CBC LESSON NOTES

SOCIAL STUDIES
GRADE 4 NOTES

FREE LESSON NOTES FOR GRADE FOUR

GRADE 4 SOCIAL STUDIES LESSON NOTES

NATURAL AND BUILT ENVIRONMENTS

Natural environment
 Natural environment refers to all living and non-living things that occur naturally

Compass direction
 A compass is used to tell direction of one place from another
 The compass has four points namely:
1. North
2. South
3. East
4. West
 The points of a compass are called cardinal points.
 A compass is used to show direction on a map
 The arrow of the compass always points to the north
 East shows the direction from which the sun rises.
 West shows the direction to which the sun sets.

North (N)

WEST (W) EAST(E)

SOUTH(S)

Using cardinal points to give direction

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Eight compass points
 There are four other points of a compass that are found between four cardinal points.

NORTH WEST NORTH NORTH EAST

WEST EAST

SOUTH WEST SOUTH SOUTH EAST

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Location and size of the county

 Our country is made up of several counties
 There are 47 counties in Kenya
 Our school is located in Nakuru County
Sub counties that make up our county Nakuru are
 Naivasha
 Gilgil
 Nakuru central
 Rongai
 Kuresoi
 Molo
 Njoro
 Nakuru north
 Subukia
 Bahati

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Location and size of the county in relation to the neighboring counties
 Our country is made up of several counties
 There are 47 counties in Kenya
 Our school is located in Nakuru County

Counties that neighbor our county Nakuru

 Baringo county to the north
 Laikipia county to the north east
 Nyandarua county to the east
 Kiambu county to the south east
 Kajiado county to the south
 Narok county to the south west
 Bomet county to the west
 Kericho county to the west

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PHYSICAL FEATURES IN THE COUNTY
 Physical features are natural things we see on the surface of the earth
 They show how the land looks like
 Examples of physical features
1. Rivers
2. Lakes
3. Mountains
4. Plains
5. Valleys
6. Swamps
7. Plateaus
8. Springs
9. Hills
10. Oceans

RIVERS
 A river is a natural flow of water in a valley
 Rivers flow throughout the year are called permanent rivers
 Rivers flowing only during wet season are called seasonal rivers
 An area where the river starts is called a source
 Small streams that join the main river are called Tributaries
 A point where two or more rivers meet is called a confluence
 Where the river drains forms its mouth

Examples of rivers in our county

1) River Subukia
2) River Amalo in Olenguruone
3) River Molo
4) River Chawai in Mau forest
5) River Chinga in Subukia
6) River Kabazi
7) River Chania in Bahati
8) Shrine stream

Some seasonal rivers

1) River Nyarugu in Njoro
2) River Bagaria
3) River Lolderi
4) River Kirimu

WATER FALLS
 It is the flow of a river over a very high place to the ground

Some examples of water falls in our county

1. Bagaria water falls along R.Bagaria
2. Songongo water falls along R.Chewai
3. Glory and along the Subukia escarpment

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LAKES
 It is a large depression on the surface of the earth that is filled with water
 Examples
1) Lake Nakuru
2) Lake Elementaita
3) Lake Naivasha
4) Lake Oloidien

HILLS
 It is an area that is higher than the surrounding land
 Hills are smaller than mountains
 Examples
1) Hyrax hills
2) Lions hills
3) Man hills
4) Eburu hills
5) Kerugue hills
6) Gilgil hills
7) Jogoo hills
8) Lesirwa hills
9) Jumatatu hills
10) Kasambara hills
11) Kianjoya hills at miti mingi
12) Elge wood hills
13) Arashi hills
14) Kerima Ndege hills in mbogoini
15) Gitunga hills
16) Mwiteithia hills in Mbogoini lower subukia
17) Honeymoon hill in Nakuru National park

MOUNTAINS
 It is a large part of the earth surface that is much higher than its surrounding
 Examples
1) MT. Menengai
2) MT, Longonot
3) MT. Suswa

The highest mountain in Nakuru County is MT. Longonot near Maai – Mahiu, Naivasha Sub
County

PLAINS
 It is a large low land that is generally flat
1) Elementaita plains
2) Kigio plains
3) Rongai- boror – ngata plains

