Social Studies 4th Grade Teacher Notes

Teacher Notes

4th Grade Social Studies

General Information

Purpose of this document:

These notes are intended to support educators and families with the content and cognitive demand of the standards. In some cases, information in this document goes beyond the scope of the standard and offers background and enrichment information to support lesson plan design.

The goal of Social Studies instruction is for students to engage with the content through inquiry-based activities in each lesson. To do so, teachers should utilize the four dimensions of inquiry-based instruction: questioning, disciplinary thinking, source evaluation, and communicating ideas.

Inquiry Based Instruction in Social Studies includes: 1. Questioning ? when students are guided through the inquiry process by an essential/compelling question that is open-ended, includes transferable ideas, requires justification, and recurs over time. 2. Disciplinary Thinking ? when students are given opportunities to look at social studies content from the perspectives of it various disciplines (geographer, historian, economist, political scientist) 3. Source Evaluation ? when students analyze primary and secondary sources from multiple perspectives and in different formats and use them to support or refute claims and reasoning. 4. Communicating Ideas ? when students make their thinking visible through multiple modalities, share their thinking, and apply what they learn (to be informed and responsible community members) (for civic life) = taking informed action

More information about inquiry-based instruction in social studies is available using the link below:

? College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for

Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History

Note on Student Use: As these notes are a supplemental resource for educators and families, they are not intended for direct classroom use. Instructors often seek ways to enhance learning beyond the scope of the standards since the standards provide the minimum expectation for student learning outcomes. These notes may provide more information than needed so instructors can better develop lessons that engage and inspire students.

While these notes, along with the primary and secondary sources in them, can enhance the relevancy of the Social Studies curriculum, care must be taken topreview any source for appropriateness for your specific students and circumstances. For example, often primary sources are reflective of the time and context in which they were created. Any opinions or ideas expressed in a resource are not reflective of or endorsedby theGeorgia Department of Education (GaDOE). Carefully consider your audience and purpose before selecting your sources.

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Course Description

In fourth grade, students continue with year two of a three year study of United States history in which all four strands (history, geography, civics/government, and economics) are integrated. Students begin the year learning about the French and Indian War and end with the Reconstruction period. The geography strand emphasizes the influence of geography on U.S. history during these same time periods. In the civics/government strand, students learn about concepts and rights contained within our founding documents. The economic strand uses material from the history strand to deepen understanding of economic concepts.

Teacher Notes

SS4H1 Explain the causes, events, and results of the American Revolution.

To demonstrate mastery of this standard, students must be able to explain how the revolutionary movement started, the major events of the Revolutionary War, and how America became an independent country. Students must trace the revolutionary movement across time through the French and Indian War, Stamp Act of 1765, the popularization of the slogan "no taxation without representation," the actions of the Sons and Daughters of Liberty, the Boston Massacre, and the Boston Tea Party. Students must be able to describe the influence of King George III, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Benedict Arnold, Patrick Henry, John Adams, Paul Revere, and the Black regiments on the events and outcome of the Revolutionary War. Additionally, students must be able to describe the battles of Lexington, Concord, Saratoga, and Yorktown, and the factors that led to British defeat in the American Revolution. Finally, students must be able to explain who wrote the Declaration of Independence, how it was written, why it was necessary, and how the Declaration was a response to tyranny and abuse of power. Strong connections can be made between this standard and other 4th Grade Social Studies standards and elements listed below:

SS4G1 Locate important physical and man-made features in the United States.

b. Locate major man-made features of the United States: New York City, NY; Boston, MA; Philadelphia, PA; Washington D.C.; Gettysburg, PA; and the Erie Canal.

SS4G2 Describe how physical systems affect human systems.

a. Explain how each force (American and British) attempted to use the physical geography of each battle site (Lexington, Concord, Saratoga, and Yorktown) to its benefit.

SS4CG1 Describe the meaning of:

a. Natural rights as found in the Declaration of Independence (the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness).

Clarifying the Context:

In terms of vertical alignment, this standard begins year two of a three-year study of American history. Students learned about Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson in 1st Grade Social Studies and about Independence Day in kindergarten. This 4th Grade standard is the first formal exposure students have to the American Revolution and its role in American independence. Students ended 3rd Grade Social Studies with a unit on British Colonial America, which discusses the economics, society,

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and culture of the New England, Mid-Atlantic, and Southern colonies. This standard chronologically follows the last 3rd Grade unit.

This standard's content focus on the growing tension between the colonies and the British government is best understood when students are presented with specific examples of how the British tightened their control and influence on local colonial governments. A good example to use with students to help clarify the colonists' frustration is to compare the situation with that of a child whose bedtime was changed without cause. If the usual 9:00 bedtime was suddenly changed to 8:00 each night, the child would likely resist the new bedtime rule. Without understanding the high level of control colonists had on local decision making prior to the French and Indian War, students may not fully grasp why there was such passionate resistance to new British policies of the 1760s.

Anticipating Student Needs:

Students will likely be unfamiliar with the location of the Ohio River Valley. The teacher should situate this area on a map for students. By seeing the Ohio River Valley as the border between French and English colonial possessions, students will have a better understanding as to why this boundary dispute led to the French and Indian War.

Students may also be confused by the name of the 1754 conflict between France and England. The war is sometimes referred to as the French and Indian War and sometimes as the Seven Years' War. It is important to clarify for students that both names refer to the same conflict. Although this conflict began as the Ohio River Valley boundary dispute, the fighting grew into an international conflict fought in both North America and Europe. Another point that should be emphasized with students is that the French were not fighting the Indians in the French and Indian War. Instead, the French and their Indian allies were the enemy of the British and their colonists. The British colonists tended to call the war the French and Indian War (after the enemy they were fighting), while in Europe the conflict was often referred to as the Seven Years' War (the length of the European part of the war).

