Grade: 4 and 5 Social Studies
Strand A: Heritage and Identity: Early Societies, 3000 BCE – 1500 CE (Grade 4)
Heritage and Identity: First Nations and Europeans in New France and Early
Canada (Grade 5)
Would You Stay or Would You Go?
Concepts of Disciplinary Thinking
Continuity and Change
Interrelationships
Citizenship Education
Identity
Overall Expectations
Big Ideas (from curriculum document)
Grade 4
Application:
compare key aspects of life in a few early
societies (3000 BCE–1500 CE), each from a
different region and era and representing a
different culture, and describe some key
similarities and differences between these early
societies and present-day Canadian society
Grade 5
Application:
Teachers using this unit guide should note
that this Overall Expectation will need to be
assessed in separate but equal student
learning opportunities as this OE does not
lend itself to this inquiry.
Grade 4
By studying the past,
we can better
understand the
present.
Grade 5
Inquiry:
use the social studies inquiry process to
investigate ways of life and relationships with
the environment in two or more early societies
(3000 BCE–1500 CE), with an emphasis on
aspects of the interrelationship between the
environment and life in those societies
Inquiry:
use the social studies inquiry process to
investigate aspects of interactions among
and between First Nations and Europeans in
Canada prior to 1713 from the perspectives
of the various groups involved
The environment had
a major impact on
daily life in early
societies.
Understanding Context:
demonstrate an understanding of key aspects
of a few early societies (3000 BCE–1500 CE),
each from a different region and era and
representing a different culture, with reference
to their political and social organization, daily
life, and relationships with their environment
and with each other
Understanding Context:
describe significant features of and
interactions between some of the main
communities in Canada prior to 1713, with a
particular focus on First Nations and New
France
Not all societies were
the same.
When studying
interrelationships
between groups of
people, it is important
to be aware that each
group has its own
perspective on those
interrelationships
Cooperation and
conflicts are inherent
aspects of human
interactions/relationsh
ips
Combined Grade Unit: Key Areas of Inquiry and Focus
If you travelled to a past society, either in Canada or globally, and had the option to stay in that society or
travel back to present-day Canada would you stay or would you go? Why?
Overarching
Question
Big Ideas
Framing Questions
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Societies, past and present, have both similarities and differences.
Societies we live in impact our beliefs, attitudes, and values.
Learning about our past can impact the decisions we make today.
What are the features of a society? What are the elements that make up a culture? Consider political
and social organization, aspects of daily life, and people’s relationships with the environment.
Does the environment have the same impact on Canadian society today as it did on early societies
and civilizations?
How did people in early societies get along with each other?
Compared to past societies, to what degree is present-day Canada a better or worse place to live?
Learning Goals
We are learning to:
Grade 4
Identify, describe, and compare
the social organization and
aspects of daily lives in early
societies.
Ask questions, gather
information from a variety of
sources (primary documents,
visual evidence, and maps), and
evaluate this information to
draw and communicate
meaningful conclusions about
early societies.
Grade 5
Identify, describe, and
compare key characteristics
of First Nations communities
before first contact and of
Early European settlements
in Canada.
Ask questions, gather
information from a variety of
sources (primary documents,
visual evidence, and maps),
and evaluate this information
to draw and communicate
meaningful conclusions about
early Canadian societies.
Describe how the natural
environment affected early
societies.
Describe the main motives for
European settlement in
Canada.
Describe the way social
interactions in early societies
demonstrate people’s efforts to
deal with conflict and to
cooperate
Describe interactions
between various early
societies in Canada, both
First Nations and early
European
Think About Literacy Skills
What will my students need to know
and do in terms of reading, writing,
speaking, listening, viewing and
representing to achieve these goals?
Think About Cross-Curricular Links
Science Grade 4: Habitats and Communities
Science Grade 5: Conservation of Energy and Resources
The Arts Grades 4 and 5 (if drama option, below, is pursued: Drama
(“Elements of Drama”)
Assessment of Learning Options
Grade 4 & 5
 Organizer or placemat that captures students’ learning of key features
of the society
 Chart or organizer weighing pluses and minuses of “staying or going”
with decision made articulated
 iMovie, skit, or other dramatic presentation to demonstrate response
to the overarching question illustrating time travel and the traveller’s
ultimate decision
 Digital journal or “Captain’s Log” from the time traveller
Possible scaffolds
 Using visuals, experiences, video, interesting words or quotations to
prompt student questions and activate background knowledge
 Shared inquiry into an early society or to present-day Canada to
model for students inquiry habits
 Teacher modelling of literacy strategies and inquiry habits (ex. how to
ask rich questions, how to evaluate bias in source documents)
 Mini-lessons led by teacher to address misconceptions and gaps in
learning
 Guided instruction and conferencing to support student progress