SOCIAL STUDIES CBC NOTES FOR GRADE 4

SOCIAL STUDIES
CLASS FOUR
UNIT ONE: THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
Country where our school is located
Our country is made up of several districts
There are 47 counties in Kenya
Our school is located in Nakuru County
Counties that neighbor our county
 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
Activity 1
Pupils draw a map of Nakuru County and list its neighbors
Comprehensive s/s 4 page3
Districts making Up Nakuru county
 Naivasha
 Gilgil
 Nakuru central
 Rongai
 Kuresoi
 Molo
 Njoro
 Nakuru north
 Subukia
 Bahati
Work to do
Comprehensive Bk 4 pg 4
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COMPASS DIRECTIONS
The four points of a compass (cardinal/points)
North (N)
WEST (W) EAST(E)
SOUTH(S)
A compass is used to show direction on a map
The arrow of the compass always point to the north
THE EIGHT COMPASS POINTS
NORTH WEST NORTH NORTH EAST
WEST EAST
SOUTH WEST SOUTH SOUTH EAST
The eight compass points can be also be written using letters to stand for words
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 N E – North East
 S E – South East
 S W – South West
 N W – North West
Work to do
Comprehensive s/s Bk 4 pg 6-7
Major physical features in Nyandarua 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
 Rivers
 Lakes
 Mountains
 Plains
 Valleys
 Swamps
 Plateaus
 Springs
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
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Examples of rivers in our county
 River Subukia
 River Amalo in Olenguruone
 River Molo
 River Chawai in Mau forest
 River Chinga in Subukia
 River Kabazi
 River Chania in Bahati
 Shrine stream
Some seasonal rivers
 River Nyarugu in Njoro
 River Bagaria
 River Lolderi
 River Kirimu
 River
 Igwamiti
 River Hakinga
WATER FALLS
It is the flow of a river over a very high place to the ground
Bagaria water falls along R.Bagaria
Songongo water falls along R.Chewai
Glory and along the Subukia escarpment
LAKES
It is a large depression on the surface of theearth that is filled with water
Examples
 Lake Nakuru
 Lake Elementaita
 Lake Naivasha
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 Lake Oloidien
HILLS
It is an area that is higher than the surrounding land
Hills are smaller than mountains
Examples
 Hyrax hills
 Lions hills
 Man hills
 Eburu hills
 Kerugue hills
 Gilgil hills
 Jogoo hills
 Lesirwa hills
 Jumatatu hills
 Kasambara hills
 Kianjoya hills at miti mingi
 Elge wood hills
 Arashi hills
 Kerima Ndege hills in mbogoini
 Gitunga hills
 Mwiteithia hills in Mbogoini lower subukia
 Honeymoon hill in Nakuru National park
MOUNTAINS
It is a large part of the earth surface that is much higher than its surrounding
Examples
 MT. Menengai
 MT, Longonot
 MT. Suswa
The highest mountain in Nakuru County is MT. Longonot near Maai – mahiu, Naivasha
District
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PLAINS
It is a large low land that is generally flat
 Elementaita plains
 Kigio plains
 Rongai- boror – ngata plains
VALLEYS
It is a depression between two areas that are high or raised
Valleys that rivers flow through them are called Valley Rivers
Examples
 Great rift valley
 Nyatoru valley in Kiambogo
 Subukia valley
SWAMPS
Are lowlands filled with water and covere by swamps
Examples
 Kiptungar swampsnear Mau forest
 Sasumua swamp near Muchorwe moto
 Wila swamp in kuresoi
 Silbwet swamp in keringet in kuresoi
SPRINGS
It forms where water flows out of the ground from an underground source
Examples
 Lake Elementaita springs
 Lake Nakuru springs
 Labere springs
 Oljorai springs
 Kariandusi springs
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 Chamuka springs
PLATEAUS
It is a raised piece of land that is flat at the top
Examples
 Metha plateau
 Kiambogo – Ndabibi area near Nyatoru valley
Importances of physical features
Water for domestic and industrial use
Home for wildlife
Used for irrigation
Tourist attraction
Used for transport
Clay collected at the river banks is used for modeling
Rivers act as boundaries
Plains are good grazing grounds
Valleys are good for farming
Activity
Pupils answer questions
Comprehensive s/s Bk 4 pg 26
TYPES OF NATURAL VEGETATION
Vegetation refers to plants that grow on the surface of the earth
There are two types
 Natural
 Planted
