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Grade 4 Social Studies Unit 1: Map Skills—Examining the United States’ Place in the World Time Frame: Three weeks Unit Description This unit focuses on a review of map skills. Historical and geographical analysis skills are used to examine a history of the United States. Fundamental concepts in geography are explored. Student Understandings Students will understand the characteristics and uses of various maps as they locate nations, states, and communities. They should be able to compare characteristics of different areas by using geographic tools, such as grid lines and the compass rose, to locate places around the world. Guiding Questions 1. Can students identify and interpret various types of maps? 2. Can students locate and label locations on a map or globe using lines of latitude and longitude? 3. Can students explain what causes the Earth’s surface to change? 4. Can students discuss how people impact their environment and in what way people depend on the environment? 5. Can students explain what influences patterns of land use and settlement? 6. Can students identify the differences among countries, states, parishes, and cities? Unit 1 Grade-Level Expectations (GLEs) GLE # GLE Text and Benchmarks Geography 1. Interpret different kinds of maps using a map key/legend, compass rose, cardinal and intermediate directions, and distance scale (G-1A-E1) 2. Use a variety of images or other spatial graphics (e.g., aerial photographs, satellite images) to locate major physical and human characteristics (G-1AE1) 3. Locate and label places on a map or globe: the seven continents, the United Grade 4 Social StudiesUnit 9Producers and Consumers 1 GLE # 4. 5. GLE Text and Benchmarks States and its major land forms, major bodies of water and waterways, referring to the poles, the equator, latitude, longitude and meridians (G-1AE2) Identify all U.S. states by shapes and position on map (G-1A-E2) Draw, complete, and add features to a map (including such map elements as a title, compass rose, legend, and scale), based on given information (G-1A-E3) Places and Regions 6. Describe and compare the distinguishing characteristics of various land forms, bodies of water, climates, and forms of vegetation in the United States (G-1B-E1) Physical and Human Systems 10. Identify physical processes that change Earth’s surface and create physical features suddenly or over time (e.g., what physical process created the Grand Canyon, Great Lakes, and Hawaiian Islands) (G-1C-E1) 11. Identify geographical/physical reasons for regional variations that influence patterns of settlement and land use in the United States and the world, past and present (G-1C-E2) 15. Differentiate between countries, states, parishes, and cities (G-1C-E6) Environment and Society 16. Identify ways in which people in the United States depend upon and modify the physical environment (G-1D-E1) Sample Activities Students should use a social studies journal or composition as a learning log (view literacy strategy descriptions). This is a notebook that students keep to record ideas, questions, reactions, and new understandings. Documenting ideas in a log about content being studied forces students to “put into words” what they know or do not know. This process offers a reflection of understanding that can lead to further study and alternative learning paths. It combines writing and reading with content learning. Activity 1: Assessment of Prior General Social Studies Knowledge Materials List: journal/composition, charts/posters While this activity does not meet a specific GLE, it is necessary as an opening activity to assess prior knowledge and to get students ready for new information. Put students in groups of four. Students open their social studies journals to the first page and date it. Have students make a brainstorming web (view literacy strategy descriptions) in their journals with the term Social Studies in the middle. Explain to students that social studies material can be grouped into four categories: geography, history, economics and civics. Give students about eight minutes to record anything they can remember about what they Grade 4 Social StudiesUnit 9Producers and Consumers 2 have learned in social studies in the past years. They will be working in a group to brainstorm, and all members of the group should record this information in their journals/compositions. When time is called, gather the group together to discuss findings and to sort the information into the four strands of social studies: economics, history, geography, and civics. Generate a list for each strand and provide a definition for each strand. Display the lists on charts/posters. Then students will begin to sort the information from their webs into one of those four categories. As volunteers from each group share their ideas, the class decides in what strand(s) the information belongs. This process should continue until each group has shared and categorized their prior learning. These charts/posters should be posted for reference by the students/teacher. Activity 2: Assessment of Prior Geographic Knowledge (GLEs: 3, 5) Materials List: crayons/colored pencils, outline world map As in Activity 1, this activity is necessary to assess prior knowledge