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Post by peasapie on Jul 5, 2016 16:44:28 GMT
Yes. I taught 4th grade and state study was the curriculum for social studies in NJ. Projects varied depending on teacher. I had my students each research one county within the state and create a PowerPoint presentation on it. Then we had a day when parents came in and each student stood and told about their county, using the PowerPoint to go through images and text. Also, with parent volunteers, I gave each student a shape outline of a county and asked parents to bring a frosted cake layer cut out in the shape of the county. The kids put them all together on that day and we had a giant NJ cake.
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Post by cadoodlebug on Jul 5, 2016 16:47:39 GMT
DS had to build a mission in 4th grade ~ before Michael's saw a big fat cash cow just waiting to be milked. In hindsight, I think it is a big waste of time ~ most parents built the missions anyway. We know one father who yelled at his daughter when she tried to *help* build HER mission.  If there is a mission close to your city, fine, visit it on a field trip. But I think spending 6 weeks learning about the missions could be well spent on other parts of the curriculum. JMHO. |
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Post by Basket1lady on Jul 5, 2016 16:50:32 GMT
We did state history in 3rd or 4th grade in northern Virginia (can't remember which), 5th grade in Boston, and again in 11th grade (typically.) But we lived in northern Virginia during my kids' late elementary school years and every year was pretty much state history because of the state we lived in.
I was surprised that Lauren said that history was really taught in schools anymore. It's big around here, but then we do live in northern Virginia...
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Post by ntsf on Jul 5, 2016 16:53:22 GMT
years and years ago, we had state history in 7th grade. the book was really old. and my teacher had us look for factual errors (of which there were many) and write the publisher. he was a great teacher. we did not do projects. or do field trips.. In Washington state..there wasn't much to visit other than the block houses--and they were pretty boring. 4th grade was local..like city history and geography. we didn't talk about skid road though.. I learned more about Seattle history from reading "the sons of the profits".
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Post by shamrock on Jul 5, 2016 16:58:53 GMT
When I taught (12 years ago) it was city/community in 3rd, state in 4th, USA in 5th & world history in 6th. It is roughly the same now but history gets the short end of the stick with all the state testing. Kansas history isn't tested but geography & government are, so they get covered a lot more. DS2 did a lot less KS history than DS1 did & there's only 2 years separating them. DS2 did get to go to the capitol building on a field trip though. That was nice!
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oh yvonne
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Post by oh yvonne on Jul 5, 2016 17:02:41 GMT
We did state history in 3rd or 4th grade in northern Virginia (can't remember which), 5th grade in Boston, and again in 11th grade (typically.) But we lived in northern Virginia during my kids' late elementary school years and every year was pretty much state history because of the state we lived in.
I was surprised that Lauren said that history was really taught in schools anymore. It's big around here, but then we do live in northern Virginia...That's what prompted my thread..because state history is the full year here, and it covers everything, not just the Missions. In the third grade the kids learned about Ellis Island, and the basic introduction to US government, etc. They drilled pretty hard. Fourth grade is devoted entirely to California history. This day they dressed up as an Ellis Island immigrant, she was Natasha Linskowich, a Jewish girl from Russia. This was third grade (and a rare rainy day in CA)  |
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Post by gorgeouskid on Jul 5, 2016 17:03:07 GMT
My son's California fourth grade project was "City in a Box." Each student chose a California city (DS chose St. Helena) and had 12 (!!!!!! ugh !!!!!) assignments to complete. It was insane, but kind of neat.
They didn't get to choose from a big list, but rather had to do all 12 that were on the assignment sheet.
Things like- history, brochure, travel poster, city tour, timeline, decorated storage box.
Most weren't really anything a fourth grader could do successfully on his/her own. So, like most projects, it was about how well parents could do the assignments while still making it look like they were student work.
No work was done at school-- everything was completed at home.
His came out great, but that's what happens when you have a mom with boat-loads of crafting supplies, Bazzill paper, Xyron, Cricut. (FWIW, I taught him how to use the supplies and didn't touch anything, though I did verbally guide him most of the way.) We also talked a lot about design strategies, white space, and color theory. I feel he did learn a lot about crafting, not so much about his city, and now he can do crafty projects without me.
