Fourth Grade: You Decide (Strand: Civics)

Content: Washington State History

Directions for Students Essential Questions/Guiding Questions Keywords Graphic Organizers Resources Websites Shoreline IMC Primary Sources Print Local Video Rubrics & Assessments EALRs

Directions for Students

In an essay or presentation, you will:

• State a position on a public issue.
• Provide background on the issue by explaining two stakeholders' positions on this issue.
• Include an explanation of how EITHER a right OR the common good relates to the position on the issue.
• List two sources including the title, author, type of source, and date of each source.

Possible Essential Questions (choose one)

• What rules or laws do we need?
• How do citizens work together to problem-solve conflicts?
• How can citizens make a difference/
• How did the Oregon Trail have a positive or negative effect in Washington State?
• Should the remains of Kennewick Man be studied or reburied?
• Should dams be removed from Washington rivers?
• Should there be a ban on smoking in public places?
• Should the words "under God" be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance?

Guiding Questions

• What are the rights and responsibilities of citizens in Washington State?
• What challenges does Washington face as a state?
• How does government respond to the needs and wants of the people of Washington?

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Keywords

• Washington State history
• Washington State legislature
• Olympia, Washington
• Washington State laws
• Pacific Northwest Native American
• Oregon Trail
• Hydroelectric dam
• Irrigation
• Eastern Washington agriculture

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Graphic Organizers

You Decide Graphic Organizer (from OSPI)

Websites

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Shoreline IMC

• PACIFIC REGION (VC C-2537 - Video Cassette 22 mins 1998) - A brief overview of the geology, geography and history of the Pacific Region of the United States: Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii.
  
  
• A HORSE'S TALE: TEN ADVENTURES IN 100 YEARS (RM C-310 - Realia,Model,Pkt,Kit 1989) - 20 books, 1 historical Historical Activity Guide. Written by Washington authors to celebrate the State Centennial. Each of the ten tales covers a different decade and location. Stories are linked by the travels of a wooden toy horse. The stories reflect the impact of historical Washington State. The purpose of the activity book is to make history fun and interesting.
  
  
• GEOGRAPHY OF WASHINGTON (VC C-2326 - Video Cassette 30 mins 1998) - Home video of places, landmarks, and geographic regions of Washington. Filmed and narrated by students at Orondo Elementary School.
  
  
• GEOGRAPHY OF WASHINGTON STATE (CDR C-103 - Compact Disc ROM 1999) - This CD ROM is a comprehensive curriculum covering Washington geography. It includes maps, lessons, tests, and over 500 pictures of every region in the state. It was produced by a teacher in Orondo, Washington.
  
  
•  PACIFIC REGION (VC C-2537 - Video Cassette 22 mins 1998) - A brief overview of the geology, geography and history of the Pacific Region of the United States: Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii.
  
  
• PUGET SOUND: OUR HERITAGE AT RISK (VC E-1743 - Video Cassette 27 mins 1991) - Takes a close look at human activities and pressures that affect this enchanting land of mountains, mist and evergreens, mainly through the impacts on water. It also describes the measures necessary to protect this treasured resource.
  
  
• WONDERS OF WASHINGTON (RM C-291 - Realia,Model,Pkt,Kit) - 12 part series from the Seattle Times, June 1983, compiled into one newspaper. Title 'The Forces at Work', it includes articles on forests, deserts, plate, coast, Puget Sound, basalt, ice, flood, coulee, rivers, and humans in the State of Washington.
  
  
• THE COLUMBIA AND SNAKE RIVERS (VC C-2538 - Video Cassette 22 mins 2001) - A brief overview of the geology, geography and history of the Columbia River and its main tributary, the Snake River. Includes the roles these rivers have played in the early development and settlement of the regions they run through.
  
  
• HANDS ON HERITAGE (RM K-36 - Realia,Model,Pkt,Kit) - Offers over 200 ways to learn about neighboring cultures by actually experiencing the activities of that culture.
  
  
• THE NATIVE AMERICANS: THE TRIBAL PEOPLE OF THE NORTHWEST (VC C-2425 - Video Cassette 50 mins 1994) -Representing the Lummi, Salish, Chumash, Colville and Yakima, five Native Americans offer personal insights into the origins of their people and their cultures. Through them we learn the ancient lore and evolution of a varied culture of fishermen, farmers, hunters, trackers and traders, and the devastating effects of the coming of the "white man."
  
  
• NORTHWEST BLACK PIONEERS (VC C-2104 - Video Cassette 25 mins 1994) - Brief history of some of the first African Americans to settle in the Pacific Northwest. Covers the mid-1800s through the early 1900s. Divided into three parts: 1) Early Settlers & Work; 2) Community & Religion; 3) Development & Education. Hosted by Ralph Hayes.
  
  
• THE SEATTLE-TACOMA INTERURBAN RAILWAY (VC C-2147 - Video Cassette 42 mins 1996) - Between 1902 and 1928 the Puget Sound Electric Railway offered an efficient means of transportation from the many rural Puget Sound communities to the urban centers of Seattle and Tacoma. The Interurban Railway carried passengers and freight, fostering growth and development throughout the region.
  
