Grade 4 Social Studies Curriculum
Family-facing version of the grade 4 social studies curriculum
Quarterly Overview of Grade 4 Social Studies
The objectives and outcomes for each unit are common across FCPS and based on the Virginia Standards of Learning. The pacing by quarter and by week provides an example of how the curriculum can be organized throughout the year. Teacher teams may adjust the pacing or order of units to best meet the needs of students.
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Quarter 1
Units and Details
Students will be able to:
- Demonstrate responsible citizenship, both on and offline, and:
- Construct an understanding of the Student Rights and Responsibilities, including Digital Citizenship.
- Show respect for rules and laws while collaborating, compromising, and participating in classroom activities.
- Understand the significance of Constitution Day and the establishment of a new American nation through the ideas of George Mason and the Virginia Declaration of Rights by:
- Identifying and understanding the significance of September 17, 1787 as the date the founding fathers signed the United States Constitution, the document that established the framework of our government and the rights that “We the People” enjoy today.
- Identifying the Virginia Declaration of Rights, written by George Mason, as a document that influenced our United States Constitution. It stated that all Virginians have many rights including freedom of religion and freedom of the press.
Extended Standards
In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning named above, students who receive Full-Time Advanced Academic Services engage with these extensions.
- Develop an understanding of the concepts of change and relationships.
- Apply abstract concepts such as: relationships, systems, cause and effect, and how things change over time to understand the impact of the past on the present.
Students will be able to:
- Demonstrate skills for historical thinking, geographical analysis, economic decision making, and responsible citizenship by analyzing and interpreting artifacts and primary and secondary sources to understand events in Virginia history.
- An artifact is an object or tool that tells us about people from the past.
- A primary source is an artifact, document, image, or other source of information that was created during the time under study.
- A secondary source is a document, image, or other source of information that relates or discusses information originally presented elsewhere.
- Analyzing and interpreting includes identifying the important elements of information sources in order to make inferences and generalizations, and draw conclusions.
Extended Standards
In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning named above, students who receive Full-Time Advanced Academic Services engage with these extensions.
- Use primary and secondary sources to compare and contrast historical events.
Students will be able to:
- Understand where Virginia, its bordering states, and bodies of water are in the context of our world.
- Locate and evaluate Virginia’s water features (Atlantic Ocean, Chesapeake Bay, James River, York River, Rappahannock River, Potomac River) to explain their impact on early Virginia and beyond.
- Locate, describe, and compare Virginia’s five regions: Coastal Plain, Piedmont, Blue Ridge Mountains, Valley and Ridge, Appalachian Plateau.
Extended Standards
In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning named above, students who receive Full-Time Advanced Academic Services engage with these extensions.
- Identify and describe how geography influenced the cultures of past and present Native Peoples in Virginia.
- Use maps, globes, and other geographic tools (e.g. internet/GPS/etc.) to locate, describe, and compare various sites, land areas, places, and other geographic features.
- Develop an understanding of how physical and human characteristics defined daily life in early Virginia history.
- Develop an understanding of how physical and human characteristics defined daily life in early Virginia history.
- Develop an understanding of the concepts of change and relationships.
- Apply abstract concepts such as: relationships, systems, cause and effect, and how things change over time to understand the impact of the past on the present.
Students will be able to:
- Locate the three American Indian language groups (Algonquian, Siouan, Iroquoian) on a map.
- Construct an understanding of and evaluate how recovered artifacts show evidence of daily life at Werowocomoco and Jamestown.
- Explain and analyze how Virginia’s early Native Peoples adapted to the environment and climate to meet their daily needs: food, clothing, shelter.
- Describe the lives of Native Peoples in Virginia today, making connections between past and present.
Extended Standards
In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning named above, students who receive Full-Time Advanced Academic Services engage with these extensions.
- Use primary and secondary sources to compare and contrast historical events.
- Investigate Native Peoples’ interactions with the environment.
- Apply abstract concepts such as relationships, systems, cause and effect, and how things change over time to understand the impact of the past on the present.
Students will be able to:
- Evaluate the reasons for English colonization by exploring the perspectives and experiences of multiple culture groups.
- Evaluate the reasons the Jamestown site was chosen and the challenges and changes that took place to ensure survival as a result.
- Identify the roles of culture and power in the changing relationship between the Powhatan and English settlers.
- Analyze the importance of the events of 1619: arrival of Africans, arrival of English women (1620), and the first meeting of the General Assembly.
Extended Standards
In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning named above, students who receive Full-Time Advanced Academic Services engage with these extensions.
