This unit is a 4th grade social studies unit connecting several of the Connecticut State social studies standards. The focus of fourth grade social studies is the subject of United States Geography guided by the study of human-environment interaction. The state course questions listed in the Connecticut Elementary and Secondary Social Studies Standards for 4th grade include; “How do people depend on and shape their environment?”, and “What influences the movement of people, goods, and ideas in the United States?”1. Students will be studying these questions as they relate specifically to rivers and watersheds and connect them to human dependence upon water as a natural resource as well as how people impact and change their environment as it relates to water.
I have chosen to use water as a lens to examine US Geography for 4th graders because it is a natural resource that connects the two guiding questions for state standards. Firstly, humans depend on water for health and survival. Students may not be entering the classroom with an understanding that access to safe, clean drinking water is an internationally recognized human right2. Additionally, water influences the movement of people, goods, and ideas. For example, since water sources are important for agricultural production of food, humans settled and civilized areas with consistent, clean water access. Besides connecting well with the 4th grade curriculum questions, this subject both builds upon 3rd grade learning and helps prepare students for the social studies subjects in 5th grade. Studying water is a logical way to expand upon the 3rd grade social studies curriculum which focuses on Connecticut State’s local history and identity. Studying water's connection to United States Geography will also prepare students for the 5th grade subject matter of human migration and early United States History.
My hope for students and teachers of this curriculum is to find a connection between natural resources and human action and ultimately how this forms the physical maps we study. Additionally, I hope these lessons provide students with a fundamental understanding of how the environment and people interact in a dynamic way which can lead to complex relationships between people and the places we live and are tasked with stewarding.
