Geography for Life

Geography Skills and Perspectives

Geographic Skills to Be Learned by the End of the Fourth Grade

SKILL SET 1 ASKING GEOGRAPHIC QUESTIONS

By the end of the fourth grade, the student should know and understand how to:

1. Ask geographic questions--Where is it located? Why is it there? What is significant about its location? How is its location related to the locations of other people, places, and environments?--as exemplified by being able to
   • Ask geographic questions about places in books
   • Identify geographic aspects of current news stories
   • Pose geographic questions based on the features of the student's own community: Where do my classmates live? How is land used in the area around my school and my home? How far do my classmates travel to school? How long does it take? What mode of transportation do they use? What routes do they follow?
2. Distinguish between geographic and nongeographic questions, as exemplified by being able to
   • Classify a list of questions as being geographic or nongeographic
   • Pose questions about an issue from the viewpoint of a variety of members of the community and identify which questions are geographic and which are not geographic

SKILL SET 2 ACQUIRING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

By the end of the fourth grade, the student should know and understand how to:

1. Locate, gather, and process information from a variety of primary and secondary sources including maps, as exemplified by being able to
   • Apply quantitative skills (e.g., count landforms, cities, lakes, and population characteristics; measure distances)
   • Obtain information on the characteristics of places (e.g., climate, elevation, and population density) by interpreting maps
   • Determine the distance and compass direction from one place to another on a map
2. Make and record observations about the physical and human characteristics of places, as exemplified by being able to
   • Engage in fieldwork to collect information
   • Make records of observations systematically in terms of time and place
   • Use aerial photographs, satellite images, or topographic maps to identify elements of the physical and human environments

SKILL SET 3 ORGANIZING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

By the end of the fourth grade, the student should know and understand how to:

1. Prepare maps to display geographic information, as exemplified by being able to
   • Map the locations of places on outline maps at a variety of scales, using appropriate symbols (e.g., use point symbols of different sizes to locate the cities, towns, and villages in a state)
   • Draw sketch maps to illustrate geographic information (e.g., to provide directions to points in and around the student's community; to map the geographic information of stories; and to locate the distribution of stores in the community)
   • Prepare maps as a means of spatially depicting information obtained from graphs (e.g., interpret a bar graph of U.S. exports to other countries and then prepare a map displaying the same information using arrow-shaped lines of varying width)
   • Create maps that are labeled appropriately (e.g., use a self-checking system such as TODALSIGs-Title, Orientation, Date, Author, Legend, Scale, Index, Grid, source)
2. Construct graphs, tables, and diagrams to display geographic information, as exemplified by being able to
   • Organize quantitative geographic information into bar graphs, pie graphs and line graphs
   • Keep a daily record of temperature, precipitation, cloud cover, and other weather data in graphic and pictorial forms
   • Prepare a diagram to illustrate a written description of a geographic process (e.g., hydrologic cycle, rain shadow, or growth of a settlement)

SKILL SET 4 ANALYZING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

By the end of the fourth grade, the student should know and understand how to:

1. Use maps to observe and interpret geographic relationships, as exemplified by being able to
   • Use maps to draw inferences (e.g., use maps showing migration routes of people at various periods in history to suggest the reasons for the migrations and the particular routes)
   • Interpret maps to make decisions (e.g., use maps showing land contours, roads, and land uses to choose good locations for a proposed activity such as a new park, fire station, ski resort, or solid-waste landfill)
   • Compare large-scale maps of different places to describe spatial patterns and relationships (e.g., use maps to compare the physical and human characteristics of regions)
2. Use tables and graphs to observe and interpret geographic trends and relationships, as exemplified by being able to
   • Prepare explanations of information obtained from tables and graphs (e.g., summarize climagraphs to produce a brief oral or written description of a location's climate and how that climate might influence agriculture, clothing, and other aspects of human life)
   • Identify relationships between countries or regions from graphs (e.g., use the data from graphs to compare social and economic indicators from different regions of the world)
   • Predict trends based on data in graphic form (e.g., use a graph showing past trends in world consumption of nonrenewable resources to predict rates of consumption)
3. Use texts, photographs, and documents to observe and interpret geographic trends and relationships, as exemplified by being able to
   • Summarize information obtained from primary and secondary sources (e.g., analyze student-answered questionnaires)
   • Compare a variety of media such as photographs, maps, aerial photographs, and field sketches to draw conclusions (e.g., compare field sketches, aerial photographs, and maps to draw conclusions about the transformation of the landscape over time)
   • Analyze visual information (e.g., use photographs, cartoons, videos, and CD-ROM images to make geographic inferences about the nature of a place)
4. Use simple mathematics to analyze geographic data, as exemplified by being able to
   • Use numerical information to describe the characteristics of a place (e.g., count the number of days of rain and sunshine over a period to determine the average for each category)
   • Use numerical information to compare places and discover variations in patterns (e.g., plot average annual rainfall for places in a region)

SKILL SET 5 ANSWERING GEOGRAPHIC QUESTIONS

By the end of the fourth grade, the student should know and understand how to:

1. Present geographic information in the form of both oral and written reports accompanied by maps and graphics, as exemplified by being able to
   • Organize a wall display that integrates maps, graphs, tables, and captions to present a geographic theme or the answers to a geographic question
   • Research and make an illustrated oral report to the class or an appropriate public agency on a locational question (e.g., the best place to roller blade, skateboard, ice skate, picnic, or construct a biking-and-hiking tail)
2. Use methods of geographic inquiry to acquire geographic information, draw conclusions, and make generalizations, as exemplified by being able to
   • Make statements summarizing key geography ideas at the conclusion of learning opportunities (e.g., after watching slides of cities saround the world, write a paragraph summarizing some major functions of cities)
   • Recognize whether a series of statements forms a logical progression that answers geographic questions
3. Apply generalizations to solve geographic problems and make reasoned decisions, as exemplified by being able to
   • Use maps to find the shortest paths for planning car pools, homework buddies, or babysitting networks (e.g., the "best" [least time, most direct] route from school to a friend's house and home)
   • Test generalizations on range (how far individuals are willing to travel for certain goods and services) (e.g., conduct a survey on how far people drive or walk to shop for groceries, and then propose the best location for a new grocery store)

BACK