Third-grade students continue preparing to become active and responsible citizens of their communities, of California, and the United States. In this unit, students focus on developing and understanding citizenship, civic engagement, the basic structure of government, and the lives of famous national and local Americans who took risks to secure freedoms….

Who were the first people in my community?

Throughout California, the geographic setting has had important effects on where and how localities developed. Students begin their third grade studies with the natural landscape as a foundation for analyzing why and how people settled in particular places in response to the question, Why did people settle in California?