Vocabulary: revolution, independence, representation, tax, declaration, American Revolution

SS4H1 Explain the causes, events, and results of the American Revolution. a. Trace the events that shaped the revolutionary movement in America: French and Indian War, 1765 Stamp Act, the slogan "no taxation without representation," the activities of the Sons of Liberty, the activities of the Daughters of Liberty, Boston Massacre, and the Boston Tea Party.

To demonstrate mastery of this element, students must be able to explain how each listed event helped fuel the revolutionary movement in America.

French and Indian War:

The French and Indian War was fought between France and Britain over control of the Ohio River Valley. Many American Indian groups allied with France to fight against Britain and the colonists in this war, hence its name. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763, which awarded Great Britain substantial territorial gains. However, disputes over land policy in these new territories and increased taxes on colonists to pay for the war's expenses led to colonial discontent, fueling the revolutionary movement in America.

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1765 Stamp Act:

The 1765 Stamp Act was a tax levied by the British Parliament on the American colonies. The Stamp Act placed a tax on nearly all colonial legal documents and paper goods, including marriage licenses, newspapers, commercial contracts, deeds, mortgages, and playing cards, among other items. These taxes also had to be paid in British currency (pounds). In the colonies, however, colonial paper money was more widely used, and British currency was hard to come by. The new policy also required violations of its provisions to be tried in British admiralty courts and not in colonial courts with a jury of colonial peers. The Stamp Act of 1765 was a form of taxation that superseded colonial legislatures, which had enjoyed decades of autonomy in making local policies for each colony. The Stamp Act angered American colonists so much that it eventually led to their open resistance against British rule. A decade later, following growing tension and violence, the American Revolution began. The collective uproar against the Stamp Act was one of the earliest instances of the colonies working together against a British law and helped to plant the seeds for the eventual American Revolution.

"No Taxation Without Representation"

This slogan expressed one of the primary grievances of the American colonists against Great Britain. Many colonists believed that since they were not represented in the British Parliament, any taxes Parliament imposed upon them were unconstitutional and a denial of their rights as Englishmen. The English concept of allowing taxation solely by representatives of Parliament dates to King John I's signing of the Magna Carta in 1215. This document established the principle of protecting English citizens from what they viewed as unfair taxation by the King. While the phrase "no taxation without representation" was in use across the British Empire before the American Revolution, it became a rallying cry for many colonists who supported revolution.

Sons of Liberty:

The Sons of Liberty was an unofficial political organization formed to fight against British taxation in the American colonies. The group began as angry colonists organized in protest of the Stamp Act and continued to grow, even after the Stamp Act was repealed. The largest and most organized groups were in Boston and New York City. These groups acted, sometimes violently, against British government agents. They also helped organize and enforce boycotts of British goods and spied on British soldiers as they patrolled the colonies. The Sons of Liberty and their organized protests of British taxation and military occupation helped shape the revolutionary movement in the colonies by working collectively and through strategic and persuasive publications that claimed British abuse of power.

Daughters of Liberty:

The Daughters of Liberty was the formal female association formed in the mid-1760s to protest the Stamp Act. It was also used as a general term for women who identified themselves as fighting for liberty during the American Revolution. The Daughters of Liberty aided the Sons of Liberty in boycotts and non-importation movements by spinning their own cloth instead of purchasing British textiles. The colonial boycott of British goods and the revolutionary movement would not have succeeded without the industry and resourcefulness of the Daughters of Liberty.

Boston Massacre:

The Boston Massacre was a confrontation between British soldiers and American colonists on March 5, 1770. A group of nine British soldiers were being harassed by a group possibly as large as three or four hundred colonists. During the tense and confusing confrontation, the soldiers shot and killed five

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people in the crowd. The event was immediately publicized as a "massacre" by leading Patriots (or those who sought freedom and independence from British rule), such as Paul Revere and Samuel Adams. Depictions, reports, and propaganda about the event heightened anti-British tensions throughout the colonies. Boston Tea Party: The Boston Tea Party was a political protest by the people of Boston in response to the Tea Act of May 10, 1773. The event resulted from an incident related to the Townshend Acts, a series of wideranging taxes on common household goods. After much outcry from the American colonists, the Townshend Acts were repealed in 1770 ? except the tax on tea. The colonists were outraged by the remaining tea tax, which they believed unfairly protected the British East India Company's sale of tea. Three East India Company ships arrived in Boston Harbor with hundreds of crates of British tea on board. The colonists refused to unload the tea and protestors began to gather along the docks. On the night of December 16, 1773, colonial protestors disguised as American Indians boarded the ships and threw the chests of tea into Boston Harbor as thousands of people watched from the docks. The British government considered the protest an act of treason and responded harshly with the Intolerable Acts in 1774, which ended local self-government in Massachusetts and closed Boston's commerce. Colonists throughout the thirteen colonies acted in support of Boston through protests and by convening the First Continental Congress, which petitioned the British monarch to repeal the acts. The crisis escalated, and the American Revolutionary War began near Boston in 1775. Vocabulary: Sons of Liberty, Daughters of Liberty, Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, Patriot, Stamp Act, revolutionary movement, taxation, representation, liberty Resources: National Park Service: "The French and Indian War: How did the War Set the Stage for the American Revolution?" Elementary School Lesson Plan Library of Congress: Stamp Act Political Cartoon lesson ? National Constitution Center: Article highlighting the role of the Boston Massacre in launching the revolutionary movement in the colonies The Boston Tea Party Historical Society: An account of the Boston Tea party as told by Joshua Wyeth (1st published account in 1826) - US History: Sons and Daughters of Liberty -

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