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VALLEYS
 It is a depression between two areas that are high or raised
 Valleys that rivers flow through them are called Valley Rivers
 Examples
1) Great rift valley
2) Nyatoru valley in Kiambogo
3) Subukia valley

SWAMPS
 Are lowlands filled with water and covered by swamps
Examples
1) Kiptungar swampsnear Mau forest
2) Sasumua swamp near Muchorwe moto
3) Wila swamp in kuresoi
4) Silbwet swamp in keringet in kuresoi

SPRINGS
 It forms where water flows out of the ground from an underground source
 Examples
1) Lake Elementaita springs
2) Lake Nakuru springs
3) Labere springs
4) Oljorai springs
5) Kariandusi springs
6) Chamuka springs

PLATEAUS
 It is a raised piece of land that is flat at the top
 Examples
1) Metha plateau
2) Kiambogo – Ndabibi area near Nyatoru valley

OCEANS
 Are very large areas of water where water from different rivers collect.
Examples
Indian Ocean

Importance of physical features

1) Water for domestic and industrial use
2) Home for wildlife
3) Used for irrigation
4) Tourist attraction
5) Used for transport
6) Clay collected at the river banks is used for modeling
7) Rivers act as boundaries
8) Plains are good grazing grounds
9) Valleys are good for farming

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Conserving physical features
 Physical features can be conserved by
1. Plating more trees
2. Not cutting down trees
3. Prevent overuse and deforestation of forest.
4. Avoid pollution of water bodies.
5. Educate people on importance of physical features.

Seasons in the county

 There are 4 seasons in a year
 These are:
1. Hot
2. Cold
3. Dry
4. Rainy

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Activities in different seasons

 People carry out different activities each season.
 People wear different types of clothes during different seasons.
Season Activity
Hot 1. Harvesting crops
2.
Dry 1. Preparing land
2.
Cold 1. Weeding crops
2.
Rainy 1. Planting crops
2.

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Built environment
 Built environments refer to the human made environment.
 For example schools
 Some of the buildings we see today were built long time ago. They are part of built
environment.

Historic built environment in the county

 These are structures/environments that remind us of our history or where we have
come from
 Historic built environment refers to features made by people
 These features have a historic value
 They include
1) Museums
2) Monuments

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 3) Historical buildings
4) Cultural centers
5) Historical sites

Historic built environments

Name of the built County Type-museum, monuments,

environment building, cultural centres
1 Fort Jesus Mombasa
2 Bomas of Kenya Nairobi Cultural centre
3 Hyrax museum Nairobi museum
4 Lord Egerton castle Nakuru
5 Jomo Kenyatta monument Nairobi Monument
6 Nairobi museum Nairobi

Importance of the historic built environment

 They create a sense of belonging
 They serve as resources learning centres
 Attracts tourist and earn as foreign exchange in our county
 They enable social interactions with friends, family and community when we visit
them
 Many people are employed to work in historical buildings, museums, and take care of
monuments
 They remind us and teach us about our culture
 They are sources of information for learning
 They are used as recreational areas for relaxation

Ways of caring for historic built environments.

 Repair the destroyed parts of historic built environments
 Handle items in the historic environments with care
 Develop conservation messages and place them at historic built environments
 Educate other people on the importance of historic built environments
 We can also repair broken parts, guard and dust them.
 We can clean, clear bushes, paint or fence the area.
 We should take care of our historic built environments.

Participating in caring for historic environments

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PEOPLE AND POPULATION

INTERDEPENDENCE OF PEOPLE
 Interdependence means depending on each other.
 In our county people depend on each other
 For example we go to the market to buy what we do not have. Other people go to the
market to sell what they have in excess.
 We all need each other.
 Life becomes easier and enjoyable when we depend on each other.

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Ways in which people depend on each other

 People also depend on each other through various means. They include:
1. Food
2. Treatment
3. Education
4. Market

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Benefits of interdependence
 It promotes love and unity among people
 It brings development e.g. the development of roads which connect different
communities.
 It discourages tribalism, racism and corruption
 It leads to the exchange of culture, goods and services.
 Through interdependence people are able to
1. Live in unity
2. Get assistance or support
3. Appreciate each other’s culture
4. Do what they cannot do on their own
5. Get what they do not have
6. Get new ideas and knowledge

Population distribution
 Population refers to the number of people living in a given/particular place
 Population distribution refers to how people are spread over in an area

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Population distribution in the county
 Population of our county is not evenly distributed
 Some areas are;
1. Sparsely populated
2. Medium/moderately populated
3. Densely populated
 Areas with many houses are densely populated.
 Areas with few houses are sparsely populated.
 Areas with few houses far away from each other are unevenly distributed.

