Unit Plan 4 (Grade 4 Social Studies): Weather and Climate Across Regions
Students investigate how weather and climate differ across regions and how people adapt, modify, and conserve resources in response to temperature, precipitation, and seasonal patterns.
Focus: Investigate weather and climate across different regions of our state and country and explain how people adapt to temperature, precipitation, and seasons. Students connect climate patterns to settlement, land use, and human–environment interaction, including ways people modify environments and practice stewardship (e.g., energy and water conservation).
Grade Level: 4
Subject Area: Social Studies (Geography • Human–Environment Interaction)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 45–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Students explore how weather (day-to-day conditions) and climate (long-term patterns) vary across regions and how these differences affect daily life. Using maps, charts, and short texts, they compare temperature, precipitation, and seasonal changes in at least two regions (e.g., coastal vs. inland, north vs. south, higher vs. lower elevations). They then investigate how people adapt (clothing, housing, activities) and modify environments (heating/cooling buildings, irrigation, snow removal) and consider stewardship actions such as saving energy and water.
Essential Questions
- How do weather and climate differ across regions of our state and country?
- How do temperature, precipitation, and seasons influence where people live, work, and play?
- In what ways do people adapt to and change their environments to deal with different climates (hot, cold, wet, dry)?
- Why is it important to practice stewardship—such as saving energy and water—in different climate regions?
- How can we use maps, graphs, and evidence to explain the relationship between climate and human activity?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Define and distinguish weather and climate, and describe basic climate patterns (temperature, precipitation, seasons) in at least two regions (state or U.S.).
- Use maps and simple climate graphs or charts to compare temperatures and precipitation across regions.
- Explain how climate and weather patterns affect settlement, housing, clothing, jobs, and land use in different regions.
- Identify examples of how people adapt to and modify their environments in different climates (e.g., heating, air conditioning, irrigation, levees, insulation).
- Propose stewardship actions appropriate for different climates (e.g., water conservation in dry regions, energy savings in hot/cold regions) and explain why they matter.
- Create a Climate & Adaptation Comparison Map/Chart & Stewardship Plan that shows climate data, human adaptations, and at least one stewardship idea for each region studied.
Standards Alignment — 4th Grade (C3-based custom)
- 4.C3.Geo.3 — Describe landforms, waterways, climate/weather patterns; explain impacts on settlement and land use.
- Example: Explain how a river valley encouraged trade and farming.
- 4.C3.Geo.5 — Analyze human–environment interaction: adapt, modify, conserve; propose stewardship actions.
- Example: Recommend strategies to reduce watershed pollution with evidence.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can explain the difference between weather and climate and describe the climate in at least two regions.
- I can use maps and graphs to compare temperature and precipitation in different places.
- I can describe how people’s homes, clothes, jobs, and activities are affected by climate.
- I can give examples of how people adapt to and change their environment in different climates.
- I can suggest stewardship actions (like saving water or energy) that fit the climate of a region and explain why they are important.
- I can make a comparison product (map/chart + explanation) that clearly shows how climate and human life are connected.