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4th grade · Social Studies · Unit 8 of 10

Making & Earning in New York

Farms, factories, finance and inventors

What your child practices

Farming, mining, lumbering and finance in New York, inventors and entrepreneurs such as Lewis Latimer, Thomas Jennings, Willis Carrier and Elisha Otis, the growth of factories from 1865 to 1915, and today's service and high-technology jobs.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 4.6; 4.6d; 4.6e; 4.6f; 4.6g · New York's farming, resources and finance, its inventors and entrepreneurs, industrialization and today's service and high-tech industries

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. New York’s work includes farming (milk earns the most), mining, lumbering and finance.
  2. Lumbering means cutting trees for wood and paper.
  3. Inventors like Lewis Latimer and Elisha Otis helped factories and cities grow.

Example: Which farm product earns New York’s farmers the most money? New York has many dairy farms. Dairy cows give milk. Answer: milk

Making & Earning in New York in New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 8 of 10 in 4th grade Social Studies, after The Erie Canal and before Coming to New York.

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: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

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

    New York's maple syrup is made from the sap of…

    • oak trees
    • pine trees
    • apple trees
    • sugar maple trees

  2. Question 2

    Which fruit is New York's state fruit and one of its biggest crops?

    • the apple
    • the orange
    • the pineapple
    • the banana

  3. Question 3

    Elisha Otis, of Yonkers, made elevators safe with his…

    • safety brake
    • light bulb
    • steam engine
    • telegraph

  4. Question 4

    As many factories moved out of New York, which kinds of jobs grew?

    • service and high-technology jobs
    • canal mule driving jobs
    • fur trading jobs
    • whaling jobs

  5. Question 5

    Jobs like nursing, teaching and working in a store are…

    • lumbering jobs
    • mining jobs
    • farming jobs
    • service jobs

  6. Question 6

    Gloversville got its name because its factories made…

    • glass
    • guitars
    • globes
    • gloves

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