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The PSU SSE Framework for NH is embedded in a living Google Document. The version visible on these pages is dated 12.08.25 and lacks links to related inquiries and resources. For full resources, follow the link to the Framework below. 

Teacher Helping Student

Grade 3: 

North American Geography, History, and Peoples

Students learn about North America and its peoples from a geographic perspective, expanding map reading, mapmaking, and geographic reasoning skills. They explore guiding questions such as “How have the geographic features of North America shaped its history?” and “What contributions have the various groups that have settled in North America made to the culture of each region?” Students explore New Hampshire’s geography, its earliest peoples, and the impact of colonial settlement. They learn about the Abenaki, their way of life, and how early European explorers and settlers brought challenges and lasting changes to their communities. By studying maps, ancient North American civilizations, and local history, students develop a deeper understanding of how New Hampshire’s land and its first inhabitants shaped the state’s story.

Grade 3 Social Studies Topics

  • North American Geography & Map Skills

  • Ancient Civilizations of North America 

  • The Abenaki

  • Early European Exploration & Conquest

  • Early European Commerce & Slavery

Literacy in Social Studies

In studying these topics, students apply grades 3-5 reading, writing, and speaking and listening skills, and learn vocabulary and concepts related to history and social science.

​​​Looking Ahead: Connections to Social Studies in Kindergarten

Beginning in Grade 3, students will build on their understanding of how geography and early settlement shaped New Hampshire and the United States. They will continue to explore how communities grow and change over time, setting the stage for studying New Hampshire’s role in the 18th century and its contributions to the founding of the United States.

Grade Level Statewide Programs

None

Standards for

History and Social 

Science Practice, Pre-K-12 

 

  1. Develop focused questions or problem statements and conduct inquiries.

  2. Organize information and data from multiple primary and secondary sources.

  3. Analyze the purpose and point of view of each source; distinguish opinion from fact.

  4. Evaluate the credibility, accuracy, and relevance of each source.

  5. Argue or explain conclusions, using valid reasoning and evidence. 

  6. Determine next steps and take informed action, as appropriate.

Topic 1. North American Geography & Map Skills

Compelling Question: What are the physical features and nations of North America?

Suggested Content:

  1. On a physical map of North America, use cardinal directions, map scales, key/legend (symbols for mountains, rivers, deserts, lakes, cities), and title to locate and identify important physical features (e.g., Mississippi and Rio Grande Rivers, Great Lakes, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Gulf of Mexico, Hudson’s Bay, Appalachian Mountains, Rocky Mountains, Sierra Madre, the Great Basin, Mojave, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan Deserts, the Yucatan Peninsula, the Caribbean Sea). 

  2. On a political map of North America, locate Canada and its provinces, Mexico and its states, the nations of the Caribbean, and the United States of America and its states; explain the meaning of the terms continent, country, nation, county, state, province, and city. 

  3. Research, analyze, and convey information about Canada or Mexico by consulting maps, atlases, encyclopedias, digital information and satellite images, photographs, or news articles; organizing materials, and making an oral or written presentation about topics such as the peoples, population size, languages, forms of government, major cities, environment, natural resources, industries, and national landmarks.

Suggested Inquiries:

1.1 C3 Teachers: Where are we?

1.1 Moose on the Loose: How does the environment shape New Hampshire’s culture?

1.2 Investigating History: What does a political map of North America tell us about the structures found across the countries within North America?

1.3 Coming Soon: What can maps tell us about what our geographical neighbors, Canada and/or Mexico, are like?

​

Suggested Resources:

Coming soon!

Topic 2. Ancient Civilizations of North America

Compelling Question: How do archaeologists develop theories about ancient migrations?

Suggested Content:

  1. Evaluate competing theories about the origins of people in North America (e.g., theories that people migrated across a land bridge that connected present-day Siberia to Alaska or theories that they came by a maritime route) and evidence for dating the existence of early populations in North America to about 15,000 years ago.

  2. Using maps of historic Native Peoples’ culture regions of North America and photographs, identify archaeological evidence of some of the characteristics of major civilizations of this period (e.g., stone tools, ceramics, mound-building, cliff dwellings). Clarification statement: Students should understand that the North American continent has been inhabited for thousands of years, and that large and highly organized ancient societies, such as the Inuit, Hopewell, Adena, Hohokam, Puebloan, Mississippian, Iroquois, Maya, Olmec, and Toltec, flourished long before Europeans arrived in North America.

  3. Explain how archaeologists conduct research (e.g., by participating in excavations, studying artifacts and organic remains, climate and astronomical data, and collaborating with other scholars) to develop theories about migration, settlement patterns, and cultures in prehistoric periods.

  4. Give examples of some archaeological sites of Native Peoples in North America that are preserved as national or state monuments, parks, or international heritage sites (e.g., Teotihuacan in Mexico, Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site in Illinois, Chaco Culture National Historic Park in New Mexico) and explain their importance in presenting a comprehensive history of Americans and American life.

Suggested Inquiries:

2.1 Investigating History: What are the theories about ancient civilizations and origins of Native Peoples of North America?