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Common patterns of population distribution

1. Linear pattern – this is where the houses are arranged in a line.
2. Clustered pattern – this is where houses are close to each other.
3. Scattered pattern – this is where the houses are spread out.

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Patterns of population distribution in our county

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CULTURE AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS

CULTURE
 Culture is people’s way of life.
 Each community has its own way of doing things.
 Communities have different types of foods, dressing, songs, dances, ceremonies and
festivals.
 Culture is passed from one generation to another.

Aspects of traditional culture in the county

Aspect of culture What is common in my community
1. Food Kalenjins
Drink such as mursik(sour milk)
Animal’s blood mixed with fermented milk
Cereals such as millet (bek/kilipsiongik) andsorghum (mosongik)
Meat (pendo)
Mushroom (popek)
Vegetables such as isoik
Maasai
Drink milk and blood and soup
Meat from goats, sheep and cattle
Agikuyu
Cereals such as lablab beans (njahi), peas (njugu) and beans (mboco)
Crops like sweet potatoes (ngwaci),cassava (mwanga),yams (ikwa),and
arrowroots (nduma)
Fruits such as terere(aramantha) stinging nettle kahurura and manage
Irio(mashed beans, maize, potatoes and green vegetables)
2. Dressing  The mode of dressing depended mainly on the occasion
 Most communities used to dress from animal skins, grass and
leaves
 Among the Maasai, adults plaited their hair and decorated their
bodies
 Warriors had special dressing and weapons
 Leaders wore special clothes like hats
 Women wore bangles around their arms and legs and necklaces
around their necks
 Girls wore special dressing before and after initiation
3. Housing

4. Ceremonies  A ceremony is an activity or event held to mark a certain

accession
 The ceremony may involve songs, dances and celebrations

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  They were held during important events such as birth,
circumcision, funerals
5. Songs and  They were sang for entertainment and pass important messages
dances  Song were sang during: Marriage, Initiation, Work, War, Child
naming ceremony, Funerals
6. Games and
sports

7. Festivals  They are days or the periods of the celebrations

 They are held to celebrate when something special has
happened
Examples: music festivals, harvesting festivals, drama festivals
8. Traditional  People were treated by traditional doctors and medicines
medicine  Learning was done through experts
practices  This was called apprenticeship
 Some women were trained as midwives who assisted mothers
when giving birth

Importance of aspects of traditional culture

1. Culture promotes unity among the members of the society through sports and games,
festivals and ceremonies.
2. Through culture, young people are able to learn good morals and values.
3. Culture makes us unique through language, types of food we eat and the dressing
styles.
4. Tourists pay some money to see our culture. This money helps the government to
develop our country.
5. Promote love and kindness
6. Promote responsible people in the society
7. Promote honesty
8. They develop good habits

The school
 A school is a place where pupils go to be taught or to learn
 Is an educational institution designed to provide learning to learners with the support
of teachers
 A school mainly equips learners with knowledge and skills
 A school trains individuals to be responsible or useful members of the society
 We have government and private schools

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History of the school
 Every school has a history.
 The history tells us when and how the school started.
 It also tells us about the achievement of the school.
 This history gives the school an opportunity to focus on future plans.

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School motto and core values

 A school motto is a short statement of what a school believes in.
 School core values are important believes that guide the members of the school.

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PRACTISING SCHOOL MOTTO AND CORE VALUES IN SCHOOL

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School routine
 A daily school routine is a list of activities that the school does every day.
 Is the programme of activities that have been planned to take place every day in
the school
 Day schools and boarding schools have different routines
 A school routine is prepared by the school administration
 School routine should be as per the guidelines of the ministry of education.
 A school routine is clearly indicated on the school timetable

Importance of a school routine

 It helps the school to run smoothly
 It ensures order and harmony in the school
 Helps in bringing up all round pupils
 Helps to train pupils to be responsible
 Helps in proper time management
 Helps to strengthen discipline among pupils
 Ensures that all activities in the school are allocated times

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RESOURCES AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
 Resources are things that we use to create wealth.
 Resources can be man-made things or natural.

