These are the units we will be learning this year along with a few of the activities we will participate in to develop our understanding.
The third grade social studies units can be found here.
First Trimester
Presidents
A project-based unit in which students utilize print and
electronic resources to research a president of choice. Students will discover
presidential, i.e. party affiliation, world events during term in office, and
personal information, such as occupation before president, as well as American
life during the president’s term(s), i.e. how he traveled and communicated with
friends. Fourth graders will present their knowledge in the form of a wax
figure, time capsule, or interactive exhibit in our culminating presidential
“museum.”
We will write a class constitution and celebrate Constitution Day on September 14th. Students will learn how the constitution protects the rights of citizens and outlines the structure and purpose of our government.
Presidential Election
Fourth graders will determine their own leadership abilities
before analyzing presidential requirements while creating “Perfect President” job
descriptions in small groups. An extensive political parties
simulation is the highlight of this unit. During the simulation, students will discuss
public issues that impact the daily lives of citizens and support their stance
on these issues. By the end of the unit, students will be able to identify ways
citizens work together to influence government and help solve problems.
Second Trimester
America's Five Regions
A geography-emphasized unit which begins with students creating
and explaining a bird’s-eye view map of their home divided into regions. Fourth
graders will also differentiate between relative and exact location, transfer
their knowledge of map symbols into producing a classroom map, and demonstrate
using a map scale.We will explore special-purpose maps and evaluate the effect
of population density on the lives of Americans in urban and rural communities.
Students will apply their map skills to indicate the route
of their unique cross-country “trip” on a U.S. map. Fourth graders will learn
about the economy, geography, history, people, and government of each of
America’s regions. Some highlights of the trip include deciding the pros and
cons of mass production through a Hershey, Pennsylvania assembly line
simulation and discussing difficulties that colonists faced in Jamestown,
Virginia after playing a survival board game. The trip also consists of comparing
southeastern musical traditions and planning a midwestern shopping mall based on
knowledge of the region. There will be a culminating project on each student’s
region of choice for which they will try to persuade others to visit their
region by highlighting its remarkable attributes.
Third Trimester
Florida
Fourth
graders will begin
this unit by using print and electronic resources to research one of the five
main Native American tribes of Florida. They will then create an artifact that
represents the tribe’s culture. We will partake in a discovering The Fountain of Youth mapping and scavenger hunt
experience as we identify the motivations of explorers who came to Florida.
Students
will learn about the effects of European colonization in and Spanish rule of
Florida. Fourth graders will explore daily life on missions. A Cracker Country
field trip will wrap-up our learning about pioneer life in Florida. The year
will conclude with researching the geography, government, people, history, or
economics of Florida. Students will design a game, create a Prezi, or make an
interactive map (by hand of digitally).
Fourth grade during their initial research to decide which presidents they would like to learn about for their upcoming project.
One of our fifth grade group's brainstorming about government.
