Grade 4

Other Massachusetts History and Social Science sets

• Grade Pre-K
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• Grade 1
• Grade 2
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• Eighth Grade - United States and Massachusetts Government and Civic Life
• Grade 8
• Grades 9, 10
• U.S. History I
• World History I (2018)
• US History I
• Grades 11, 12
• US History II

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On a physical map of North America, use cardinal directions, map scales, key/legend (symbols for mountains, rivers, deserts, lakes, cities), and title to locate and identify important physical features (e.g., Mississippi and Rio Grande Rivers, Great Lakes, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Gulf of Mexico, Hudson's Bay, Appalachian Mountains, Rocky Mountains, Sierra Madre, the Great Basin, Mojave, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan Deserts, the Yucatan Peninsula, the Caribbean Sea).4.T1.1

On a political map of North America, locate Canada and its provinces, Mexico and its states, the nations of the Caribbean, and the United States of America and its states; explain the meaning of the terms continent, country, nation, county, state, province, and city.4.T1.2

Research, analyze, and convey information about Canada or Mexico by consulting maps, atlases, encyclopedias, digital information and satellite images, photographs, or news articles; organizing materials, and making an oral or written presentation about topics such as the peoples, population size, languages, forms of government, major cities, environment, natural resources, industries, and national landmarks.4.T1.3

Evaluate competing theories about the origins of people in North America (e.g., theories that people migrated across a land bridge that connected present-day Siberia to Alaska or theories that they came by a maritime route) and evidence for dating the existence of early populations in North America to about 15,000 years ago.4.T2.1

Using maps of historic Native Peoples' culture regions of North America and photographs, identify archaeological evidence of some of the characteristics of major civilizations of this period (e.g., stone tools, ceramics, mound-building, cliff dwellings).4.T2.2

Explain how archaeologists conduct research (e.g., by participating in excavations, studying artifacts and organic remains, climate and astronomical data, and collaborating with other scholars) to develop theories about migration, settlement patterns, and cultures in prehistoric periods.4.T2.3

Give examples of some archaeological sites of Native Peoples in North America that are preserved as national or state monuments, parks, or international heritage sites (e.g., Teotihuacan in Mexico, Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site in Illinois, Chaco Culture National Historic Park in New Mexico) and explain their importance in presenting a comprehensive history of Americans and American life.4.T2.4

Explain how historians studying the European voyages to the Americas use archaeological evidence, maps, illustrations, and texts produced in Europe at the time, and that all of these materials are called primary sources.4.T3.1

Explain who the Vikings were and describe evidence of their early encounters with Native Peoples along the North American Atlantic coast.4.T3.2

Trace on a map European explorations of North America and the Caribbean Islands in the 15th and 16th centuries (e.g., voyages of Vasco Nun͂es de Balboa, Jacques Cartier, Cristobal Colon [Christopher Columbus], Ferdinand Magellan, Juan Ponce De Leon, Amerigo Vespucci, Hernán Cortés), evaluate the reasons for the voyages, noting that they were part of an effort by European nations to expand their empires, find new routes for trade with Asia, new opportunities for colonization, and new natural resources; make a timeline of their landings and conquests.4.T3.3

Describe how the construction of canals, roads, and railways in the 19th century helped the United States to expand westward.4.T4.1

Give examples of some of the ways the United States acquired new states (beyond the 13 original states) and additional territories between 1791 and 1898, including purchasing land called the Louisiana Territory from France, adding territory in the Southwest as a result of war with Mexico, settling a treaty with Britain to gain land called the Oregon Territory in the Northwest, purchasing Alaska from Russia, annexing Hawaii, and adding territories such as Puerto Rico as a result of a war with Spain.4.T4.2

Compare different reasons why men and women who lived in the Eastern part of the United States wanted to move West in the 19th century, and describe aspects of pioneer life on the frontier (e.g., wagon train journeys on the Oregon and Santa Fe Trails, and settlements in the western territories).4.T4.3

Explain that many different groups of people immigrated to the United States from other places voluntarily and some were brought to the United States against their will (as in the case of people of Africa).4.T4.4

Show understanding that in the middle of the 19th century, the people of the United States were deeply divided over the question of slavery and its expansion into newly settled parts of the West, which led to the Civil War from 1861 to 1865.4.T4.5

On a political map of the United States, locate the states in the Northeast (listed alphabetically: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont).4.T4a.1

Using resources such as print and online atlases, topographical maps, or road maps, construct a map of the Northeast that shows important cities, state capitals, physical features (e.g., waterways and mountains), and that includes a title, scale, compass, and map key.4.T4a.2

Explain the benefits in the 18th century of becoming a state in the United States (as opposed to a British colony) and, as a class, construct a timeline that shows when each of the states in the region was admitted into the United States (Connecticut-1788, Maine, originally part of Massachusetts-1788, as a separate state-1820, Massachusetts-1788, New Hampshire-1788, New Jersey-1787, New York-1788, Pennsylvania-1787, Rhode Island-1790, Vermont-1791).4.T4a.3

Develop questions, conduct research, and analyze how people have adapted to the environment of the Northeast, and how physical features and natural resources affected settlement patterns, the growth of major urban/suburban areas, industries or trade.4.T4a.4

