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4th grade · Social Studies · Unit 3 of 6

World Maps & Globes

Latitude, longitude and the parts of a map

What your child practices

Practices reading world maps and globes: the parts of a map, latitude and longitude, hemispheres, map projections and asking spatial questions, with places in Minnesota and around the world.

Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards benchmark: 4.3.13.1; 4.3.13.2 · reading maps and globes using their parts, and asking spatial questions

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. A physical map shows landforms and water. A political map shows borders and cities.
  2. Latitude lines run east–west. Longitude lines run north–south.
  3. Every flat map stretches something. On a Mercator map, places near the poles look too big.

Example: On a Mercator map, why does Greenland look as big as Africa? Greenland is close to the North Pole. This map stretches areas near the poles. Answer: areas near the poles are stretched

World Maps & Globes in Minnesota

In the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards, this is unit 3 of 6 in 4th grade Social Studies, after World Regions and before Resources & Regions.

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: Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)

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

    How many continents are there?

    • 5
    • 7
    • 9
    • 12

  2. Question 2

    The Himalayas, with Mount Everest, are on which continent?

    • Africa
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • North America

  3. Question 3

    On a Mercator projection, why does Greenland look as big as Africa?

    • Areas near the poles are stretched
    • Africa is shrinking
    • Greenland really is bigger
    • The map is upside down

  4. Question 4

    On a map, the compass rose shows…

    • directions
    • the weather
    • population
    • distance only

  5. Question 5

    Lines of longitude get closer together toward…

    • The Tropic of Cancer
    • The equator
    • The oceans
    • The poles

  6. Question 6

    Lines of latitude run…

    • only through Minnesota
    • east and west, measuring north and south
    • north and south, measuring east and west
    • in circles around the poles only

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