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4th grade · Social Studies · Unit 1 of 10

New York's Land & Maps

Mountains, rivers, lakes and cities

What your child practices

Reading physical, political and climate maps of New York State: the Adirondacks and Catskills, the Hudson, Mohawk and St. Lawrence rivers, the Great Lakes and Finger Lakes, Long Island Sound, Albany and the largest cities, and the states and country that border New York.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 4.1; 4.1a; 4.1b · using physical, political and climate maps to find New York's mountains, rivers, lakes, capital, largest cities and neighbors

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. New York’s capital is Albany. New York City is its largest city.
  2. Mountains include the Adirondacks and Catskills. Rivers include the Hudson, Mohawk and St. Lawrence.
  3. A physical map shows land and water. A political map shows borders and cities.

Example: Which river flows south past Albany to New York City? It is named after an explorer. It empties into the Atlantic at New York City. Answer: the Hudson River

New York's Land & Maps in New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 1 of 10 in 4th grade Social Studies, before Haudenosaunee & Algonquian Peoples.

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: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

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

    Which river flows east across the state and joins the Hudson River?

    • the Niagara River
    • the Genesee River
    • the St. Lawrence River
    • the Mohawk River

  2. Question 2

    A map that shows cities, capitals and borders is a…

    • physical map
    • climate map
    • political map
    • elevation map

  3. Question 3

    Which river flows south past Albany to New York City and the Atlantic Ocean?

    • the Hudson River
    • the Genesee River
    • the St. Lawrence River
    • the Niagara River

  4. Question 4

    Long, narrow lakes in central New York shaped by glaciers are called the…

    • Great Lakes
    • Finger Lakes
    • Thousand Lakes
    • Hand Lakes

  5. Question 5

    Which lake forms part of the border between New York and Vermont?

    • Lake Champlain
    • Lake Erie
    • Seneca Lake
    • Oneida Lake

  6. Question 6

    Cities near Lake Erie and Lake Ontario often get heavy snow called…

    • desert dust
    • lake-effect snow
    • hurricane rain
    • ocean fog

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