Students and parents can research the family tree together. Gather a folder, lots of paper and a pencil. The third grader's first step is to interview parents and their knowledge of their own family history. Write down the names mentioned and where they fit on the family tree and sub-branches.
Next, if grandparents are still alive, ask them about the names of their parents, grandparents and so on. Ask about their religious beliefs and country of origin. Pinpoint the country on a map and add the information to the family tree folder.
Write a brief time-line of the Pilgrims' journey to America. Give students a printout of the events that led up to the trip on the Mayflower, as well as the first year the Pilgrims spent in Plymouth.
On a legal sheet of paper, draw a horizontal line. Draw vertical lines above and below the horizontal line. On each branch, describe the events that led up to the Pilgrims leaving England. Ask questions like, "What experiences did they have on the Mayflower?" and "How many people died the first year in Plymouth? Why? Who helped the Pilgrims gain a knowledge of farming and sustaining life?"
Each line will represent a chronological period in time.
Copy a map for each student in the class with room to write on the page. Section the map into areas that contained Plains Indians, Great Basin, Southeast and Western Indians, Woodland tribes and Northwestern tribes. Pass out a brief history of these Native Americans living during the 1800s and a few specifics about some of the tribes in each region.
Students can fill in the map with specific tribal names in the areas where they lived. For example, southwestern Navajo Indians lived in hogans, while the Blackfoot tribe traveled with teepees on the plains. Information about the types of food they gathered or hunted can also be added.
Third grade students can pick four presidents from history and discover facts about them. Choose one president per century. For example, George Washington was the first president, but he was also the only president elected unanimously. Seventeenth President Andrew Johnson was a governor, senator, military governor and served as vice president to Abraham Lincoln.
Download a sheet of facts on each president and divide each into the century they served. Allow the students to pick one man from each century. Section the page into four areas and have the third grade children fill it in with facts about the four presidents. When finished, ask each child to read their facts in front of the class.