Welcome! - Overview of the Year

Welcome to my blog! The purpose of this blog is to keep myself organized as well as to help anyone else out there who is struggling with teaching California's history with out a good curriculum.

I am using the CAVA curriculum and have loved it up until this year. Their History K-3 has been amazing but is lacking in State History for 4th. When my daughter was in 4th grade in school the focus was on "Mission History" and much less on the rich history of our state. I want more than that for my son. I want him to really have a firm understanding of our state and how we came to be here. I want him to have a sense of pride in being a Californian. I don't want the same old boring history and complicated projects that are beyond his grasp. I want this to be a year of exploring and hands on learning. Let's not just read about it - let's go see it! Let's live it! Let's understand it and how it fits into the rest of the world.

I am hoping that this year we will be able to cut down on repetitive busy work and focus on the fun of learning. I am going to try to be diligent in posting our progress here in hopes that it can help others who are going through the same struggle as me in finding a good 4th grade curriculum for California's history. Please feel free to leave comments, suggestions and ideas.

Here is an overview of what I hope to cover this year:

Unit 1 – Geography

Goals:

  - learn geography and natural wonders

  - redwoods, Yosemite, rivers, lakes, desert, mountains, central valley

Field Trip

Unit 2 – Time Line and Native Tribes

Overview and objectives:

Make timeline - put in hall

             - add east coast and European events.

  - add our family timeline

Native tribes

            - locations

                        - color on map

             - lifestyle

             - field trip

Unit 3 – Early Explorers and Settlers

Study British

- put British flag on topographical map

- is there a monument in SF to go see?

Study Spanish explorers

  - who and why

  - add flags

  -forts

       - fort field trip

Study Russians

  -add forts to topographical map with Russian flag.

  - field trip to Fort Ross

Unit 4 - California Missions

  - missions

     - mission field trip

  - add the above to the map

Independence from Mexico and statehood

Unit 5 - Trade

  - what did they trade?

  - how did they trade - using rivers etc

  - boat ride on the Sacramento River

Sutters Fort

Unit 6 - Gold!

Unit 7 - Immigration

  - types of transportation

    - RR

    - wagon train

    - boat - cape horn

Unit 8 - Industries

  - support for minors

  - ranchers

  - farms

  - Hollywood

Unit 9 - John Mure

Unit 10 - Local Settlers

Henry Miller - Mt. Madonna

  - See ruins of his summer home

Unit 11 - History of San Jose

Unit 12 - State government

  - counties

  - Visit State Capitol