California Content Standards 4th Grade Social Studies Activities

CA.4. California: A Changing State

4.1. Students demonstrate an understanding of the physical and human geographic features that define places and regions in California.

4.1.1. Explain and use the coordinate grid system of latitude and longitude to determine the absolute locations of places in California and on Earth.

4.1.2. Distinguish between the North and South Poles; the equator and the prime meridian; the tropics; and the hemispheres, using coordinates to plot locations.

4.1.4. Identify the locations of the Pacific Ocean, rivers, valleys, and mountain passes and explain their effects on the growth of towns.

4.2. Students describe the social, political, cultural, and economic life and interactions among people of California from the pre-Columbian societies to the Spanish mission and Mexican rancho periods.

4.2.1. Discuss the major nations of California Indians, including their geographic distribution, economic activities, legends, and religious beliefs; and describe how they depended on, adapted to, and modified the physical environment by cultivation of land and use of sea resources.

4.2.2. Identify the early land and sea routes to, and European settlements in, California with a focus on the exploration of the North Pacific (e.g., by Captain James Cook, Vitus Bering, Juan Cabrillo), noting especially the importance of mountains, deserts, ocean currents, and wind patterns.

4.2.7. Describe the effects of the Mexican War for Independence on Alta California, including its effects on the territorial boundaries of North America.

4.3. Students explain the economic, social, and political life in California from the establishment of the Bear Flag Republic through the Mexican-American War, the Gold Rush, and the granting of statehood.

4.3.2. Compare how and why people traveled to California and the routes they traveled (e.g., James Beckwourth, John Bidwell, John C. Fremont, Pio Pico).

4.3.3. Analyze the effects of the Gold Rush on settlements, daily life, politics, and the physical environment (e.g., using biographies of John Sutter, Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, Louise Clapp).

4.4. Students explain how California became an agricultural and industrial power, tracing the transformation of the California economy and its political and cultural development since the 1850s.

4.4.1. Understand the story and lasting influence of the Pony Express, Overland Mail Service, Western Union, and the building of the transcontinental railroad, including the contributions of Chinese workers to its construction.

4.4.2. Explain how the Gold Rush transformed the economy of California, including the types of products produced and consumed, changes in towns (e.g., Sacramento, San Francisco), and economic conflicts between diverse groups of people.

4.4.3. Discuss immigration and migration to California between 1850 and 1900, including the diverse composition of those who came; the countries of origin and their relative locations; and conflicts and accords among the diverse groups (e.g., the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act).

4.4.4. Describe rapid American immigration, internal migration, settlement, and the growth of towns and cities (e.g., Los Angeles).

4.5. Students understand the structures, functions, and powers of the local, state, and federal governments as described in the U.S. Constitution.

4.5.1. Discuss what the U.S. Constitution is and why it is important (i.e., a written document that defines the structure and purpose of the U.S. government and describes the shared powers of federal, state, and local governments).

4.5.2. Understand the purpose of the California Constitution, its key principles, and its relationship to the U.S. Constitution.

4.5.3. Describe the similarities (e.g., written documents, rule of law, consent of the governed, three separate branches) and differences (e.g., scope of jurisdiction, limits on government powers, use of the military) among federal, state, and local governments.

4.5.4. Explain the structures and functions of state governments, including the roles and responsibilities of their elected officials.

4.5.5. Describe the components of California's governance structure (e.g., cities and towns, Indian rancherias and reservations, counties, school districts).

CA.K-5.HSSA. Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills: The intellectual skills noted below are to be learned through, and applied to, the content standards for kindergarten through grade five. They are to be assessed only in conjunction with the content standards in kindergarten through grade five. In addition to the standards for kindergarten through grade five, students demonstrate the following intellectual, reasoning, reflection, and research skills.

K-5.CST. Chronological and Spatial Thinking

K-5.CST.1. Students place key events and people of the historical era they are studying in a chronological sequence and within a spatial context; they interpret time lines.

K-5.CST.2. Students correctly apply terms related to time, including past, present, future, decade, century, and generation.

K-5.CST.3. Students explain how the present is connected to the past, identifying both similarities and differences between the two, and how some things change over time and some things stay the same.

K-5.CST.4. Students use map and globe skills to determine the absolute locations of places and interpret information available through a map's or globe's legend, scale, and symbolic representations.

K-5.CST.5. Students judge the significance of the relative location of a place (e.g., proximity to a harbor, on trade routes) and analyze how relative advantages or disadvantages can change over time.

K-5.REPV. Research, Evidence, and Point of View

K-5.REPV.1. Students differentiate between primary and secondary sources.

K-5.REPV.2. Students pose relevant questions about events they encounter in historical documents, eyewitness accounts, oral histories, letters, diaries, artifacts, photographs, maps, artworks, and architecture.

K-5.REPV.3. Students distinguish fact from fiction by comparing documentary sources on historical figures and events with fictionalized characters and events.

K-5.HI. Historical Interpretation

K-5.HI.1. Students summarize the key events of the era they are studying and explain the historical contexts of those events.

K-5.HI.2. Students identify the human and physical characteristics of the places they are studying and explain how those features form the unique character of those places.

K-5.HI.3. Students identify and interpret the multiple causes and effects of historical events.