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4th grade · Social Studies · Unit 7 of 9

Colonial Trade & Work

Resources, trade and choices

What your child practices

Resources, specialization and trade in the colonies, mercantilism, and the Atlantic slave trade and its impact on African peoples, told plainly and age-appropriately.

Arizona Academic Standards learning standard: 4.E3.1; 4.E2.1 · industries, work and trade in the colonies, and scarcity and choice

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Needs are things people must have, like food and shelter. Wants are nice to have.
  2. Colonists specialized and traded, sometimes by barter: trading goods without money.
  3. The Atlantic slave trade took millions of Africans from their homes and tore families apart.

Example: What is barter? Money is not used. Goods are swapped directly. Answer: trading goods directly without money

Colonial Trade & Work in Arizona

In the Arizona Academic Standards, this is unit 7 of 9 in 4th grade Social Studies, after The Thirteen Colonies and before History Detective.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Arizona Department of Education

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Why do people who specialize also trade?

    • They have too much money
    • They never need anything
    • They need goods that others make
    • Trade is against the law

  2. Question 2

    What is a merchant?

    • A soldier
    • A person who buys and sells goods
    • A judge
    • A ship's anchor

  3. Question 3

    Which is a service in a colonial town?

    • A sack of flour
    • A doctor treating a patient
    • A pair of shoes
    • A wooden chair

  4. Question 4

    Increasing productivity means…

    • Working longer for less
    • Making nothing
    • Making more in the same amount of time
    • Paying more taxes

  5. Question 5

    How did trade link the colonies to other parts of the world?

    • They traded only with each other
    • They traded only with China
    • Ships carried goods to and from Europe, Africa and the Caribbean
    • Trade was banned

  6. Question 6

    What is trade?

    • Paying a fine
    • Building a fort
    • Keeping everything for yourself
    • Exchanging goods or services

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