Grade 4 Social Studies Unit 1

Geography of New York State

Unit Description: In this unit the students will develop a beginning understanding that New York State has a diverse geography and that various maps can be used to represent and examine the geography of New York State.They will also examine how New York State can be represented using a political map that shows cities, capitals, and boundaries. 

4.1 New York State has a diverse geography. Various maps can be used to represent and examine the geography of New York State.

Standards

  • (Standard: 3; Theme: GEO)

Essential Questions and Big Ideas of the Unit

  • Big Idea: Maps are an important resource that give us more than just directions.
  • How do physical and thematic maps help us explore New York’s geography?
    • Physical maps are maps of the location of landmarks and the distance between them.
    • Thematic maps are maps that show a connected theme across an area ex. Temperature maps.
  • What other things can maps help us to understand besides physical features of our state?
    • Maps can be used to help understand political features of an area, including cities, populations and areas representing support of political parties.
    • How can I use a map to find my location in relation to other cities?Countries?
    • Maps have scales that can be used to determine the distance between points on the map.

Download the complete Grade 4 Social Studies Unit 1 framework to customize for your own planning.