Describe the diverse cultural nature of the region, including contributions of Native Peoples (e.g., Wampanoag, Iroquois, Abenaki), Africans, Europeans (e.g., the early settlements of the Dutch in New York, French near Canada, Germans in Pennsylvania, the English in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire, subsequent 19th and early 20th century immigration by groups such as Irish, Italian, Portuguese, and Eastern Europeans) and various other immigrant groups from other regions of the world in the later 20th and 21st centuries (e.g., Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Mexicans, Salvadorans, Colombians, Guatemalans, Brazilians, Haitians, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Chinese, Indians, and Somalis).4.T4a.5

On a political map of the United States, locate the states and the national capital city in the Southeast, and the U.S. territories in the Caribbean; add to the timeline the admission dates for states in the Southeast (listed alphabetically: Alabama-1819, Arkansas-1836, Delaware-1787, Florida-1845, Georgia-1788, Kentucky-1792, Louisiana-1812, Maryland-1788, Mississippi-1817, North Carolina-1789, South Carolina-1788, Tennessee-1796, Virginia-1788, West Virginia-1863); territories Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands.4.T4b.1

Describe the diverse cultural nature of the region, including contributions of Native Peoples (e.g., Powhatan Chiefdom, Seminole, Cherokee, Creek), African Americans, Europeans (e.g., the early Spanish settlements in Florida) and immigrant groups from other regions of the world.4.T4b.2

Explain how natural disasters, such as hurricanes and floods, have affected the region, and how government and citizens have responded to catastrophic natural events.4.T4b.3

Describe the role of Washington, D.C. as the national capital, and give examples of its national cultural and civic resources (e.g., the White House, U.S. Capitol Building, Supreme Court, Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, cemeteries and monuments).4.T4b.4

Using resources such as print and online atlases, or state websites, construct a map of a state in the Southeast region that provides information about physical features (e.g., waterways and mountains) and that includes a title, scale, compass, and map key.4.T4b.5

On a political map of the United States, locate the states in the Midwest; add to the timeline the admission dates for states in the Midwest (listed alphabetically: Illinois-1818, Indiana-1816, Iowa-1846, Kansas-1861, Michigan-1838, Minnesota-1858, Missouri-1821, Nebraska-1867, North Dakota-1889, Ohio-1803, South Dakota-1889, Wisconsin-1848).4.T4c.1

Describe the diverse cultural nature of the region, including contributions of Native Peoples (e.g., Sioux, Mandan, Ojibwe/Chippewa), African Americans, Europeans and immigrant groups from other regions of the world.4.T4c.2

Explain how natural disasters, such as tornadoes and drought, have affected the region, and how government and citizens have responded to catastrophic natural events.4.T4c.3

Using resources such as print and online atlases, historical sources, or national or state websites, construct a map of a state in the Midwest region that provides information about physical features (e.g., waterways and mountains), natural resources and industries such as agriculture and that includes a title, scale, compass, and map key.4.T4c.4

On a political map of the United States, locate the states in the Southwest; add to the timeline the admission dates for states in the Southwest (listed alphabetically, Arizona-1912, New Mexico-1912, Oklahoma-1907, and Texas-1845).4.T4d.1

Explain that Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico were territories that formerly belonged to Mexico; that Texas declared independence from Mexico in 1836, and that Arizona and New Mexico were taken by the United States as a result of the Mexican-American War 1846-1848.4.T4d.2

Describe the diverse cultural nature of the region, including contributions of Native Peoples (e.g., Pueblo, Navajo, Apache, Comanche), African Americans, Europeans (e.g., the Spanish in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico), Mexicans, and immigrant groups from other regions of the world settling in the region over time.4.T4d.3

Explain how natural disasters, such as hurricanes and drought, have affected the region, and how government and citizens have responded to catastrophic natural events.4.T4d.4

Using resources such as print and online atlases, historical sources, or state websites, construct a map of a state in the Southwest region that provides information about physical features (e.g., waterways and mountains), climate, settlements and movements of Native Peoples (including current reservation lands), European exploration and pioneer settlements of the 17th-19th centuries and that includes a title, scale, compass, and map key.4.T4d.5

On a political map of the United States, locate the states in the West and the U.S. territories in the Pacific Ocean; add to the timeline the admission dates for states in the Southwest (states listed alphabetically, Alaska-1959, California-1850, Colorado-1876, Hawaii-1959, Idaho-1890, Montana-1889, Nevada-1864, Oregon-1859, Utah-1896, Washington-1889, Wyoming-1890); territories: American Samoa, Guam, Midway Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, and Wake Island.4.T4e.1

Explain that California, Colorado, and Utah were territories that belonged to Mexico and were taken by the United States as a result of the Mexican-American War 1846-1848.4.T4e.2

Describe the diverse cultural nature of the region, including contributions of Native Peoples (e.g., Paiute, Coast Salish) African Americans, Europeans (e.g. the Spanish in California), the Mexicans, the Chinese, Japanese, and immigrant groups from other regions of the world over time.4.T4e.3

Explain how disasters, such as drought and forest fires, have affected the region, and how government and citizens have responded to catastrophic events.4.T4e.4

Using resources such as print and online atlases, or state websites, construct a map of a state in the West region that provides information about physical features (e.g., waterways and mountains), important landmarks, national parks, and historic sites and that includes a title, scale, compass, and map key.4.T4e.5