from previous grades. It is important for the teacher to know the knowledge base of the students in this area before beginning this unit. Put the following terms on the board: Africa, Australia, Antarctica, North America, South America, Europe, Asia, North Pole, South Pole, Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Arctic Ocean, Equator, and the United States. Have students color and label each of the above locations on their outline world maps. For an outline map of the world, refer to: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/world/world-d.pdf. Require students to assign specific colors for continents, oceans, poles and equator. Students should include on their maps a title, compass rose, and legend. Collect these maps as students finish. Review these as a way of assessing students’ prior geographic knowledge. These maps will be used by students in later lessons to compare their prior knowledge with their new knowledge. Activity 3: Map Elements (GLE: 1) Materials List: journal/composition; Map Elements Word Grid BLM; collection of world, state, parish and city maps; timer; chart paper Ask students to describe some elements or parts of books. List these as students contribute. Expect some of the following elements: table of contents, page numbers, chapter numbers, index, title page, etc. Tell students that just as those parts of books help with comprehension, maps have elements or parts to them that assist in understanding them better. Even though maps are thought of as mostly pictures or spatial images, people have to be able to read a map and the elements help to do that effectively. Tell students that this activity will help them to discover some of the elements of maps. Grade 4 Social StudiesUnit 9Producers and Consumers 3 Place students in cooperative groups. Provide each group with a world map, state map, parish map and city map. Various types of maps can be found at: http://nationalatlas.gov/natlas/Natlasstart.asp. Students will use the maps to complete a word grid (view literacy strategy descriptions). Provide students with the Map Elements Word Grid BLM (see sample below.) (Elements may be added to the word grid depending on the maps used.) As a group, students are to fill in the word grid by placing a “+” in the space corresponding to the element that is present on each particular map. If the element is not present on the map, a “—” should be put in the space. Types of Maps Title Key / Legend Distance Scale Compass Rose Intermediate Directions Highways/ Roads Political Borders Landforms World Map State Map When each group has had time to explore maps and record elements from each set, gather students and compile a master list titled Elements of Maps on chart paper. Students share elements that are common to all types of maps. Provide students with an opportunity to add other elements they found on their maps. Have students record the master list in their social studies journals/compositions to be referred to later. Students should respond to the following statements or questions in their social studies journals/compositions: Choose the top five map elements that you feel are most important to successfully reading a map. With 1 being the most important and 5 being the least, prioritize them by putting a numeral beside each element. Justify or defend your choices. In other words, why did you prioritize them the way that you did? Describe one map element that you just learned about today. What are two important ways a parish map is different from a world map? Which map elements can be found on a globe? Activity 4: Latitude and Longitude (GLE: 3) Materials List: grid paper, globe, various maps showing the four hemispheres, United States map with latitude and longitude, index cards, document camera or overhead projector Model for students how to use ordered pairs (a numeral and letter that are used together) to locate points on a coordinate grid. Distribute grid paper to students and have them follow teacher instructions on how to label each horizontal line (beginning at the first line after the first space on the bottom left side of the paper) with a numeral beginning with 1 and each vertical line (beginning at the first line after the first space on the bottom left side of the paper) beginning with the letter A. Direct students to read the ordered pair (a number and letter that are used together to locate a point on a coordinate grid) and to draw a dot at the intersection of the ordered pair. For example, have them find (B, 5) and draw a dot or (C, 1) and draw a dot. Once students are comfortable with the plotting of Grade 4 Social StudiesUnit 9Producers and Consumers 4 ordered pairs have them create a picture by connecting dots on a sheet of grid paper that they will label using the same lettering and numbering system. Then have them label each ordered pair. Have them create a written set of directions for creating the design using the ordered pairs they have recorded. Students will exchange written directions and follow them using another sheet of grid paper that they will label with numbers and letters. Explain to students that reading maps using latitude and longitude numbers is much like working with coordinate grids. Using globes and maps, review with students the location of