Grade 4 Social Studies Louisiana standards Standards

Grade 4: The Ancient World

Skills and Practices

Examine sources in order to

distinguish between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources

determine the origin, author's point of view, and intended audience

understand and use content-specific vocabulary and phrases

Use a variety of primary and secondary sources to

analyze social studies content

explain claims and evidence

compare and contrast multiple sources

Construct and express claims that are supported with relevant evidence from primary and/or secondary sources, content knowledge, and clear reasoning in order to

demonstrate an understanding of social studies content

compare and contrast content and viewpoints

explain causes and effects

describe counterclaims

Create and use a chronological sequence of related events to compare developments and describe instances of change and continuity.

Describe early human migration out of Africa, first to Europe and Asia, then to the Americas and Australia.

Explain the effects of the Agricultural Revolution, including the barter economy, food surpluses, domestication of plants and animals, specialization, and the growth of permanent settlements.

Identify and explain the importance of the following key characteristics of civilizations: culture, specialization, infrastructure, stable food supply, government, technology, belief systems, writing, and social structure.

Describe the geographic, political, economic, and cultural structures of the ancient Near East.

Identify and locate geographic features of the ancient Near East, including the Black Sea, Persian Gulf, Euphrates River, Tigris River, Mediterranean Sea, and Zagros Mountains.

Explain how geographic and climatic features led to the region being known as the Fertile Crescent.

Explain how irrigation, silt, metallurgy, production of tools, use of animals and inventions, such as the wheel and plow, led to advancements in agriculture.

Describe how changes in agriculture in Sumer led to economic growth, expansion of trade and transportation, and the growth of independent city-states.

Identify important achievements of the Mesopotamian civilization, including cuneiform, clay tablets, ziggurats, and the Epic of Gilgamesh as the oldest written epic.

Describe the significance of the written law in the Code of Hammurabi, and explain the meaning of the phrase "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."

Describe the achievements of the ancient Israelites.

Describe the geographic, political, economic, and cultural structures of ancient Egypt.

Identify and locate geographic features of ancient Egypt, including the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Nile River and Delta, and the Sahara Desert.

Explain the structure of ancient Egyptian society, including the relationships between groups of people and the role played by the pharaoh and enslaved people.

Explain Egyptian beliefs about the afterlife, the reasons for mummification, and the use of pyramids.

Describe the significance of key figures from ancient Egypt, including Queen Hatshepsut, Ramses the Great, and the significance of the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb on the modern understanding of ancient Egypt.

Describe the achievements of ancient Egyptian civilization, including hieroglyphics, papyrus, and the pyramids and Sphinx at Giza.

Describe the cultural diffusion of ancient Egypt with surrounding civilizations through trade and conflict.

Describe the geographic, political, economic, and cultural structures of ancient India.

Identify and locate geographic features of ancient India, including the Ganges River, Indus River, Himalayan Mountains, Indian Ocean, and the subcontinent of India.

Explain the emergence of civilization in the Indus River Valley as an early agricultural civilization and describe its achievements, including architecture built with bricks, roads arranged into a series of grid systems, and sewer systems.

Identify the long-lasting intellectual traditions that emerged during the late empire of ancient India, including advances in medicine and Hindu-Arabic numerals.

Describe the geographic, political, economic, and cultural structures of ancient Greece.

Identify and locate geographic features of ancient Greece, including the Mediterranean Sea, Athens, the Peloponnesian peninsula, and Sparta.

Describe how the geographic features of ancient Greece, including its mountainous terrain and access to the Mediterranean Sea contributed to its organization into city-states and the development of maritime trade.

Describe the concept of the polis in Greek city-states, including the ideas of citizenship, civic participation, and the rule of law.

Explain the basic concepts of direct democracy and oligarchy.

Explain the characteristics of the major Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta, including status of women, approaches to education, type of government, and the practice of slavery.

Describe the causes and consequences of the Persian Wars, including the role of Athens and its cooperation with Sparta.

Describe the polytheistic religion of ancient Greece.

Identify Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle as great philosophers of ancient Greece and explain how ideas can spread through writing and teaching.

