Unit Plan 9 (Grade 4 Social Studies): State Geography Project
Students create a State Geography Map Book using multiple sources, clear maps, and evidence-based explanations to show regions, features, resources, and stewardship ideas.
Focus: Create a state geography map book that shows regions, landforms, waterways, resources, human-made features, and conservation/stewardship ideas. Students use inquiry skills to ask questions, gather and evaluate information from multiple sources, and develop evidence-based explanations with simple citations.
Grade Level: 4
Subject Area: Social Studies (Geography • Inquiry/Skills)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 45–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Students become state geographers and authors as they pull together everything learned in earlier units into a State Geography Map Book. Working individually or in pairs, they select 2–3 regions of the state and design pages that show physical and cultural regions, landforms and waterways, resources and industries, human-made features, and conservation ideas. They practice asking good questions, using multiple sources (maps, charts, short texts, digital sources if available), and giving credit to where they found their information. The week ends with a share-out of completed map books or sample pages.
Essential Questions
- How can we use maps and inquiry skills to tell the story of our state’s geography?
- What makes the regions of our state different from one another in terms of landforms, climate, resources, and communities?
- How do human-made features (roads, dams, canals, cities) and natural features work together to shape settlement and land use?
- How can we check whether a source is useful and trustworthy, and how do we show where our information came from?
- In what ways can our map books share ideas for stewardship and caring for the environment in different regions?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Form compelling and supporting questions about their state and selected regions to guide their map book (e.g., “How does geography affect jobs in this region?”).
- Gather information from multiple sources (state maps, atlases, charts, short texts, digital resources when available) about regions, landforms, waterways, resources, and human-made features.
- Evaluate sources for relevance (Does this help answer my question?), credibility (Is it trustworthy?), and perspective (fact vs. opinion, author point of view).
- Use/construct maps with clear titles, legends, compass roses, scale symbols, and grid coordinates, correctly applying cardinal/intermediate directions.
- Describe physical/cultural regions, landforms, waterways, and climate, and explain how they affect settlement, land use, and industries.
- Identify and describe human-made features/infrastructure (highways, dams, canals, cities) and analyze their purposes and impacts.
- Propose simple stewardship actions for at least one region or natural area and include them in the map book as conservation ideas.
- Develop short claims/explanations (1–2 paragraphs) with evidence and simple citations (title/author/source) and include them in their map book.
Standards Alignment — 4th Grade (C3-based custom)
- 4.C3.Inq.1 — Form compelling/supporting questions about our state and regions.
- 4.C3.Inq.2 — Gather information from multiple sources (maps, charts, texts, interviews, digital).
- 4.C3.Inq.3 — Evaluate sources for relevance, credibility, perspective; distinguish fact/opinion.
- 4.C3.Inq.4 — Develop claims/explanations with evidence and citations (title/author/source).
- 4.C3.Geo.1 — Identify physical/cultural regions of the state; compare urban/suburban/rural distributions.
- 4.C3.Geo.2 — Use/create maps with titles, legends, scale symbols, grid coordinates, and cardinal/intermediate directions.
- 4.C3.Geo.3 — Describe landforms, waterways, climate/weather patterns; explain impacts on settlement and land use.
- 4.C3.Geo.4 — Explain human-made features/infrastructure and their purposes/impacts.
- 4.C3.Geo.5 — Analyze human–environment interaction (adapt, modify, conserve); propose stewardship actions.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can ask good questions about my state and regions that guide my research and map book pages.
- I can use different sources (maps, charts, and texts) and tell which ones are most helpful and trustworthy.
- I can make clear maps with titles, legends, compass roses, scales, and grid lines, and use direction words correctly.
- I can explain how landforms, waterways, climate, resources, and human-made features affect how people live and work in a region.
- I can include conservation ideas and stewardship actions that would help the environment in at least one region.
- I can write short explanations with evidence and simple citations that another person can understand.