Fourth Grade Social Studies

PEIMS Course Title/Number:
Social Studies 4/02660040

Prerequisite Requirements:
Course completion or grade placement.

Course of Instruction/Lesson Description:
K12's Grade 4 Social Studies program examines major themes, concepts, and skills in history, geography, civics, and economics primarily through the stories of great people, great civilizations, and great places. Students learn the biographies of famous men and women, as well as basic traditions of our own culture and of far-off people and places.

The Grade 4 program has two main parts:

• Part 1: Lessons that continue the chronological narrative of world history featured in K12's elementary program.
• Part 2: Lessons that focus on the history of Texas.

The instructional plan includes readings and activities on a range of topics and skills covering history, geography, civics, economics, and cultural studies. A typical lesson includes the following:

• Get Ready: A warm-up activity to reinforce content from the previous lesson and focus attention for the current lesson.
• Teaching Activity: This is the main text of the lesson, the "story" in history, often including an "online book" using illustrations, photographs, and media to help convey the content.
• Show You Know: Usually three to five short-answer questions that serve as a lesson assessment to help ensure understanding and help track the student's progress through the course.
• History Record Book: A journal that consists of writing a few sentences explaining main ideas in the lesson.
• Activity Choice: This "hands-on" part of the lesson gives the student a choice of activities that reinforce the lesson objectives. Activities include arts and crafts projects, drawing original pictures or coloring printed sheets of scenes relevant to the lesson content, dramatization and role-playing, delivering a speech, and writing in various formats.
• Beyond the Lesson: An optional activity that offers an additional learning opportunity for the child who wants to explore more about the topics introduced in the lesson.

Major course expectations include the following.
History

• Describe how individuals have shaped the history of various communities.
• Understand concepts of time, chronology, and change over time.
• Identify major characteristics and accomplishments of selected world civilizations.
• Associate leaders from history with their major accomplishments.
• Compare and contrast Native American groups in Texas and the western hemisphere prior to European exploration and settlement.
• Summarize causes and effects of European exploration and colonization of Texas.
• Discuss major figures and events in the Texas Revolution, the formation of the Republic of Texas, and the annexation of Texas to the United States.
• Discuss major figures, events, and changes in Texas from the late 19th century to the late 20th century.

Geography

• Demonstrate an ability to use a variety of maps and geographic tools to obtain and analyze information.
• Understand patterns and forces that shaped human settlement in Texas and other places studied.
• Recognize how people adapt to and modify their environment in Texas.
• Understand the concept of regions and describe regions of Texas.

Civics and Government

• Understand the responsibilities and obligations of good citizenship.
• Understand important customs, symbols, and celebrations of Texas.
• Describe different forms of government in the early development of Texas and in other civilizations studied.

Economics

• Understand basic economic patterns of early societies in Texas and in other civilizations studied.
• Discuss reasons for exploration and colonization.
• Understand basic concepts of free enterprise and economic interdependence.

Culture

• Become familiar with major artistic and architectural achievements from various cultures studied.
• Understand that civilizations came into contact with and influenced one another through trade, war, and cultural exchanges.
• Compare and contrast the beliefs and values of various cultures studied.
• Describe major contributions of people of various racial, ethnic, and religious groups to Texas.
• Use problem-solving, decision-making, and critical-thinking skills in gathering, organizing, and evaluating information.

Lesson Numbers/Duration:
125 total.

Online Importance:
K12's elementary Social Studies program provides step-by-step guidance in each lesson. Some activities are presented online, while others are presented offline.

Some of the lesson content is delivered online, including "online books" that narrate important events or introduce the lives of significant historical figures. Important activities are available only online, such as animations and slide shows.

The Teacher Guide provides the teacher with an outline of the lesson as well as information about assessment and supplemental material that can help the teacher support each student.

Monitoring Student Progress:
At the end of many lessons, students are asked to write an entry in their History Record Book. This writing journal reinforces learning, serves as a review tool, and helps track student progress.

Most Social Studies lessons include an assessment. The assessment helps the teacher gauge whether the student has met the lesson objectives.

Some of these assessments are completed online with results automatically recorded by the K12 Online School, while other assessments are completed with pencil and paper, and then results are entered online.

Students and parents can access student-specific screens to determine (1) progress in the number of lessons completed, (2) the lesson assessment (percentage mastered), (3) the semester assessment (percentage mastered), and (4) the number of times the student has taken the assessment instruments. Families who enroll their children in the eCP program have the benefit of help and guidance from an experienced teacher. The teacher will contact students daily through email and phone conferences. Consistent progress monitoring by the teacher will be utilized throughout the project period.

Schedule for Monitoring Student Progress:
Each teacher will establish a daily contact schedule for their assigned students at a time of day that is reasonably convenient for both parties. Contacts may be asynchronous/synchronous or one-on-one/groups. The avenues of teacher initiated contact will be adjusted as determined by the progress a student makes through their learning plan. Parent- and student-initiated contact with teachers can happen at any time. The Acting Director, or their designee, will monitor the communication logs to ensure that parents are being routinely supported and informed regarding the student's ongoing progress and participation.

In addition, teachers will monitor progress in mastery of objectives and lesson completion on a weekly basis. Continuous progress monitoring by the assigned teacher ensures that parents are informed on a regular basis regarding progress and participation.

Required Instructional Materials:
Materials K12 provides:

• Online lessons and assessments
• Inflatable globe
• U.S./world map
• National Geographic Map Essentials
• Grolier America the Beautiful website (online resource for Texas state history and geography)

Other materials:

• Arts and crafts supplies for projects
• Notebook

Standardized Assessment Instruments:
End-of-Course Exams developed by Texas Tech, University of Texas, or K12 Inc.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) Compliancy:
Side-by-side comparisons of TEKS and the content of each course have been developed and reviewed to ensure that the online curriculum meets or exceeds the TEKS.

Grading/Credit Award Criteria:
The Texas Virtual Academy at Southwest Schools issues formal report cards every nine weeks. Students who complete a significant amount of coursework after the conclusion of the final term will receive a supplemental report card in July. The final grade in each content subject, English/Language Arts, mathematics, Social Studies, and Science, is determined by a combination of the grades from each reporting period and the proctored course completion (CCE) exam. The average of the grades for each reporting period is comprised of 90% of the final grade. The scores of the CCE comprise 10% of the final grade.

The final grade for electives is based on cumulative progress recorded in the Online School (OLS). A grade of Completed, or C, is reported for 80% or more of the lessons marked as completed. A grade of Incomplete/Unacceptable, or I, is reported when less that 80% of the lessons are marked as completed. No Grade, or NG, is assigned if the student has administrative approval to waive the course requirements in a particular elective course.

To be promoted to the next grade, the student must meet the Student Success Initiative requirements for that grade. Additionally, the student must have a final score of 70 or above on at least three content courses and the average of the four content courses must be at least 70. For each reporting period, the grade in a content area subject is the average of at least six distinct grades. Those grades include, but are not limited to, the progress in the OLS converted to a numerical grade.

Contact Information:
Students will be assigned a teacher upon acceptance into TXVA@SW. The teacher will provide the student and family telephone and email contact information. The student and/or family may contact a help desk at 1-886-YOUR K12 for additional technical, material, or logistical support. Students will be provided with online assistance 24/7 through the TXVA web site.