  
• WASHINGTON WOMEN (RM K-37 - Realia,Model,Pkt,Kit) - A booklet of 101 Washington women sketches designed to give teachers and students a broader and more factual statement on women's roles within our state.

Primary Sources

Historic Newspapers in Washington - a searchable database from the Washington State Library

Print Resources (Libraries)

• Clean waters, streams and fish (PROF 333.7 CLE)
• The history and culture of the Indians of Washington State (PROF 970.1 SUP)
• WSHM Field Guide to the Hall of Washington History - 4th Grade Teacher Guide  (4th Grade Storage Room)
• The Living History of Washington State - 4th Grade Social Studies Teacher Guide  (4th Grade Storage Room)
  
  
• The Northwest : Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington by Grabowski, John F. (917.9 GRA)
• Olympic National Park by Nelson, Sharlene. (917.9 Nel)
• Northwest Black pioneers by Hayes, Ralph (PROF 920 HAY)
• Northwest frontier by Case, Matthew H. (979.7 CAS)
• Washington A portrait of the Evergreen State by Dorpat, Paul (979.7 DOR)
• Washington by Heinrichs, Ann (979.7 HEI)
• Washington facts and symbols by McAuliffe, Emily (979.7 McA)
• Where the Washingtonians lived by McDonald, Lucile (979.7 MCD)
• Highways to history (979.7 WAS)
• Washington (979.7 WAS)
• Windows in time (BOOK-TAPE 979.7 WIN)
  
  
• Our only May Amelia by Holm, Jennifer L. (F HOL)
• The ghost's grave by Kehret, Peg (F KEH)

Local Resources

• Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) - http://www.seattlehistory.org/

Portable Museum and Teacher & Trunk - Versions of a “museum in your classroom” to enhance the teaching of Washington State history, align with EALRs and Washington State Social Studies Assessments.  Each collection contains artifacts, a slide show, documents, maps, audio and a Teacher’s Manual with lesson plans and activities.

Portable Museums are available for the following topics and many more:

The Settlers in Washington State

1870 - 1910: Years of Growth and Change

1910-1945: The War Years

1945-1990: The Recent Years

Visual Resources - MOHAI's visual resource guides contain 20 or more slides, a script, background histories, photographs, activities, and more. Choose from topics including "Changing Scenes of Downtown Seattle", "Portraits of Seattle Civic Leaders, 1850-1928", "The Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition of 1909", "Women in Washington History."

• Washington State History Museum - http://www.washingtonhistory.org/index.htm

History Boxes

Frontier Towns: Maps, newspapers, photographs, land claim papers, resource books, cookbook, washboard, iron, quilt patch, candles and candle mold, period toys, and tools.

• HistoryLink - http://www.historylink.org

  • The online encyclopedia of Washington State History

    This site contains cybertours of different parts of Seattle, King County, and other parts of the state, as well as an encyclopedia of information about Washington state.

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Video Resources (United Streaming)

• National Government - link to United Streaming video   (07:33) - This video segment describes how our system of federalism works to maintain state and individual liberties while ensuring that the federal government is strong enough to meet the country's needs. It explains the national government's responsibilities in domestic and foreign policy, as well as how taxation and internal order work.
  
  
• Early Americans: Creating a Nation Based on Shared Values - link to United Streaming video   (06:05) - Members of the Continental Congress write the Declaration of Independence as early American settlers prepare to fight for their freedom from Britain. As the new nation grows, questions about the meaning of "equality" are debated and fought over. Today, the United States is a nation of diversity, with one in every two Americans sharing an ancestor who entered this country through Ellis Island.
  
  
• America's Roots - link to United Streaming video   (03:34) - America's government is based upon ideas taken from Judaism, Christianity, and ancient Greek and Roman governmental concepts. Justice, morality, and equality for all people are the basic values.
  
  
• Rufus, the Potbellied Pig - link to United Streaming video   (06:00) - City laws, local laws, Dekalb County, house pets, pot bellied pigs, data analysis, problem solving, core social study skills, urbanization, civic ordinances, city ordinances, identifying solutions, problem identification, problem statement
  
  
• TLC Elementary School: Understanding Government - link to United Streaming Video   (24:16) - Examine the structure and values of American government by exploring the rules in our daily lives and the reasons for them, as well as the rules and reasons behind our government.
  
  
• TLC Elementary School: Understanding Good Citizenship - link to United Streaming Video   (24:15) - Explore the responsibilities of citizens in a democracy and the factors to consider in selecting leaders.
  
  
• Creating a Classroom Constitution - link to United Streaming Video   (06:37) - Visit an elementary class as the students create their own classroom constitution and see how the U.S. Constitution emphasizes liberty, equality, and justice for all.

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Rubrics & Assessments

EALRs

• 1.2.1 Civics - Understands that governments are organized into local, state, tribal, and national levels.

  Examples:

  • Explains the hierarchy of state government over local government. 
  • Explains how tribal governments are sovereign, separate from state and local governments.