One Community, One Nation

A K-5 study of Community and Civics

Community & Responsibility

Grade 3 Overview

Children at this age need to understand local government and meet people involved in local government. They need to understand the concept of public service and why someone would volunteer for public service. And, at the heart of civics, they need to understand how individuals and organizations make a difference in their community. They need to meet these people, understand what motivates them to get involved and how local organizations contribute to the common good. Building on that local understanding, they can begin to understand that there are many communities in Massachusetts and how our state government helps all these communities make collective decisions. It is only after understanding these concepts that they can begin to understand that the current system grew from early beginnings in the colonies and evolved over time. By investigating local organizations, interviewing local community and state leaders, and exploring how our current governance system evolved, students can be more engaged in the kind of social studies inquiry that stimulates deep thinking and learning.

Please join us in the OCON Project. Once you have joined the OCON project, you will gain access to the resources developed in previous iterations of OCON, plus any resources that are developed in Andover and/or through this partnership.