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Post by Meri-Lyn on Jul 5, 2016 17:04:56 GMT
I don't know what they do now, but I remember having a big workbook on Florida history that we worked on each week. This was parochial school, but the resources we used weren't too much different (maybe slightly older texts due to costs) from the public schools.
Our big project was on American History with the pioneer days. We had to write a book (with illustrations) on what our family would do if we were the pioneers going west. It was also based on a book series, but I can't remember the name.
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oh yvonne
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Post by oh yvonne on Jul 5, 2016 17:07:40 GMT
My son's California fourth grade project was "City in a Box." Each student chose a California city (DS chose St. Helena) and had 12 (!!!!!! ugh !!!!!) assignments to complete. It was insane, but kind of neat. They didn't get to choose from a big list, but rather had to do all 12 that were on the assignment sheet. Things like- brochure, travel poster, city tour, timeline, decorated storage box. Most weren't really anything a fourth grader could do successfully on his/her own. So, like most projects, it was how great parents could do the assignments while still making it look like they were student work. No work was done at school-- everything was completed at home. His came out great, but that's what happens when you have a mom with boat-loads of crafting supplies, Bazzill paper, Xyron, Cricut. (FWIW, I taught him how to use the supplies and didn't touch anything, though I did verbally guide him most of the way.) We also talked a lot about design strategies, white space, and color theory. I feel he did learn a lot about crafting, not so much about his city, and now he can do crafty projects without me.omg that made me lol. US too! Scrapbooking tools definitely come in handy, lol. I always look at it as a lesson for all of us. Its a family project. I remember Marissa had to do a diary that Harriet Tubman kept. Man, I was in my element, showing her how to age the pages with Tim Holz distress inks, and torn distressed aged ribbon to hold the book together. The book was awesome and the school kept it on display in the front office. I never got it back, either. boo. |
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Post by miaow on Jul 5, 2016 17:13:40 GMT
4th grade Missouri History
Students go to Jefferson City to visit important buildings.
There is not a big project any more..."what's the learning?" became the test question for teachers and that stopped the dioramas, paper mache, dress up, etc. in our district.
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Post by anxiousmom on Jul 5, 2016 17:15:40 GMT
I distinctly remember a diorama one of the boys did as a book report after reading 'Hoot." I offered all kinds of art supplies but was summarily turned away. The end result? A shoe box, some glued on spanish moss with a couple of rocks glued to the bottom and a matchbox bulldozer. That was it. Nothing else at all. I wanted to get my hands on that thing SO badly-I thought I could get up in the middle of the night and ninja that thing into perfection. I helped the boy carry it into the classroom when he SO proudly turned it in and the teachers eyebrows were flying off her head. My older son had her and I did a lot of volunteering around the school so she knew that I have an artistic bent...and said 'I can see that little anxious followed the rules and did all the work on his own!' and his little face lit up and he said 'yes m'am I did! even the glue!'  He got an A, mostly because he did it himself and because of the accompanying written book report. But that diorama? It was an affront to my poor arty sensibilities-bless his heart, he just doesn't art. |
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MerryMom
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Post by MerryMom on Jul 5, 2016 17:15:58 GMT
Ohio history in 3rd or 4th grade in central Ohio and my son did a topographical map of where Tecumseh had lived. In addition, they study Ohio Native American history in 5th grade.
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oh yvonne
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Post by oh yvonne on Jul 5, 2016 17:17:24 GMT
4th grade Missouri History Students go to Jefferson City to visit important buildings. There is not a big project any more... "what's the learning?" became the test question for teachers and that stopped the dioramas, paper mache, dress up, etc. in our district. What is this? Sounds like some sort of restriction and sucks all the fun out of learning. Gosh, how sad if that's the case. Maybe, if we put some fun back into learning (art, dress up) we wouldn't have such tuned out students? IDK, seems like it. |
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caangel
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Post by caangel on Jul 5, 2016 17:32:33 GMT
We are in So cal.
