Grade 4
Social Studies
Unit 2: Geographic and Cultural Characteristics of Regions
Time Frame: Four weeks
Unit Description
This unit focuses on the location of major regions of the United States and the cultures within those regions. A focus will be on the location of the important regions of the country, people who inhabited them in the past, and those who live there today.
Historical and geographical analysis skills will be used to explore the economy, history, and cultures of the United States.
Student Understandings
Students will understand the geographic and cultural characteristics of various regions of the United States. They will compare geographic characteristics of different areas by using geographic tools, such as grid lines and the compass rose. Also, they will explore how natural events affect people in the various regions.
Guiding Questions
1.
Can students understand various maps and attributes in locating United States regions?
2.
Can students use geographic tools to compare characteristics of various areas?
3.
Can students explain the effects of natural events on people in regions?
4.
Can students discuss the cultural identities of various people in the U.S. and the impact on their cultural heritage?
5.
Can students identify physical and human characteristics of regions?
Unit 2 Grade-Level Expectations (GLEs)
GLE #
Geography
GLE Text and Benchmarks
3. Locate and label places on a map or globe: the seven continents, the United
States and its major land forms, major bodies of water and waterways, referring
5. to the poles, the equator, latitude, longitude and meridians (G-1A-E2)
Draw, complete, and add features to a map (including such map elements as a title, compass rose, legend, and a scale), based on given information (G-1A-E3)
Grade 4 Social Studies  Unit 2  Geographic and Cultural Characteristics 1

GLE# GLE Text and Benchmark
Places and Regions
8. Explain physical and human developments in a region of the United States since it was first settled, based on given information (G-1B-E3)
9. Identify, define, and compare regions of the United States using physical and human characteristics (e.g., land forms and use, cultural diversity) (G-1B-E4)
Physical and Human Systems
12. Describe characteristics of the human population in a given area (e.g., cultural
13. diversity, population size or growth) (G-1C-E3)
Explain and compare the cultural identities of various U.S. regions and how a region is influenced by past events and the heritage of its people (G-1C-E4)
14. Locate economic activities that use natural resources in the local region, state, and nation and describe the importance of the activities to these areas (G-1C-E5)
Environment and Society
17. Identify natural disasters, their causes, areas prone to them, and how those disasters affect people and the environment (G-1D-E3)
Sample Activities
Activity 1: What Are Regions? (GLE: 9)
Materials List: various items from a grocery store; chart paper; regional, physical, and various theme maps of the United States; journals/compositions ; Physical and Human
Characteristics Quiz BLM
In this activity, teachers will connect the concept of regions to a grocery store that is familiar to the students. Have available various items from a grocery store (dairy products, canned vegetables, fruits, canned tuna, boxed foods, etc.).
Introduce the lesson using the SQPL (Student Questions for Purposeful Learning) strategy (view literacy strategy descriptions).
Propose a statement to the students that will cause them to wonder, challenge, and question the concept of regions. State the following: The regions of the United States can be compared to the layout of a grocery
store. Write it on the board or on a piece of chart paper as it is presented. Repeat it as necessary. Next, ask the students to turn to a partner and think of one good question they have about this statement. When all student pairs have decided on their questions, the teacher will ask someone from each team to share their questions with the whole class.
As students respond, write their questions on the chart paper or board. Eventually, similar questions will be asked by more than one pair. These should be starred or highlighted in some way, indicating that it is an important question. When students finish adding questions, the teacher should contribute his/her own questions to the list.
Throughout the activity, the teacher should stop periodically and have students discuss with their partners which questions could be answered, then ask for volunteers to share.
Mark questions that are answered.
Grade 4 Social Studies  Unit 2  Geographic and Cultural Characteristics 2

