CA Content Standards Social Studies

California Content Standards

Scroll down to fifth grade to view our content standards for fourth grade.

Day Two Lesson

After watching the PowerPoint, we are going to apply our skills using biographies. Choose one of the four biographies below and trace their route on a US map and record key points about your person.

James Beckwourth

John C Fremont

Pio Pico

John Bidwell

Day One Lesson

Please watch the Powerpoint and answer the questions from the slides.

PowerPoint

Pre-day one marterial

Day One of the lesson requires you to watch and answer the questions from the powerpoint. But, before you do please review the following material regarding the APART methods:

APART method:

Author – Who is the author?  What do you know about the author’s background and biases?

Point –What is the main point or argument of the work? Does the author make a solid case?  Does the author present reliable evidence? What format does the author use to build his/her argument?

Audience – Who is the intended audience? How might the author have tailored the document to the intended audience?

Reason – Why did the author write the source? What is the underlying (unspoken) motive for the writing of this document?  What unspoken assumptions does the text contain?

Time and Place – When and where was the source created?  How did the cultural and historical context influence the writing of this piece? What does this document reveal about the historical period under study?

Final Project

The lesson that I am using is one that I had to make for one of my other classes. It is a fourth grade lesson on Why people moved to California. It is a 2 day lesson and I am going to post my lesson plan to this post.

Lesson Plan

Concept / Topic to Teach: How and why did people travel to California?

History and Social Studies Standards: CA Standard 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

Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills: 

·         Chronological and Spatial Thinking

o   Students use map and globe skills to determine the absolute locations of places and interpret information available through a map’s or globes legend, scale, and symbolic representations

·         Historical Research, Evidence, and Point of View

o   Students differentiate between primary and secondary sources.

o   Students pose relevant questions about events they encounter in historical documents, eyewitness accounts, oral histories, letters, diaries, artifacts, photographs, maps, artworks, and architecture.

·         Historical Interpretation

o   Students summarize the key events of the era they are studying and explain the historical contexts of those events.

o   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.

Multiple Intelligences:

·         Mathematical-Logical Intelligence

·         Visual-Spatial Intelligence

·         Interpersonal Intelligence

·         Intrapersonal Intelligence

Organization: Divide class into 4 groups

Grade Level: 4^th grade

Time Duration: 2 Days (1 hour each day)

Required Materials:

·         PowerPoint Presentation

·         Map of world (enlarged/should already have up in classroom)

·         Explorer Biographies

·         Handouts

o   Outline Map of the Western United States

o   California Travelers Graphic Organizer

·         Art Supplies

Step-By-Step Procedures:

Day 1

o   PowerPoint Lesson Plan (attached printed out slide)

§  Go through the PowerPoint lesson and perform the mini ACT IT OUT that is included in the PowerPoint

Day 2

o   Introduce Activity:

§  Explain that the people who came to California in the 1700s and 1800s traveled in many different ways.  Using a classroom map of the world, describe many ways settlers came to California: overland from the East, across the Pacific Ocean from Asia, around Cape Horn, and across the Isthmus of Panama

o   Activity Steps:

1)      Divide the class into four groups.  Assign each group one of the following people: James Beckwourth, John Bidwell, John C. Fremont, and Pio Pico, and five them the corresponding Biographies.  Give each student and Outline Map of the Western United States handout and a California Travelers Graphic Organizer hand out

2)      Have members of each group read their biographies and record key points about the person in the appropriate section of the graphic organizer.  They most also label the route their person traveled on the map

3)      Project a large version of the Outline Map of the Western United States handout on the board.  Provide time for each group to share its findings with the class (6 minutes per group) and label the person’s route on the large map.  Have the rest of the class record the key points in the appropriate section of their graphic organizers, and then label the person’s travel route on their outline maps.  Conduct a discussion comparing and contrasting the journeys.

Extending the Lesson:

·         Depending on the time you have you can take the students outside for PE and have them complete and obstacle course and you can relate it back to the difficulties people had when coming to California and all the obstacles they had to overcome.

·         If you are teaching this lesson in the fall and you have a corn maze nearby, you can take a class field trip their and divide the class into four different groups and they have to find their way out of the corn maze.  However, they have to keep track of the route they take and you can relate it back to this topic.

References:

·         “Our California.” White, William. Our California. Illinois: Pearson Education Inc., 2006.

·         http://www.eduplace.com/kids/socsci/ca/books/bkd/

·         http://www.cahistorysocialscience.com/pdfs/g4_teacher_pp.pdf

·         www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WWbidwell.htm

·         http://www.sierranevadavirtualmuseum.com/docs/galleries/history/chronicles/bidwell.html

·         http://www.civilwarstlouis.com/bios/fremont.htm

·         http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAfremont.htm

·         http://www.piopico.org/Life_of_Pio_Pico.htm

·         http://www.laalmanac.com/history/hi05s.htm

·         http://www.beckwourth.org/Biography/index.html

My Top 5 Quotes

1. "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." -Benjamin Franklin
2. "Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t." – Jerry Rice 
3. "Learning is not a spectator sport". – D. Blocher
4. "If you can dream it, you can do it." - Walt Disney
5. " The best way to predict your future is to create it." – Abraham Lincoln

Useful Links

 Homework Help http://www.khanacademy.org/
 Lunch Schedule  http://www.redclay.k12.de.us/nutrition/Elementary/month.htm
 Homework Help www.homeworkhelp.com
 Bell Schedule http://www.grant.smmusd.org/Bells.html

Classroom Expectations

RESPECT - Respect yourself, respect others, and respect your classroom.
EFFORT - Pay attention, listen carefully, and always do your best.
ATTITUDE - Be positive, helpful, and courteous. Keep negative comments to yourself.
COOPERATION - Be willing to work with everyone.
HONESTY - Always tell the truth!

About Me

Hi, my name is Mr.Torres and I am going to be your 4th grade teacher. I graduated from Sac State with my Liberal Studies degree in 2012 and am currently getting my multiple subject teaching credential from National University. When I am not in the classroom I am usually busy spending time with my family. I am the oldest of 4 children, so I spend a lot of time going to their different events. Right now it is my youngest brother who is the most active, so I have been spending a lot of my time at his baseball games. I also am a very big sports fan. My favorite teams that I follow are the SF Giants, Sacramento Kings, and the SF 49ers. I like to watch the games on tv, as well as go to a few live games a year at the different stadiums. There is a lot more that you will learn about me throughout the year, and I also hope to learn a lot about my students as well. I look forward to an exciting year!

Welcome to 4th Grade!

Hello and welcome to 4th grade.  I am very excited to have you in my class and look forward to getting to know you and having a great year.