GLE-Geo4
COLORADO MODEL CONTENT
STANDARDS FOR GEOGRAPHY
4th Grade Level Expectations
Standard 1:
Students know how to use and construct maps, globes and other geographic tools to locate and derive information about people, places, and environments.
1.1 Students know how to use maps, globes, and other geographic tools to acquire, process, and report information from a spacial perspective.
Fourth grade students will: do all of the above at a higher level plus:
1.1.1 measure various distances using map scales;
1.1.2 read maps and globes using longitude and latitude, coordinates, degrees;
1.1.3 understand meridians and time zones (the International Date Line); 1.1.4 understand relief maps - elevations and depressions.
1.2 Students develop knowledge of Earth to locate people, places and
environments.
Fourth grade students will: do all of the above plus:
1.2.1 locate and discuss major mountain ranges throughout the World;
1.2.2 discuss the altitude of high mountains throughout the World;
1.2.3 demonstrate knowledge of the geography of countries in Europe, Asia
the Middle East and Africa;
1.2.4 demonstrate knowledge of the geography of the areas significant from the perspective of the American Revolution and the formation of the United States.
1.3 Students know how to analyze the dynamic spacial organization of people, places and environments.
First through fourth grade students will:
1.3.1 understand how latitude affects climate, and demonstrate his/her understanding through examples;
1.3.2 understand how the availability of water affects human lifestyles;
1.3.3 discuss the relationship between climate and human development in the "Cradle of Civilization" - Mesopotamia, and, later, in Egypt, in Central America; and elsewhere.
Standard 2:
Students know the physical and human characteristics of places, and use this knowledge to define and study regions and their patterns of change.
2.1 Students know the physical characteristics of places.
First through fourth grade students will:
2.1.1 demonstrate expanding ability to differentiate between natural and human characteristics of places;
2.1.2 demonstrate deeper knowledge about particular large geographic areas, such as the Sahara desert, the Amazon rain forest, the Arctic, the Goby Desert, etc.
2.2 Students know how and why people define regions.
First through fourth grade students will:
2.2.1 understand why some regions are populated by many people, and others - by few, or none;
2.2.2 understand how human activities (such as deforestation, the building of dams, irrigation, etc.) can change the nature of regions.
2.3 Students know how culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions.
First through fourth grade students will:
2.3.1 identify characteristics of the lifestyles of peoples who live in particular regions;
2.3.2 understand why peoples like living in places that others find inhospitable (the Eskimos, the Bedouins, for example).
Standard 3:
Students understand how physical processes shape the Earth's
surface patterns and systems.
3.1 Students know the physical processes that shape Earth's surface patterns.
First through fourth grade students will:
3.1.1 demonstrate understanding that the Earth's climate is subject to cycles of higher or lower temperatures; and that such a cycle, known as the Ice Age, for example, has made possible for the first humans to arrive in America (from Asia) through a land bridge;
3.1.2 understand how physical processes from within and without the Earth affect the Earth surface and climate.
3.2 Students know the characteristics and distributions of physical systems of land, air, water, plants, and animals.
First through fourth grade students will:
3.2.1 demonstrate understanding of how climate influences vegetation patterns, and how that, in turn, influences animal and human life;
3.2.2 demonstrate understanding of the ability of plants, animals and humans to adapt to living in various and changing environments;
3.2.3 describe the environment of the area where they live and areas they have visited or have heard about, or have studied about.
Standard 4:
Students understand how economic, political, cultural, and social processes interact to shape patterns of human populations, interdependence, cooperation, and conflict.
4.1 Students know the characteristics, location, distribution, and migration of human populations.
First through fourth grade students will:
4.1.1 discuss the countries of origin of their ancestors, and locate them;
4.1.2 identify and locate cities with large populations in this country;
4.1.3 identify and locate countries with large populations;
4.1.4 use maps to describe and explain population densities in parts of the world.
4.2 Students know the nature and spacial distribution of cultural patterns.
First through fourth grade students will:
4.2.1 understand a greater number of the elements of culture, and how many of them are shaped by the geography of the region where people live (recreation, religion, arts, etc.)
4.3 Students know the patterns and networks of economic interdependence.
First through fourth grade students will:
4.3.1 identify major economic activities in Colorado and other States, and in other countries;
4.3.2 describe economic networks used in daily life, such as transportation, banking, telephone system, etc.;
4.3.3 identify major economic activities in the countries that they have studied about.
4.4 Students know the processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement.
First through fourth grade students will:
4.4.1 discuss differences between prehistoric and modern human settlements in this part of the country;
4.4.2 discuss differences between rural and urban human settlements;
4.4.3 demonstrate understanding of spacial characteristics of parts of the city (residential, central business, recreational, etc.);
4.4.4 guess and/or explain the reasons for the location of certain cities/settlements in relation to the relief and resources available in the area.
4.5 Students know how cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of the Earth's surface.
First through fourth grade students will:
4.5.1 understand that today's residents of Colorado/the U.S. are relative newcomers;
4.5.2 understand the meaning of country boundaries and why people have created them;
4.5.3 understand that all human conflicts are based on competition for land and its resources and can give examples from the content of their history lessons;
4.5.4 understand the configuration of a town/city within a county, within a state, within a country, a continent, the Earth.
Standard 5:
Students understand the effects of interactions between human and physical systems and the changes in meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources.
5.1 Students know how human actions modify the physical environment.
First through fourth grade students will:
5.1.1 demonstrate understanding of why some regions are populated by many people, and others - by few, or none;
5.1.2 understand how human activities (such as deforestation, the building of dams, irrigation, etc.) can change the nature of regions;
5.1.3 understand how human activities impact the lives of animals, and of other people.
5.2 Students know how physical systems affect human systems.
First through fourth grade students will:
5.2.1 understand that surface relief has a major impact on human activities;
5.2.2 understand that climatic changes over time bring changes in human habitation and activities;
5.2.3 understand the causes of natural disasters.
5.3 Students know the changes that occur in the meaning, use, location, distribution, and importance of resources.
First through fifth grade students will:
5.3.1 understand what kinds of resources are necessary for human existence;
5.3.2 understand that resources are not distributed equally everywhere;
5.3.3 understand the difference between renewable and non-renewable resources;
5.3.4 begin to understand that existing resources are not unlimited, and will not last forever;
5.3.5 begin to understand that, as some resources are depleted, people develop technologies to use different resources;
5.3.6 understand the need for careful management of resources;
5.3.7 understand the need for exploration for new resources.
Standard 6:
Students apply knowledge of people, places, and environments to understand the past and present and to plan for the future.
6.1 Students know how to apply geography to understand the past.
First through fifth grade students will:
6.1.1 demonstrate understanding that climates have changed over time;
6.1.2 understand that changing environments have influenced and are influencing people and events in the past and present;
6.1.3 use maps to describe the human and environmental factors that have marked the history of various regions.
6.2 Students know how to apply geography to understand the present and plan for the future.
First through fifth grade students will:
6.2.1 observe and describe community issues from a spacial perspective: the building of new houses in the neighborhood, heavy traffic, etc.;
6.2.2 explain how human-induced factors can change the environment (development versus conservation);
6.2.3 compare attitudes of people from different cultures towards social issues, including the role of the two sexes and make projections about the future.
