Grade Level: 4

Getting to Know Connecticut's History

Concepts
Change and Continuity

Enduring Understandings
Interacting cultures create cultural change.
People migrate to seek freedom, new opportunities, or to escape oppression.
People can express values and principles through symbols.
Leaders, ideas, and significant events shape the development of states.
Social and Political conflicts may arise from the inability to further adapt personal values, beliefs, and perspectives.
Nations establish colonies for their economic and political interests.
Humans adapt to and modify the physical environment to suit changing needs and wants for things such as food, clothing, water, shelter, energy, and recreational facilities.
State governments are established by state constitutions with purposes and functions similar to the controlling government.

Skills
1.  Develop questions for investigation of a topic.
2.  Identify people/places that could provide information.
3.  Collect historical data from multiple sources.
4.  Identify trends, causes and effects.
5.  Describe artifacts and observations.
6.  Read and interpret maps to answer questions in regards to physical characteristics.
7.  Create timelines which sequence events, people, and years.
8.  Write short narratives and statements of historical ideas.
9.  Determine when it is appropriate to express and act on personal convictions.
10. Summarize information from reading.

Economics and Geography of Connecticut

Concepts
Interdependence and Dependence

Enduring Understandings
The physical characteristics of places includes climate, landforms, soil, hydrology, vegetation, and animal life.
States have geographical and political boundaries.
Geographic tools and representations are used to consider spatial concepts, locations, distance, direction, scale, and movement.
Population growth and urbanization create stress on environmental systems.
Government provides services to the citizens of the state: education, law enforcement, health services, hospitals, roads and highways, and public welfare.
Land in a region is divided into industrial, recreational, commercial, and residential use.
The geography and economy of a region suggest the kind of industry.
Supply and demand are interdependent.
Communication and transportation technologies are important to Connecticut's businesses and why?
Advance in technology lead to the development of new products and materials which can strengthen the economy of a state.
Interacting cultures create cultural and economic change.
People migrate to seek freedom, new opportunities, or to escape oppression.

Skills
1.  Identify trends, causes and effects.
2.  Summarize information from reading.
3.  Recognize conflicting views and identify trade-offs.
4.  Prepare maps to display geographic information.
5.  Use maps to observe and interpret geographic relationships.
6.  Ask geographic questions.

Government and Civics of Connecticut

Concepts
Culture/Civilization

Enduring Understandings
In a democracy, the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government are responsible for making, enforcing, and interpreting the laws of the state.
In a democracy, voting citizens participate in the selection of leaders.
Laws protect rights, provide order, security, and benefits, and limit the control of people in authority.
Cultures may choose to resist, or adapt to, foreign cultural influences in order to preserve their traditional beliefs and customs.
Over time, a cultural group may assimilate beliefs and practices from other places into their cultural identity and daily lives.
Government provides services to the citizens of the state: education, law enforcement, health services, hospitals, road and highways, and public welfare.
Individuals and businesses may be taxed to support government services.

Skills
1.  Identify trends, causes and effects.
2.  Accept and fulfill civic responsibility
3.  Use conflict resolution strategies to solve a problem
4.  Make a choice after listening to different options
5.  Work individually and with other to determine a course of action
6.  Determine when it is appropriate to express and act on personal convictions
7.  Discuss community issues in a civil manner
8.  Summarize information from reading
9.  Collect data from multiple sources
10. Read for a purpose
11. Identify main ideas and details