North America in relation to the four hemispheres. Elicit from students that North America is in the northern and western hemispheres. Refer to this when exploring the latitude and longitude numbering system on a world map. Provide students with a United States map labeled with latitude and longitude lines. For a map of the United States with latitude and longitude lines identified, refer to: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/usofam/usofam-dw.pdf. Model how to read latitude and longitude for students using a map on a document camera or on an overhead transparency. Then give students several coordinates and have them locate them on their maps and identify the closest city to the given coordinate. Once students are comfortable with this task, have students work in pairs to practice this skill by playing a form of Concentration®. Put students in pairs. Have each student locate five cities on the map. Using index cards, have the students list the coordinates of the city on one card and the name of the city on another. Then have students put the ten coordinate cards turned upside down and spread out on one area of the floor or desk and the ten city cards turned upside down and spread out on another area. Then have one student turn over a coordinate card and identify a city on the map that is closest to the coordinate. Then that student turns over a city card to see if it matches the city he or she found. If they match, the player puts them together and makes a pair. If it does not match, the player puts both cards back where they were. Then the next person gets a turn. Play continues until all of the cards have been paired. The player with the most matches at the end of the game is the winner. Another variation of this game may be played on a world map, using names of countries and coordinates for them. Activity 5: Types of Maps (GLEs: 1, 3, 5) Materials List: journals/compositions, various maps (physical, political, topographical, population, natural resources, and precipitation), United States map, Comparing Maps Venn Diagram BLM Give students several different kinds of maps (physical, political, topographical, population, natural resources, and precipitation) and have them identify the type of map by interpreting the map symbols. Various types of theme maps can be found at http://plasma.nationalgeographic.com/mapmachine/. Define each type of map, while students will record the type of map and the definition in their social studies journals/compositions. Ask them to explain the purpose of each map. Then have students Grade 4 Social StudiesUnit 9Producers and Consumers 5 state the importance of the title, key/legend, scale, and compass rose. They should record this in their social studies journals/compositions as well. Have them locate and label places using meridians of longitude and the parallels of latitude. Distribute an outline map of the United States or one of its geographic regions. For an outline map of the United States, refer to: http://www.infoplease.com/tv/printables/kt_maps/kt_map_usa.pdf. Have students in pairs decide what type of map they will create—a physical, political, topographical, population, natural resources, or precipitation map. Provide students with a model of the particular map that they will replicate. Ask students to be certain to use the list of elements generated in Activity 3 to make certain their map is complete. Ask them to add a title, compass rose, key/legend, and scale to complete their maps. Then, using the Comparing Maps Venn Diagram BLM (view literacy strategy descriptions), have students in each partnership compare their maps with maps from another partnership. Activity 6: The United States: A Diverse Landscape (GLEs: 3, 5, 6) Materials List: physical, land use, climate, vegetation, natural resources and outline maps of United States; modeling clay; United States atlas; journals/compositions Display a physical map of the United States. For a physical map of the United States, refer to: http://www.nationalatlas.gov/printable/images/pdf/satellite/Landsat_18.pdf. Elicit from students the specific names of particular mountain ranges, bodies of water, deserts, plateaus, rivers, and other landforms. (Possible features include: Rocky Mountains, Appalachian Mountains, Gulf of Mexico, Great Lakes, Mississippi River, Grand Canyon, etc.) Divide students into pairs and assign each pair one of the physical features generated on the list by the students. Provide each pair of students with an outline map of the United States. For an outline map of the United States, refer to: http://www.infoplease.com/tv/printables/kt_maps/kt_map_usa.pdf. Ask the students to locate the assigned landform on their map. Working in pairs and using modeling clay, students are to add the assigned physical feature to their map. The students’ work with the modeling clay should reflect the landform being represented. Students should also add a compass rose with cardinal and intermediate directions, title, key/legend, and a scale to complete their map. After identifying and labeling the map, students should use the land use, climate, vegetation, and natural resources maps and atlases to locate information specific to their assigned landform, body of water, or waterway. For various theme maps (land