Fourth Grade: United States Physical & Cultural Geography

Explain events in a historical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.

Compare and contrast a firsthand (primary source) and secondhand (secondary source) account of the same event or topic.

Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., charts, graphs, diagrams, timelines, animations, or interactive elements on webpages), and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears.

Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.

Write informative/ explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.

Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; take notes and categorize information, and provide a list of sources.

Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Discuss how science, technology, and societal issues affect how the United States makes decisions.

Use various forms of media to research current local, state, and national news stories.

Share and discuss possible cause and effect implications of current events.

Identify how location influences cultural traits across various regions of the United States (e.g., comparing clothing, food, architecture, and art in relation to location).

Describe the contributions of various cultural groups to the United States, both past and present.

Utilize primary and secondary sources to identify ways in which culture in the United States has changed over time.

Demonstrate respect for the opinions, backgrounds, and cultures of others.

Learn about Indigenous land acknowledgements as a recognition of the relationship between Indigenous peoples and the land, historically and current.

Study factors such as weather, population distribution, land use, natural resources, climate, and transportation to identify regional differences and similarities in the United States.

Describe cultural elements that are shared by Americans, as well as some of the differences that contribute to cultural diversity within the United States.

Compare and contrast how climate, physical features, and natural resources impact the ways of life in the different regions of the United States.

Develop knowledge of the locations of the continents, oceans, the U.S. states and territories, and major U.S. landforms and water bodies as a foundation for asking geographic questions.

Identify characteristics of states using resources such as natural and physical landmarks.

Locate the regions of the United States.

Locate select cities and states of historical and current importance using absolute and relative location (e.g., Washington, D.C. and New York City).

Read a variety of effective representations of the Earth, such as maps, to include estimating distance and calculating scale.

Use grid systems to locate places on maps and globes.

Create and develop maps with physical and political features, and understand how and why maps are changing documents.

Examine the interaction of human beings and their physical environment dependent on region (e.g., plugging cars in for the cold in the polar region).