Alberta Social Studies Grade 3 Systems Unit | Paper and Digital

Get a unit about the symbols, economy and government systems in the province of Alberta. This unit includes all of our social studies resources related to systems of Alberta through activities, investigations, and complete lessons. Everything you need to teach the whole unit is included!

Get Grade 3 Alberta Social Studies for a full year and save money at the same time.

This unit was designed specifically for Alberta Grade 3 social studies teachers. It includes:

• lesson plans with step-by-step instructions and options for modifications.
• instructions for how to use our activities with and without technology so you can be flexible for your students and classroom environment.
• instructions for printing student workbooks while still offering differentiated options.
• detailed outlines of each activity with a list of materials along with a centralized list and reminders in each section of the lesson plan.
• optional Teacher Slides to support instruction and content delivery. You can choose to teach with or without them.
• vocabulary list with phonetic pronunciations and definitions to help support your students.
• “I can” statements written in student-friendly language so students can self-assess their learning.
• student pages and templates.
• answer keys and suggested answers.
• photos of student examples.
• activities to support learning content specific vocabulary.
• background information for teachers so you don't need to be an expert.
• simple assessments like quizzes. Rubrics are included for teachers to use for marking projects.
• ideas for how to use this resource in the classroom, online, or a mix.
• digital versions of all the student reading and writing pages that use Google Slides. You must download the PDF files and use the access links in the files to get your digital copies.
• an alignment guide for Alberta Outcomes in each resource.
• a unit plan and a list of Alberta Social Studies outcomes to help with planning.

This social studies unit includes:

• Alberta's Economy: definition of natural resources; renewable and non-renewable resources; how natural resources contribute to Alberta's economy; how geography impacts natural resources; how there are different natural resources throughout Alberta which are dependent on geography; the importance of the discovery of oil in Alberta; Alberta’s economy depends on fossil fuels such as oil, coal & natural gas; locations of natural resources in Alberta; economic factors that impact Alberta; how natural resources can be protected.
• Provincial Symbols of Alberta: a collaborative poster that features pictures of Alberta provincial symbols: Motto: Fortis et Liber; Colours: blue and gold; the Alberta Flag; the Alberta Coat of Arms; Bid: Great Horned Owl; Animal: Big Horn Sheep; Fish: Bull Trout; Flower: Wild Rose; Tree: Lodgepole Pine; Stone: Petrified Wood; and Grass: Rough Fescue.
• Municipal and Provincial Government in Alberta: definition of municipal government; titles of leaders in municipal government: mayor, reeve, chief; responsibilities of municipal governments; simulating making a decision on municipal issues, decision making processes; definition of provincial government; provincial symbols of Alberta; titles of leaders of Provincial government: Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), premier, cabinet ministers, lieutenant-governor, location where leaders meet: Legislature in Edmonton; making a decision on provincial issues through a simulation; comparing municipal and provincial responsibilities; how leaders in communities are selected.

The unit includes additional bonus materials:

• a unit plan to assist with sequencing.
• a list of Alberta Social Studies outcomes to help with planning.
• a list of materials outlined for each activity.
• vocabulary support materials: word wall words, glossary pages, definition worksheets, digital flashcards, word with with phonetic pronunciations and definitions.
• extra assessments to assess student learning of the whole unit.

Ninja Note: If you teach in Alberta, this resource has been written for the new social studies curriculum. Learn more about how we're writing and adjusting resources for the new curriculum. https://brainninjas.ca/social-studies-in-alberta/

This activity aligns with:

• the Alberta Social Studies Curriculum Grade 3 ©2025

This activity supports:

• learning about how natural resources contribute to the economy.
• introducing natural resources.
• lessons about the official symbols of Alberta.
• learning about levels of government in Alberta.
• learning about decision making processes.
• learning about the responsibilities of government.
• learning about municipal and provincial governments in Alberta.
  

Looking for more social studies for Alberta teachers?

• Time and Place Unit for Alberta Social Studies Grade 3
• Systems Unit for Alberta Social Studies Grade 3
• Citizenship Unit for Alberta Social Studies Grade 3
  

Our Grade 3 Social Studies Full Year is here.

Ninja Note: This is a ZIP file. Download the file and extract the PDF files to accesss the lessons. To access the digital versions of this file, download the PDFs and click on the access links in those files.

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