CSDE Model Curricula Quick Start GuideThe Organization and Alignment of Grade-specific CT Core StandardsEquitable and Inclusive Curriculum  The CSDE believes in providing a set of conditions where learners are repositioned at the center of curricula planning and design. Curricula, from a culturally responsive perspective, require intentional planning for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the development of units and implementation of lessons. It is critical to develop a learning environment that is relevant to and reflective of students’ social, cultural, and linguistic experiences to effectively connect their culturally and community-based knowledge to the class. Begin by connecting what is known about students’ cognitive and interdisciplinary diversity to the learning of the unit. Opposed to starting instructional planning with gaps in students’ knowledge, plan from an asset-based perspective by starting from students’ strengths. In doing so, curricula’s implementation will be grounded in instruction that engages, motivates, and supports the intellectual capacity of all students.Standards-based Social Studies Instruction Standards-based social studies instruction at the kindergarten (K) through Grade12 levels can provide students with the critical content and skills they need to comprehend and impact the challenging and complex world they live in. High quality social studies instruction also allows students to appreciate and understand the cultures of all individuals and groups that reside in our state.Course Description:  In Grade 4, students study the human-environment interaction and movement of people and ideas with a focus on United States geography, culture, and environment. Students investigate how people depend on and shape environments. They use disciplinary tools and resources that support planning and developing inquiries, gathering relevant information, and communication of knowledge and ideas about United States geography. Questions that should be answered in a course description include: How do people depend on and shape their environment? What influences the movement of people, goods, and ideas in the United States? Aligned Core Resources:   Core resources are a local control decision. It is imperative that curriculum be implemented using high quality instructional materials to ensure all students meet Connecticut’s standards. Ensuring alignment of resources to the standards is critical for holistic success. There are tools that are available to districts to assist in evaluating alignment of resources, such as CCSSO’s Mathematics Curriculum Analysis Project and Student Achievement Partner’s Instructional Materials Evaluation Tool.   In addition, there exist compilations of completed reviews from a variety of resources. Some of these include but are not limited to EdReports, Louisiana Believes, CURATE, and Oregon Adopted Instructional Materials. Connecticut is currently working on providing additional alignment guidance for the most frequently used resources across the state.  Additional Course Information:  Big ideas addressed in the course: Understanding Regions Location, Place, and Movement Regional Interdependence Habits of Mind/SEIH/Transferable Skills Addressed in the Course: The skills you want students to master in their journey to success in college, career, and civic life (e.g., initiative, responsibility, perseverance, collaboration, empathy, respect). The Standards for Social Studies practice are aligned with the C3 Framework and follow the four dimensions of inquiry. The inquiry process is critical for framing the way students learn about history, geography, civics, and economics. The Inquiry Standards of practice describe the thinking processes, habits of mind, and dispositions that students need to develop a strong, critical, and courageous enduring understanding of Social Studies. Central to the C3 Framework is the Inquiry Arc, which frames the ways students learn social studies content. The Inquiry Arc established four dimensions of inquiry: (1) developing questions and planning inquiry, (2) applying disciplinary concepts and tools, (3) evaluating sources and using evidence, and (4) communicating conclusions and taking informed action. The C3 Framework also established four major disciplines in social studies—civics, economics, geography, and history—that form the basis of the second dimension of the Inquiry Arc and that all four major disciplines should be represented within social studies courses. Therefore, the following should be addressed throughout the course: Explain why compelling questions about a United States region are important to others (e.g., peers, adults).  Explain how supporting questions help answer compelling questions in an inquiry about a United States region.  Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration the different opinions people have about how to answer the question.  Apply disciplinary knowledge and practices to demonstrate an understanding of United States geography content. Gather relevant information from multiple sources about an event or issue in a United States region.  Identify evidence response to a compelling question while determining among fact and opinion to determine the credibility of multiple sources. Use evidence to develop claims in response to a compelling question by using evidence related to the geography of a United States region. Construct arguments using claims and evidence from multiple sources about a United States region. Construct explanations using reasoning, correct sequence, examples, and details with relevant information and data.  Critique arguments and explanations.  Present a summary of arguments and explanations with relevant information about a person, event, or issue in a United States region using print, oral, and digital technologies (e.g., reasoning, correct sequence, examples, data, details).  Explain the challenges and opportunities, both present and past, in addressing local, regional, and global problems in a United States region.  Use a range of deliberative and democratic procedures to evaluate and implement strategies to address problems in classrooms and schools. It is important to note that the Social Studies curriculum units integrate social, emotional, and intellectual habits. Please review the Components of Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Habits: Kindergarten through Grade 12 for more details.