Fourth Graders Learn Impact of Explorers on Native California

The through line in fourth grade social studies is California. Each year “we start learning about the first Californians and the Gold Rush, and end our year learning about modern-day California government,” explains teacher Abby Stanford. This week, fourth graders completed a unit on California explorers. Students made PowerPoint presentations, learning about where their explorer voyaged and what impact—positive or negative—the explorer had on the native people of California. Explorers researched include Sir Francis Drake, Francisco de Ulloa, Junipero Serra, and Juan Bautista de Anza.

 

“I think it’s important for students to learn about the history of California, especially the explorers,” Ms. Stanford adds. “It’s important for understanding change and how the state [the students] live in today was shaped by these people of the past.” MORE PHOTOS