Grade 4 Social Studies Content Vocabulary
Unit 3
Caravel – a ship that used square
or triangular sails to travel long distances swiftly
Cartographer – a person who makes
maps
Claim – to declare that a person
or a country owns something
Company – a business
Compass – a circular direction marker
Conquistador – any of the Spanish
conquerors in the Americas during the early 1500s
Estuary – the wide mouth of a river
where ocean tides flow in
Expedition – a long journey or voyage
by a group of people
Grant – a sum of money or other payment
given for a particular purpose
Historical map – a map that provides
information about a place as it was in the past
Isthmus – a narrow strip of land
that connects two larger land areas
Monarch – a king or queen
Mutiny – rebellion against the leader
of one’s group
Navigation – the method of planning
and controlling the course of a ship
Northwest Passage – a waterway in
North America thought to connect the Atlantic Ocean and the
Pacific Ocean
Profit – the money left over after
all expenses have been paid
Rapid – the fast moving, dangerous
place in a river caused by a sudden drop in elevation
Renaissance – a French word meaning “rebirth,”
used to name a time of advances in thought, learning, art,
and science
Treaty –an agreement between nations
about peace, trade, or other matters
