Grade 4 Social Studies
6 units matched to the BC Curriculum. Kids see this subject as “Our World”.
Big Ideas
- The pursuit of valuable natural resources has played a key role in changing the land, people, and communities of Canada.
- Interactions between First Peoples and Europeans lead to conflict and cooperation, which continues to shape Canada's identity.
- Demographic changes in North America created shifts in economic and political power.
- British Columbia followed a unique path in becoming a part of Canada.
Units
Unit 1
First Peoples & the Land
How First Peoples used and cared for the land and its resources, traded and governed themselves before Europeans arrived, and are living communities today. Includes short readings.
Learning standard: First Peoples land ownership and use; First Peoples governance and trade before contact
Unit 2
Contact & the Fur Trade
Early European contact, the Hudson's Bay and North West Companies, voyageurs and trading posts, the Métis, and examples of cooperation and conflict. Includes timelines.
Learning standard: Early contact, trade, cooperation and conflict between First Peoples and Europeans; the fur trade in pre-Confederation Canada and BC
Unit 3
Colonization & Treaties
Age-appropriate, factual coverage of how colonization affected First Peoples (disease, loss of land, the Indian Act, residential schools), historic and modern treaties, and reconciliation today.
Learning standard: The impact of colonization on First Peoples societies in BC and Canada; treaties
Unit 4
Gold Rushes
The 1858 Fraser River and Cariboo gold rushes, how they brought newcomers and created the Colony of British Columbia, and their effects on First Nations and the land.
Learning standard: The Fraser River and Cariboo gold rushes; demographic changes in pre-Confederation BC
Unit 5
Confederation & BC
Confederation in 1867, why BC joined Canada in 1871 and the railway promise, the Canadian Pacific Railway, and how the provinces joined over time, with some years-between subtraction.
Learning standard: Confederation (1867); BC's path to joining Canada (1871) and the promise of a railway
Unit 6
Provinces & Regions
Canada's 10 provinces and 3 territories and their capitals, and its physical regions (like the Cordillera, Interior Plains and Canadian Shield) and their natural resources.
Learning standard: Canada's provinces, territories and capitals; physiographic regions of Canada and their resources
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