use, weather, farming, natural resources, etc), refer to: http://plasma.nationalgeographic.com/mapmachine/. Students should collect specific information about their landform (e.g., the distance covered by the Rocky Mountain range, the height of the highest peak in the Rocky Mountain range, the depth of each of the Great Lakes, the length of the Mississippi River). Additionally, they should identify Grade 4 Social StudiesUnit 9Producers and Consumers 6 the type of climate, the vegetation, natural resources, and the land use surrounding the physical feature. Have each pair of students share its information using the visual aid that they have constructed. Be sure that students include key information such as the type of vegetation, resources and climate found in the area of the landforms, bodies of water, or waterways researched. Have students make comparisons of each of these places based on vegetation, climate, and natural resources located in or surrounding these areas. To conclude the activity, have students respond to the following questions/statements in their social studies journals/compositions: Describe the differences between the Appalachian Mountains and the Rocky Mountains. How are they drawn differently on a physical map to show these differences? Using cardinal and intermediate directions, describe the location of three of the following landforms in the United States: the Rocky Mountains, the Cascade Range, the Coast Ranges, the Appalachian Mountains, the Great Plains, the Coastal Plains, the Great Lakes, and the Mississippi River. What country shares the northern boundary of the United States? What country shares the southern boundary of the United States? Activity 7: Our Location in the World (GLE: 15) Materials List: journals/compositions; outline map of the world; United States, state, and parish maps; crayons/color pencils; chart/poster; atlases Provide students with outline maps of the world. Have students locate and color the United States. Provide students with an outline map of the United States. Have students locate and color Louisiana. Provide students with an outline map of Louisiana. Have students locate and color their parish. Provide students with a parish map. Have students locate and place a star on the city or town where they live. Internet Resources: Outline Map of the World: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/world/world-d.pdf Outline Map of the United States: http://www.infoplease.com/tv/printables/kt_maps/kt_map_usa.pdf Outline Map of Louisiana: http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/images/pdf/counties/pagecnty_la2.pdf Outline Parish Maps (Click on the parish where you live): http://enlou.com/maps/lastate_map.htm Next, ask the students to brainstorm (view literacy strategy descriptions) a list of all of the cities, parishes, states, countries, and continents that they know. This can be done as a whole class activity by posting chart paper around the room (make one chart for each category: city, parish/county, state/province, country, and continent) and allow students Grade 4 Social StudiesUnit 9Producers and Consumers 7 to brainstorm a list for each category. Define each category for the students, writing the definitions on the charts. City - a very large or important town Parish/County - a division or part of a state with its own local government State/Province - a political unit that is a part of a country Country - a part of the world with its own borders and government Continent - one of the seven large divisions of land on the earth Prior to doing this activity, students will need to research the population of their city, which can usually be found on that city’s official website or they can go to http://www.census.gov and on the homepage go to population finders and type in the name of their city and get population data. As of July 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates Louisiana’s population at 4.2 million, the population of the U.S. at 298 million, the population of North America is estimated to be 875 million, and the population of the world at 6.5 billion. Have students try to estimate the populations of their city, parish, state, country, and continent and then give them the actual data. Also point out to students the number of parishes in Louisiana (64), states in the U.S. (50), and countries in the world (estimated at 193). Students can record these facts in their social studies journals/compositions. After taking notes, explain to students that they are going to play a game where they try to figure out if a location is a city, parish, state, country, or continent. Provide all students with an atlas. Suggest that students use the index to look up what page of the atlas to find each location. They can then determine what each place is by looking at the map legend and figuring out what different font types and symbols represent different entities. As students determine the status of each location, they can add them to their brainstorm lists. The following locations may be used for the game: Africa, Georgia, Cincinnati, Antarctica, Idaho, Nigeria, Argentina, Illinois, North America, Asia, India, Ohio, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Beijing, Japan, Pennsylvania, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Russia, Cairo, Los