- Use primary and secondary sources to compare and contrast historical events.
- Develop an understanding of the concept of systems and of structure, function, and pattern as key system elements.
- Recognize and explain that the events of history are not inevitable, but are related to chains of cause and effect relationships.
- Use primary and secondary sources to interpret historical perspectives.
- Analyze historical issues using elements of reasoning (purpose, point of view, implications/consequences, evidence/data, inferences, concepts/ideas, and/or assumptions).
- Understand and describe contributions to American history by individuals from diverse backgrounds.
- Understand and appreciate the influence of individual experiences, societal values and traditions on historical perspective.
- Understand and appreciate the influence of individual experiences, societal values, and traditions on historical perspectives.
Students will be able to:
- Evaluate the role of slavery on the growth of the colonial economy.
- Describe how the daily life and culture of the Native peoples, Europeans, and Africans varied and reflected diversity and resilience.
- Explain the reasons for the relocation of Virginia’s capital from Jamestown to Williamsburg.
- Describe how money, barter, and credit were used in colonial Virginia.
Extended Standards
In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning named above, students who receive Full-Time Advanced Academic Services engage with these extensions.
- Use primary and secondary sources to interpret historical perspectives.
- Understand the colonial period in Virginia and Colonial America with emphasis on political, economic and social systems that define the early English settlement.
- Identify key figures in American history and their influence.
- Develop an understanding of the concept of systems and of structure, function, and pattern as key system elements.
- Analyze historical situations for cause and effect relationships.
- Compare and contrast the settlers and Native Americans’ interactions with the environment.
- Evaluate and discuss issues orally and in writing through seminars and debate.
Students will be able to:
- Explore the reasons why the colonies went to war with Great Britain and how their path to revolution connects to our modern world.
- Examine the various roles of Revolutionary War leaders, American Indians, enslaved African Americans, whites, and free African Americans to evaluate various perspectives.
- Evaluate the importance of the American victory at Yorktown.
- Examine the reasons for the relocation of Virginia’s capital from Williamsburg to Richmond.
Extended Standards
In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning named above, students who receive Full-Time Advanced Academic Services engage with these extensions.
- Participate in debates about historical contributions.
- Apply abstract concepts such as systems, cause and effect, and how things change over time, to understand the impact of the past on the present.
- Use primary and secondary sources to compare and contrast historical events.
- Use primary and secondary sources to interpret historical perspectives.
Students will be able to:
- Explore the connections between liberty and slavery in the ideas and lives of George Washington, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and George Mason.
- Explore the influence of geography and technological advances on the migration of Virginians into other states and western territories and how it impacted different cultures.
Extended Standards
In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning named above, students who receive full-time Advanced Academic (AAP Level IV) Services engage with these extensions.
- Identify the implications of the ideas of George Mason and Thomas Jefferson.
- Understand the colonial period in Virginia and Colonial America with emphasis on political, economic, and social systems that define the early English settlements.
- Describe how survival is influenced by adaptations from the environment.
- Develop an understanding of the concept of systems and of structure, function, and pattern as key system elements.
- Develop an understanding of how physical and human characteristics define migration for Virginians.
Students will be able to:
- Analyze the major events leading to the Civil War and interpret the legacy of it in Virginia today.
- Understand the impact of Virginia's role during the Civil War.
- Evaluate and interpret the roles of American Indians, whites, enslaved Africans, and free Africans prior to and during the Civil War.
- Identify acts of resistance and moral courage that resulted in the emancipation of African Americans.
Extended Standards
In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning named above, students who receive Full-Time Advanced Academic Services engage with these extensions.
- Identify key figures in American history and their influence
- Analyze historical situations for cause and effect relationships
- Recognize and explain that the events of history are not inevitable, but are related to chains of cause and effect relationships
- Understand and describe contributions to American history by individuals from diverse backgrounds
- Apply abstract concepts such as systems, cause and effect and how things change over time to understand the impact of the past on the present
- Use primary and secondary sources to compare and contrast historical events
- Use primary and secondary sources to interpret historical perspectives
- Understand and appreciates the influence of individual experiences, societal values and traditions on historical perspective
Students will be able to:
- Explore the impact of Reconstruction on life in Virginia, focusing on the expanded rights of African Americans and the impact on Virginia's government.
- Construct an understanding of the effects of segregation and "Jim Crow" on life in Virginia for American Indians, whites, and African Americans, analyzing the enduring legacy of racial discrimination on life in Virginia today.
- Examine Virginia's economic development and the importance of railroads, new industries, and the growth of cities.
Extended Standards
In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning named above, students who receive Full-Time Advanced Academic Services engage with these extensions.