Identify examples of ancient Greek architecture, including the Parthenon and the Acropolis.

Identify Alexander the Great and explain how his conquests spread Hellenistic (Greek) culture.

Describe the geographic, political, economic, and cultural structures of ancient Rome.

Identify and locate the geographic features of ancient Rome, including the Mediterranean Sea, Italian Alps, Rome, Italian Peninsula, and the Tiber River.

Explain how the geographic location of ancient Rome contributed to its political and economic growth in the Mediterranean region and beyond.

Describe the class system of ancient Rome, including the roles and rights of patricians, plebeians, and enslaved people in Roman society.

Describe the polytheistic religion of ancient Rome and its connection to ancient Greek beliefs.

Describe the characteristics of Julius Caesar's rule, including his role as dictator for life.

Explain the influence of Augustus Caesar, including the establishment of the Roman Empire and its expansion during the Pax Romana.

Describe how innovations in engineering and architecture contributed to Roman expansion, including the role of: aqueducts, domes, arches, roads, bridges, and sanitation.

Describe the fall of the Western Roman Empire, including difficulty governing its large territory and political, military, and economic problems.

Describe the geographic, political, economic, and cultural structures of ancient China.

Identify and locate geographic features of ancient China, including the Gobi Desert, Plateau of Tibet, Himalayan Mountains, Yangtze River, Pacific Ocean, and the Yellow River.

Describe the influence of geographic features on the origins of ancient Chinese civilization in the Yellow River Valley, and explain how China's geography helped create a unique cultural identity.

Describe problems prevalent in the time of Confucius and explain the concepts of filial piety (dutiful respect) and the Mandate of Heaven.

Explain the significance of the unification of ancient China into the first Chinese empire by Qin Shi Huangdi.

Describe how the size of ancient China made governing difficult and how early dynasties attempted to solve this problem, including the construction of the Grand Canal and the Great Wall.

Explain the major accomplishments of the Han Dynasty, including the magnetic compass, paper making, porcelain, silk, and woodblock printing.

Describe how the desire for Chinese goods influenced the creation of The Silk Road and began a process of cultural diffusion throughout Eurasia.

Describe the geographic, political, economic, and cultural structures of Indigenous civilizations of the Americas.

Identify and locate geographic features in the Americas, including Mississippi River and Delta, Amazon River, the Pacific Ocean, Appalachian Mountains, Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean, South America, and the Yucatan Peninsula.

Describe the cultural elements among Indigenous communities in the Americas, including housing, clothing, games/entertainment, dance, and how food was gathered/caught and cooked.

Explain how nomadic groups of people first hunted and traveled throughout what would become Louisiana.

Explain how people living in what would become Louisiana gradually moved towards seasonal hunting and gathering, using new tools and practices for hunting, and building large mounds for ceremonial and practical purposes.

Describe key characteristics of Poverty Point culture, including art, hunting methods, dress, food, use of mounds, and resources traded there.

Explain the major accomplishments of the Mayans, including advancements in astronomy, mathematics and the calendar, construction of pyramids, temples, and hieroglyphic writing.

Describe the influence of geographic features on the origins of the Mayan civilization and explain theories related to the abandonment of their cities.

Use a variety of primary and secondary sources to:

Analyze social studies content.

Explain claims and evidence.

Compare and contrast multiple sources.

Explain connections between ideas, events, and developments in world history.

Compare and contrast events and developments in world history.

Construct and express claims that are supported with relevant evidence from primary and/or secondary sources, content knowledge, and clear reasoning in order to:

Demonstrate an understanding of social studies content.

Compare and contrast content and viewpoints.

Explain causes and effects.

Describe counterclaims.

Create and use geographic representations to locate and describe places and geographic characteristics, including hemispheres; landforms such as continents, oceans, rivers, mountains, and deserts; cardinal and intermediate directions; climate and environment.

Use geographic representations and historical information to explain how physical geography influenced the development of ancient civilizations and empires.

Describe the origin and spread of major world religions as they developed throughout history.

Describe the characteristics of nomadic hunter-gatherer societies, including their use of hunting weapons, fire, shelter and tools.