In 2nd history includes concepts like city-county-state-country, over view of our government local>national, how laws are made, etc.
3rd focuses on our county's history. Students do a report on a city within our county (but not our own). I assume they will learn about our city as a class.
4th is state, mission project, Island of the Blue Dolphins, The Great Horned Spoon, gold rush, etc
5th is US History. I saw our school did a pioneer day for this grade.
6th World, Greek mythology, etc. Haven't been in there much to know exactly.
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oh yvonne
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Post by oh yvonne on Jul 5, 2016 17:34:36 GMT
We are in So cal. In 2nd history includes concepts like city-county-state-country, over view of our government local>national, how laws are made, etc. 3rd focuses on our county's history. Students do a report on a city within our county (but not our own). I assume they will learn about our city as a class. 4th is state, mission project, Island of the Blue Dolphins, The Great Horned Spoon, gold rush, etc 5th is US History. I saw our school did a pioneer day for this grade. 6th World, Greek mythology, etc. Haven't been in there much to know exactly. Yes! That's our curriculum too. I love it all! |
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Post by jenjie on Jul 5, 2016 17:49:01 GMT
My kids all had to do the NJ notebook in 4th grade. We took pictures at the location of a dinosaur discovery. Which is now the location of all the shops and businesses in the town. It's kind of funny because there is a dinosaur statue and plaque on the sidewalk next to a restaurant or shop.
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Post by 950nancy on Jul 5, 2016 17:52:48 GMT
4th grade Missouri History Students go to Jefferson City to visit important buildings. There is not a big project any more... "what's the learning?" became the test question for teachers and that stopped the dioramas, paper mache, dress up, etc. in our district. What is this? Sounds like some sort of restriction and sucks all the fun out of learning. Gosh, how sad if that's the case. Maybe, if we put some fun back into learning (art, dress up) we wouldn't have such tuned out students? IDK, seems like it. Have you ever read a book and thought… I want to make a diorama? Teachers have limited time and oftentimes their jobs are on the line with kids learning. I know mine was. There are probably better ways for kids to share their knowledge than creating something in a shoebox. I still did a big history project at the end of the year where kids got to decide how to share the information they learned. Kids learn in so many different intelligences and not limiting their creativity (or not so much creativity) was actually very eye opening for me. I thought they would pick the dioramas or similar projects, but many of them opted for power point presentations, debates, pictorial timelines and other modes. One young man created a medieval newspaper and really showed the power of the unit. Not limiting their choices actually made them work harder. |
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scrapbug
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Post by scrapbug on Jul 5, 2016 17:54:49 GMT
My kids went through 4th grade in OR, and yes - they learned about their state history that year and did all kinds of cool projects. We've lived in TX for 9 years now, but since they started school here after 4th grade I'm not sure if the schools here learn about state history in that grade or not.
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oh yvonne
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Post by oh yvonne on Jul 5, 2016 17:59:02 GMT
What is this? Sounds like some sort of restriction and sucks all the fun out of learning. Gosh, how sad if that's the case. Maybe, if we put some fun back into learning (art, dress up) we wouldn't have such tuned out students? IDK, seems like it. Have you ever read a book and thought… I want to make a diorama? Teachers have limited time and oftentimes their jobs are on the line with kids learning. I know mine was. There are probably better ways for kids to share their knowledge than creating something in a shoebox. I still did a big history project at the end of the year where kids got to decide how to share the information they learned. Kids learn in so many different intelligences and not limiting their creativity (or not so much creativity) was actually very eye opening for me. I thought they would pick the dioramas or similar projects, but many of them opted for power point presentations, debates, pictorial timelines and other modes. One young man created a medieval newspaper and really showed the power of the unit. Not limiting their choices actually made them work harder. Ah, I see. I thought they didn't do *anything* extra in your other post. And I agree, dioramas pretty much suck, lol |
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Post by 950nancy on Jul 5, 2016 18:03:43 GMT
Have you ever read a book and thought… I want to make a diorama? Teachers have limited time and oftentimes their jobs are on the line with kids learning. I know mine was. There are probably better ways for kids to share their knowledge than creating something in a shoebox. I still did a big history project at the end of the year where kids got to decide how to share the information they learned. Kids learn in so many different intelligences and not limiting their creativity (or not so much creativity) was actually very eye opening for me. I thought they would pick the dioramas or similar projects, but many of them opted for power point presentations, debates, pictorial timelines and other modes. One young man created a medieval newspaper and really showed the power of the unit. Not limiting their choices actually made them work harder. Ah, I see. I thought they didn't do *anything* extra in your other post. And I agree, dioramas pretty much suck, lol No, I only taught fourth grade for one year. They didn't do the extra stuff. My teammates thought coloring the state flag and flower was good. When I taught fifth grade, I taught US history and did a unit on medieval studies because the kids were so interested in it. It wasn't on our standards, but I easily taught, reading, writing, math, science, and history in that unit. Since the kids were so interested in it, it was easy to teach the standards. |
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Post by tiffanyr on Jul 5, 2016 18:08:36 GMT
I don't remember if I learned about Texas history in 4th grade but all Texas 7th graders take an entire year of Texas History.
