In social studies, the fourth graders learned when Mexico achieved its independence from Spain, and California came under the control of the Mexican government. They also learned that to populate California after the mission system was dismantled, the Mexican government gave out land grants. The fourth graders imagined traveling back to those times and wrote a letter to “Governor Valencia” to convince her to give them thousands of acres of land for ranching, farming, and establishing pueblos. Their letters described the land that they wished to acquire, included a map of the area, and stated what they would be using the land for. Depending on how convincing the letters were, Governor Valencia approved or denied the requests!