Social Studies — Grade 4

What does it mean?

In Teaching about North Carolina American Indians, page 3.5

Introduction Visual symbols can be important ways of communicating ideas. Individuals, corporations, communities, and organizations use logos, seals, flags, icons, and other visual symbols to represent their values, share their histories, and send...

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 and 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Gazelia Carter.

Tobacco bag stringing: Elementary activity two

This activity for grades 3–6 will teach students how examining photographs can help them to better understand the past. This activity can be used as an introduction to looking at primary source photographs.

Format: lesson plan (multiple pages)

Tobacco bag stringing: Elementary activity three

In this activity for grades 3–6, students will read and evaluate primary source letters from the Tobacco Bag Stringing collection. This should be done after Activity one, which is the introductory activity about tobacco bag stringing.

Format: article (grade 3–5 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Tobacco bag stringing: Elementary activity one

This activity for grades 3–6 will help students understand what tobacco bag stringing was and why it was important to communities in North Carolina and Virginia. Students will read and analyze an adapted introductory article about tobacco bag stringing.

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Tobacco bag stringing: Elementary activity four

In this activity for grades 3–6, students will read and evaluate a primary source letter from the Tobacco Bag Stringing collection. This should be done after Activity one, which is the introductory activity about tobacco bag stringing. Students will investigate the influence of technology, and its lack, on the tobacco bag stringers. They will do a role play/debate in which they will assume the roles of owners of companies and other people that were involved in the issue.

Format: article (grade 3–5 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Site robbers

In Intrigue of the Past, page 5.6

Students will use an interview with a Native American to write a newspaper article or letter that expresses concern about robbing archaeological sites.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

North Carolina Cherokee Indians: The Trail of Tears

In this two week unit, students will study the Cherokee by participating in literature circles, learning about Native American story telling, writing a letter to Andrew Jackson to protest against the Creek War, and more.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Gina Golden.

North Carolina American Indian stories

In this lesson students will select and read stories from some of the North Carolina American Indian tribes. They will compare and contrast two stories of their choice and complete a Venn diagram. Students will use the information on the Venn diagram to write three paragraphs. After reading several American Indian tales or legends, students will then create their own legend using the narrative writing process.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Janice Gardner.

Lumbee learning

In Teaching about North Carolina American Indians, page 3.2

Introduction Education for the Lumbee tribe has always been important. After Reconstruction ended and the state of North Carolina began its journey to educate its people, no provisions were made for American Indians. Segregated schools provided education...

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 and 8 English Language Arts and Second Languages)

By Gazelia Carter.

Lumbee English

In Teaching about North Carolina American Indians, page 3.1

Introduction Linguist Walt Wolfram, a professor at North Carolina State University says, “The Lumbee English dialect bears the imprint of the early colonization by the English, Highland Scots, and Scots-Irish. Moreover, Lumbee American Indians’...

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 and 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Gazelia Carter.

Language families

In Intrigue of the Past, page 4.7

Students will identify and locate the three language families of contact period North Carolina and calculate the physical area covered by each language family.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 and 8 Mathematics and Social Studies)

Connecting folktales and culture in North Carolina and beyond

Students will explore connections to North Carolina culture as they engage in reading and analyzing three folktales of North Carolina Literary Festival author, William Hooks. After comparing these stories to other versions of the traditional tales, students will become authors and storytellers themselves as they rewrite a tale from a new cultural point of view. Opportunities are also included to extend this study to world cultures and folktales.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Jeanne Munoz.

Archaeological context

In Intrigue of the Past, page 1.5

In their study of context, students will use a game and a discussion to demonstrate the importance of artifacts in context for learning about past people.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 Social Studies)

Molly's Pilgrim Activity

Using the book by Barbara Cohen, students will respond to the social and historical significance of this portrayal of the Thanksgiving holiday. Students will also participate in constructing a Venn diagram and completing a cloze activity.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Susan Milholland, Kathy Vaden, and Rita Wilson.

Resources on the web

Mapping your state's culture

In this Xpeditions lesson, students explore the concept of culture. They learn about interesting aspects of North Carolina's culture, including arts, recreation, folklore, and cultural diversity. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 Social Studies)

Provided by: National Geographic