2.2 Coming Soon: How can looking at archaeological artifacts, as well as maps, tell us about the culture and history of Native Peoples?

2.3 Coming Soon: What does the research done by archaeologists tell us about migration, settlement patterns, and cultures of prehistoric periods?

2.4 Coming Soon: How has our country preserved the history of Native Peoples through sites and monuments?

​

Suggested Resources:

Coming soon!

Topic 3. The Abenaki

Compelling Question: How did the Abenaki adapt to and live with the land and seasons of New Hampshire?

Suggested Content:

  1. Locate traditional Abenaki homelands on a map of New Hampshire and surrounding areas and identify natural resources (rivers, forests, mountains) that the Abenaki used.

  2. Create charts to show how the Abenaki’s daily life changed with the seasons (e.g., where they lived, what they hunted, gathered, or grew) and compare Abenaki seasonal movement to how students’ own activities change with the seasons in New Hampshire today.

  3. Examine examples of tools and housing used by the Abenaki and discuss how these items were made from local materials (e.g. birch bark, stone points, and animal fur and bone).

  4. Research how the Abenaki used animals, plants, and rivers for food and clothing (e.g. porcupine quills, sweetgrass, fishing with weirs).

  5. Explore Abenaki art and culture, including reading traditional legends, compare their activities and how these cultural pieces connected with the Abenaki’s daily life and survival (e.g. Where Gluskabe Camps, Gluskabe Changes Maple Syrup).

  6. Explain the diversity of Native Peoples, present and past, in New Hampshire and the New England region.

    1. the names of at least three native groups (e.g., Abenaki/Wabanaki, Pennacook, Cowasuck, Sokokis, Winnipesaukee, Pigwacket, and Ossipee, Mohican/Stockbridge, Narragansett, Nipmuc, Wampanoag)

    2. the locations of tribal territories in the state 

    3. physical features and their influence on the locations of  traditional settlements 

    4. contributions of a tribal group from the area of the school (e.g., language, literature, arts, trade routes, food such as corn, beans, and squash, useful items such as baskets, canoes, wampum, and useful knowledge of medicinal plants, words such as powwow and moccasin, and many names for waterways, hills, mountains, islands and place names, such as the Connecticut and Merrimack Rivers, Mount Wachusett, the Taconic Range, Nantucket, Natick, Seekonk, Agawam, Chicopee) 

Suggested Resources:

Coming soon!

Topic 4. Early European Exploration & Conquest

Compelling Question: What were the reasons for European voyages across the Atlantic Ocean?

Suggested Content:

  1. Explain how historians studying the European voyages to the Americas use archaeological evidence, maps, illustrations, and texts produced in Europe at the time, and that all of these materials are called primary sources.

  2. Explain who the Vikings were and describe evidence of their early encounters with Native Peoples along the North American Atlantic coast.

  3. Trace on a map European explorations of North America and the Caribbean Islands in the 15th and 16th centuries (e.g., voyages of Vasco Nun͂es de Balboa, Jacques Cartier, Cristobal Colon [Christopher Columbus], Ferdinand Magellan, Juan Ponce De Leon, Amerigo Vespucci, Hernán Cortés), evaluate the reasons for the voyages, noting that they were part of an effort by European nations to expand their empires, find new routes for trade with Asia, new opportunities for colonization, and new natural resources; make a timeline of their landings and conquests.

  4. Read short accounts from early explorers, such as Martin Pring or John Smith, to understand what resources and hopes drew Europeans from across the ocean to settle in areas like New Hampshire. Identify natural resources such as fish, fur, and forests, and explain how these resources created economic opportunities for settlers and investors.

  5. Create timelines, posters, and/or diagrams to show understanding of key events and key resources, as well as comparing and contrasting aspects of the reasons for European settlement and the impacts of the settlement.

Suggested Inquiries:

4.1 Moose on the Loose: What is a primary source?

4.2 NH PBS: Who were the Vikings?

4.3 NH PBS: Who were the explorers during the Age of Encounter?

4.3 Investigating history: What were the interactions of European explorers?

4.3 NH PBS: Who were the explorers during the Age of Encounter?

4.4 Moose on the Loose: How did the first New Hampshire settlements meet their community needs?

4.5 Plymouth State University: Create a poster showing key events and resources behind European exploration and settlement.

​

Suggested Resources:

Coming soon! 

Topic 5. Early European Commerce & Slavery

Compelling Question: How did American commerce and slavery emerge and expand?

Suggested Content:

  1. Explain that in the 17th and 18th century slavery was legal in all the American colonies, including New Hampshire. In 1740, 5 enslaved New Hampshire residents sued for their freedom successfully.

  2. Explain the importance of maritime commerce and the practice of bartering – exchanging goods or services without payment in money - in the development of the economy of colonial Massachusetts and New Hampshire using materials from historical societies and history museums as reference materials.

  3. the fishing and shipbuilding industries

  4. trans-Atlantic and Caribbean trade, especially the Triangular Trade that included Africans to be sold as enslaved people in the colonies and goods such as sugar and cotton produced by slave labor to be sold in the colonies and in Europe

  5. Explain the development of seaport cities of Boston, Newcastle, and Portsmouth. Locate early New Hampshire settlements on a map and discuss why these places were chosen for commerce, focusing on access to rivers, forests, and good harbors. 

