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4th grade · Science · Unit 12 of 14

Earth Maps & Hazards

Patterns on maps of land and ocean, and ways to stay safe from natural hazards.

What your child practices

Your child reads maps to find patterns in Earth's features and compares solutions that protect people from natural hazards, such as Alabama's tornadoes and hurricanes.

Alabama Course of Study content standard: 4.13; 4.15 · patterns of Earth's features on maps, and solutions that protect people from natural hazards

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Maps show patterns: earthquakes and volcanoes line up along plate edges.
  2. Buildings bolted to their foundations, and built to bend and sway, are safer in earthquakes.
  3. Retaining walls help prevent landslides. Signs show tsunami routes to higher ground.

Example: Two houses: one bolted to its foundation, one not. Which is safer in an earthquake? Bolts keep the house from sliding off its base when the ground shakes. Answer: the bolted house

Earth Maps & Hazards in Alabama

In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 12 of 14 in 4th grade Science, after Wind, Water, Ice and before Energy Resources.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    In a tornado, the safest place in a house is…

    • next to a big window
    • outside on the porch
    • in the attic
    • a small room on the lowest floor, away from windows

  2. Question 2

    A tsunami is a…

    • kind of volcano
    • snowstorm
    • giant ocean wave
    • strong wind

  3. Question 3

    A lahar is a…

    • fast mudflow from a volcano
    • snowflake
    • calm lake
    • kind of rock

  4. Question 4

    What should you do during an earthquake?

    • Drop, cover and hold on
    • Run outside at once
    • Take the elevator
    • Stand by a window

  5. Question 5

    If you are on the coast and feel a strong earthquake, you should…

    • go to the beach
    • stay by the water
    • go swimming
    • move to high ground

  6. Question 6

    During an earthquake, you should…

    • drop, cover and hold on
    • stand by a window
    • run outside right away
    • ride an elevator

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