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Examples
 Grass
 Forest
 Scrub
 Bushes
 Shrubs
 Wood land
Distribution of natural vegetation
FORESTS
It is a group of trees that grow together
They grow in areas with high rainfall
The forest is either natural or planted
Trees in natural forest
 Mvule
 Meru oak
 Campor
 Teek
Examples in natural forests
Mau forest Naivasha
Eburu forests in county
Sururu forest in Nakuru county
Menengai forest
Kiptagich forest in Kuresoi District
SAVANNAH GRASSLAND
It is a large area covered by grass with few scattered trees
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They receive low rainfall
They are found
 Elementaita
 Suswa
 Longonot
 Ngata Rongai
SAVANNA WOODLAND
It is made up of grassland with trees growing close to each other
Trees are mainly acacia
They are found
 Gilgil
 Rongai
 Naivasha
 Lake nakuru national park
SCRUB VEGETATION
It is made up of shirt trees, grass and thorny bushes
Are found in areas with low rainfall
Are found
 Mbaruk
 Rongai
 Soysambu
 Miti mingi
SEMI – DESERT VEGETATION
Consist mainly of short, dry, thorny plants which take long to mature
These areas receive very low rainfall
Are found
 Kambi ya moto
 Lower subukia
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 Banita in solai
SWAMP VEGETATION
Found mainly in low- lying areas especially in swampy areas
Are found
 Silbwet swamp
 Kiptungar swamp
 Around lake Nakuru
Importance of vegetation
Pasture for animals
Homes for wild animals
Source of timber
Source of medicine
Source of firewood
Used in weaving industry
Makes the land beautiful
Makes air fresh
Source of food
Hold soil particles together
Activity
Comprehensive s/s Bk 4 pg 34
WEATHER
It is the condition of the atmosphere of a place at a particular time
Elements of weather
 Rainfall
 Temperature
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 Wind
 Air pressure
Weather measuring instruments
 Thermometer
 Wind vane
 Rain gauge
 THERMOMETER
 It measures the hotness or coldness of a place
 It uses two liquids
 Mercury
 Alcohol
 Temperature is measured in degrees Celsius
 A maximum and minimum thermometer uses mercury and alcohol
 Activity
 Draw a maximum and minimum thermometer on pg 36
 WINDVANE
 -It shows the direction of the wind
 -It is made up of a pole, a vane and compass points
– vane points where the wind is blowing from
 Activity
 Diagram on pps Bk 4 pg 36
 RAINGAUGE
 -Used to measure the amount of rainfall
 -Rainfall is measured in units called millimeters (mm)
 -It is made up of a funnel, metal container and measuring cylinder
 It is placed 15cm underground and 30cm above the ground
 Activity
 Diagram on pg 37
 PEOPLE AND POPULATION
 LANGUAGE GROUPS IN OUR COUNTY
 A language group consists of people who speak in a similar way
 The people in the same language group use some common words
 Examples of language groups
 Nilotes
 Bantus
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 Cushites
 Semites
 Asians
 Europeans
 NILOTES
 They include
 Kipsigis
 Maasai
 Luo
 Tugens
 The nilotes are divided in to two
 Plain nilotes
 Highland nilotes
 Plain nilotes
 Mainly live in lowlands
 Are mainly animal keepers
 They are nomadic pastrolists
 Highland nilotes
 They keep animals and grow crops
 Kipsigis
 Keiyo
 Okiek
 Tugen
 Terik
 Pokot
 Saboat
 Nandi
 Marakwet
 BANTUS
 They include
 Kikuyu
 Meru
 Kamba
 Luhya/abaluhya
 Kuria/abakuria
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 They are mainlly cultivators so they were looking for fertile lands
 EUROPEANS
 They settled in the highlands where they kept cattle and sheep
 They also grew cash crops and food crops
 A few of them practice commercial farming in the Dairy and flower farms in
Naivasha
 ASIANS
 They are mainly Indians
 They are traders
 They are found in towns like Nakuru, Naivasha, Molo, Gilgil and Njoro
 SEMITES
 They are mainly Arabs; Nubians and Jews
 They are found in major towns
 They are mainly traders
 CUSHITES
 They are mainly Somali and boran
 They are mainly pastoralists
 They are found in urban areas
 POPULATION DISTRIBUTION
 Population refers to the number of people who live in a particular area
 Areas with many people are densely populated
 Areas with few people are sparsely populated
 Areas of high population
 In major towns like Naivasha, Gilgil
 Most settlements have high population
 e.g.
