3rd Grade

Unit 2: How we express ourselves

October 19th - December 4th

Central Idea: Changes over time cause us to discover and express ourselves in different forms, which shape how we perceive the world around us.

By the end of the unit my student will:

Students will create a poem or art form expressing how they feel about a hero in their community and share with their hero their chosen form of expression.

Student Agency

Voice: Identifying what self-expression is. Students will communicate their observations about their self-expression. Students understand the many commonalities they share with their classmates and communities.
Choice: Students will decide how they most positively and creatively express themselves.
Ownership: Students will hold themselves accountable for their preferred methods of self-expression and where they can improve. Students will share with their class in order for others to learn from what they have learned as well. Students will work on self-regulation.

Student Action:

Choose: Choose a hero that has made a positive impact.
Act: Create a work of art to share with the community about this individual.
Reflect: Listen to the perspective/feedback from the community about their hero.

Key Concepts

Causation - Things do not just happen. There are causal relationships at work and actions have consequences.
- What part does language play in cultural identity?
- Why did the author write the story the way it is?
- How do conflict and resolution shape society?
- How do you feel when things do not work out the way you thought they would?
Change - Change is the process of movement from one state to another. It is universal and inevitable.
- What could you change in life to be more balanced?
- How have poems changed historically?
- How do we use language differently as we grow?
Perspective - Knowledge is moderated by perspectives. Different perspectives lead to different interpretations, understandings and findings. Perspectives may be individual, group, cultural or disciplinary.
- Which form of poetry do you think is easiest to learn?
- How do people decide who they want as a leader?
- Why do people have different points of view on the idea of community?

Related Concepts

Reading: Poetry, making inferences, text evidence, figurative language, author’s purpose, written response to informational text
Math: Multiplication, object-based strategies, real-world application of concepts, solving for the area by using multiplication
Science: Forms of energy, motion changes, pushing and pulling, Magnetism, gravity
Social Studies: Heroes shaping communities, heroic deeds of first responders, location, distance, and direction on maps.