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4th grade · Social Studies · Unit 10 of 14

Maps & the Land

Map tools and changing the land

What your child practices

Compass roses, legends, scales and grids, the rivers and borders of Texas, and how and why Texans have adapted to and changed their environment (dams, irrigation, timber clearing, ship channels), with the good and bad effects.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) teks student expectation: 4.8(A); 4.8(B); 4.8(C); 4.20(A); 4.20(B) · how Texans adapt to and modify the environment and its consequences, and using map elements and geographic data

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. The compass rose shows directions. The legend explains symbols. The scale shows distance.
  2. The Rio Grande forms the border with Mexico. The Red River is on the north.
  3. Texans changed the land with dams, irrigation, clearing forests and ship channels.

Example: Which river forms the border between Texas and Mexico? It is a big river with a Spanish name. Its name means big river. Answer: the Rio Grande

Maps & the Land in Texas

In the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), this is unit 10 of 14 in 4th grade Social Studies, after Regions of Texas and before The Texas Economy.

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: Texas Education Agency (TEA)

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 forms much of the border between Texas and Mexico?

    • the Sabine River
    • the Rio Grande
    • the Red River
    • the Brazos River

  2. Question 2

    Why did people build highways and railroads across Texas?

    • to move people and goods faster
    • to stop trade
    • to slow down travel
    • to make rivers

  3. Question 3

    Which body of water is on the southeast coast of Texas?

    • the Gulf of Mexico
    • Lake Superior
    • the Pacific Ocean
    • the Arctic Ocean

  4. Question 4

    Irrigation means…

    • drilling for oil
    • building roads
    • bringing water to crops
    • cutting down trees

  5. Question 5

    On most maps, north is toward the…

    • top
    • bottom
    • right
    • left

  6. Question 6

    A map that shows where people live in Texas is called a…

    • population map
    • road map
    • time zone map
    • weather map

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