NYCDOE: Passport to Social Studies - grade 4, unit 5

Note to Teachers: To help with remote and hybrid learning, digital materials for this unit are available on the NYCDOE TeachHub. Access these materials by following these instructions.

This is the curriculum guide for the fifth unit of the grade four Social Studies Scope and Sequence, titled: Making the Empire State: Immigration, Industrialization and Westward Movement. It was developed by a team of NYCDOE staff and teachers, in collaboration with scholars of the humanities and social sciences as well as museum curators. Students will immerse themselves in the topic by discussing focus questions, reading and analyzing a rich collection of diverse primary and secondary sources, examining artifacts, and interpreting images, such as paintings and photographs, maps, and political cartoons.

This guide offers a multitude of perspectives on how improvements and inventions in transportation and communication changed New York and America, the development of finance, agriculture, industry, and labor unions in New York due to urbanization, the effects of migration and immigration on New York, and the African American migration to New York City following the Civil War.

To evaluate student mastery of content knowledge, cognitive processes, and critical thinking skills, this unit includes formative assessments, and a performance-based assessment activity, which has students creating an “Immigrant Survival Guide” for immigrants who came to New York City between 1840 and 1920.

Please note: the complete set of NYCDOE K-8: Passport to Social Studies Core Curriculum materials include a wide-range of trade books and primary documents, in addition to this unit of study. In order to support rigorous social studies instruction and student inquiry, we recommend that teachers integrate these resources into their daily instruction and assessments plans.

Access a version of this resource compatible with assistive technology and screen-readers.