Suggested Inquiries:

5.1 Coming Soon: What is slavery and how did it shape colonial New Hampshire and other European colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries?

5.1 C3 Teachers: Resistance to slavery

5.2 Moose on the Loose: Why did early settlers choose certain spots in New Hampshire, and how did rivers, forests, and harbors help them decide?

5.2 Coming Soon: What is maritime commerce and what is bartering, and how were these practices important in shaping the economy of colonial New Hampshire and Massachusetts? 

5.3 Moose on the Loose: How did resources like fish, fur, and forests create new opportunities for settlers and investors in New Hampshire?

5.3 Moose on the Loose: How did the first New Hampshire settlements meet their community needs?

​

Suggested Resources:

Coming soon!

Library Computer Workstations

Skills Matter: teach the four dimensions of inquiry

Dimension 1: Developing Questions

Dimension 2: Applying Disciplinary Concepts and Tools

Dimension 3: Evaluating Sources and Using Evidence

Dimension 4: Communicating Conclusions and Taking Informed Action

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Learn more at C3teachers.org

Grades 3-5 Literacy Standards for Social Studies 

Reading Standards for Literacy in the Content Areas: History/Social Science

Key Ideas and Details

  1. Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences (See grades 3-5 Writing Standard 8 for more on paraphrasing.)

  2. Determine the main ideas of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize a text.

  3. Explain events, ideas, and concepts in a civics, geography, economics, or history text, based on specific information in the text.

Craft and Structure

  1. Determine the meaning of general academic vocabulary and words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.

  2. Describe the overall structure of how a text presents information (e.g., chronological, compare/contrast, problem/solution, cause effect), including how written texts incorporate features such as headings.

  3. Compare and contrast a firsthand and secondhand account of the same event.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

  1. Interpret information presented in charts, graphs, timelines, and illustrations and explain what that information contributes to the overall text. 

  2. Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support ideas.

  3. Integrate information from two texts in order to write or speak about a history/social science topic.

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

  1. Independently and proficiently read and comprehend history/social studies texts exhibiting complexity appropriate for the grades 3-5. 

​

Grades 3-5 Writing Standards for Literacy in the Content Areas

Text Types and Purposes

  1. Write opinion pieces on topics or texts in history/social science. 

    1. Introduce a topic or text, state an opinion, and use paragraphs and sections to organize related ideas.

    2. Provide reasons supported by facts and details.

    3. Use linking words (e.g., because, since, for example) to connect reasons, and evidence.

    4. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from the opinion presented.

  2. Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events.

    1. Introduce a topic clearly; use paragraphs and sections to organize ideas, concepts, and information into broader categories as appropriate to achieving purpose; include text features (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, maps, illustrations) to aid comprehension.

    2. Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.

    3. Link ideas using words and phrases (e.g., also, another, but).

    4. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.

    5. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from the explanation presented.

  3. Write narratives in prose or a poem form to develop experiences or events using effective literary techniques, descriptive details, and clear sequences.

    1. Orient the reader by establishing a situation and introducing a speaker, narrator, and/or characters; organize appropriate narrative sequences. 

    2. Use narrative techniques such as dialogue, description, and pacing to develop experiences or events or show responses to situations. 

    3. Use a variety of transitional words, phrases, and clauses to manage sequence. 

    4. Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experiences and events precisely. 

    5. Provide a sense of closure appropriate to the narrated experiences or events.

    6. For prose narratives, draw on characteristics of traditional or modern genres (e.g., tall takes, myths, mysteries, fantasies, historical fiction) from diverse cultures as models for writing.

    7. For poems, draw on characteristics of traditional poetic forms (e.g. ballads, couplets) or modern free verse from diverse cultures as models for writing.

Production and Distribution of Writing

  1. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

  2. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.

  3. Use technology to produce and publish writing.

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

  1. Conduct short investigations and research projects to answer a question.

  2. When conducting research, gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, take notes and organize information, provide a list of resources. 

  3. Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, interpretation, reflection, and research. (See grades 3-5 Reading Standard 1 for more on the use of textual evidence.)

Range of Writing 

  1. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

​

Grades 3-5 Speaking and Listening Standards for Literacy in the Content Areas

Comprehension and Collaboration

  1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on history/social science topics, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

    1. Come to discussions prepared, having read or studies required material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation to explore ideas.

    2. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions and carry out assigned roles.

    3. Pose and respond to questions to clarify information or contribute to the discussion.

    4. Review key ideas expressed, explain their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion.

  2. Summarize a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

  3. Summarize the points a speaker makes and explain how each claim is supported by reasons and evidence. 

 

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

  1. Report on a topic using well-chosen details; speak clearly at an understandable pace and use appropriate vocabulary.

  2. Add audio recordings and visual displays to clarify information.

  3. Differentiate between contexts that call for formal English and those where more informal conversational English is appropriate.

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