Rhode Island World-Class Standards 4th Grade Social Studies Activities

RI.C&G. Civics & Government

C&G 1. People create and change structures of power, authority, and governance in order to accomplish common goals.

C&G 1 (3-4)-2. Students demonstrate an understanding of sources of authority and use of power, and how they are/can be changed by…

C&G 1 (3-4)-2.b. Recognizing, describing, and demonstrating the characteristics of leadership and fair decision making, and explaining how they affect others.

C&G 2. The Constitution of the United States establishes a government of limited powers that are shared among different levels and branches.

C&G 2 (3-4)-1. Students demonstrate an understanding of United States government (local, state, national) by…

C&G 2 (3-4)-1.a. Identifying the levels (local, state, national) and three branches of government, as defined by the U.S. Constitution, and the roles and purposes of each (e.g., checks and balances).

C&G 2 (3-4)-1.b. Describing the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights and explaining why they are important.

C&G 2 (3-4)-2. Students demonstrate an understanding of the democratic values and principles underlying the U.S. government by…

C&G 2 (3-4)-2.a. Identifying and explaining the meaning of symbols and national holidays used to depict Americans shared democratic values, principles, and beliefs (e.g., colors of the American flag, Pledge of Allegiance, bald eagle, Presidents’ Day, Independence Day).

C&G 2 (3-4)-2.b. Using a variety of sources (e.g., Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, trade books, picture books, songs, artwork) to illustrate the basic values and principles of democracy (e.g., Statue of Liberty represents freedom, Independent Man on State House represents individual rights, E Pluribus Unum represents national unity, This Land is Your Land represents respect for diversity).

C&G 3. In a democratic society all people have certain rights and responsibilities.

C&G 3 (3-4)-1. Students demonstrate an understanding of citizens’ rights and responsibilities by…

C&G 3 (3-4)-1.b. Using a variety of sources (e.g., primary sources, secondary sources, literature, videos) to provide examples of individuals’ and groups’ rights and responsibilities (e.g., justice, equality, and diversity).

C&G 4. People engage in political processes in a variety of ways.

C&G 4 (3-4)-1. Students demonstrate an understanding of political systems and political processes by…

C&G 4 (3-4)-1.a. Identifying forms and levels (e.g., voting vs. running for office, organizing a meeting vs. attending a meeting) of civic participation and how it affects the common good (local, state, national, world).

C&G 4 (3-4)-2. Students demonstrate their participation in political processes by…

C&G 4 (3-4)-2.a. Engaging in a variety of forms of participation (e.g., voting, petition, survey) and explaining the purpose of each form.

C&G 4 (3-4)-3. Students participate in a civil society by…

C&G 4 (3-4)-3.a. Identifying problems, planning and implementing solutions, and evaluating the outcomes in the classroom, school, community, state, nation, or world (e.g., problem of global warming/solutions - recycling, energy conservation).

C&G 4 (3-4)-3.b. Explaining how individuals can take responsibility for their actions and how their actions impact the community.

C&G 5. As members of an interconnected world community, the choices we make impact others locally, nationally, and globally.

C&G 5 (3-4)-1. Students demonstrate an understanding of the many ways Earth’s people are interconnected by…

C&G 5 (3-4)-1.a. Explaining how current events around the world affect our lives (e.g., trade, war, conflict-resolution, global warming).

C&G 5 (3-4)-3. Students demonstrate an understanding of how the choices we make impact, and are impacted by an interconnected world, by…

C&G 5 (3-4)-3.a. Listing and explaining the pros and cons of personal and organizational (e.g., businesses, governments, other groups) decisions (e.g., donations to global charities).

RI.HP. Historical Perspectives/Rhode Island History

HP 1. History is an account of human activities that is interpretive in nature.

HP 1 (3-4)-1. Students act as historians, using a variety of tools (e.g., artifacts and primary and secondary sources) by…

HP 1 (3-4)-1.a. Describing the difference between primary and secondary sources and interpreting information from each (e.g., asking and answering questions, making predictions).

HP 1 (3-4)-1.b. Classifying objects, artifacts, and symbols from long ago and today and describing how they add to our understanding of the past.

HP 1 (3-4)-1.c. Organizing information obtained to answer historical questions.

HP 2. History is a chronicle of human activities, diverse people, and the societies they form.

HP 2 (3-4)-1. Students connect the past with the present by…

HP 2 (3-4)-1.a. Investigating and explaining the origin, name, or significance of local and Rhode Island geographic and human-made features.

HP 2 (3-4)-2. Students chronicle events and conditions by…

HP 2 (3-4)-2.a. Describing, defining, and illustrating by example Rhode Island historical individuals, groups and events (e.g., Roger Williams, Native Americans, immigrant groups) and how they relate to the context (e.g., conditions of the time, events before and after).

HP 2 (3-4)-3. Students show understanding of change over time by…

HP 2 (3-4)-3.a. Interpreting and explaining similarities and differences in objects, artifacts, technologies, ideas, or beliefs (e.g., religious, economic, education, self-government) from the past and present (e.g., transportation or communication in the community, RI, U.S.).

HP 3. The study of history helps us understand the present and shape the future.

HP 3 (3-4)-1. Students demonstrate an understanding of how the past frames the present by…

HP 3 (3-4)-1.a. Recognizing and interpreting how events, people, problems, and ideas shape life in the community and in Rhode Island.

HP 4. Historical events and human/natural phenomena impact and are influenced by ideas and beliefs.