Angeles, South America, California, Mexico City, St. Paul, Canada, Michigan, Sudan, China, Minneapolis, Texas, Europe, Missouri, Tokyo, Florida, United States, France, New Jersey, Vermilion, Plaquemines. Activity 8: Parts of a Whole (GLEs: 3, 15) Materials List: journals/compositions, set of measuring cups, world outline maps, parish map of Louisiana Show students a set of nesting measuring cups. Ask students what they notice about them. (Students should note that the larger one is on the bottom and that each cup decreases in size as they stack into each other.) Relate the division of the world and the United States to these cups. Ask if one of the cups represented the world, which would it be? (The largest) Continue with this through continents, countries (specifically the U.S.), regions, states, parishes (counties in other states), cities, and neighborhoods. Pass out a Grade 4 Social StudiesUnit 9Producers and Consumers 8 world outline map. For an outline map of the world, refer to: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/world/world-d.pdf. Have students label the continents and outline North America. Next, have them draw in the northern and southern boundaries. Then have students put a triangle where they think Louisiana is located. Although part of this activity is review, it should help students to conceptualize the relationship of Louisiana to the rest of the world. Finally, ask students to sketch in the Rocky Mountains, the Appalachian Mountains, the Coast Ranges, the Cascade Range, the Great Lakes, the Mississippi River, the Central Lowlands, the Great Plains, and the Coastal Plains. Provide students with a map of Louisiana divided into parishes. For an outline parish map of Louisiana, refer to: http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/images/pdf/counties/pagecnty_la2.pdf. Have them interact with this map by responding to the following in their social studies journals/compositions: How many parishes are in Louisiana? What is the name of the parish where you live? What is the name of the parish where our state capital is located? Look at the cities and towns located in your parish. Classify them by their sizes. How can you use the maps to determine the sizes of the cities and towns within the parish? Activity 9: Spatial Graphics (GLE: 2, 11) Materials List: journals/compositions, physical maps created in Activity 6, physical and political maps of Louisiana, aerial view of Louisiana Review the physical maps created and the landforms that we have in our country. Ask students if they have ever had the experience to fly in an airplane and to see these landforms from the sky. Share experiences. Show students an aerial view of an area in Louisiana. For an aerial view of Louisiana, refer to: http://geology.com/satellite/louisiana-satellite-image.shtml. Have students identify the landforms from the previous lesson on this aerial map. Compare this map with a physical and political map of the same area of Louisiana. For various maps of Louisiana, refer to: http://geology.com/state-map/louisiana.shtml. Model for students how to locate a city on the political map and then find it on the aerial map. Have students explain the relationship between the geography and the population. In other words, why do you think large cities developed where they did? Grade 4 Social StudiesUnit 9Producers and Consumers 9 Activity 10: Mapping Review (GLE: 4) Materials List: transparency of United States political outline map (no state names), overhead projector Review the locations of states by playing “State Bingo”. To play, have students divide a piece of white paper into nine sections. In each section they will write the name of one of the states from the regions being studied. Put a transparency of the United States (no state names) on the overhead. Place a dot in a state. If students have that state listed, they will mark their cards. Continue play until someone has called “Bingo.” Different versions of the game may be played. For instance, students may have to cover four corners, make an “L” or they may have to cover all spaces on the card. A more difficult version may be played by changing the transparency to show outlines of states, allowing students to identify the state by the outline only and not its location in the context of other states. Activity 11: Physical Processes of Earth (GLE: 10) Materials List: journals/compositions, one Vocabulary Self-Awareness Chart BLM per student, cut-outs of the continents, index cards, modeling clay, physical maps, research information, photographs of various landforms Teacher Note: The following activity may need to be modified to better match the information with students’ prior knowledge. Begin this activity by providing students with this list of words: terra firma, continental drift, folding and faulting, earthquake, and volcanism. Have them complete a selfassessment of their knowledge of the words using the Vocabulary Self-Awareness Chart BLM (view literacy strategy descriptions) (See BLM and sample below). Do not give students definitions or examples at this stage. Ask students to rate their understanding of each word with either a “+” (understand well), a “√” (limited understanding or unsure), or a “—” (don’t know). Teachers