01.+Proposed+4th+Grade+Curriculum+Guide

**Anchorage School District - 4th Grade Social Studies**
WESTERN HEMISPHERE HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY

In this course, students build upon geography knowledge and skills as a basis for study of the Americas and beyond. Fourth grade students are introduced to ancient civilizations and indigenous peoples of the Americas through the various lens of historiography, geography, economics, government, civics, and the humanities. The last quarter offers multiple perspectives on “exploration and encounters”, leading to studies of U.S. history in 5th and 6th grades.

QUARTER 1


 * World Geography and** **Geography of the Western Hemisphere**

Enduring Understandings The students will understand that:


 * Geography has a range of helpful tools that can assist us in understanding our earth and its patterns.


 * Geography allows us to explore patterns in regions, movement, location, place, and relationships between humans and environments.

Essential Questions:


 * Why do we need the tools of geography?
 * How can we use the tools of geography to help us understand the earth?


 * In what ways do maps help us understand the influence of geographic factors on human settlement?


 * How are latitude and regional climate, vegetation, and land use interrelated?

Skills - The student will be able to:


 * Use a compass rose, map scale, and key.
 * Identify different landforms.
 * Use latitude and longitude to locate places and understand climate patterns.
 * Identify different map types, and explain the purpose of different map types.
 * Identify and label the continents, oceans, equator, prime meridian, Tropic of Cancer, *Tropic of Capricorn, Arctic Circle, and Antarctic Circle.
 * Identify and label different physical features of the western hemisphere.
 * Identify different map types, & why a person would need various map types of one area.
 * Use maps to identify patterns in human settlement.
 * Create different types of maps to illustrate resources, political boundaries, population centers, climate and physical features of the western hemisphere.
 * Interpret a resource map to recognize patterns of vegetation.
 * Explore the impact of latitude on climate, vegetation and land use.

Knowledge - The student will be able to demonstrate knowledge of:


 * Key vocabulary and concepts such as Hemispheres, continents, oceans, seas, cardinal directions, latitude, longitude, scale, key, legend, compass rose, equator, prime meridian, and landform names (plateau, peninsula, river, canyon, mesa, butte, etc.)


 * Climate, vegetation, resources, ore, political map, physical map, resource map, atlas, economics, settlement, population center, land use.


 * How a geographer would use different geographic tools to interpret a map or area of land.

QUARTER 2

History of the Western Hemisphere: Pre-Colombian Pre-Colombian people are studied through three ancient civilizations.

Enduring Understandings The students will understand that:


 * Civilizations are comprised of interrelated societies with advanced levels of development collectively characterized by social, political, material, scientific, and artistic progress.


 * Landforms influence movement, cultural interactions, development, and the success of a group of people.

Essential Questions:


 * What is a civilization?
 * What enduring legacies were provided by the Inca, Maya, and Aztec civilizations?
 * How did the Inca, Maya, and Aztec civilizations develop? How did they decline?
 * How do landforms impact movement, cultural interactions, development, and the success of a group of people?

Skills - The student will be able to:


 * Compare and contrast elements of Aztec, Inca, and Maya civilization such as economics, social systems, the arts, and technology.
 * Identify multiple points of view regarding these civilizations.
 * Use map skills to build understanding of these civilizations, the climate, and natural resources available to them.

Knowledge - The student will be able to demonstrate knowledge of:


 * Attributes of culture and civilization, to include customs, food supply, social divisions, government, religion, art forms, written language, system of education, and technology.
 * Diverse and sophisticated civilizations that thrived in the Americas prior to European contact.
 * A variety of reasons that can cause the decline of a civilization.
 * Attributes of Aztec, Incan, and Mayan civilizations.

QUARTER 3 Indigenous People of the Western Hemisphere grouped by Regions: Northwest, Southwest, Great Plains, Northeast, and Southeast

Enduring Understandings The students will understand that:


 * North America has a rich history of cultural diversity among its indigenous peoples.
 * The indigenous cultures of North America left an enduring legacy.

Essential Questions:


 * How and why are North America’s indigenous cultures diverse?
 * How did the environment shape North America’s indigenous cultures?
 * To what extent do the five regional groups develop the characteristics of “civilization”?
 * How were their beliefs and values similar? Different?
 * What are some legacies of the indigenous cultures?

Skills - The student will be able to:


 * Read and interpret charts, maps, and graphs that present information about indigenous North American peoples.
 * Compare and contrast a variety of cultures (e.g. comparing to various Native American groups, modern culture, Mesoamerican civilizations, and so forth).
 * Create and use timelines.
 * Analyze historical sources, including original sources.
 * Engage in historical inquiry.
 * Recognize multiple points of view.
 * Identify values by recognizing the core beliefs held by a person or group.

Knowledge - The student will be able to demonstrate knowledge of:


 * The key vocabulary terms and concepts such as natural resources, culture, indigenous, artifact and original source.


 * The cultures of Eastern Woodlands, Southeast, Great Plains, California and Southwest, Plateau and Great Basin, Northwest Coast, Subarctic and Arctic Native American Groups to include: shelter, food, clothing, beliefs and values, tools and weapons, transportation, social order, and communication.


 * The climate, geography, and natural resources that determined diverse cultural attributes.

QUARTER 4 Exploration/Encounters

Enduring Understandings The students will understand that:


 * Exploration by nations and individuals is done for a variety of reasons such as spreading religion, expanding scientific knowledge, accumulating power, and building wealth.


 * Contact between cultures impacts the societies involved through the exchange of culture and goods.

Essential Questions:


 * What does it mean to be an explorer?
 * Why was there a flurry of exploration from the late 1400’s to the mid-1500’s ?
 * How did the beliefs and values of different cultures shape their interactions?
 * What happens when there is contact between different cultures?

Skills - The student will be able to:


 * Read and interpret charts, maps, and graphs that present information about exploration, encounters, and the conflict/cooperation that occurred when East encountered the West.


 * Create and use graphic organizers such as Venn diagrams and timelines
 * Conduct historical research, to develop the following skills:
 * recognize multiple points of view
 * distinguish fact from opinion
 * conduct library and electronic research
 * analyze and cite sources


 * Identify values by recognizing the core beliefs held by a person or group.

Knowledge - The student will be able to demonstrate knowledge of:


 * Key vocabulary terms and concepts, such as encounter, explorer, culture, society, navigation, caravan, and exchange.
 * Motivations for European exploration.
 * Science and technology that enabled ocean-going exploration and domination.
 * The exchange of goods, foods, and materials that resulted from exploration.
 * The impact of contact on cultures, beliefs, and values.
 * How geography shaped exploration.

Download: [|proposed 4th gr wsample tasks soc st.doc]