Fourth Grade - History/Social Studies

Fourth-grade students in SFUSD engage in an average of 45 minutes (through both integrated and stand-alone units) of social studies instruction from 4-5 days a week. There will be 3-5 week stand-alone units that alternate with Science units during the year. Students in 4th grade are becoming more aware of the complexities that exist in the world around them. They are reflecting on their place in the world and how the actions of those in the past still impact our present day. 

Fourth graders are more critical of the information presented to them and are developing their evaluative skills. They are shifting their self-identity and ideas from what their parents and other adults think to making their own claims and providing evidence. In order to foster these higher-level thinking skills we shift focus in fourth grade to becoming historians.

Our first unit has been developed and graciously provided by our SFUSD Indian Education Program. It focuses on how indigenous cultures have persisted through time and continue to be a vital part of our community today, which will give a much-needed lens to our second unit. The second unit takes the students through California’s complex history of colonization and the history of the missions. Our third unit will look at the impact of the Gold Rush and the move into statehood.

California Indian Unit - This unit was made as a 4th grade unit, but covers the CA HSS standards for 3rd grade. The focus of this unit is the Ohlone people who have never ceded the land that is now known as San Francisco. We are using this unit as we adopt/adapt new HSS curriculum for our district. Any questions regarding this unit should be addressed to:
MaryHelen Sherman at shermanm1@sfusd.edu
Our History/Social Studies Team has also included additional resources about other California Indian groups across the state if needed.

Students explore the story of how the invasion and colonization from Spain changed California forever. Students begin to examine timelines and how they can both tell and silence events in history. Students investigate how California’s landscape and natural resources made it attractive to European invaders. Students research why Spain chose to colonize and create Missions in California. Students further investigate and discuss the lasting effects of colonization on the land and indigenous people of California as Spain lost control and the Mexican Rancho system took over.

Students explore the events of the Gold rush and the impact it had on the people and the land. Students investigate the Chinese experience during the Gold rush and how it impacted their rights for decades. Students also look at the Gold Rush from several perspectives to try to gain a better understanding through the use of primary sources. Students are also learning how to evaluate and analyze different sources.

Students engage in authentic cycles of inquiry: developing questions & planning inquiry, applying disciplinary tools & concepts, evaluating sources & using evidence, and communicating conclusions & taking informed action.

Students take action in their community based on the information they have gathered throughout their inquiry. (Check out the next two and a half minutes of the video for an explanation.)