4th grade Social Studies
8 units matched to the Oregon State Standards. Kids see this subject as “Our World”.
Focus areas
- Oregon, from time immemorial to the present
- The nine federally recognized Tribes of Oregon
- Oregon's government and economy
Units
Unit 1
Oregon's Land & Neighbors
Oregon's physical geography (Mount Hood, Crater Lake, the rain shadow, its great rivers), US regions and western capitals on maps, and how dams, wind turbines and the Beach Bill shape Oregon's land and people.
Learning standard: 4.G.GR.1; 4.G.GR.2; 4.G.HI.6; 4.G.GE.7 · reading regional maps, locating western states and neighbours, how geography shapes land use, and the effects of dams and wind power
Unit 2
The Nine Tribes of Oregon
Oregon's nine federally recognized Tribes, each named as it names itself: where their homelands are, Tribal sovereignty and constitutions, termination and restoration, and Tribes today. Light and in the present tense, following Tribal History/Shared History.
Learning standard: 4.C.PI.2; 4.G.GE.8; 4.H.CP.6; 4.G.MM.5 · the nine federally recognized Tribes of Oregon, their governments and constitutions, their homelands and their resilience
Unit 3
The Oregon Country
Tribes of the Oregon Country before and during exploration, Robert Gray, Lewis and Clark with Sacagawea and York, the fur trade, joint occupation, Champoeg and the Oregon Treaty, and comparing old and new maps.
Learning standard: 4.H.CH.1; 4.G.MM.4; 4.G.GR.3 · the Indigenous peoples of Oregon during exploration, patterns of exploration and settlement, and comparing historical maps
Unit 4
Trail to Statehood
The Oregon Trail, Manifest Destiny, the Donation Land Claim Act, Oregon Territory, statehood on February 14, 1859, and the racist exclusion laws of early Oregon, from many points of view.
Learning standard: 4.H.CE.5; 4.H.CH.2 · the Oregon Trail's significance and the role of Manifest Destiny and racial prejudice in Oregon's path to statehood
Unit 5
Resistance, Resilience & Change
Tribal resistance in the Rogue River and Modoc Wars and Chief Joseph's Nez Perce, and the experiences of Chinese, Japanese American, Black and Mexican workers and families in Oregon. Told plainly and age-appropriately.
Learning standard: 4.H.CC.3; 4.H.CE.4; 4.H.CP.7; 4.H.CP.8 · Indigenous resistance, how change affected underrepresented groups, the legacy of discrimination, and conflicts in Oregon's history
Unit 6
Governing Oregon
Oregon's 1857 constitution and how it has changed, the governor, the 30-member Senate and 60-member House, the Supreme Court, the initiative, referendum and recall, and laws Oregon voters and lawmakers made, such as women's suffrage in 1912 and the Bottle Bill.
Learning standard: 4.C.PI.1; 4.C.IR.3; 4.C.DP.4; 4.C.CE.5 · the creation and parts of Oregon's constitution, equality in it, and the initiative process and civic participation
Unit 7
Oregon's Economy
Kinds of pay (wages, salaries, commissions and tips), budgets, taxes and services, supply and demand for Oregon products, targeted marketing, staying safe online, and trade.
Learning standard: 4.E.ES.1; 4.E.ES.2; 4.E.ES.3; 4.E.MI.4; 4.E.MI.5; 4.E.IC.6; 4.E.IC.7; 4.E.IC.8; 4.E.IC.9; 4.E.ST.10 · kinds of pay, taxes, producers and consumers, supply and demand for Oregon goods, budgets, marketing, online safety and trade
Unit 8
Oregon Through Time
Ordering events in Oregon's history from the first explorers on the Columbia to statehood, the Oregon System, Tribal restoration and vote by mail.
Learning standard: 4.H.CH.1; 4.H.CE.4 · Oregon's history in order, from exploration and settlement to change in the 1900s
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