• Social Studies Curriculum: 4th Grade

    The School District of Clayton’s elementary 3-5 Social Studies curriculum is grounded in the Learning for Justice Standards of Justice and Action. The focus on celebrating our country's diverse characteristics strives to develop young people who have begun to interpret our history as a means of better understanding our lives today. Through exposure to the various experiences within our state and country’s history, we aim to develop cultural awareness and encourage empathy. To varying degrees of emphasis at each grade level, we develop the five strands of social studies - history, civics, economics, geography and culture.  Each of these is woven into a narrative around the collective experiences of American society and our students’ increasing understanding of their place in the local, national and global communities. 

    Fourth grade students will begin to explore the past using the following essential questions

    1. What can we learn about the present by studying the past?

    2. What was it like in Africa and the Americas prior to European contact?

    3. What important values are established with the founding of our country?

    4. How did our country handle early challenges? 

     

    Within the three social studies units, fourth grade students will delve into the following topics:

     

    Unit 1 : Early World History up to 1621

    • Students will learn about traits of civilization and what made African and Indigenous groups civilized. 

    • Explain the significance of the Mali Civilization.

    • Identify Mansa Musa as a leader of Mali

    • Identify the existence of  regional indigenous communities and their geographic features prior to European arrival in North America. 

    • Identify political, cultural and geographic aspects of the Iroquois Confederacy and Wampanoag peoples.

    • Identify the system of Atlantic Slave Trade

    • Identify political aspects of early European settlements. 

    • Identify geographic locations of early Europeans settlements

    • Identify the historical context for the first “Thanksgiving”

     

    Unit 2 : The Founding of the United States

    • Describe the discovery, exploration and early settlement of America by Europeans

    • Describe the reasons African people were enslaved and brought to the Americas prior to 1800

    • Identify the style of government of the Plymouth colony, the Massachusetts Bay colony and the Iroquois Confederacy. 

    • Compare dispute resolutions between the x and the Iroquois Confederacy. 

    • Explain the causes of the American Revolution 

    • Explain the main ideas of the Declaration of Independence. 

    • Identify the purposes of the Constitution. 

    • Explain main ideas of the Constitution. 

    • Explain some of the main ideas of the Bill of Rights and the various debates about it’s interpretation today. 

     

    Unit 3: Early United States conflicts

    • Identify the goals and methods of the abolitionist movement. 

    • Identify various forms of black resistance and culture prior to the Civil War. 

    • Explain the causes of the Civil War

    •  Explain the causes of Westward Expansion. 

    • Explain the consequences of Westward expansion. 

    • For 2023 because of change.  Identify 3 reasons for the North’s victory in the Civil War. 

     

    Fourth Grade Social Studies Learning Objectives

    Social studies is a multi-disciplinary, integrated approach to the study of people, their physical environment, history and cultures.. The 3-5 social studies program evaluates the past to attempt to make better sense of the present and future.  By studying the history of our state and our country, students will gain a greater appreciation for the idealistic foundation of our country and the struggle to live up to those goals. 


      Geography

    • The relative location of ancient Mali within Africa.

    • The relative location of North American indigenous peoples

    • The location of initial American colonies and states.

    • The locations and concepts regarding Westward Expansion. 


    Culture

    • The ancient African Kingdom of Mali

    • Indigenous peoples of North America

    • Different cultures in different colonies and states. 

    • The conflicting cultures and values at the start of the United States.


    History

    • The general history of Mali in West Africa.

    • The overview of indigenous peoples prior to European arrival

    • The establishment of colonies and states in North America

    • The American Revolution and Constitution


    Economics

    • Economic motivations for the Atlantic Slave Trade

    • Trade within and between North American colonies and states

    • Mercantilism and the reasons for the American Revolution

    • The economic cause of slavery and Westward Expansion