4 th Grade Social Studies Unit 1 Foundations

4 th Grade Social Studies Unit 1: Foundations in Social Studies

• Suppose I was a social scientist exploring this place in the United States…

What questions would I have about this place?

Types of Social Scientists • Historian • Geographer • Economist • Political Scientist

Historians want to know… • What happened in this place in the past ?

Geographer would want to know… What kind of natural characteristics does the place have? Or did it have?

Economists would like to know… What kinds of goods or services were produced in this area?

Political Scientists would like to know… What kind of government does the place have?

HISTORY IS THE STUDY OF THE PAST. A HISTORIAN IS SOMEONE WHO STUDIES THE PAST. How is a historian like a detective?

Historians… Look for ____ Gather _____ Reconstruct the _____ like a detective reconstructs a _____ Look for clues. Gather evidence. (Proof that something happened) Reconstruct the past like a detective reconstructs a crime.

Historians ask the questions… • What happened? • When did it happened? • Who was involved? • How and why did it happen?

What do you know about… Michigan History

What happened? • You need to have proof to answer the question. • Proof can be found in two sources PRIMARY SECONDARY

Primary Source Records made by people who saw or took part in the event Examples: journals, letters, photographs

Secondary Source • Not a direct link to an event • Records of an event written by someone who was not there at the time. • Example: Textbooks

Mystery Source 1 With your partner: • Decide if this is an example of a PRIMARY source or SECONDARY source. Provide evidence to support your opinion. • Decide when this map was made and how it was made.

Mystery Source 1 Primary or Secondary Source? Where? When? Evidence?

Mystery Source #1 • Primary Source – Made by someone living at the time • Where? – Michigan • When? – Early 1800 s • Evidence? – Lake Michigan & Lake Huron, & other MI places – Very few settlements (towns) (Detroit) – Areas are labeled by American Indian groups – Spellings don’t match modern spellings – The map is not as accurate as modern maps 1802 Map of Michigan. Bay-Journal Website. April 27, 2005. 15 July 2008 <http: //bayjournal. com/maps/1802 -mi. html>.

Who was involved? • History is the story of the past, people are very important part of history. • As historians gather evidence they try to understand the actions and feelings of the people AT THAT TIME (historical empathy) • What was their point of view? • POV is how a person looks at a problem or event. It is shaped by age, occupation, where someone

Mystery Source 2 Work in pairs to decide: • Primary or Secondary source? • Provide Evidence to support your opinion • Answer the questions on the sheet

Mystery Source #2 In the early part of March, the fifth day, I think, at seven o’clock in the morning we left Detroit, all snugly packed in two sleighs…. There was not much of a road, only the Indian trail. We arrived at Royal Oak at sundown, and stayed at William Thurber’s overnight…. After a good warm supper, the beds were made on the floor and all camped for the night… After a hearty breakfast the teamsters called out, “All aboard for Pontiac!” and soon we were snugly packed for another day’s journey. At noon we arrived at the famous town of Pontiac…. The town consisted of one little log house, containing three families and a few workmen, who were felling oak trees for timber to construct the Pontiac mill…. At this house we took dinner that was spread on boards laid on barrels. After dinner we left the little town for Silver Lake, where we arrived about four o’clock p. m. The workmen had occupied a little log shanty while building the house for the family. The… (house) was unfinished…. the logs were all up and the roof was on and a rough floor laid down…. The house was fifty feet long and twenty wide, with a ten-foot hall running through the middle…. In the hall was a closed staircase leading to a half-story room above, and also down into the cellar…. Our first night…. a field bed was spread on the loose floor, and a large fire was built in the earthen hearth. We fell asleep talking about the big fire, the big logs which the house was made of, and all the strange things…around us.

Mystery Source # 2 • A diary or memoir of M. A. Hodges. (Daughter of Major Oliver Williams) • An Early Settler to Oakland County • Williams family moved from Massachusetts to Michigan in 1818 • They traveled by covered wagon to Buffalo, then by boat to Detroit. • In 1819, they traveled by sleigh to present-day Waterford where they started a farm. – This description helps us remember what we learned in third grade about pioneer families who moved to MI in the early 1800 s.

Historians also ask, “When did it happen? ”

“When did it happen? ” • Historians are concerned about chronology- which is the order that things happened in the past (TIME SEQUENCE) • It is important because events in the past are often linked together like a chain. • One event leads to another--We call this “Cause & Effect”

WHEN DID IT HAPPEN? One way to build a story of the past is to put events related to that story in the order they happened. – This order is called chronology A timeline is a diagram that shows the order of events that took place during a certain period of time. – Timelines can help you understand how one event may have led to another.

HOW AND WHY DID IT HAPPEN? • Many events in history are linked to other events. – To find the links you will need to identify causes and effects. • A cause is any action that makes something else happen. • An effect is something that results because of that action. • Most events in history have many causes and many effects.

Most events in history have many causes and many effects.

Michigan History Events • Recall what you learned about Michigan history last year. • With a partner, put the individual events in chronological order from the earliest event to the most recent.

Chronology for Michigan History • Before 1700 – American Indians were the only people living in Michigan • Around 1700 – French explorers visited Michigan • Between 1700 and 1800 – The French began a fur trade business in Michigan. • Between 1750 and 1800 – The British took control of Michigan. (1760) – Michigan became part of the United States. (1787) • Between 1800 and 1850 – The Erie Canal opened (1825) - more people settled in Michigan Territory. – Michigan became a state (1837) • Between 1850 and 1900 – Lumbering and mining began as important economic activities • Between 1900 and 1950 – Manufacturing (auto industry) became very important in Michigan.

Making your own timeline (Extra Credit • What’s YOUR history? • What are your significant events? – List at least 5 events • Can you think of at least one Cause & Effect pair of events to include? • Illustrate your timeline.