2017-18 ES Social Studies Unit 1 Assessment – Grade 4

AMERICAN INDIANS AND THEIR ENVIRONMENT

Illuminate Assessment Title: 2017-18 ES SS Unit 1 Assessment – Grade 4

Administration Information

 This assessment is worth a total of 16 points.

 This assessment should be administered over two 40-minute periods.
 Teachers must administer, grade and upload the assessment on Illuminate within 2 weeks of the unit
assessment date in the scope and sequence, and as outline in the Weekly Quiz Calendar:

Geography Testing Dates (Scope & Sequence) Data Due in Illuminate

New York
Connecticut Wednesday 9/13 – Thursday 9/14 4 PM, Friday 9/29
Rhode Island

 When students complete one part of the assessment, they may begin the next section. Students can
return to a section of the exam once they have completed it.
 This assessment is untimed; however, the table below provides suggestions for pacing. If students do
not finish in two days, teachers should provide additional times to complete assessment.

Section Brief Description Testing Time

1 Multiple Choice Items 15 min
2A Document Based Questions: Short Response 20 min
2B Document Based Questions: Extended Response 20 min
Total Time 55 min
Each multiple choice question is worth 1 point.

Part 1: Multiple Choice

Directions: Choose the best answer for the following multiple choice questions.

1. As they migrated, early American Indians had to adapt by

a. Using what was around them in nature.
b. Carrying all their food with them.
c. Leaving old tools behind.
d. Appointing new chiefs to lead them.
4.1 American Indian Environmental Adaptations

2. Most early American Indians settled in places that had

a. Scarce resources.
b. Lots of rain and snow.
c. Rich natural resources.
d. Huge ice sheets.
4.1 American Indian Environmental Adaptations

Use the map below to answer #3.

3. Most scientists believe the first Americans came
from
a. North America
b. South America
c. Siberia, in Asia
d. their origin stories
4.1 American Indian Environmental Adaptations

4. What is an adaptation?
a. The natural surroundings of a place,
including land, water, air, plants, and animals
b. A group of American Indians from the
Southwest
c. To change your ideas and ways of living to fit a new situation
d. An area where members of the same nation talk, work, or perform religious ceremonies
4.1 American Indian Environmental Adaptations

5. Which feature of the California-Intermountain environment best explains the Pomos’s use of
clamshells for jewelry?
a. Ocean
b. Mountains
c. High desert
d. Redwood forest
4.2 American Indian Cultures

6. Why did the Seminoles of southern Florida wear deer-hide leggings?

a. To trap alligators for their skins
b. To show their success hunting deer
c. For warmth in the cold winters
 d. For protection from the sharp saw grass
4.2 American Indian Cultures

The photographs below show two different American Indian shelters. Use the images to answer #8.

A clay pueblo built by the Hopi A teepee constructed by the

people of the Southwest Sioux of the Great Plains

7. Which of the following is the best explanation of why the Pueblos and the Sioux created the two
different types of shelter shown above?
a. They used what they brought from their homeland to a new environment to build each
shelter.
b. One of the shelters was for hunting; the other was for religious ceremonies.
c. The people only liked one type of shelter to live and other was really uncomfortable.
d. They used the natural resources that were available to them in the region to build each
shelter.
4.2 American Indian Cultures

Use the document about the Eastern Woodlands below to answer #8.

8. Which of the following statements best explains why maple sugar was part of American Indians’
culture in the Eastern Woodlands?
a. Maple syrup is a delicious treat discovered by American Indians and still used today.
b. American Indians used syrup to sweeten grains, tea, fruits and vegetables.
c. Maple trees covered the Eastern Woodlands and dripped sap in the spring.
 d. Moose hide and birch bark was used to collect dripping sap from the trees.
4.2 American Indian Cultures

Use the document below to answer #9.

At harvest time, the Iroquois gave thanks for their crops, saying:

“Great Spirit in heaven, we salute you with our thanks, that you have preserved so
many of us for another year, to participate in the ceremonies of this occasion.”

9. What does the above quote show about how the Iroquois felt about nature?
a. The Iroquois were thankful for to nature for the crops they grew.
b. Nature was not important to the way the Iroquois chose to live.
c. There are many spirits the Iroquois thanked for their crops.
d. The Iroquois were worried about surviving each year.
4.2 American Indian Cultures

Part 2: Document Based Questions

Historical Background: Many scientists believe that the early American Indians first migrated, or moved
from one region to another, thousands of years ago. These early people settled in different natural
environments over time. They adapted to their unique environments in order to survive and thrive.
Eventually, they based their customs and ways of life around the natural resources available where they
lived. We call the different areas they lived in cultural regions.

Task: The task below is based on Documents 1 through 4.

For Section A, read each document carefully and answer the question or questions that follows.

For Section B, use your answers to the questions in Section A, the information from the documents, and
you knowledge of Social Studies to write a well-organized paragraph in your own words. In your
paragraph, you should answer the question:

How were the lives of American Indians shaped

by their environment?
Part 2 Section A: Short Response Questions
Document 1

10. Which of the following Cultural Regions were located along water? How do you know? (1 point)
The Northeast Coast, the Arctic and the Eastern Woodlands were along water because they
depending on fish and other animals found in water for food.
4.1 American Indian Environmental Adaptations
Criteria for Success: 1 point for correctly identifying two or more correct regions AND explaining how the foods were
shaped by the environment. Partial credit should not be given for answers that do not include an explanation.