- Analyze historical situations for cause and effect relationships.
- Understand the period in history with an emphasis on political and social systems.
- Apply abstract concepts such as systems, cause and effect and how things change over time to understand the impact of the past on the present.
- Use primary and secondary sources to compare and contrast historical events.
- Use primary and secondary sources to interpret historical perspectives.
- Analyze historical issues using elements of reasoning (purpose, point of view, implications/consequences, evidence/data, inferences, concepts/ideas, and/or assumptions).
- Understand and describe contributions to American history by individuals from diverse backgrounds.
- Understand and appreciate the influence of individual experiences, societal values, and traditions on historical perspective.
Students will be able to:
- Explain the importance of railroads, waterways, new industries, and the growth of cities to Virginia’s economic development in the late 1800s.
- Explain the economic and social transition from a rural, agricultural society to a more urban, industrialized society.
- Understand the role Virginians played in American history during World War I and World War II
Extended Standards
In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning named above, students who receive Full-Time Advanced Academic Services engage with these extensions.
- Apply abstract concepts such as systems, cause and effect, and how things change over time to understand the impact of the past on the present.
- Use primary and secondary sources to compare and contrast historical events and interpret historical perspectives.
- Analyze historical issues using elements of reasoning (purpose, point of view, implications/consequences, evidence/data, inferences, concepts/ideas, and/or assumptions).
- Understand and describe contributions to American history by individuals from diverse backgrounds.
- Understand and appreciate the influence of individual experiences, societal values, and traditions on historical perspective.
- Understand the specific period in Virginia with emphasis on political, economic, and social systems that define that time in history.
- Analyze historical situations for cause and effect relationships.
- Describe how economic need can lead to advancement in transportation and communication systems.
Students will be able to:
- Explain the social and political events connected to
- disenfranchisement of African American voters in Virginia in the early 20th century
- desegregation
- court decisions,
- and Massive Resistance,
- with emphasis on the role of Virginians in the Supreme Court cases, including, but not limited to Brown v. Board of Education.
- Investigate the political, social, and economic effects of choices made during the Civil Rights Era by Virginians including, but not limited to
- Maggie Walker
- Robert Russa Moton
- Barbara Johns
- Samuel Wilbert Tucker
- Oliver W. Hill, Sr.
- Irene Morgan
- Arthur R. Ashe
- A. Linwood Holton, Jr.
- L. Douglas Wilder
Extended Standards
In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning named above, students who receive Full-Time Advanced Academic Services engage with these extensions.
- Apply abstract concepts such as systems, cause and effect, and how things change over time to understand the impact of the past on the present.
- Use primary and secondary sources to compare and contrast historical events and interpret historical perspectives.
- Analyze historical issues using elements of reasoning (purpose, point of view, implications/consequences, evidence/data, inferences, concepts/ideas, and/or assumptions).
- Understand and describe contributions to American history by individuals from diverse backgrounds.
- Understand and appreciate the influence of individual experiences, societal values, and traditions on historical perspective.
- Understand the specific period in Virginia with emphasis on political, economic, and social systems that define that time in history.
- Analyze historical situations for cause and effect relationships.
Students will be able to:
- Examine the major products and industries important to Virginia’s economy.
- Examine the impact of the ideas, innovations, and advancements of Virginians on a global market.
Extended Standards
In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning named above, students who receive Full-Time Advanced Academic Services engage with these extensions.
- Apply abstract concepts such as systems, cause and effect, and how things change over time to understand the impact of the past on the present.
- Use primary and secondary sources to compare and contrast historical events and interpret historical perspectives.
- Analyze historical issues using elements of reasoning (purpose, point of view, implications/consequences, evidence/data, inferences, concepts/ideas, and/or assumptions).
- Understand and describe contributions to American history by individuals from diverse backgrounds.
- Understand and appreciate the influence of individual experiences, societal values, and traditions on historical perspective.
- Understand the specific period in Virginia with emphasis on political, economic, and social systems that define that time in history.
- Analyze historical situations for cause and effect relationships.
- Describe how economic need can lead to advancement in transportation and communication systems.
Assessments
Student assessments are part of the teaching and learning process.
- Teachers give assessments to students on an ongoing basis to
- Check for understanding
- Gather information about students' knowledge or skills.
- Assessments provide information about a child's development of knowledge and skills that can help families and teachers better plan for next steps in instruction.
For testing questions or additional information about how schools and teachers use test results to support student success, families can contact their children's schools.
In Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), fourth grade tests focus on students’ developing content knowledge and skills.