Tell the students to listen carefully as they participate in an activity that will explain what a region is. They should be listening for answers to their questions as the material is presented. Stop periodically to allow students to determine which questions have been answered by the content presented. Explain to the students that the term region is another way to say area. In the United States there are different regions or areas because locations often share common characteristics. Countries, states, and cities can be grouped together to form a region because they may have the same landscape, climate, economic factors, culture, or vegetation.
Prepare the students for learning by explaining that the classroom is going to be converted into a “grocery store.” Students are going to “stock” the “grocery store” with products by categorizing items into regions.
Ask the students: What are the different sections of a grocery store? List their responses in a chart similar to the one below .
(Charts will vary depending on students’ responses.) Once the students have generated a list of sections/regions within a grocery store, designate sections of the classroom that correspond to “regions” of a grocery store.
Give each region a name that corresponds to one of the identified United States Regions.
For example, the frozen food section can be called the Northeast region, the dairy section can be the Southern region, canned vegetables can be the Midwest, etc. For a regional map of the United States, refer to: http://www.census.gov/geo/www/us_regdiv.pdf
.
Proceed to hold up the items one at a time and have the students decide which region it should belong to. Place the item in the correct region of the classroom and list the item in the chart.
Dairy
Areas/Regions of a Grocery Store
Canned vegetables Frozen food Produce Meat
After categorizing all of the grocery items, students should then analyze why they placed items into the regions that they did. Ask the following:

Which region has the most products?

Which region has the fewest products?

Could some items be classified into two types of regions? For example, bagged spinach could be in the frozen food region and the produce region.
Relate the concept of grocery store regions to regions of the United States. Remind students that countries, states, and cities can be grouped together to form a region because they may have the same landscape, climate, economic factors, culture, or the same vegetation. Explain to students that locations can be grouped by their physical characteristics or their human characteristics. Define physical characteristics for students as natural characteristics of a region including climate, landforms, soil, vegetation, and animal life. Explain that human characteristics include languages, religions, political systems, economic systems, settlement patterns and transportation.
Students should record these definitions in their journals/compositions.
Grade 4 Social Studies  Unit 2  Geographic and Cultural Characteristics 3

Have students classify terms as either physical characteristics or human characteristics of a region in their journals/compositions. Students should make two columns in their journal: one labeled “Physical Characteristics,” the other labeled “Human
Characteristics.” Present students with the following terms to classify: language, mountain, culture, precipitation, river, holiday, food, lake, music, seasons, art, hill, weather, plateau, plain, tradition, natural resource, religion, accent, forest, festivals, deserts, temperature.
At the conclusion of the activity, refer back to the SQPL list of questions. Tell students that throughout the study of regions, they will refer back to the list often to answer any questions that were not covered by this activity. Keep this SQPL posted throughout the unit. Activity 1 can be assessed using the Physical and Human Characteristics Quiz
BLM. Refer to Activity-Specific Assessments, Activity 1 .
Activity 2: Physical Characteristics of Regions (GLE: 9)
Materials List: Physical Characteristics of Regions Chart BLM; regional, physical, and various theme maps of the United States; Comparing Regions Venn Diagram BLM
Use a graphic organizer (view literacy strategy descriptions) to organize information collected on regions. Using the Physical Characteristics of Regions Chart BLM (see sample below), have students analyze the maps below, looking for characteristics that are common within a region. List the common elements of each region on the chart. Include features such as climate, vegetation, landforms/landscape, bodies of water, land use, and natural resources . See BLM and sample below.
Name of Region Climate Vegetation Landforms /
Landscape
Major Bodies of Water
Land
Use
Natural
Resources
Northeast
Midwest
Provide students with the following maps of the United States:

United States map divided into regions: http://www.census.gov/geo/www/us_regdiv.pdf

Physical map of the United States: http://www.nationalatlas.gov/printable/images/pdf/satellite/Landsat_18.pdf

Various theme maps (population, land use, weather, farming, natural resources, etc): http://plasma.nationalgeographic.com/mapmachine/
Have students respond to the following questions/statements independently in their social studies journal/composition:

Identify the best place for human settlement based on the information in the chart.

Based on the natural resources identified, what inferences can be made about the economy of each region?
Grade 4 Social Studies  Unit 2  Geographic and Cultural Characteristics 4


Based on the information gathered, categorize these regions two different ways.

