New York State 4th Grade Curriculum

Introduction This year in fourth grade you will learn all about our wonderful state of New York! Your year in 4th grade will begin with the history of New York state in which you will learn about topics such as how New York became a state, early travelers, Native Americans, and early industries. As the year progresses we will discuss more current topics about New York and end with the current day. To get us started I have developed a WebQuest activity to get your minds moving in the right direction. In this WebQuest you will research different websites and learn many facts about New York. You will be asked to do two activities that will show me what you learned on your journey!

Task You will explore at least three websites about New York State. You will list three facts you learned from each of those sites. You will create a poster board that displays 4 of those facts and present it to the class. You will use pictures and labels on your poster board that are related to your facts. You will write a letter to me explaining why you choose those four facts and what are you most excited to learn about New York State in 4th grade.

Process Step 1: Explore at least three of the following sites. Click on different links to learn different facts about New York State. On the graphic organizer write three interesting facts your learned from each site you visited. I Love NY – The Official New York State Tourism Site http://www.iloveny.com/About-The-State/New-York-State-History.aspx New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation http://nysparks.com/historic-sites/ New-York Historical Society http://www.nyhistory.org/ Fun and Facts Kids Room http://www.dos.ny.gov/kids_room/508/home2.html Big Apple History http://pbskids.org/bigapplehistory/index-flash.html Ipl2 For Kids http://www.ipl.org/div/stateknow/ny1.html

Process Step 2: On a piece of poster board: Write four facts that interested you the most about New York State Come up with a creative title for your board Use pictures and labels to help enhance your facts Make sure it is neat and all your facts are correct Include the websites that you used on the bottom of the poster board Present your board to the class

Conclusion Write a letter to Ms. Scharf explaining: Your four facts What website you liked best and best What topics you are most excited to learn about in 4th grade social studies This letter will be taken for a grade so please show me your best work!

Evaluation Criteria Indicators Good 2 Very Good 3 Excellent 4 Letter Needs Improvement 1 Good 2 Very Good 3 Excellent 4 Letter 4 different facts What website you liked the best What do you want to learn about Missing 2 or more of the 3 criteria Missing 1 criteria All criteria is met All criteria is met and more Presentation Board Title Pictures and labels Websites listed Creativity Missing 3 or more of the 5 criteria Missing 1-2 of the criteria All criteria are met and more Form Neatness Spelling Sentence Structure Organization 5 to 6 errors 3 to 4 errors 2-0 errors No Errors