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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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?
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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
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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?
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

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 StudiesUnit 9Producers and Consumers
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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
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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
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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 StudiesUnit 9Producers and Consumers
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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
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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).
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Activity 11: Have students illustrate two ways physical processes have changed
the earth’s surface.
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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 StudiesUnit 9Producers and Consumers
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