Download Unit Organizer - The Liberty Common School

3rd Grade Core Knowledge
Geography
Rivers Unit Organizer
Summary
In this domain, students will continue adding to their knowledge of geographical regions. Students will also
learn about major rivers on different continents, their uses, and wildlife located near these rivers.
Students will demonstrate their knowledge of river locations. Through read aloud and lecture students will chart
facts about the different rivers.
The Big Idea
Maps and globes are convenient ways to show the location and some of the human and physical characteristics
of our planet.
Colorado State Standards
SS 2.2.1.b: Identify and locate various physical features on a map
SS 3.2.1.a: Read and interpret information from geographic tools and formulate geographic questions
SS 3.2.1.b: Find oceans and continents, major countries, bodies of water, mountains, and urban areas, the state
of Colorado, and neighboring states on maps
SS 4.2.2.c: Analyze how people use geographic factors in creating settlements and have adapted to
and modified the local physical environment
Common Core Standards
RI 3.10 Read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts
independently.
RI 3.2 Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.
SL3.2 Determine the main ideas and supporting details of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse
media and formats including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
RI 3.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the
basis for the answers.
SL3.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners.
RI 3.4 Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to
subject area.
RI 3.5 Use text features and search tools to locate information relevant to a given topic efficiently.
W 3.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.
L 3.3 Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
W 3.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly..
W 3.10 Write routinely over extended time frames and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for
a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
RI3.7 Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to
demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).
Core Knowledge Unit:
 Terms: source, mouth, tributary, drainage basin
 Asia: Ob, Yellow (Huang He), Yangtze (Chang Jiang), Ganges, Indus, Tigris, Euphrates
 Africa: Nile, Niger, Congo
 South America: Amazon, Parana, Orinoco
 North America: Mississippi and major tributaries, Mackenzie, Yukon
 Australia: Murray-Darling
 Europe: Volga, Danube, Rhine
Core Knowledge Language Arts
A. Reading Comprehension and Response
 Independently read and comprehend nonfiction.
 Orally summarize main points from nonfiction.
 Ask and pose plausible answers to how, why, and what-if questions in interpreting texts, both fiction
and nonfiction.
Previous Unit: Ancient Rome
Prior Knowledge
Kindergarten- Grade 2
 What maps and globes represent and how to use them
 What rivers, lakes and mountains are and how they are represented on maps and globes
 The location of the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Arctic Oceans, the North and South Poles, and the
seven continents
 The name and location of their continent, country, state, and community
 Use of map keys and symbols and directions (east, west, north, south) on a map
 The location of Mexico and Central America; the countries of North America (Canada and the
United States); the Equator; Northern and Southern Hemispheres; North and South Poles
 The meaning of peninsula, harbor, bay, island, coast, valley, prairie, desert, and oasis
Next Unit: Native America
What Students will Learn in Future Grades
Grade 4
 The use of map scale; latitude, longitude, coordinates, and degrees
 Prime Meridian (0°); Greenwich, England; 180° Line (International Date Line)
 How to read relief maps; elevations and depressions
 Mountains and mountain ranges
Grade 5
 The Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn and their relation to seasons and temperatures
 How to read climate maps, time zone maps, and different map projections
 Arctic Circle and Antarctic Circle
 Great lakes of the world
Additional Resources
For Teachers:
 The 10 Mightiest Rivers by Myra Junyk
 Geography of the World: The Secrets of the Nile by Charnan Simon
 The Orinoco River by Carol B. Rawlins
 The Mackenzie River by Tim Harris
 The Missouri River by Leon Gray
 The Arkansas River by Tom Jackson
 The Ohio River by Tom Jackson
 Geography of the World: The Mysterious Amazon by Charnan Simon
 Geography of the World: The Noble Yangtze by Charnan Simon
 Geography of the World: The Sacred Ganges by Charnan Simon
 Geography of the World: The Ancient Euphrates by Charnan Simon
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The St. Lawrence River by Tim Cooke
Geography of the World: The Mighty Mississippi by Charnan Simon
The Mississippi River by Jen Green
For Children:
 What Your Third Grader Needs to Know edited by E.D. Hirsch
 Yangtze River by Cari Meister
 Mississippi River by John Prevost
 The Nile River by Mike Graf
 Nile River by Cari Meister
 Amazon River by Cari Meister
 The Yangtze River by Nathan Olson
 Pearson History & Geography book