribute politically, socially and economically to their community.
3.C&G.2.2 Exemplify how citizens contribute to the well-being of the community’s natural environment.
3.C&G.2.3 Apply skills in civic engagement and public discourse
(school, community)
The third grade is focused on local government. The first strand of this unit would work well with third graders. They could get involved with the student government by electing representatives of their class and join the fourth and fifth grade in committees for school improvement. Students could design a community service project and learn how to speak publicly about their contributions.
Social Studies Standards
8.H.2 Understand the ways in which conflict, compromise and negotiation have shaped North Carolina and the United States.
8.H.2.1 Explain the impact of economic, political, social, and military conflicts (e.g. war, slavery, states’ rights and citizenship and immigration policies) on the development of North Carolina and the United States.
8.H.2.2 Summarize how leadership and citizen actions (e.g. the founding fathers, the Regulators, the Greensboro Four, and participants of the Wilmington Race Riots, 1898) influenced the outcome of key conflicts in North Carolina and the United States.
8.H.2.3 Summarize the role of debate, compromise, and negotiation during significant periods in the history of North Carolina and the United States.
The eighth grade builds upon what was learned in fourth and fifth grades. The focus could be on primary and secondary sources and historical impacts on our country today. Research on primary sources could be used as evidence in debate topics. Students could debate as historic figures and role-play decisions that they believe most impacted the country as we know it today.