HP 4 (3-4)-2. Students demonstrate an understanding that innovations, inventions, change, and expansion cause increased interaction among people (e.g., cooperation or conflict) by…

HP 4 (3-4)-2.a. Explaining how innovations or inventions have impacted interactions between people, communities, regions, and nations.

HP 5. Human societies and cultures develop and change in response to human needs and wants.

HP 5 (3-4)-1. Students demonstrate an understanding that a variety of factors affect cultural diversity within a society by…

HP 5 (3-4)-1.a. Comparing cultural differences and similarities between individuals, groups, or communities (e.g., customs, beliefs, language, religious faiths).

HP 5 (3-4)-2. Students demonstrate an understanding that culture has affected how people in a society behave in relation to groups and their environment by…

HP 5 (3-4)-2.a. Comparing how members within cultures interact with each other and their environment.

RI.G. Geography

G 1. The World in Spatial Terms: Understanding and interpreting the organization of people, places, and environments on Earth’s surface provides an understanding of the world in spatial terms.

G 1 (3-4)-1. Students understand maps, globes, and other geographic tools and technologies by…

G 1 (3-4)-1.a. Accurately using maps to identify locations.

G 1 (3-4)-1.c. Organizing information about people, places, and environments in a spatial context (e.g., the school is to the east of the store; the house is northeast of the mountains).

G 1 (3-4)-2. Students identify the characteristics and features of maps by…

G 1 (3-4)-2.a. Applying map skills to represent a location (e.g., design a map).

G 1 (3-4)-2.b. Identifying and describing locations.

G 2. Places and Regions: Physical and human characteristics (e.g., culture, experiences, etc.) influence places and regions.

G 2 (3-4)-1. Students understand the physical and human characteristics of places by…

G 2 (3-4)-1.b. Explaining how natural/physical features and human-made features makes a place unique.

G 2 (3-4)-2. Students distinguish between regions and places by…

G 2 (3-4)-2.a. Defining a region and its associated places (e.g., the region of New England includes the city of Providence; a city can have several neighborhoods).

G 2 (3-4)-2.b. Explaining the difference between regions and places (e.g., a desert region is dry, rainforest regions are wet; Providence is densely populated, Exeter is sparsely populated).

G 2 (3-4)-4. Students understand how geography contributes to how regions are defined / identified by…

G 2 (3-4)-4.a. Describing how physical geography defines boundaries of regions.

G 3. Human Systems: (Movement) Human systems and human movement affect and are affected by distribution of populations and resources, relationships (cooperation and conflict), and culture.

G 3 (3-4)-2. Students understand the interrelationships of geography with resources by…

G 3 (3-4)-2.a. Comparing products produced locally and far away (e.g., apples from Scituate, oranges from Florida).

G 4. Environment and Society: Patterns emerge as humans settle, modify, and interact on Earth’s surface to limit or promote human activities.

G 4 (3-4)-1. Students explain how humans depend on their environment by…

G 4 (3-4)-1.a. Identifying how needs can be met by the environment (e.g., we grow food to eat.).

G 4 (3-4)-2. Students explain how humans react or adapt to an ever-changing physical environment by…

G 4 (3-4)-2.a. Identifying ways in which the physical environment is stressed by human activity using examples from the local community (e.g., pollution in the Narragansett Bay means people cannot fish for food).

RI.E. Economics

E 1. Individuals and societies make choices to address the challenges and opportunities of scarcity and abundance.

E 1 (3-4)-1. Students demonstrate an understanding of basic economic concepts by…

E 1 (3-4)-1.a. Differentiating between human, natural, and capital resources.

E 1 (3-4)-1.b. Identifying the types of resources available and the corresponding goods and services produced in real-world and historical context (e.g., Rhode Island today or in different historical periods: RI colony boatbuilding and agricultural production were primary, late 1800’s industrial products were primary).

E 1 (3-4)-2. Students demonstrate an understanding that scarcity and abundance causes individuals to make economic choices by…

E 1 (3-4)-2.a. Explaining how scarcity requires people to make choices due to their unlimited needs and wants with limited resources.

E 1 (3-4)-3. Students demonstrate an understanding that societies develop different ways to deal with scarcity and abundance by…

E 1 (3-4)-3.a. Comparing the advantages and disadvantages of allocating various goods and services (e.g., sharing class toys, student time on playground equipment during recess, etc.).

E 2. Producers and consumers locally, nationally, and internationally engage in the exchange of goods and services.

E 2 (3-4)-1. Students demonstrate an understanding of the variety of ways producers and consumers exchange goods and services by…

E 2 (3-4)-1.a. Explaining the interdependence of buyers and sellers within various markets (e.g., barter, money, commodity money).

E 2 (3-4)-1.c. Explaining how market forces determine the amount of income for most people (e.g., people with rare skills can charge more).

E 3. Individuals, institutions and governments have roles in economic systems.

E 3 (3-4)-1. Students demonstrate an understanding of the interdependence created by economic decisions by…

E 3 (3-4)-1.a. Comparing how individuals, institutions, and governments interact within an economy (e.g. entrepreneurs start new businesses; individuals save money in banks, government redistributes money through taxing and spending).

E 3 (3-4)-2. Students demonstrate an understanding of the role of government in a global economy by…

E 3 (3-4)-2.a. Identifying how government redistributes tax income for public benefit through taxes (e.g., paying for work force training through schools).