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Post by hop2 on Jul 5, 2016 18:46:41 GMT
Yes we have state history in 4th grade ( and 6th I think )
In 4th grade there were multiple 'big' projects associated with state history
1 a report and approved project about the native people ( Lenape ) they had to hand make an item in the way the Lenape would have
2 a written report and presentation about a 'significant' person from the state. They also had to dress as their person.
3 a report and poster about ( and pieces of store bought sheet cake carved in the shape of ) your assigned county. All reports were presented during one week and it culminated in a huge cake in the shape of the state party ( all counties placed together on a giant cake board to form the state )
4 a project relating to current events in the state an article you had to find and explain and present and also it included looking for items produced or manufactured in the state and bringing in labels labels.
In addition to the series of exams relating to the state history.
It is spread out thru approx 3/4 of the year and constitutes a major portion of their grade for those quarters.
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Post by hop2 on Jul 5, 2016 18:47:30 GMT
Yes. I taught 4th grade and state study was the curriculum for social studies in NJ. Projects varied depending on teacher. I had my students each research one county within the state and create a PowerPoint presentation on it. Then we had a day when parents came in and each student stood and told about their county, using the PowerPoint to go through images and text. Also, with parent volunteers, I gave each student a shape outline of a county and asked parents to bring a frosted cake layer cut out in the shape of the county. The kids put them all together on that day and we had a giant NJ cake. . Wonder if you taught in my kids district lol |
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Post by just PEAchy on Jul 5, 2016 19:09:56 GMT
I'm in Indiana and my kids have been in 2 different districts, but the curriculums have been similar. In 4th grade and 5th grade they have social studies, which includes Indiana history (4th), US History (5th), plus geography, the environment, the solar system, basic civics, etc. In 4th grade, they visit Vincennes, which, among other things, is one of the oldest continually inhabited European settlements and they do a report on what they learned. In 5th grade, their big project is to select a great American and do a report and oral presentation, which includes costumes and props. It's always interesting to see what the kids do. My kids were Cesar Chavez, Harriet Tubman and Ben Franklin. Then, in middle school they have state history again (6th), US History(7th) and World History (8th). Then, in high school, US history is required for all juniors, plus at least 1 other history class.
