Unit Plan 15 (Grade 4 Social Studies): Timelines of Change

Focus: Construct and interpret a timeline of state history from Indigenous presence to statehood, labeling key events, dates, and intervals. Use chronological vocabulary and multiple sources (maps, texts, charts, markers) to understand how communities and governments changed over time.

Grade Level: 4

Subject Area: Social Studies (History • Inquiry/Skills)

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

I. Introduction

Students act as time detectives, building a timeline of change for their state or region. They begin with longstanding Indigenous presence, then add later events such as exploration, early settlements, territorial period, statehood, and a few selected modern milestones. Throughout the week, they learn how to order events, use chronological vocabulary (before, after, earlier, later, decade, century), and mark intervals on a timeline. Students also practice using multiple sources (maps, short texts, historic markers, digital resources) to gather dates and descriptions, and to see that history is a continuous story, not just isolated events.

Essential Questions

• How can a timeline help us understand the story of our state from Indigenous presence to statehood and beyond?
• What are some of the key events and time periods in our state’s history, and how do they fit together in chronological order?
• How do historians and students use dates, intervals, and time words (before, after, century, decade) to talk about change over time?
• Why is it important to use multiple sources when deciding which events and dates to put on a timeline?
• How does learning about longstanding Indigenous presence before statehood change the way we see our state’s history?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Define and use key chronological vocabulary, including past, present, future, earlier, later, century, decade, and interval.
2. Identify and sequence at least 8–10 key events in state/local history, beginning with Indigenous presence and ending with statehood and one or two later milestones.
3. Create a scaled timeline that shows ordered dates and roughly even intervals (e.g., every 25 or 50 years), labeling events clearly.
4. Use multiple sources (maps, charts, primary/secondary texts, markers, digital resources) to gather or confirm dates and short event descriptions.
5. Interpret a timeline by answering questions about what happened first/last, how much time passed between events, and how events relate to each other.
6. Produce a short Timeline Explanation Paragraph that uses chronological vocabulary and references the timeline to describe change over time.

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

• 4.C3.Hist.1 — Create and interpret timelines of state/local events; use chronological vocabulary and intervals.
  • Example: Timeline from Indigenous presence to statehood to today.
• 4.C3.Inq.2 — Gather information from multiple sources (maps, charts, primary/secondary texts, interviews, digital).
  • Example: Use a state atlas, census table, and historical marker to study a town.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can explain what a timeline is and use words like earlier, later, century, and decade correctly.
• I can place important state events—including Indigenous presence, exploration/settlement, and statehood—in chronological order on a timeline.
• I can mark intervals on my timeline and show about how much time passed between events.
• I can use more than one source to find or check dates and short event descriptions.
• I can answer questions and write a short explanation that uses my timeline to describe change over time.