Unit Plan 36 (Grade 4 Social Studies): Cumulative Synthesis & Exhibition
Showcase yearlong learning by curating maps, timelines, civic projects, and economic displays in a polished State Story Exhibition that highlights geography, history, government, and interdependence through clear, evidence-based explanations.
Focus: Show what you know about our state, history, government, geography, and economy by designing a Cumulative Synthesis & Exhibition that includes regional maps, historical timelines, civic projects, and economic displays. Students curate and polish work from earlier units, create short explanations using evidence, and present their learning to an audience.
Grade Level: 4
Subject Area: Social Studies (Inquiry • Civics • Geography • History • Economics)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 45–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
In this final unit, students step into the role of historians, geographers, economists, and citizens preparing a “State Story Exhibition.” They pull together learning from the entire year: regional maps, historical timelines, sources, civic projects, and resource/economy investigations. Working individually or in small groups, students select key artifacts (or create polished versions), write brief captions and explanations, and organize them into a display station. At the end of the week, the class hosts an exhibition or gallery walk to teach others what they’ve learned about their state.
Essential Questions
- How has our understanding of our state grown across geography, history, government, and economics this year?
- How can we use maps, timelines, sources, and projects to tell a clear story about our state’s regions, past, and present?
- What does it mean to explain our learning with evidence, not just opinions?
- How can students communicate their knowledge to an audience in a way that is clear, organized, and engaging?
- How have we grown as inquirers, citizens, and problem solvers over the course of the year?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Review and select key work from prior units representing all strands: Inquiry (Inq), Civics (Civ), Geography (Geo), History (Hist), and Economics (Econ).
- Create or refine at least one regional map, one historical timeline element, one civic project or action example, and one economic/resources display related to the state.
- Use inquiry skills to organize evidence: form a focus question, choose artifacts, and write captions that answer the question using facts and examples.
- Explain geographic, historical, civic, and economic concepts in student-friendly language, showing how they connect (e.g., how landforms influenced settlement or industries).
- Collaborate with peers to design and set up a coherent exhibition station with a title, labeled visuals, and oral or written explanations.
- Present and reflect on their learning, describing how their thinking about their state and citizenship has changed since the beginning of the year.
Standards Alignment — 4th Grade (C3-based custom, comprehensive spiral)
This unit revisits and integrates key ideas across all strands:
- 4.C3.Inq (Inquiry) — Asking and refining questions; gathering and evaluating sources; developing explanations with evidence; communicating conclusions and action ideas.
- 4.C3.Civ (Civics) — Understanding rules, laws, government roles, citizenship, participation, and symbols/state identity.
- 4.C3.Geo (Geography) — Describing regions, landforms, climate, human–environment interaction, and map skills (titles, legends, scales, grids, directions).
- 4.C3.Hist (History) — Timelines, change and continuity, Indigenous histories, exploration and settlement, statehood, and using primary/secondary sources.
- 4.C3.Econ (Economics) — Scarcity, choices, resources, producers/consumers, trade, interdependence, and balancing economy and environment.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can choose and organize my best work to show what I know in all parts of social studies.
- I can explain my map, timeline, civic project, and economic display using facts, examples, and clear captions.
- I can show how geography, history, government, and economy are connected in our state.
- I can work with my group to create an exhibition station that is neat, labeled, and easy to understand.
- I can present my learning and reflect on how I have grown as a citizen and learner this year.