2015-2016
Who We Are
Where We Are in Place and Time
How We Express Ourselves
How the World Works
How We Organize Ourselves
Sharing the Planet
Revised 3/19/20
4th
Central Idea: People in society understand the rights
and responsibilities of the place they live.
Key Concepts: perspective, Responsibility,
connection
Related Concepts: citizenship, structure, systems
Lines of Inquiry:
 Themes of geography
 Role of citizenship
 Relationship of rules/laws/rights/responsibilities
 Who am I? What are my roles?
Central Idea: Interactions between groups results in
both cooperation and conflict
Key Concepts: Change, perspective, connection
Related Concepts: chronology, civilizations, conflict,
history, migration, revolution
Lines of Inquiry:

Why migration occurs

Causes of conflict

Reasons for cooperation
3rd
Central Idea: Making responsible choices about daily
routines promotes a healthy lifestyle.
Key Concepts: Reflection, responsibility, connection
Related Concepts: systems, relationships, growth,
change, responsibilities, consequences, values
Lines of Inquiry:

Responsible choices

Consequences of choices

Body systems
Central Idea: Citizens develop social and political
responsibilities as communities change
Key Concepts: change, responsibility, function
Related Concepts: systems, rights, citizenship,
communications, innovation, discovery, chronology,
landscape
Lines of Inquiry:

the need for local government

responsibilities of citizens

change over time
Central Idea: forms of expression to communicate
different cultures, emotions, and feelings
Key Concepts: function, perspective, reflection
Related Concepts: dance, expression, art,
communication, collaboration, interpretation,
music, performance
Lines of Inquiry:

Understanding culture through artistic
performance

Cultural forms of expression in art, music,
dance, and language
Central Idea: Earth provides important yet
limited resources
Key Concepts: responsibility, connection,
function
Related Concepts: resources, properties,
conservation
Lines of Inquiry:
 Renewable and nonrenewable resources
 Properties of resources (fossil fuels)
 Resource use and human responsibility of
uses
2nd
Central Idea: People actively engage in the
community for the common good.
Key Concepts: responsibility, connection, function
Related Concepts: communications, cooperation,
conflict, justice, truth, citizenship, authority, rights,
roles
Lines of Inquiry:

Rights and responsibilities of others

Community members actions affect the
common good

Rules that govern behavior in different settings
Central Idea: Cultures celebrate traditions in diverse
ways around the world
Key Concepts: form, connection, perspective
Related Concepts: :families, cultures, environments,
location, celebration
Lines of Inquiry:

types of traditions at home

reasons for celebrations

family and global customs and traditions
Central Idea: Geography impacts how people live
Key Concepts: perspective, form, connection
Related Concepts: location, structure,
representations, interactions, culture
Lines of Inquiry:

Similarities/differences related to geography
of the United States

representation of location

Culture of life based on geography
Central Idea: People’s actions have shaped the
world in which we live.
Key Concepts: perspective, causation, connection
Related Concepts: chronology, discover, innovation,
exploration, progress, technology and
communication
Lines of Inquiry:

personal histories demonstrate values, beliefs,
and culture

progress over time

connecting past with present
Central Idea: Patterns and systems are used to
communicate
Key Concepts: perspective, form, connections
Related Concepts: story-telling, patterns, systems
Lines of Inquiry:

Verbal and nonverbal communication

Language skill development

Reflection of communication skills and
refinement
Central Idea: Different forces are at work to
make the world go round.
Key Concepts: function, causation, connection
Related Concepts: force, motion, movement,
gravity, air pressure
Lines of Inquiry:
 forces impact on movement
 manipulation of force and motion
 direction and change in movement
Central Idea: Every family is unique
Key Concepts: form, responsibility, perspective
Related Concepts: traditions, diversity, family,
identity, roles
Lines of Inquiry:

family units are similar and different

roles and responsibilities within a family

diverse family structures and traditions
Central Idea: Models and maps represent places
Key Concepts: function, connection, form
Related Concepts: location, representation,
communication
Lines of Inquiry:

describing location and landmarks

uses of the natural environment

uses of maps as a representation of place
1st
K
Central Idea: Knowing our history helps us discover
who we are.
Key Concepts: change, perspective reflection
Related Concepts: tradition, history, time
Lines of Inquiry:

