History & Geography

About this course

Third grade is the first year the survey feels like a real history course. The American history unit runs from Native peoples before European contact through exploration, the early English colonies, colonial life, the road to revolution, the Declaration, the Revolutionary War, the Constitution, westward expansion, the Civil War and slavery, and Reconstruction. World civilizations covers Mesopotamia, Egypt, Israel, Greece, and Rome, then the rise of Christianity within Rome, the Byzantine Empire, medieval Europe, Islam, the Renaissance, and the Reformation. Geography moves from map skills and the continents and oceans into landforms, climate zones, biomes, and a continent-by-continent look at physical features. Civics gives each branch of the federal government its own lesson and adds the Bill of Rights, elections, taxes and public services, and a lesson on the Anabaptist two-kingdoms view, which explains where the Mennonites and Amish came from and what "render unto Caesar" has meant to them. Economics covers producers and consumers, supply and demand, the history of money, tithing, trade, entrepreneurs, taxation, and a comparison of economic systems. The culture unit surveys African, Asian, Latin American, Middle Eastern, and Western cultures, and the current events unit teaches fact against opinion, digital citizenship, the persecuted church, and how to spot bias in a news story.

There are 108 lessons, nine units of twelve, at about 30 minutes each. The writing now speaks directly to the student rather than to you: a page of clear prose with key terms in bold, real dates and figures, two or three questions to think through, a King James verse, and a short activity such as drawing a Civil War timeline, making a two-column chart of the two kingdoms, or comparing two headlines about the same event from different sources. Each lesson closes with a ten-question multiple-choice quiz that grades itself. One thing to know about the layout: the community and citizenship unit appears twice, as unit one and again as unit nine, covering the same twelve topics with freshly written text and a different set of quiz questions, so the year ends where it began.

This level assumes a student who can read a page independently and write a sentence or two in response. Difficult material is handled plainly and without graphic detail. Slavery is named as an evil and measured against Genesis 1:27, the Civil War lesson gives the real casualty figure, and Islam is described accurately in its own terms before being compared with biblical teaching, with an explicit call to treat Muslims with gentleness and respect. Pencil, paper, and crayons cover almost every activity, though a map or atlas and occasional access to a news source are useful.

What the course covers

• Native peoples, European exploration, and the English colonies
• The Revolution, the Constitution, and westward expansion
• The Civil War, slavery, and Reconstruction
• Mesopotamia, Egypt, Israel, Greece, and Rome
• Early Christianity, Byzantium, medieval Europe, and Islam
• The Renaissance and the Reformation
• Map skills, continents, oceans, climate zones, and biomes
• The three branches, the Bill of Rights, elections, and taxes
• Anabaptist two-kingdoms civics
• Money, trade, entrepreneurs, economic systems, and media literacy

What your student will be able to do

• Place the major events of American history in order with their dates
• Compare ancient civilizations by geography, government, and beliefs
• Describe the job of each branch of the federal government
• Locate continents, oceans, climate zones, and major landforms on a map
• Explain supply and demand, taxation, and the basics of stewardship
• Question a news story for missing facts, loaded language, and bias

Scope and sequence

All 9 units of History & Geography for Grade 3, in the order they are taught.

Inside the course

These photographs appear in the lessons themselves, not just on this page. Every one is freely licensed and credited to its photographer at the foot of this page.

Every lesson, by title

All 108 lesson titles are listed here — nothing is withheld until you download. Open a unit to read its contents.

One whole lesson, exactly as it comes

This is a real lesson taken from the middle of the course — the teaching text, the practice, the homework, and the first three quiz questions with their answers. It is not a marketing excerpt.

Unit 5: Government and Civics · Lesson 6

Government and Civics - Lesson 6

30 minutesPencilPaperCrayons or colored pencils

What this lesson is for

• Students will learn about Government and civics - lesson 6
• Students will understand how people live together in communities

If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

Romans 12:18

The Judicial Branch

We have learned about making laws (legislative) and enforcing laws (executive). Today we learn about the third branch — the judicial branch, which interprets what the laws MEAN.

The Judicial Branch is the court system that interprets laws — deciding what laws mean and whether they follow the Constitution. The highest court in the United States is the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court:

• Has 9 justices (judges), including one Chief Justice
• The President appoints justices; the Senate must approve them
• Justices serve for LIFE — this protects them from political pressure
• The Supreme Court's decisions are final — no higher court can overrule them in the U.S.
• The Court meets in the Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C.

What the Supreme Court Does:

• Reviews laws passed by Congress to make sure they follow the Constitution
• If a law violates the Constitution, the Court can strike it down — this is called judicial review
• Settles disagreements about what laws mean
• Hears cases involving rights protected by the Constitution

Lower Courts: Below the Supreme Court are many lower federal courts — Circuit Courts of Appeals and District Courts — that handle most federal cases before they ever reach the Supreme Court.

The judicial branch is a vital check on the other branches — it can declare a law unconstitutional even if Congress and the President agreed on it. This prevents unjust laws from standing.

How many justices are on the Supreme Court? Why do they serve for life? What is judicial review?

Activity: Draw a diagram of the three branches of government. Show how each one checks the others with arrows and labels.

Close in prayer: "Lord, give our judges wisdom to uphold justice and protect the innocent. Help all our courts to be fair and honest. Amen."

Homework

Answer the review questions about Government and civics - lesson 6.

Note for the parent

Today's lesson covers Government and Civics - Lesson 6. Estimated time: 30 minutes. Encourage independent work but be available for questions.

The first three of this lesson's 10 questions

What is the judicial branch's job?

1. To write laws
2. To carry out and enforce laws
3. To interpret laws and decide if they follow the Constitution
4. To collect taxes

Show the answer

Answer: To interpret laws and decide if they follow the Constitution

What is the highest court in the United States?

1. The Court of Appeals
2. The District Court
3. The Federal Circuit Court
4. The Supreme Court of the United States

Show the answer

Answer: The Supreme Court of the United States

How many justices serve on the Supreme Court?

1. 5
2. 7
3. 9
4. 12

Show the answer

Answer: 9

Another 7 questions follow in the lesson itself, each one graded the moment it is answered.

What you will need

Drawn from the materials named across all 108 lessons of this course. Most families already own most of it.