Main resources in our county

Examples
Land
Minerals
Animals
Forests
Water
Soil
Manpower

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Ways in which resources are conserved in the county

 We should make good use of our resources.
 The protection of resources is known as conservation.
 This can be done through
1. Building gabions
2. Conserving wild animals
3. Fencing
4. Planting trees
5. Protecting animals
6. Conserving water
7. Avoid overgrazing
8. Avoid poaching

Economic activities in the county

 Economic activities helps to earn a living
 We use resources to carry economic activities.
 Economic activities are things that people do in order to create wealth
 Refers to the use of resources available in order to create wealth or earn a living

Main economic activities in the county

Examples
Mining
Fishing
Saw milling
Agriculture
Transport
Communication
Pottery
Basketry
Trading

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Importance of economic activities
 People in the county earn money from various economic activities.
 This improves their standard of living
 Economic activities like farming have led to development of other industries.
 These industries have led to development of roads, hospitals and schools.

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Trade in the county

 Trade is the buying and selling of goods and services.
 It Is also the exchange of goods and services for money
 People sell goods that they have and buy what they do not have.

Methods of trade in the county

1. Barter trade – it is a method of trade where communities exchanged goods for other
goods.
For example: exchanging a bag of potatoes for two goats.
2. Currency trade – is the use of money to pay for goods and services
For example: people use money to buy food or clothes

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Benefits of trade in the county

a) Creation of employment
b) Improvement of transport and transport
c) Earns foreign exchange
d) Promotes cooperation and understanding
e) Promotes growth of town (urbanization)
f) Promotes agricultural sector
g) Source of revenue for the government
h) Promotes interaction and exchange of ideas

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Lawful trading activities in the county

 Lawful trading activities are business that are accepted in the county.
 These activities involve selling goods and services that have been approved by the
county government.
 One needs a license from the county government before engaging in trading activities
 This makes the trading activity lawful.
 Engaging in a trading activity without a license is unlawful.
 If you do not pay tax, your trading activities will be considered unlawful.
 Traders pay taxes to county government
 We should encourage all people to engage in lawful trading activities.

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Industries in our county

 An industry is a place where raw materials are made into useful products.
 Industries are the processes and activities to produce final goods from raw materials
 A factory is a place where raw materials are turned into new and useful products

Types of industries
1) Processing
 Also called primary industries
 The produce goods used in other industries
 Mostly deals with agricultural products
 Examples of processing industries
 Coffee and tea processing industries

2) Manufacturing
 Manufacturing industries
 Also called secondary industries
 Relies on some goods from primary industries
 Some uses raw materials directly
 Examples of manufacturing industries
 Cement making
 Oil refineries
 Glass making industries
 Paper making industries
 Medicine making industries

3) Assembly
 To assemble is to put together
 It involves putting together items to get a complete item
 Examples of assembling industries
a) Motor vehicle assembly
b) Bicycle assembly
c) Radio assembly
d) Television assembly

4) Service
 They provide services
 Examples of service industries
a) Banking
b) Hotels
c) Printing and publishing
d) Transport and communication

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 e) Insurance
f) Tourism

5) Jua kali
 Uses the locally available materials
 Operates in open air
 Requires little capital to start

PRODUCTS FROM INDUSTIRES IN THE COUNTY

Industry Raw materials Products
1) Creameries Milk Cheese, butter, milk
powder,
2) Cement making Limestone Cement for building
houses
3) Car Assembly
4) Jua kali Scarp metals Jikos,
5) Bakeries Wheat Cakes. Flour,
6) Weaving Sisal Ropes
7) Pottery Clay Pots and ceramic made
materials
8) Shoe making Leather, hides Shoes
9) Wood carving Tree Sculpture of animals like
woods a lion
10) Brick making Stones, bricks Bricks for building

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Benefits of industries in the county

 Creates employment
 Promotes trade
 Source of revenue to the government through taxes
 Leads to development of infrastructure
 Leads to urbanization
 It is a form of income to Farmers when they sell their produce to the industries and
get money
 Promotes agriculture
 Improves the peoples living standards
 Industries provide goods that we need in our lives

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