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twinsmomfla99
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Post by twinsmomfla99 on Jul 5, 2016 19:49:53 GMT
We did state history in 3rd or 4th grade in northern Virginia (can't remember which), 5th grade in Boston, and again in 11th grade (typically.) But we lived in northern Virginia during my kids' late elementary school years and every year was pretty much state history because of the state we lived in. I was surprised that Lauren said that history was really taught in schools anymore. It's big around here, but then we do live in northern Virginia... I think it is still a big deal in VA because when NCLB was passed and only graded schools based on math/reading test scores, a lot of states stopped testing science and social studies. VA never stopped those state assessments, even though they were irrelevant under NCLB. In WV, I think state history is taught in 4th grade, but I do not have any recent personal experience b/c my kids all completed 4th grade in VA, so I don't know if there is a 4th grade project. However, they do WV history again in 8th grade, and the "project" is the "Golden Horseshoe Test." The test covers all the curriculum through a certain date in the spring, and it is given at the county level. County winners are invited to the state Capitol for an awards ceremony where they are named Knights and Ladies of the Golden Horseshoe. The award is named after an award that was given to early explorers for bravery in exploring the western half of Virginia. My 4th grade teacher back in the 70s used to have a mini Golden Horseshoe competition for just for her class. She spray painted a pony shoe gold and gave it to the winner. |
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Post by peasapie on Jul 5, 2016 21:45:32 GMT
Yes. I taught 4th grade and state study was the curriculum for social studies in NJ. Projects varied depending on teacher. I had my students each research one county within the state and create a PowerPoint presentation on it. Then we had a day when parents came in and each student stood and told about their county, using the PowerPoint to go through images and text. Also, with parent volunteers, I gave each student a shape outline of a county and asked parents to bring a frosted cake layer cut out in the shape of the county. The kids put them all together on that day and we had a giant NJ cake. . Wonder if you taught in my kids district lol Gee, that does sound familiar! We did the dress-up thing you mentioned above, too. SaveSave |
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Post by its me mg on Jul 6, 2016 4:40:41 GMT
did you make a salt and flour map of california, too???  We learned the geography by making a 3d model of the state. I'm also a Californian who did the mission project |
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azredhead
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Post by azredhead on Jul 6, 2016 6:28:47 GMT
We did a book of all the counties and learned a song. The book had a hard cover made of wood. We painted the front of it. It's pretty big. I still have it at my moms with our school stuff. She kept some stuff like that. I was in Utah was 4th grade then when I moved here it was 5th grade Arizona history. 6th grade was Arizona History again/US history I think. I don't remember much of that I do remember my teachers though. I did like 5th grade the most. I don't remember a project here for some reason.
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Post by bc2ca on Jul 6, 2016 7:13:02 GMT
We had 4th grade Californians in this family  . Field trip to local Mission and they had to do a major project on any other Mission. Both my kids did the project on San Juan Capistano. One did a presentation with a photo board and the other recreated the mission. Using Michael's mission project kits was absolutely forbidden by our district. We also had a "field" trip to Sacremento that included the gold rush (Sutter's Fort?). DD missed the sign up date because we moved to CA a couple of months into the school year, but DS went in 4th grade. First & only school field trip that started at 5 in the morning, involved a flight and ended around midnight. Zombie kids were escorted half asleep off the bus at the end of the day. DS also had an infamous sleep over on the tall ship Star of India as part of the Gold Rush unit. We drove by there today and DS still hasn't forgiven them (7 years later) for treating the kids as the swabbies they were and requiring them to dine on swill while the officers had a nice dinner. cadoodlebug did your DS study the Gold Rush that year? For us it was 50% Missions/50% Gold Rush for CA history in 4th grade. In 5th Grade the kids had to do a major study of any other state, so one of mine did Oregon and the other Washington. |
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Post by malibou on Jul 6, 2016 14:01:33 GMT
I'm in the same town as Yvonne, and my son's curriculum in 4th grade was the same except that year we got the added bonus of getting to spend the night on a Tall ship in Dana Point. It was such a cool experience. Because of that, the Gold Rush and Missions were a little condensed. Where in past years all the kids built missions, that year they had the option of doing a mission, or just doing one part and giving a presentation. My son made clay roof tiles. Very few kids did missions that year, but the ones that did were so detailed. My son loved 4th grade because of the history.
J
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He got an A, mostly because he did it himself and because of the accompanying written book report. But that diorama? It was an affront to my poor arty sensibilities-bless his heart, he just doesn't art. 
We learned the geography by making a 3d model of the state. I'm also a Californian who did the mission project 
. Field trip to local Mission and they had to do a major project on any other Mission. Both my kids did the project on San Juan Capistano. One did a presentation with a photo board and the other recreated the mission. Using Michael's mission project kits was absolutely forbidden by our district.