4th grade Social Studies: how to help at home
What your child learns in 4th grade social studies in the Maine Learning Results, and simple things to try at home.
Focus areas this year
- Maine's land and its history
- Governing Maine
- Maine's economy and the Wabanaki Nations today
Easy ways to practice social studies at home
- Look at a map of your community and find places you visit.
- Ask an older relative or neighbor what the area was like when they were young.
- Read stories from many communities, including Indigenous authors, and talk about what is the same and different.
- Talk about how rules and jobs help a community work.
What each unit covers
World Maps & Globes
Continents and oceans, hemispheres, latitude and longitude, map scale, projections and kinds of maps.
History Detective
Primary and secondary sources, timelines and centuries, fact and opinion, claims and evidence, and judging a source by its maker, date and purpose, using early American history.
Maine on the Map
Maine's place in New England, latitude, longitude, the equator and prime meridian, map scale and keys, Maine's 16 counties and land regions, and how the land shapes where people live and work.
Maine's Story
Maine's history: the Wabanaki first, early explorers and colonies, the Revolution in Maine, statehood in 1820 and the Missouri Compromise, the Aroostook War, the Civil War, mills and ships, and Mainers such as Margaret Chase Smith. Also primary and secondary sources.
Maine Timeline
Ordering events in Maine's history from 1604 to 2020, reading years and centuries, and working out how long ago things happened.
Governing Maine
The Constitution of Maine, the three branches of state government (the Governor, the 186-member Legislature and the Supreme Judicial Court), how a bill becomes a law, town meetings and select boards, the rule of law and the common good.
Maine at Work
Maine's economy (lobster, wild blueberries, potatoes, forest products, shipbuilding and tourism), goods and services, scarcity and opportunity cost, producers and consumers, and how banks and credit unions help people save.
The Wabanaki Nations
The four Wabanaki Tribes in Maine today (Penobscot Nation, Passamaquoddy Tribe, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and Mi'kmaq Nation), their communities, governments, languages and arts, Wabanaki place names, and how Wabanaki history is taught in Maine. Light, in the present tense, with nothing sacred or ceremonial.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Beginning
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Approaching
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practicing the tricky parts.
- Meeting
- Has it! Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Exceeding
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the Maine report card guide.
Common questions
Look at a map of your community and find places you visit. Ask an older relative or neighbor what the area was like when they were young. Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
The Maine Learning Results 4th grade social studies units include World Maps & Globes, History Detective, Maine on the Map, Maine's Story, Maine Timeline, Governing Maine.
Free printable 4th grade social studies practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.