Grade 4 Concepts and Skills

Students should be able to:

Apply concepts and skills learned in previous grades.

History and Geography

1. Use map and globe skills to determine absolute locations (latitude and longitude) of places studied. (G)

2. Interpret a map using information from its title, compass rose, scale, and legend. (G)

3. Observe and describe national historic sites and describe their function and significance. (H, C)

Civics and Government

4. Give examples of the major rights that immigrants have acquired as citizens of the United States (e.g., the right to vote, and freedom of religion, speech, assembly, and petition). (C)

5. Give examples of the different ways immigrants can become citizens of the United States. (C)

Economics

6. Define and give examples of natural resources in the United States. (E)

7. Give examples of limited and unlimited resources and explain how scarcity compels people and communities to make choices about goods and services, giving up some things to get other things. (E)

8. Give examples of how the interaction of buyers and sellers influences the prices of goods and services in markets. (E)

Grade 4 Learning Standards

Building on knowledge from previous years, students should be able to:

North America

Regions of the United States

4.8 On a map of the world, locate North America. On a map of North America, locate the United States, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi and Rio Grande Rivers, the Great Lakes, Hudson Bay, and the Rocky and Appalachian Mountain ranges. (G)

4.9 On a map of North America, locate the current boundaries of the United States (including Alaska and Hawaii). Locate the New England, Middle Atlantic, Atlantic Coast/Appalachian, Southeast/Gulf, South Central, Great Lakes, Plains, Southwest Desert, and Pacific states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See Appendix H for a listing of states in each region. (G)

4.10 Identify the states, state capitals, and major cities in each region. (G)

4.11 Describe the climate, major physical features, and major natural resources in each region. (G)

4.12 Identify and describe unique features of the United States (e.g., the Everglades, the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, the Redwood Forest, Yellowstone National Park, and Yosemite National Park). (G)

4.13 Identify major monuments and historical sites in and around Washington, D.C. (e.g., the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials, the Smithsonian Museums, the Library of Congress, the White House, the Capitol, the Washington Monument, the National Archives, Arlington National Cemetery, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Iwo Jima Memorial, and Mount Vernon). (G)

4.14 Identify the five different European countries (France, Spain, England, Russia, and the Netherlands) that influenced different regions of the present United States at the time the New World was being explored and describe how their influence can be traced to

place names, architectural features, and language. (H, G)

4.15 Describe the diverse nature of the American people by identifying the distinctive contributions to American culture of:

A.     several at least three indigenous peoples groups in different areas of the country (e.g., Navajo, Seminoles, Sioux, Hawaiians, and Inuits).

B.     African Americans, including an explanation of their early concentration in the South because of slavery and the Great Migration to northern cities in the 20th century, and recent African immigrant groups (e.g., Ethiopian) and where they tended to settle in large numbers.

C.     major European immigrant groups who have come to America, locating their countries of origin and where they tended to settle in large numbers (e.g., English, Germans, Italians, Scots, Irish, Jews, Poles, and Scandinavians).

D.     major Spanish-speaking (e.g., Cubans, Mexicans) and Asian (e.g., Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese) immigrant groups who have come to America in the 19th and 20th centuries, locating their countries of origin and where they tended to settle in large numbers. (H, G)

4.16 Identify major immigrant groups that live in Massachusetts and where they now live in large numbers (e.g., English, Irish, Italians, French Canadians, Armenians, Greeks, Portuguese, Haitians, and Vietnamese). (H, G)

Canada

4.17 On a map of North America, locate Canada, its provinces, and major cities. (G)

4.18 Describe the climate, major physical characteristics, and major natural resources of Canada and explain their relationship to settlement, trade, and the Canadian economy. (G, E)

4.19 Describe the major ethnic and religious groups of modern Canada. (G, H, C, E)

4.20 Identify when Canada became an independent nation and explain how independence was achieved. (H, G) 

4.21 Identify the location of at least two Native American tribes in Canada (e.g., Kwakiutl and Micmac) and the Inuit nation and describe their major social features. (H, G)

4.22 Identify the major language groups in Canada, their geographic location, and the relations among them. (H, G)

Mexico

4.23 On a map of North America, locate Mexico and its major cities. (G)

4.24 Describe the climate, major physical characteristics, and major natural resources of Mexico and explain their relationship to the Mexican economy. (G)

4.25 Identify the language, major religion, and peoples of Mexico. (H)

4.26 Identify when Mexico became an independent nation and describe how independence was achieved. (H, G)