Social Studies — Grade 4

Rock art

In Intrigue of the Past, page 5.3

Students will use art materials, drawings, and rock art examples to differentiate between symbol, petroglyph, pictograph, and rock art. They will also interpret rock art to illustrate its importance in the cultural heritage of a people and as a tool for learning about the past.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 and 8 Visual Arts Education and Social Studies)

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.

Naval stores

In Teaching about North Carolina American Indians, page 3.3

Introduction From early Colonial times until the Civil War, the naval industry was important to North Carolina. The term naval stores describes all products of the gum of the pine tree. The name itself explains its use in the shipbuilding industry....

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 Social Studies)

By Gazelia Carter.

Native American music: Two North Carolina tribes

In this lesson plan, students will listen to songs from two North Carolina tribes. Students will learn about the music through listening, analyzing, singing, moving, and playing instruments.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 Music Education and Social Studies)

By Merritt Raum Flexman.

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.

Legends: Dramatic story telling

In Teaching about North Carolina American Indians, page 5.1

Introduction The act of storytelling makes learning exciting. Participating in a dramatic presentation of American Indian Legends allows class members to create, learn, and teach. Learning Outcomes Students will select an American...

Format: lesson plan (grade 4, 6, and 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Linda Tabor.

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)

It's in the garbage

In Intrigue of the Past, page 1.9

In studying archaeological concepts, students will analyze garbage from different places demonstrate competence in applying the concepts of culture, context, classification, observation and inference, chronology and scientific inquiry.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 English Language Arts 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.

Cherokee clans

In Teaching about North Carolina American Indians, page 4.1

Introduction Hollywood movies have not accurately portrayed American Indians who lived in North Carolina. By researching and role playing the seven clans of the Cherokee, the false stereotypes will be replaced with factual knowledge and understanding....

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 Social Studies)

By Linda Tabor.

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

History in quilts

Students will recognize how people from different cultures and time periods have passed down the tradition of quiltmaking. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 Visual Arts Education and Social Studies)

Provided by: National Endowment for the Humanities

Geographic groceries

Students explore the regions of their grocery store to see which foods hang out together and why. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 1–7 Social Studies)

Provided by: National Geographic