Fourth Grade Benchmarks - Culture

Performance Indicators State

4.1.spi.1. Identify pre-Colonial Native American groups (i.e., Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, Aztec, Mayans, Olmec, Mississippi Mound Builders). Native American Groups - This site has student created reports about Native American tribes by region.
4.1.spi.2. Identify cultural groups who inhabited North America in the 17th century (i.e., Puritans, Quakers, Spanish, French).
4.1.spi.3 Determine how various groups resolve conflict (i.e., school, tribal councils, courts).
4.1.spi.4 Examine how Native American culture changed as a result of contact with European cultures. (i.e. decreased population, spread of disease, increased conflict, loss of territory, increase of trade.)  
4.1.spi.5. Identify various racial and ethnic groups in Tennessee at the founding of statehood (i.e. Cherokee, Creek, Shawnee, English, Scottish, French, American born pioneers).
4.1.spi.6. Read and interpret facts from a historical passage about an early American Spanish mission.

Fourth Grade Benchmarks - Economics

Performance Indicators State

4.2.spi.1. Recognize the concept of supply and demand. Supply & Demand - This article describes these concepts in easy to understand terms.
4.2.spi.2. Interpret a chart of major agricultural produce in Tennessee. (i.e., cotton, tobacco, soy beans, rice, corn, cattle, wheat, swine, sheep).
4.2.spi.3. Identify major industries of Colonial America using a map of the original 13 colonies.
4.2.spi.4. Recognize the difference between a barter system and a money system.
4.2.spi.5. Analyze the impact of European exploration and colonization on the economy of Tennessee.

Fourth Grade Benchmarks - Geography

Performance Indicators State

4.3.spi.1. Identify the routes the explorers of the Americas on a map (i.e., Columbus, Balboa, Pizarro, DeSoto).
4.3.spi.2. Identify and use key geographical features on maps (i.e., mountains, rivers, plains, valleys, forests).
4.3.spi.3. Recognize the reasons settlements are founded on major river systems. (i.e., transportation, manmade boundaries, food and water sources).
4.3.spi.4. Recognize river systems that impacted early American history (i.e., Mississippi, Mystic, Charles, Hudson).
4.3.spi.5. Determine how physical processes shape the United States' features and patterns (i.e. erosion, volcanoes, plate tectonics, flooding).
4.3.spi.6. Use latitude and longitude to identify major North American cities on a map (i.e., Boston, Mexico City, Toronto, Charleston, Savannah, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Sante Fe, Los Angeles).
4.3.spi.7. Determine how density, distribution, and growth rate affected United States settlement patterns.
4.3.spi.8. Identify cause and effect relationships between population distribution and environmental issues (i.e., water supply, air quality, solid waste).

Fourth Grade Benchmarks - Governance & Civics

Performance Indicators State

4.4.spi.1. Identify the 3 branches of federal and state governments.
4.4.spi.2. Identify the rights outlined by the Bill of Rights (i.e., Amendments 1,5,6,8).
4.4.spi.3. Examine how the Mayflower Compact is a symbol of the first United States government.
4.4.spi.4. Using a chart showing checks and balances, explain how one branch of government can limit the power of others

Fourth Grade Benchmarks - History

Performance Indicators State

4.5.spi.1. Identify Native American groups in Tennessee before European explorations (i.e., Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw).
4.5.spi.2. Identify major Tennessee political leaders (i.e., Andrew Jackson, Sam Houston, James Polk, Sequoyia, David Crockett, Nancy Ward). Native American Biographies - Includes many important Native Americans, including Sequoyah.
4.5.spi.3. Interpret a time line that depicts major historical pre-Civil War events.
4.5.spi.4. Determine the hardships faced by early Tennessee settlers in the late 1700's (i.e., security, isolated communities, lack of access to goods, natural geography).
4.5.spi.5. Determine the reasons for colonial settlement (i.e., religious, economic, individual freedom).
4.5.spi.6. Examine the events that contributed to the outbreak of the American Revolution (i.e. taxation, judicial process, lack of representations, quartering of troops).
4.5.spi.7. Determine why the United States Constitution was necessary (i.e., no single currency, no judicial branch, no enforcement of laws, small and large states having unequal representation).
4.5.spi.8. Interpret a time line that depicts slave and indentured servants coming from Europe to life in North America.
4.5.spi.9. Determine the influence Lewis and Clark's expedition had on westward expansion.
4.5.spi.10. Recognize the accomplishments of John Sevier contributed to Tennessee history (i.e., State of Franklin's one and only governor, Tennessee's first governor, United States Congressman, soldier).
4.5.spi.11. Interpret a visual contrasting life before and after the American Revolution (i.e., education, family size, transportation, politics).
4.5.spi.12. Read and interpret a passage about the Trail of Tears.
4.5.spi.13. Analyze how the Louisiana Purchase influenced the growth of the United States (i.e., increased size, encouraged expansion, increased natural resources.)

Fourth Grade Benchmarks - Individuals, Groups, & Interactions

Performance Indicators State

4.6.spi.1. Recognize how groups work cooperatively to accomplish goals and encourage change (i.e., American. Revolution, founding of Tennessee, the failure of the Articles of Confederation, colonies).
4.6.spi.2. Determine how the issue of slavery caused political and economic tensions between government policy and people's beliefs (i.e., abolitionists, plantation owners, state's rights, central government, Loyalists).
4.6.spi.3. Read and interpret a passage about a political or economic issue which individuals may respond to with contrasting views (i.e., state taxes, federal taxes, slavery, Bill of Rights).