Fourth Grade - Social Studies - Westward Expansion

In this unit, students are learning about events in our country's past that influence us today. These include the invention of the steamboat and the telegraph, as well as the completion of the transcontinental railroad.

Learner Group:            18 Talented and Gifted Students in Pull-Out Model with Talented/Gifted Teacher

Time for Module:          4-5 day class periods of 75 minutes each 

Instructor's Role:          Facilitator

Formative Evaluation:   Three rubrics completed by students throughout the module

Feedback:                  Teacher feedback will be given on each student-completed rubric     

Dimensions of  Flexibility

     Multiple means of representation, expression and engagement are provided in each section of the module

Essential Question:  

In what ways do events in our country's past influence us today?

Georgia Performance Standards SS4H6a and SS4H6b

Student Syllabus

Learning Module Teaching and Assessment 

Students will complete three self-selected activities.  Working in teams they will learn and share their learning on the topics of the steamboat, the telegraph, and the transcontinental railroad.  Their performance will be assessed through use of a rubric which will be available to students prior to the starting the assignments.

At the end of the module, they will be asked to answer this question:

Which of the three inventions you have learned about in this module affects us the most today?  Why?  Write a persuasive essay to answer the question. 

The essays will be read by your classmates.  There will then be a private vote to determine the class consensus as to the invention that most affects us today?