Compare and contrast the northern and southern regions in terms of climate and vegetation, using the Comparing Regions Venn Diagram BLM ( view literacy strategy descriptions ). (See BLM.)
At the conclusion of the activity, refer back to the SQPL list of questions from Activity 1.
Answer any questions that were not covered by this activity.
Activity 3: Impact of Settlement on Regions (GLEs: 3, 5, 8)
Materials List: outline map of the United States, markers, Settlement of Regions Pros and Cons Chart BLM
Provide students with an outline map of the United States. For this map, refer to: http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/pdf/us_nl.pdf
. Have students use markers to section off the regions on their outline maps and then label, locate and plot the major physical features of each region (e.g., mountains, hills, plains, rivers, deserts, swamps, wetlands, etc.). Students should also add a title, compass rose, key/legend, and scale to their maps.
Using the information generated in Activity 1, discuss with students the reasons why people may have settled in a particular region (e.g., water sources, fertile farm land, vegetation, timber, wildlife, and climate). Share with students information on early settlements in America. For information on early settlements, refer to:

Plimoth Village http://www.plimoth.org/education/olc/index_js2.html

Settling the West http://www.worldbook.com/wb/Students?content_spotlight/lewis_and_clark/settling_p lains

Historical Maps of the United States http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/historical.html

Interactive Exploration Maps http://www.eduplace.com/kids/socsci/la/books/bke/imaps/index.html
Have the students create a class graphic organizer (view literacy strategy descriptions) listing the pros and cons of settling in each region. Refer to the Settlement of Regions
Pros and Cons Chart BLM .
(See BLM and sample below). Discuss with students how settlement of a region changed the natural landscape.
Regions Pros Cons
Northeast
Midwest
At the conclusion of the activity, refer back to the SQPL list of questions from Activity 1.
Answer any questions that were not covered by this activity.
Grade 4 Social Studies  Unit 2  Geographic and Cultural Characteristics 5

Activity 4: Human Characteristics of Regions (GLEs: 9, 12, 13)
Materials List : reference materials on cultural aspects of the United States, Human
Characteristics of Regions BLM, poster board or chart paper
Engage students in a discussion of how migration and living in new areas caused people to adapt old customs to their new environment. Have them identify the customs and beliefs that their ancestors brought with them to America. Provide students with research packets of information from the Internet or resource books , or have applicable websites bookmarked on the Internet for them to explore.
For reference materials on cultural aspects of the United States, refer to the following websites:

American Recipes and History by Region http://whatscookingamerica.net/AmericanRegionalFoods/RegionalAmericanIndex.htm

Geography and Regional Characteristics: From Sea to Shining Sea http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/factover/ch2.htm

Holidays in the United States http://stockholm.usembassy.gov/Holidays/celebrate/other.html
Assign students to work in teams of two to four students. Assign each team one of the four regions: Northeast, Midwest, South, and West. Working as a team, have them research the customs and beliefs of people living in the various regions of the United
States. Ask students to explain how the cultural identities of people living in regions of the United States have been influenced by past events and their cultural heritage. In addition, have students research characteristics of human populations within each region.
Provide teams with a graphic organizer (view literacy strategy descriptions) to collect the information. Refer to the Human Characteristics of Regions BLM. (See BLM and sample below).
Population
(Ancestry)
Food Music Language Customs /
Celebrations
Art Religion Folklore
Once students have completed their research, utilize the professor know-it-all strategy
(view literacy strategy descriptions) to have students present to the class their findings.
Teams are to come to the front of the class and stand shoulder to shoulder. Invite the rest of the class to ask questions of the “know-it-alls.” When a question is posed, the team should huddle to talk about the answer, then return to their positions and give answers in complete sentences. This can be done by each student supplying one word of the sentence and rotating around until the sentence is completed. The final student in the rotation says “period.” Other students should listen for accurate answers and challenge the know-it-alls if their responses are unclear or incorrect. As the information is presented, the teacher should lead the class in constructing a master chart of the regions
(see sample below). This chart should be displayed on large chart paper or poster board.
Grade 4 Social Studies  Unit 2  Geographic and Cultural Characteristics 6