 Ngashura
 Bahati
 Ronda
 Njoro
 Ngata
 Kiambogo
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 mbogoini
 subukia
 nyangachu
 Areas that receive high rainfall and fertile soils
 Major towns because of good facilities and business opportunity
 Areas of low population
 Parts of Rongai, miti mingi, lower subukia, kangasi, gilgil, Longonot and
Elementaitaescarpments
 Areas with low rainfall
 Areas under game reserves and national parks
 Areas with poor soils
 Revision questions
 Activity
 Comprehensives/s Bk 4 pg 42-43
 SOCIAL RELATIONS AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
 MORAL VALUES
 These are the rules that guides the behavior of people in the society
 Each society has its own moral values
 Examples
 Respect
 Sincerity
 Justice
 Love
 Obedience
 Generosity
 Responsibilities
 Other moral values
 Assisting one another
 Being tolerant
 Being humble
 Being patient
 Being faithful
 Being loyal
 Respecting others
 Importance of moral values
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 They promote unity and harmony
 Promote love and kindness
 Promote responsible people in the society
 Promote honesty
 Good morals are rewarded
 They develop good habits
 Traditional way of life
 The way of the people is called culture
 Culture is passed from the elders to the young members of the community
 Our cultures include
 Our language
 The way we dress
 The food we eat
 The way we greet one another
 The way we build our house
 Games we play
 The way we worship our God
 The way we learn from one another
Our traditional 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
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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)
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
Songs and dances
They were sang for entertainment and pass important messages
Song were sang during
 Marriage
 Initiation
 Work
 War
 Child naming ceremony
 Funerals
Traditional medicine practices
People were treated by traditional doctors and medicines
Learning was done through experts
This was called apprenticeship
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Some women were trained as midwives who assisted mothers when giving birth
Ceremonies and festivals
Ceremonies
A ceremony is an activity or event held to mark a certain accession
The ceremony may involve songs, dances and celebrations
They were held during important events such as birth, circumcision, funerals
Birth and naming
 children were named after
 events
 times of the day or night
 great people
 seasons
 clans
 animals
 places
 the dead
Initiation ceremony
perfomed to mark the passage from child hood to adult hood
It was accompanied by singing, dancing, eating and drinking
Both boys and girls were circumcised
Today there are some changes
Circumcision for girls is discouraged
Boys are circumcised in hospitals
Initiation ceremonies are organized in churches
The initiates are taught
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Moral values of the society
How to behave well
The culture of the community
How to behave as adults
Festivals
They are days or the periods of the celebrations
They are held to celebrate whensomething special has happened
Examples
 music festivals
 harvesting festivals
 drama festivals
Importance of working together
The members support each other
Promote interaction and sharing of ideas
Working together making difficult things easy
Promote peace and understanding
Helps the needy in the society
Promotes faster development
Promotes unity
Some of the community activities in which people work together include
Cleaning the environment
Helping children and the old
Building social halls
Contributing money to pay for fees for children from poor homes
Building bridges
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Constructing schools and hospitals
Planting trees
Revision questions
Comprehensive s/s Bk 4 pg 64-65
PopsBk 4 pg 65-66
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