Grade 3 - How Government Helps Our Communities
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How Does Government Help Our Communities? 🇺🇸🏛️
Who makes the rules and laws that keep our communities running? What do the President, Governors, and Mayorsdo? How do elections and voting shape our country? These are big questions for young learners—but now, there’s an engaging, easy-to-follow way to explore them!
📽️ “How Government Helps Our Communities” is an interactive, visually rich educational video that introduces 3rd-grade students to the three levels of government (local, state, and national) and how they work together to serve the people. Through clear explanations, real-world examples, and engaging storytelling, students will understand how laws are made, why voting matters, and what it means to be a good citizen!
💡 What Your Students Will Learn:
✅ The three levels of government (Local, State, National) and how they work
✅ The three branches of government (Executive, Legislative, Judicial) and their roles
✅ How laws are made and enforced to keep communities safe and fair
✅ The importance of voting, elections, and citizen participation
✅ What national symbols like the American Flag, Bald Eagle, and Liberty Bell represent
✅ The role of historic leaders like Susan B. Anthony and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in shaping American democracy
🌟 Why Teachers Love This Video:
🕒 No-Prep, Standards-Aligned Content – Just press play and start teaching!
🎥 Visually Engaging & Kid-Friendly – Keeps 3rd graders focused and excited.
🎯 Encourages Good Citizenship – Helps students understand their role in their government.
📚 Perfect for Civics & Social Studies Lessons – Supports discussions on laws, leadership, and responsibilities.
💡 Make Government Fun, Interactive, and Easy to Teach! Help your students explore how their government works and why their voices matter—without extra prep work. Subscribe today and bring civics to life in your classroom! 🚀
Video length: 14:03 minutes.
Learning Resources with this Video*
Quizzes – PDF & Online
United States Government Crossword
The 3 Branches of Government
US Government and Communities Interactive Game Overview
My Leaders
Draw A Scene – How Government Helps Our Communities
Universal Resources
National Standards
*Links are active on Full Video page.
Classroom Ideas
How Government Helps Our Communities
Independence Day around the World
Compare/contrast celebrations such as Independence Day in the U.S., Bastille Day (France) and National Revolution Day (Cuba). Explore the similarities and differences between these celebrations.
Cloze Practice
A cloze piece has full sentences used in the virtual field trip with blanks where students can write in the information that is missing. This task requires close listening to the trip in order to complete it.
Coral reefs are the _______ type of ecosystem in the world. They’ve been around for over _____ million years.
Answers: oldest; 240
Alternatively, you could have students create 5-10 cloze statements and they could share those with the class.
A third alternative is to distribute the cloze worksheets before watching the video. Students can fill them in as they watch.
Create Quizzes
Students create a quiz based on the information presented for their peers. This can be used as a review for a test, or jigsaw class activity where students are responsible for teaching other students assigned topics.
Student Policymakers
Students will create government policies about cyberbullying and digital citizenship as if they were in Congress/Senate.
Running the Government
Visit your local city hall and/or state capital to find out more information about how
Explore Vocabulary
Identify key vocabulary terms while previewing each video. Prompt students to find the meaning of each word as they watch the video.
Art and Social Studies
Draw a scene from the video you just watched.
Visual Learning
Offer videos to struggling learners as another means of creating knowledge and accessing information.
Classroom Ideas for ALL Videos
Here are dozens and dozens of ideas that you can use in your classroom along with our videos!
Topics Covered In This Video
There are 3 levels of government – local, state, and national
National government has 3 branches
Description of 3 branches
Each state also has 3 branches
Local governments have mayors and councils
People are citizens of all 3 levels
Citizens have rights and responsibilities
Videos in this Series
Grade 3 - The Geography of Our Communities
Grade 3 - A Country of Cultures
Grade 3 - I Am A Consumer
Grade 3 - Businesses At Work
Grade 3 - The First Americans
Grade 3 - How The Country Was Settled
Related Videos
Grade 2 - Our Government At Work
Grade 1 - Let's Learn About The Government
