Grade 4 Social Studies SOL Standards

Virginia: 1900 to Present

1607 through the American Revolution

Civil War and Postwar Eras

Political Growth and Western Expansion: 1775 to the Mid-1800s

Virginia’s Indigenous Peoples

Physical Geography

Skills

The student will apply history and social science skills to the content by

analyzing and interpreting information sources, including but not limited to artifacts, primary and secondary sources, charts, graphs, and diagrams

applying geographic skills to identify and understand geographic features and connections

developing questions, enhancing curiosity, and engaging in critical thinking and analysis

using evidence to construct timelines, classify events, and distinguish fact from opinion

comparing and contrasting people, places, and events

identifying cause-and-effect relationships to clarify and explain content

using economic decision-making models to make informed economic decisions and to explain the incentives and consequences of a specific choice

practicing civility, respect, hard work, honesty, trustworthiness, and responsible citizenship skills

developing products that reflect an understanding of content

The student will apply history and social science skills to explain the relationship between physical geography and the lives of Virginia’s peoples, past and present by

locating Virginia and its bordering states on maps of the United States and North America

locating and describing the relative location and physical characteristics of Virginia's five geographic regions on a map

locating, identifying, and describing the impact of Virginia’s bodies of water on its history, economy, and culture

The student will apply history and social science skills to understand the role Virginians played in American history during World War I and World War II by

examining how key leaders and citizens prepared for wartime

describing the contributions made by military veterans and Medal of Honor recipients

The student will apply history and social science skills to understand the Civil Rights Movement in Virginia by

explaining the social and political events connected to disenfranchisement of African American voters in Virginia in the early 20th century, desegregation, court decisions, and Massive Resistance, with emphasis on the role of Virginians in the Supreme Court cases, including, but not limited to Brown v. Board of Education

investigating the political, social, and economic effects of choices made during the Civil Rights Era by Virginians including, but not limited to Maggie Walker, Robert Russa Moton, Barbara Johns, Samuel Wilbert Tucker, Oliver W. Hill, Sr., Irene Morgan, Arthur R. Ashe, A. Linwood Holton, Jr., and L. Douglas Wilder

The student will use history and social science skills to recognize why Virginia is known as the “Mother of Presidents”.

The student will apply history and social science skills to explain Virginia’s role in the global economy in the 21st Century by

examining major products and industries important to Virginia

examining the impact of the ideas, innovations, and advancements of Virginians on a global market

The student will apply history and social science skills to describe the Indigenous nations of Virginia past and present by

describing how archaeologists have recovered artifacts from important places in the history of Indigenous people, including, but not limited to Werowocomoco

describing Virginia’s three most prominent Indigenous language groups (i.e., the Algonquian, the Siouan, and the Iroquoian)

describing the diversity among the Indigenous nations

describing the relationships and interactions of Virginia’s Indigenous Peoples and their environment, circa 1600

describing the lives and cultures of Virginia’s Indigenous Peoples leading to the present day

The student will apply history and social science skills to explain the causes and effects of events associated with the first permanent English settlement in North America by

explaining the reasons for English colonization

describing the economic and geographic influences on the decision to settle at Jamestown

describing the importance of the Virginia Company of London Charter (April 10, 1606) in establishing the Jamestown colony

describing the interactions between the English colonists and the Indigenous Peoples, including the role of the Powhatan in the survival of the colonists

describing the hardships faced by settlers at Jamestown and the changes that took place to ensure survival, including, but not limited to trade with the Powhatan, the leadership of Captain John Smith, land ownership, and the successful commercial cultivation of tobacco

analyzing the impact of the arrival of Africans and women to the Jamestown settlement

identifying the significance of establishing the General Assembly (1619), the first representative legislative body in English America

The student will apply history and social science skills to understand life in the Virginia colony by

explaining the importance and influence of agriculture

examining how colonial Virginia reflected the culture of Indigenous Peoples, European (English, Scots-Irish, German) immigrants, and Africans

distinguishing between indentured servants and enslaved people, including how European countries traded for, transported, and sold Africans to be enslaved to British North America beginning in the 17th century

describing the laws that established race-based enslavement

explaining the reasons for the relocation of Virginia’s capital from Jamestown to Williamsburg

describing ways people exchanged goods and services in Colonial Virginia

The student will apply history and social science skills to explain Virginia and Virginians’ role during the American Revolution by

explaining the principles and events that convinced the colonists to declare independence and go to war with Great Britain, as expressed in the Declaration of Independence

examining the important contributions, leadership, and experiences of Virginians during the war, including, but not limited to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, James Madison, James Armistead Lafayette, Indigenous Peoples, women, and free and enslaved Blacks

identifying the reasons for the relocation of Virginia’s capital from Williamsburg to Richmond

identifying the importance of the American victory at Yorktown

The student will apply history and social science skills to explain the establishment and growth of the new American nation with emphasis on the role of Virginians and events in Virginia during the 18th and 19th centuries by

explaining the roles of George Washington (“Father of Our Country”), James Madison (“Father of the Constitution”), and Patrick Henry (“Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech)

explaining the development of founding Virginia documents, including the Virginia Declaration of Rights (George Mason) and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (Thomas Jefferson)

describing how principles of these founding Virginia documents inspired the Declaration of Independence, the Virginia Constitution, the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights

explaining how geographical features and technological advances impacted the western movement in the first half of the 1800s

explaining the causes and events of Nat Turner’s Rebellion and how it impacted the institution of slavery

The students will apply history and social science skills to understand the key people, events, and issues of the Civil War and Virginia’s role by

explaining the role of John Brown and the impact of the raid at Harper’s Ferry

describing how the institution of slavery was the cause of the Civil War, and secondary factors that contributed to the secession of the southern states

explaining the significance of the Underground Railroad and the contributions of Harriet Tubman

explaining major events and issues that divided Virginians and led to secession, war, and the creation of West Virginia

identifying major battles that took place in Virginia

identifying and explaining the leadership roles of Virginians, including, but not limited to Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, Robert E. Lee, William Harvey Carney, Winfield Scott, and Powhatan Beaty

evaluating the experiences and contributions of Indigenous Peoples and enslaved and free Blacks and their allies during the war, including, but not limited to Elizabeth Van Lew and Mary Bowser

The student will apply history and social science skills to explain the reconstruction of Virginia following the Civil War by

describing what the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution accomplished

examining the effects of Reconstruction on life in Virginia

describing the role that the “Freedmen’s Schools” played in the lives of African Americans in Virginia after the Civil War

discussing the election of African American leader John Mercer to Congress in 1890

describing the effect of the Supreme Court’s decision in Plessy v. Ferguson

analyzing the effects of segregation and “Jim Crow” laws on life in Virginia

The student will apply history and social science skills to understand the ways in which Virginia became interconnected and diverse by

explaining the importance of railroads, waterways, new industries, and the growth of cities to Virginia’s economic development in the late 1800s

explaining the economic and social transition from a rural society to a more urban society