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4th grade · Social Studies · Unit 3 of 10

Explorers & New Netherland

From New Amsterdam to New York

What your child practices

Verrazzano, Hudson and Champlain, the Dutch fur trade and New Netherland, the English takeover in 1664, Dutch words and place names that last today, and the many peoples of colonial New York, including free and enslaved Africans.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 4.3; 4.3a; 4.3b · European exploration of New York's waterways, the Dutch colony of New Netherland and life in colonial New York

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Verrazzano, Hudson and Champlain explored the area in the 1500s and 1600s.
  2. The Dutch built New Netherland and New Amsterdam for the fur trade.
  3. The English took over in 1664 and renamed it New York. Dutch words and place names remain.

Example: In 1664, which country took over New Netherland? It was renamed New York after an English duke. So it was taken by England. Answer: England

Explorers & New Netherland in New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 3 of 10 in 4th grade Social Studies, after Haudenosaunee & Algonquian Peoples and before Wars for 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

    In 1609, Henry Hudson explored the river now named after him while sailing for the…

    • Chinese
    • Portuguese
    • Dutch
    • Spanish

  2. Question 2

    New Amsterdam became…

    • Boston
    • New York City
    • Philadelphia
    • Albany

  3. Question 3

    The Lenape and the Dutch often understood land deals differently because…

    • the Dutch had never seen land before
    • the Lenape saw land as shared for use, and the Dutch saw it as owned
    • neither group used land
    • the Lenape lived only on boats

  4. Question 4

    Wall Street got its name from…

    • a wall around Albany
    • a wall of an Ellis Island building
    • a wall of the Erie Canal
    • a wall the Dutch built in New Amsterdam

  5. Question 5

    Samuel de Champlain, who explored the lake now named after him, sailed for…

    • England
    • Spain
    • the Netherlands
    • France

  6. Question 6

    Which word came into English from Dutch?

    • kindergarten
    • patio
    • canoe
    • boss

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