Social Studies

Social Studies
Goals:

Social Studies in Grade Four emphasizes different aspects of early American culture as they apply to the growth of the nation. The students are encouraged to analyze various materials and media, develop strong geographical skills, enhance their research and writing skills, and identify different landforms and their affects on people who settle in and around them.

Resources:

Geography: Our Country and Our World (Scott Foresman)
Honor Interact Simulation
Pilgrims Interact Simulation
Classroom Atlas (Rand McNally)

Students who successfully complete the Grade Four social studies program will be able to demonstrate knowledge of:

• The first Americans who came from Asia over the Beringia land bridge
• The regions of the Americas and the first people to settle there
• The interaction between peoples and their environment
• Landforms and their affects on where people settle
• Coming of age in a Native American Indian tribe, in a time before the arrival of the horse (pre-European)
• The different components of culture (e.g. beliefs, stories, shelters, food, language, etc.)
• The hardships early European settlers endured
• The nature of cooperation and conflict
• Identify and discuss the question, “Why people move?”
• Identify latitude and longitude
• Calculate the distance between locations using a map scale
• Read and make maps