and students should use the vocabulary chart as an indicator of their knowledge of critical content vocabulary, so if gaps in understanding still exist after the words are initially taught, the teacher should be prepared to provide extra instruction or other vocabulary learning activities for those students. Over the course of the activity students will return to the chart and add new information to it. The goal is to replace all the check marks and minus signs with a plus sign. Word + √ - Example Definition terra firma continental drift After completing the vocabulary self-awareness chart, review these words briefly and discuss them, explaining that each of our landforms and bodies of water was created by a movement or shift in the Earth’s crust. Begin with the term terra firma and explain that Grade 4 Social StudiesUnit 9Producers and Consumers 10 this is the term in Latin for “firm ground.” Provoke discussion about the firm nature of the Earth. Record the students’ hypotheses about the Earth’s crust. Introduce continental drift—the theory that the continents are the result of a single landmass that was broken into pieces. Provide cutouts of the world’s continents that students can use to reconstruct the original world island—Pangaea. Distribute two index cards to each student. These will be used to represent the plates on the Earth’s crust. Explain folding and faulting and model with large index cards by bending them so the students can see the resulting folds that represent mountains and valleys. Explain that folding is when the Earth’s crust bends and folds occur. This happens when forces are acting against each other such as when plates collide. Have students model folding with their index cards. Explain that faulting occurs when rocks break and move or are moved along a crack in the Earth’s crust. Use the index cards to illustrate the physical process of faulting. Discuss earthquakes with students explaining that an earthquake occurs when the plates that make up the Earth’s crust slide past one another or when one plate slides beneath another plate. Continue the use of the index cards to model what happens during an earthquake. Discuss volcanism and have students model this process using modeling clay. Remember to refer students back to the self-awareness chart as they’re learning key terminology to revise their original marks and understandings. Write the following on a storyboard or present them in a PowerPoint® presentation: Rocky Mountains, Appalachian Mountains, Great Lakes, Grand Canyon, and Hawaiian Islands. Include photographs of these places. Then have students locate these on a physical map and label them. Divide the class into five cooperative learning groups, one representing each landform or body of water listed. Distribute a research packet to each group and have them find out what physical process created each one. Students will share their research with each other, and should write in their social studies journals/compositions the landform as well as the physical process that created it. Also, have them illustrate each of the bodies of water or landforms listed. Activity 12: Erosion and its Effect on the Environment (GLE: 10) Materials List: research material on wind, water, and glacial erosion Provide students with information on the physical processes impacting the Earth. Have students form small groups to create lists of physical processes that change the Earth’s surface. Ask them to share their lists and identify which physical processes happen over time and which occur suddenly. Discuss with students the issue of the vanishing wetlands off the coast of Louisiana. Explain to the students that they will be studying erosion, which may happen suddenly or over time. Divide the class into three teams, each representing one of the following: wind erosion, water erosion, and glacial erosion. Have each team research and explain the impact of their form of erosion, including the costs and benefits to people and to the environment. Direct questions or activities such as these to the three groups: How can erosion be controlled? Grade 4 Social StudiesUnit 9Producers and Consumers 11 How do humans contribute to the erosion process? What are some places that have been impacted by the three types of erosion? Inform the students that they will have to present their findings to the class using the Professor Know It All strategy (view literacy strategy descriptions). Tell them that their group will be called on to come to the front of the room to be a team of “Professor KnowIt-Alls” about erosion. Have groups prepare by thinking up questions about each type of erosion. Call on a group of students to come to the front of the room. To add novelty to the strategy, let the “know-it-alls” put on a tie, a graduation cap and gown, a lab coat, clipboard, or other symbol of professional expertise. Ask students to stand shoulder to shoulder. Invite questions from the other groups and have the know-it-alls answer each question. First, they should huddle as a team to talk about the answer, then return to their positions and give answers in complete sentences. This can be done by each student’s supplying one word of the sentence and rotating around until the sentence is completed. Then the final student in the