Ontario, Canada · Curriculum spine

Grade 4

47 concepts across 1 subject. Codes follow the ministry's own expectation numbers; where a course is broken into bites (chapter.bite), each bite names the expectations it covers.

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Social Studies

The Ontario Curriculum, Social Studies Grades 1 to 6; History and Geography Grades 7 and 8, 2023 · 47 concepts
Chapter 1

Chapter 1 · Finding Our Way: Maps and Directions

Geography words, the compass rose, Canada's place in the world, and map tools.

5
  1. 1.1
    Words geographers use
    Landforms, climate, raw materials, manufacturing and economic sectors.
    Ministry B3.1, B3.3
    Free to try
  2. 1.2
    Cardinal directions
    North, east, south and west, and what is all around Canada.
    After 1.1Ministry B3.7
    Lesson ready
  3. 1.3
    In-between directions
    NE, NW, SE and SW on the compass rose, from one province to another.
    After 1.2Ministry B3.7
    Lesson ready
  4. 1.4
    Directions around the world
    Seven continents, five oceans, and which way to travel between them.
    After 1.3Ministry B3.7, A3.1
    Lesson ready
  5. 1.5
    Map tools: title, legend, scale and grid
    Read a map like a pro, and find places with letter-and-number grids.
    After 1.4Ministry B3.7, B2.3
    Lesson ready
Chapter 2

Chapter 2 · Canada's Provinces and Territories

Thirteen political regions, their capitals, and the people who live there.

6
  1. 2.1
    Thirteen regions and the waters around them
    Ten provinces, three territories, three oceans, Hudson Bay and the Great Lakes.
    Ministry B3.5
    Lesson ready
  2. 2.2
    Capital cities
    Every province and territory's capital, its abbreviation, and Ottawa.
    After 2.1Ministry B3.5
    Lesson ready
  3. 2.3
    Province or territory?
    Who makes the rules: how provinces and territories are different, and other political regions.
    After 2.2Ministry B3.4
    Lesson ready
  4. 2.4
    Nunavut: Canada's newest territory
    How Nunavut was created in 1999 and what 'our land' means.
    After 2.3Ministry B3.4, B3.5
    Lesson ready
  5. 2.5
    The Inuit way of life
    Igloos, inuksuit, hunting and living well in the Arctic, then and now.
    After 2.4Ministry B3.5
    Lesson ready
  6. 2.6
    Living in different regions
    Opportunities and challenges for quality of life across Canada.
    After 2.5Ministry B3.6
    Lesson ready
Chapter 3

Chapter 3 · Canada's Physical Regions

Eight regions shaped by rock, ice, water and weather, and what people do there.

9
  1. 3.1
    What is a physical region?
    Landforms, climate and vegetation that make a region different.
    Ministry B3.1
    Lesson ready
  2. 3.2
    Western Cordillera
    Mountains, rainforests and salmon on the Pacific side.
    After 3.1Ministry B3.1, B3.2, B1.1
    Lesson ready
  3. 3.3
    Interior Plains
    Flat prairies, wheat, cattle and dinosaur fossils.
    After 3.2Ministry B3.1, B3.2, B1.1
    Lesson ready
  4. 3.4
    Canadian Shield
    Ancient rock, thousands of lakes, forests and mines.
    After 3.3Ministry B3.1, B3.2, B1.1
    Lesson ready
  5. 3.5
    Hudson Bay Lowlands
    Canada's biggest wetland, polar bears and clouds of mosquitoes.
    After 3.4Ministry B3.1, B3.2, B1.1
    Lesson ready
  6. 3.6
    Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands
    Rich soil, big cities, factories and Niagara Falls.
    After 3.5Ministry B3.1, B3.2, B1.1
    Lesson ready
  7. 3.7
    Appalachian Region
    Old rounded mountains, fishing and the Atlantic coast.
    After 3.6Ministry B3.1, B3.2, B1.1
    Lesson ready
  8. 3.8
    Arctic Lowlands and Innuitian Mountains
    Frozen ground, midnight sun, diamonds and the far north.
    After 3.7Ministry B3.1, B3.2, B1.1
    Lesson ready
  9. 3.9
    Comparing the regions
    How the regions are alike and different, all on one map.
    After 3.8Ministry B3.1, B3.2
    Lesson ready
Chapter 4

Chapter 4 · Resources, Industries and Our Environment

From raw materials to products, the four economic sectors, and caring for the land.

