Unit Plan 17 (Grade 4 Social Studies): Our Path to Statehood

Focus: Summarize major turning points that led to the state’s founding and system of government, using sources, maps, and simple timelines to show change and continuity over time. Students examine exploration, settlement, territorial status (if applicable), and statehood, along with interactions among Indigenous nations, settlers, and other groups.

Grade Level: 4

Subject Area: Social Studies (History)

Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 45–60 minutes per session

I. Introduction

Students explore their state’s path to statehood as a story made up of key turning points. They begin with Indigenous presence and early exploration/settlement, then trace how the area became a territory (if applicable) and eventually a state with its own government. Using simple maps, timelines, and short texts, students identify what changed (population, borders, laws, who had power) and what stayed the same (landforms, some cultural traditions, important places). They learn to see statehood as the result of causes and effects across time, not just a single date.

Essential Questions

• What were the major turning points that led from Indigenous homelands to our state’s founding and government?
• How did exploration and settlement patterns change who lived in the region and how land was used?
• How can we see change and continuity by comparing the state in the past with the state today?
• How did interactions among Indigenous nations, settlers, and other groups shape our state’s path to statehood?
• Why is it important to know how and why our state became a state, not just the date of statehood?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Identify and describe at least three major turning points in the state’s path to statehood (e.g., exploration, key settlements, territorial status, statehood date).
2. Use maps, timelines, and texts to distinguish past from present and to identify change and continuity in population, land use, and political status.
3. Explain how exploration and settlement patterns affected Indigenous nations, newcomers, and communities in the region, noting basic causes and effects.
4. Compare at least one historic map or description of the region with a modern map, identifying one or two important changes and one or two continuities.
5. Create a “Path to Statehood” Turning Points Timeline or Flowchart that shows major events in order and includes short explanations of why each turning point mattered.
6. Use simple historical vocabulary (past, present, turning point, continuity, cause, effect, territory, statehood) in discussions and writing.

Standards Alignment — 4th Grade (C3-based custom)

• 4.C3.Hist.2 — Use sources to distinguish past/present; identify change and continuity in community/state.
  • Example: Compare maps from 1850 and today to show growth patterns.
• 4.C3.Hist.4 — Explain exploration/settlement patterns and interactions among groups; note causes/effects.
  • Example: Causes of a trading post’s location and its impacts on nearby communities.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can name key events that helped lead to our state’s statehood and government.
• I can explain how our state changed over time (population, borders, government) and what stayed the same (landforms, some places, some traditions).
• I can describe how exploration and settlement affected Indigenous nations and new communities, using words like cause and effect.
• I can use maps, timelines, and texts to show what the state was like before and after statehood.
• I can create a Path to Statehood Timeline or Flowchart that shows turning points in order and explains why they mattered.