rotations says “period.” After five minutes or so, ask a new group of “Professor Know-It-Alls” to take their place in front of the class, don their professional props, and continue the process of students questioning students. This should be done until all groups have had a chance to serve as know-it-alls. The teacher should ask his/her own questions of each of the groups. Activity 13: Hurricanes (GLE: 10, 11) Materials List: research material on hurricanes Prepare a scenario describing the impact of hurricanes at a particular location (e.g., New Orleans, Gulf Coast, and Atlantic Coast). Assign pairs of students to report on the activity and the impact it has on residents. Have one member of each pair assume the identity of a reporter, while the other plays the role of a resident displaced by the hurricane. Both members should work together to prepare the questions and answers. Possible questions could be: 1. How did the hurricane impact your life and the lives of other people near its landfall? 2. Where were you when the hurricane made landfall? 3. How has the land changed after the hurricane’s landfall? 4. What is the prognosis for future land use in the area hit by the hurricane? Ask several pairs of students to re-enact their role-play before the class. Grade 4 Social StudiesUnit 9Producers and Consumers 12 Activity 14: Modification of Landforms (GLEs: 10, 11, 16) Materials List: research materials on land and water modification, map of the United States, poster paper (optional) Review with students landforms and bodies of water located in the United States. Discuss ways and reasons why people modify land and bodies of water. Give examples of each (e.g. Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, the Mississippi River, the Western Grand Canyon, the Tennessee River Valley Dam, the Grand Coulee Dam, irrigation in California’s Central Valley, mining in mountainous areas, grazing by cattle). Assign students an example to study. Have the students research the text and other references to report to the class about an example of a land and body of water modification, either in the past or in the present. Students may report their discoveries through oral presentations, posters, or mock interviews of people knowledgeable about the modifications. Ask students to label the locations of their land and water modifications on a U.S. map. For a map of the United States with bodies of water, refer to: http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/images/pdf/outline/rivers_lakes(u).pdf. Explain that these are examples of how humans change the environment. Other examples of land use should include settlement patterns, housing materials, agricultural activity, types of recreation, and transportation patterns. Sample Assessments General Guidelines Students should be monitored throughout the work on all activities via teacher observation, log/data entries, report writing, group discussion, and journal entries. All student-developed products and student investigations should be evaluated as the unit progresses. When possible, students should assist in developing any rubrics that will be used. Use a variety of performance assessments to determine student comprehension. Select assessments consistent with the types of products that result from the student activities. General Assessments Provide students with a blank outline map of the world. Have students identify continents and various other places on the map. Provide students with a blank outline map of the United States and have students draw in and label the following: states already mastered in the study of regions, and various physical features studied in this unit. Provide students with a separate map of a fictitious area that includes latitude and longitude lines, a compass rose, and distance scale. Have them use the directions Grade 4 Social StudiesUnit 9Producers and Consumers 13 given to plot designated symbols on the map and have them create a legend to accompany this map. Provide a compass rose with the north direction stated and have students complete the compass rose with cardinal and intermediate directions. Then they should use the compass rose to describe the location of given items. Activity-Specific Assessments Activity 8: Ask students to put the following locations in order from largest to smallest: (a) North America; (b) World; (c) Louisiana; (d) Lincoln Parish (insert local parish here); (e) United States; (f) Ruston (insert local town/city here). Activity 11: Have students illustrate two ways physical processes have changed the earth’s surface. Activity 14: Have students provide two examples of the motive of humans to modify the environment and the results of these modifications. Resources Books The Amazing Pop-up Geography Book by Kate Petty and Jennie Maizels Don’t Know Much About Geography by Kenneth C. Davis Geography from A-Z by Jack Knowlton If the World Were a Village by David Smith Mapping the U.S. by Heart by David Smith The New York Public Library Amazing World Geography: A Book of Answers for Kids by Andrea Sutcliffe Nystrom World Atlas from Nystrom Scholastic Atlas of the United States by David Rubel Scholastic Encyclopedia of the United States by Judy Bock and Rachel Kranz Grade 4 Social StudiesUnit 9Producers and Consumers 14