Document 2

A photograph of a young Inuit girl A map of the Arctic region where the Inuit live.

11. Using information from the photograph and the map above, explain how the Inuit used adapted to
their environment. (2 points)
The Inuit used natural resources to survive by using animal skins to make clothing. The Inuit lived
very far north in the Arctic where it’s cold, so they needed thick, warm clothing to keep themselves
warm. Animals like bears and seals live in the north and have warm skins and furs. Using animal
skins to make clothing helped Inuit survive in their environment.
4.1 American Indian Environmental Adaptations
Criteria for Success:
 This response is worth 2 points and should be scored using the 2-Point Rubric. A successful 2 point response will
include:
 A valid claim that demonstrates a full understanding of the question being asked
 Accurate and sufficient evidence from the text or source
 An explanation connecting the evidence back to the claim
 Vocabulary from the unit, text or source
 Appropriate grammar, spelling, and transition words between ideas

Document 3

Dugouts were artifacts

Made by the Chinook
Indians from the
Northwest Coast.

12. What can you tell about the Northwest Coast from their use of dugouts? (1 point)
The Northwest Coast must have had forests filled with cedar trees used to create the dugouts.
4.2 American Indian Cultures
Criteria for Success: 1 point for correctly identifying the cedar logs as the needed natural resource from cedar forests
OR the Chinooks location near the ocean and/or rivers that required transportation using canoes.

Document 4

Drawing of Seminole chickee Photograph of Everglades swamp in Florida

13. List one way the Seminole’s homes were shaped by their environment. (1 point)
 The Seminole’s homes were shaped by their environment because they used the tall grass from
their environment to make the chickee’s roof.
4.2 American Indian Cultures
Criteria for Success: 1 point for correctly identifying one way that the Seminoles considered their environment when
building their homes. The best examples are 1) using the tall grasses to build the roof and 2) raising the floor of the
chickee because of the swampy environment.

Part 2 Section B: Extended Response

Historical Background: Many scientists believe that the early American Indians first migrated, or moved
from one region to another, thousands of years ago. These early people settled in different natural
environments over time. They adapted to their unique environments in order to survive and thrive.
Eventually, they based their customs and ways of life around the natural resources available where they
lived. We call the different areas they lived in cultural regions.

ESSAY: Use the documents from Section A and your knowledge of Social Studies to write a well-
organized paragraph that answer the question below.

How were the lives of American Indians shaped

by their environment?
4.1 American Indian Environmental Adaptations
4.2 American Indian Cultures

In your response, make sure to include:

 A valid claim that fully answers the question
 More than 2 pieces of accurate evidence from your knowledge of Social Studies and documents above
 Explanations that connect evidence to the broader idea of the claim
 Vocabulary words from the unit and documents
 Appropriate grammar, spelling, and transition words between ideas

American Indians’ lives were shaped by their environment by impacting their clothes they wore, the
food they ate and the homes they lived in. The Inuit people had to adapt to the harsh, cold climate of
the Arctic region by dressing in warm furs and protecting themselves in their igloo homes. The people
of the Arctic, the Northwest Coast and the Eastern Woodlands ate fish because they lived near the
ocean. But, the people of the Desert Southwest ate corn and squash because they lived in a place with
almost no water. Even the homes that American Indians lived in was shaped by their environment. The
Seminoles had to build homes that were raised off the ground because they lived in such a swampy
environment. The cultures and adaptations of each group of American Indians was determined by the
natural resource, the climate and the location of their environment.
Criteria for Success:
This response is worth 2 points and should be scored using the 2-Point Rubric. A successful 2 point response will
include:
 A valid claim that demonstrates a full understanding of the question being asked
 Accurate and sufficient evidence from the text or source (for this essay, more than 2 pieces are required)
  An explanation connecting the evidence back to the claim
 Vocabulary from the unit, text or source
 Appropriate grammar, spelling, and transition words between ideas

2-Point Short Response Rubric

2 The features of a 2-point response are
 Valid claim(s) from the source that indicate a deep understanding and analysis of the task.
1

 Compelling, accurate, and sufficient evidence that develops the response and supports the claim(s).
2

 As needed, explanations of evidence indicate full understanding of the source and connect to the larger claim(s).
 Errors in grammar and usage do not impede readability or clarity of ideas.

STEM Addition:
 Appropriate, content specific vocabulary is present and used effectively.
 This level of response may also include diagrams, representations, or illustrations as required by the task.

1 The features of a 1-point response are

 A limited or overly literal understanding of the source that does not accurately address the task or only one part of it.
 Some evidence attempts to develop the response, but the evidence is not compelling or is insufficient in response to the task.
 Incomplete sentences or errors in grammar and usage that interfere with readability.

0 The features of a 0-point response are

 Response indicates a lack of understanding of the source, is totally inaccurate, or does not address the task at all.
 Attempts to support the response are minimal, inaccurate, or nonexistent.
 A response that is not written in English.
 A response that is unintelligible or indecipherable.

Note: Note on writing development: In Unit 1, the essay is graded based on the 2-point response rubric. Sufficient evidence for the
essay includes more than 2 pieces of evidence. In future units, essays will be graded based on strands of the PBA rubric.

1
Source can be taken to mean a text, experiment, multimedia experience, or mathematical task.
2
Evidence may be examples, definitions, or other information drawn from a source (see foot note 1) or a mathematical
task.