Region Population
(Ancestry)
Food Music Language Customs /
Celebrations
Northeast
Midwest
South
West
Note: All of the above features make up the culture of a region.
Art Religion Folklore
At the conclusion of the activity, refer back to the SQPL list of questions from Activity 1.
Answer any questions that were not covered by this activity.
Activity 5: Research Skills (GLEs: 9, 12, 13, 14)
Materials List : outline and regional map of the United States, reference information on
United States regions, sticky notes
Review with students the division of the regions of the United States. Show a map of each region. For a map of the United States divided into regions, refer to: http://www.census.gov/geo/www/us_regdiv.pdf
. Divide students into four groups:
Northeast, Midwest, South and West.
Use the “Jigsaw” cooperative learning strategy for this activity. Put students in groups with four members in each group. Assign students in each group a number from 1-4.
Have students record this number. Each group will have a student representing 1, 2, 3, and 4 (“home” groups).
Use the analogy of a jigsaw puzzle to explain to students what will be accomplished through this activity. Just as a jigsaw puzzle fits together piece by piece, so will their group. In order to fit, each puzzle piece has a different shape. In order for this activity to “fit”, each person in the group must learn a little something different to bring back to the group so that the whole topic makes sense.
Inform the students that they will be researching different regions and that it will be each person’s responsibility to complete a research guide to answer questions about the region he/she is researching. Allow students to take a role in writing the questions to be included on the research guide. In their “home” groups, ask students to generate a list of particular questions about regions that they feel they may be able to locate in the research. Using the computer and a presentation monitor, type the questions as students suggest them.
Once students have offered all of their questions , print a copy of the questions for each student to be used in “expert” groups. (Make sure questions include topics such as geography, economics, history, and natural resources. If students do not suggest these on their own, guide them to include such questions in addition to their own ideas.)
Instruct the students that each student in their “home” group will move to a different location. All of the #1’s will go to one region of the room , all of the #2’s will go to a different region of the room, etc. These will become the “expert” groups (one expert group for each region). Provide the “expert” groups with a folder, packet, or access to the
Grade 4 Social Studies  Unit 2  Geographic and Cultural Characteristics 7

internet for information on their region. They should also refer to their textbooks as a resource for this activity. For reference information on regions, refer to the following websites:

Education Place: States and Regions Interactive Map http://www.eduplace.com/kids/socsci/la/books/bkd/imaps/index.html

Travel & Geography: The Regions of the United States http://usa.usembassy.de/travel-regions.htm#south

United States Regions Think Quest http://library.thinkquest.org/4552/

Life in the USA: US Regions and US States http://www.usastudyguide.com/regionaldifferences.htm

Cultural, Climatic, and Physical Regions Chart http://www.glc.k12.ga.us/BuilderV03/Attachments/Regions%20Chart.doc

Various Theme Maps of the United States http://plasma.nationalgeographic.com/mapmachine/
With the questions guiding their research, students should complete the printed research guide, working as an “expert” team. They should use sticky notes to mark visuals they want to remember and use again. They should also write a title for the visual on the sticky note that can be seen when the material is closed. This organization will make the use of these visuals more efficient. Each “expert” group member should make visual aids based on the research to take back to share with the “home” groups. Students should create a physical map to depict landforms, etc., complete with a title, scale, legend and a compass rose. They should also create a resource map to show the locations of natural resources of the region. For an outline map of the United States, refer to: http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/pdf/us_nl.pdf
.
Any other visuals that would support the delivery of the information on the region should be made as well.
*Reminder : Each student will need to make a set of visual aids to take back to his or her
“home” group. If there are more than one members per home group, they only need one set to share with their group.*
Next, students will take their materials (written and visual) back to their “home” groups.
At this time, each student should make a presentation to their “home” group on the information they collected in their “expert” groups. Each person should have an opportunity to share his/her information from the research guide with the group. By doing this, each person in the “home” group will gain information on each of the regions being studied.
Finally, in each “home” group, students are to culminate their learning experience by completing a RAFT writing activity (view literacy strategy descriptions) .
This form of writing gives students the freedom to project themselves into unique roles and look at content from unique perspectives. From these roles and perspectives, RAFT writing allows students to respond to learning by being creative and informative. (Refer to
Activity 5 - Specific Assessment for a grading rubric.)
Grade 4 Social Studies  Unit 2  Geographic and Cultural Characteristics 8