Personal family histories

Primary and secondary sources of information

Traditions in place and time
Fourth Grade Unit
Exhibition
Central Idea: People acknowledge that others feel
and act in different ways.
Key Concepts: reflection, perspective, causation
Related Concepts: consequence, impact, opinion,
behavior
Lines of Inquiry:

Our opinion and feelings

Making decisions

Rules and expectations

Respecting ourselves and others
Central Idea: Energy use impacts life.
Key Concepts: change, responsibility, function
Related Concepts: energy, transformation,
impact, electricity, heat
Lines of Inquiry:
 Electrical and thermal energy use and
impact
 Energy transfer and conservation
 Responsible use of energy consumption
Central Idea: People use observation to
understand changes in matter in the
environment
Key Concepts: form, change, causation
Related Concepts: properties,
similarities/differences, observation
Lines of Inquiry:

changes in matter

explorations and experimentation

physical properties of objects
Central Idea: Observing cycles help people learn
about the world
Key Concepts: change, connection, causation
Related Concepts: cycles, impact, properties,
sequences, patterns
Lines of Inquiry:

Night and day cycles

Seasonal changes

Patterns of nature

Cycles in everyday life
Central Idea: Economic choices impact people
and their environment
Key Concepts: reflection, responsibility,
connection
Related Concepts: freedom, choices, production,
employment, entrepreneurship, sustainability
Lines of Inquiry:
 Production, allocation and consumption of
resources
 Uses of human, natural, and capital resources
 Markets and distribution
Central Idea: Communities have unique markets
that change over time
Key Concepts: change, responsibility, function
Related Concepts: economics, change, resources,
systems
Lines of Inquiry:

Economic choices and decision making

Production and consumption of resources in
the marketplace
Central Idea: Changes on Earth affect all living
things
Key Concepts: change, connection, causation
Related Concepts: erosion, geography, tectonic
plate movement, ecosystems, survival, fossils
Lines of Inquiry:

How organisms interact with the
environment

Changes on the Earth’s surface

Impact of changes in the environment
Central Idea: An organism’s survival depends on
its interaction with the natural environment
Key Concepts: Function, Causation, Connection
Related Concepts: Adaptation, animals, plants,
ecosystems, growth, genetics, survival
Lines of Inquiry:

Plant and animal relationships

Life Cycles

Classification
Central Idea: People contribute a variety of skills
and services designed to meet people’s needs
Key Concepts: responsibility, reflection
Related Concepts: resources, decision making,
income
Lines of Inquiry:

responsibilities of producers and consumers
in making economic decisions

availability of resources in different places

working to earn money and reflection about
ways to spend, save, donate
Central Idea: Communities work together by
sharing responsibilities and following the rules
Key Concepts: perspective, reflection, change
Related Concepts: behavior, interpretation, truth
Lines of Inquiry:

reasons for rules

citizenship

choices and consequences

organization and structure of groups
Central Idea: Living things risk extinction when
basic needs are not met
Key Concepts: form, connection, responsibility
Related Concepts: ecosystems, animals,
conservation, extinction, plants
Lines of Inquiry:

animal habitats

causes of animal endangerment and
extinction

human responsibility toward living things
Central Idea: People develop ways to organize
within communities
Key Concepts: function, form, responsibility
Related Concepts: structure, systems, roles,
citizenship
Lines of Inquiry:

Different communities

Roles and responsibilities

Systems of organization
Central Idea: Animals look and act in different
ways in order to survive
Key Concepts: form, connection
Related Concepts: structures, similarities,
differences, behavior, survival
Lines of Inquiry:
 Living and nonliving
 Physical traits of living things
 Behavior of living things
 Influences on survival in different
environments
Central Idea: Plants have basic needs which they get
from the environment they live in
Key Concepts: change, responsibility, connection
Related Concepts: adaptation, survival, life cycle,
energy
Lines of Inquiry:

human responsibility to other living things

ways plants react to change in their
environments

plants acquire resources for survival

plants basic needs for survival