6
  1. 4.1
    Natural resources and raw materials
    Renewable and non-renewable gifts of the land, water and air.
    Ministry B3.2, B3.3
    Lesson ready
  2. 4.2
    The four economic sectors
    Taking, making, serving and knowing: primary to quaternary.
    After 4.1Ministry B3.3
    Lesson ready
  3. 4.3
    How the land shapes industry
    Why mines are on the Shield and farms are on the Plains.
    After 4.2Ministry B1.1
    Lesson ready
  4. 4.4
    Industry's footprint
    How mining, logging, farming and factories change the environment.
    After 4.3Ministry B1.2
    Lesson ready
  5. 4.5
    Taking care of the land
    What companies, governments, Indigenous communities and kids do for sustainability.
    After 4.4Ministry B1.3
    Lesson ready
  6. 4.6
    Investigating an issue
    Ask a question, gather evidence and decide: a real Canadian land-use debate.
    After 4.5Ministry B2.1, B2.2, B2.4, B2.5, B2.6
    Lesson ready
Chapter 5

Chapter 5 · History Detectives

How we know about the past: sources, timelines, pictures and maps.

4
  1. 5.1
    Primary and secondary sources
    Clues from the time itself, and books written later.
    Ministry A2.2
    Lesson ready
  2. 5.2
    Timelines: BCE, CE and centuries
    Count years before and after year 1, and put events in order.
    After 5.1Ministry A2.4, A2.6
    Lesson ready
  3. 5.3
    Reading pictures and artifacts
    What a pot, a carving or a painting tells us about daily life.
    After 5.2Ministry A3.2
    Lesson ready
  4. 5.4
    Mapping early societies
    Where early societies grew, and why near rivers, coasts and good land.
    After 5.3Ministry A3.1, A2.3
    Lesson ready
Chapter 6

Chapter 6 · First Peoples of Turtle Island

First Nations and Inuit societies before 1500 CE, and how they lived with the land.

5
  1. 6.1
    The Haudenosaunee
    Longhouses, clan mothers and the Three Sisters.
    Ministry A3.3, A3.5, A3.8
    Lesson ready
  2. 6.2
    The Anishinaabe
    Birchbark canoes, wild rice, seasonal rounds and the clan system.
    After 6.1Ministry A3.3, A3.5, A3.8
    Lesson ready
  3. 6.3
    Peoples of the Northwest Coast
    Cedar, salmon, totem poles and the potlatch.
    After 6.2Ministry A3.3, A3.4, A3.8
    Lesson ready
  4. 6.4
    The Thule, ancestors of the Inuit
    Kayaks, umiaks, snow houses and whale hunting in the Arctic.
    After 6.3Ministry A3.3, A3.4, A3.6
    Lesson ready
  5. 6.5
    The Great Law of Peace
    How five nations chose to cooperate, and how they made decisions.
    After 6.4Ministry A3.7, A3.9, A3.10
    Lesson ready
Chapter 7

Chapter 7 · Early Societies Around the World

River valleys, empires and kingdoms from about 3500 BCE to 1500 CE.

7
  1. 7.1
    Mesopotamia
    Between two rivers: farming, cities and the first writing.
    Ministry A3.3, A3.4, A3.6
    Lesson ready
  2. 7.2
    Ancient Egypt
    Gift of the Nile: pharaohs, pyramids and hieroglyphs.
    After 7.1Ministry A3.4, A3.7, A3.8
    Lesson ready
  3. 7.3
    Ancient China
    Dynasties, silk, paper and the Great Wall.
    After 7.2Ministry A3.6, A3.7
    Lesson ready
  4. 7.4
    Ancient Greece and Rome
    City-states, democracy, roads and aqueducts.
    After 7.3Ministry A3.6, A3.7, A3.9
    Lesson ready
  5. 7.5
    The Maya
    Cities in the rainforest, a calendar and the number zero.
    After 7.4Ministry A3.3, A3.6, A3.8
    Lesson ready
  6. 7.6
    The Kingdom of Mali
    Gold, salt, Timbuktu and Mansa Musa.
    After 7.5Ministry A3.3, A3.7, A3.9
    Lesson ready
  7. 7.7
    Medieval Europe and the Vikings
    Castles, the feudal pyramid, longships and L'Anse aux Meadows.
    After 7.6Ministry A3.8, A3.9, A3.10
    Lesson ready
Chapter 8

Chapter 8 · Then and Now

Compare early societies with Canada today.

5
  1. 8.1
    Who's in charge?
    Chiefs, councils, pharaohs, kings and Canada's democracy.
    Ministry A1.1, A3.7, A3.8
    Lesson ready
  2. 8.2
    Daily life then and now
    Food, homes, school, work and play, long ago and today.
    After 8.1Ministry A1.2, A1.3, A3.3
    Lesson ready
  3. 8.3
    Living with the environment
    How early societies met their needs, and what we can learn from them.
    After 8.2Ministry A1.4, A3.5
    Lesson ready
  4. 8.4
    Inventions that changed the world
    From the wheel and paper to the canoe and the snow goggle.
    After 8.3Ministry A3.6
    Lesson ready
  5. 8.5
    Conflict and cooperation
    Why groups argued or worked together, and how they made peace.
    After 8.4Ministry A3.9, A3.10, A2.5
    Lesson ready