RAFT is an acronym that stands for:
R – Role (role of the writer)
A – Audience (to whom or what the RAFT is being written)
F – Form (the form the writing will take, as in letter, song, etc.)
T – Topic (the subject focus of the writing)
Note: It is crucial that the teacher provide a model of this exercise for the students.
Provide students with the following RAFT assignment:
R – A landform from one of the five regions (canyon, mountain, river, lake, etc.)
A – A star
F – A postcard
T – The human and physical characteristics of the area around the landform.
Activity 6: Natural Resources (GLE: 14)
Materials List : journals/compositions, grocery store sale circulars, various resource maps, poster board
Define the term natural resource . Have students record the definition in their social studies journals/compositions. Explain to students that they will be identifying goods from around the United States and will need to categorize available goods into the regions from which they come. Present students with the following problem: Use your imagination and pretend that the states of Florida and California do not exist, and that
the rest of the United States has a very cold climate . What type of food would not be available? Provide clues such as: It’s a fruit. It makes juice. It has vitamin C. They should eventually answer “oranges.” Then give the next scenario:
Suppose the states of
Arkansas, North Carolina, Mississippi and Tennessee did not exist. Does anyone know what these states mainly produce? (Cotton) If people did not have cotton, they would not have many of the clothes and other materials that they use on a daily basis. Explain that these two scenarios are two examples of how people rely on different regions of the U.S. to produce the things that everyone needs. Regions can specialize in producing certain resources which make people depend on each other to provide for what others don’t have.
Ahead of time, the teacher will need to collect grocery store sale circulars found in a local newspaper. Divide students into pairs and distribute these grocery store circulars, various resource maps, and a poster board. For resource maps of the United States, refer to:

Main Agriculture Atlas (Use this website to align the maps presented to the students with the products from the sale circulars. Choose the products from the circular and print the appropriate maps.) http://www.nass.usda.gov/census/census97/atlas97/index.htm#CROPHARVES

Natural Resource Interactive Maps http://eduplace.com/kids/socsci/la/books/bkd/imaps/index.html
Grade 4 Social Studies  Unit 2  Geographic and Cultural Characteristics 9

Students will divide their posters into four columns: Northeast, South, Midwest, and
West. Students will cut out the products from the sales circulars and glue them onto the poster board in the appropriate columns after researching where the product or the ingredients to make the product come from. For example, it’s easy to determine that potatoes come from Idaho, the West region, but students will need to know that crackers are made from wheat, which comes from the Midwest region. (Be sure to include products that are produced from resources here in Louisiana, for example: sugar cane, trees, oil, cotton, rice, soybeans). Explain to the students that natural resources are used to make common goods, such as:
Trees/forests

lumber, paper
Fresh water

drinking water
Seawater

salt
Coal, natural gas, oil

electricity, heat
Minerals in Earth

aluminum , steel
Plants, roots, herbs

food, medicine, dye
-
The students will divide all of their pictures of goods into different regions. Some of the resources will fall into several different regions, as they will observe from their maps.
Students can glue the pictures in one region (the region with the largest production of a certain type of good), but then write the name of the good in the appropriate other regions.
At the conclusion of the activity, refer back to the SQPL list of questions from Activity 1.
Answer any questions that were not covered by this activity.
Activity 7: Impact of Natural Disasters on Regions (GLE: 17)
Materials List : pictures of natural disasters, outline map of the United States, list of prevention and safety steps for various natural disasters, Natural Disasters in the United
States BLM
This lesson identifies natural disasters, their causes, areas prone to them, and how those disasters affect people and the environment. Students will learn where tornadoes , hurricanes , floods, forest fires, earthquakes , volcanoes , or severe thunderstorms are likely to occur and will find out which type of event is most likely to happen near their homes.
At the beginning of the lesson, have students identify which natural disaster is most likely to occur in the local area: tornadoes , hurricanes , floods, forest fires, earthquakes , volcanoes , or severe thunderstorms.
Have students look at pictures of various natural disasters. For pictures of natural disasters, refer to:

National Geographic: Eye in the Sky – Nature’s Fury http://www.nationalgeographic.com/eye/natures.html
Grade 4 Social Studies  Unit 2  Geographic and Cultural Characteristics 10


NASA: Hurricane Image Catalog http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/rsd/images/images.html

Pictures of Natural Disasters and Landforms http://www.suelebeau.com/picsofland.htm

FEMA Photo Library http://www.fema.gov/kids/p_lib.htm
Show students a United States map and point out some of the areas where the natural disasters are most likely to occur (e.g., tornadoes in the Midwest, hurricanes on the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coasts, earthquakes along the West coast, and volcanoes in the
West or Pacific region.) For a map of the United States, refer to: http://www.infoplease.com/tv/printables/kt_maps/kt_map_usa.pdf
.
Discuss why one type of natural event is more likely to occur in each region than in other regions. If someone lived in earthquake country, explain that there are cracks on the
Earth’s surface that make the ground move from time to time. If someone lived in the
“hurricane alley” of the South, explain that many of these large storms begin off the west coast of Africa and travel across the Atlantic and into the Gulf of Mexico, gathering force along the way.
Ask students if they have ever experienced the type of natural disaster that’s most common in their area. What was it like? What did they do to protect themselves? Was it scary? What did their parents do? Share with students a list of prevention and safety steps for this type of disaster. For a list of prevention and safety steps for various disasters, refer to: http://www.fema.gov/kids/dizarea.htm
.
At the conclusion of the activity, have students complete a graphic organizer (view literacy strategy descriptions) to explain the cause and effect of the various natural disasters of our country. Use the Natural Disasters in the United States BLM to record the information. (See sample below)
Natural Disaster
CAUSE
EFFECT
Grade 4 Social Studies  Unit 2  Geographic and Cultural Characteristics 11

Sample Assessments
General Guidelines

Students should be observed and monitored throughout the work on all activities via teacher observation, log/data entries, report writing, group discussion, and journal entries.

All student-developed projects and student investigations should be evaluated as the unit progresses. When possible, students should assist in developing rubrics that will be used.

Use a variety of performance assessments to determine student comprehension.

Select assessments consistent with the types of products that result from the student activities.
General Assessments

Generate a class list of concepts and terms that have been used during this unit. Reproduce this list for students and distribute. Students then cut these terms or concepts into separate cards called “concept cards.” Using these cards they connect one concept to others. Then they construct a sentence using the words and showing their connections to one another. For instance, if they had migration, region , and culture as three of the concepts, they may connect those three and write the following: The migration of people helped to create the cultures of the regions of the United States.

Post six pieces of chart paper around the room. On each piece of paper have letters from the alphabet listed in order on each. Have students travel to each chart and write unit-specific phrases or sentences that contain words with the particular letter(s) that are on the chart. For instance, below the letter P they may write, “Physical characteristics of a region include its landscape, climate, natural resources, and population.” Rotate the groups to all of the charts. Cut apart the charts and pass out a letter to each student. Have students illustrate the letters they receive.

Provide students with a blank United States map. Have them identify and color each region a different color. Students should create a key for the map naming each region. Using the information collected throughout the unit, have students write the characteristics of the region. Assign an amount of required characteristics per region. These may be assessed for the number of required characteristics and the accuracy of these descriptions.
Grade 4 Social Studies  Unit 2  Geographic and Cultural Characteristics 12

Activity-Specific Assessments

Activity 1: Provide students with terms that describe physical characteristics and human characteristics. Have students categorize the terms into each category. Refer to the Physical and Human Characteristics Quiz BLM. An answer key is also available.

Activity 2: Have students choose two regions to compare and contrast based on the physical features of the region. Students should write an essay explaining the similarities and differences of the two regions they chose.

Activity 5: Have students create a brochure for the region they researched using the information they collected. The brochure should include illustrations, captions, and maps and should address the questions generated for the research guide or discussed during their presentations. Once these are completed, collect the brochures and put students into groups of four. Then distribute one brochure from each region to the groups and provide them with a graphic organizer so they may compare and contrast two regions. Refer to the Comparing Regions Venn Diagram BLM used in Activity 2. The graphic organizer should be assessed for accuracy. To assess the brochure, refer to the
Rubric for Grading the Brochure BLM.

Activity 5: Use the RAFT Writing Assignment Rubric to assess the accuracy, perspective, focus, and mechanics of the RAFT essay.
Resources
Books
Scrambled States of America by Laurie Keller
Scholastic Atlas of the United States by David Rubel
The United States of America: A State by State Guide by Millie Miller and Cyndi
Nelson
Grade 4 Social Studies  Unit 2  Geographic and Cultural Characteristics 13

Grade 4 Social Studies  Unit 9  Producers and Consumers 14