Massachusetts

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Skills available for Massachusetts fourth-grade social studies standards

Standards are in black and IXL social studies skills are in dark green. Hold your mouse over the name of a skill to view a sample question. Click on the name of a skill to practice that skill.

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Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks: Grade 4: North American Geography, History, and Peoples Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks: Grade 4: North American Geography, History, and Peoples
Massachusetts Concepts and Skills (2003) Massachusetts Concepts and Skills (2003)
Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks (2003) Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks (2003)

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Optional Standards for Ancient China, c. 3000-200 BC/BCE

4.1 On a map of Asia, locate China, the Huang He (Yellow) River and Chang Jiang (Yangtze) Rivers, and the Himalayan Mountains.
4.2 Describe the topography and climate of eastern Asia, including the importance of mountain ranges and deserts, and explain how geography influenced the growth of Chinese civilization.
4.3 Describe the ideographic writing system used by the Chinese (characters, which are symbols for concepts/ideas) and how it differs from an alphabetic writing system.
4.4 Describe important technologies of China such as bronze casting, silk manufacture, and gunpowder.
4.5 Identify who Confucius was and describe his writings on good government, codes of proper conduct, and relationships between parent and child, friend and friend, husband and wife, and subject and ruler.
4.6 Describe how the First Emperor unified China by subduing warring factions, seizing land, centralizing government, imposing strict rules, and creating with the use of slave labor large state building projects for irrigation, transportation, and defense (e.g., the Great Wall).
4.7 After visiting a museum, listening to a museum educator in school, or conducting research in the library, describe an animal, person, building, or design depicted in an ancient Chinese work of art.

Regions of the United States

4.8 On a map of the world, locate North America. On a map of North America, locate the United States, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi and Rio Grande Rivers, the Great Lakes, Hudson Bay, and the Rocky and Appalachian Mountain Ranges.
4.9 On a map of North America, locate the current boundaries of the United States (including Alaska, Hawaii, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico). Locate the states of the Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, and West regions of the United States, in addition to the six states of New England.
4.10 Identify the states, state capitals, and major cities in each region.
4.11 Describe the climate, major physical features, and major natural resources in each region.
4.12 Identify and describe unique features of the United States (e.g., the Everglades, the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, the Redwood Forest, Yellowstone National Park, and Yosemite National Park).
- Mount Rushmore (4-L.11)
4.13 Identify major monuments and historical sites in and around Washington, D.C. (e.g., the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials, the Smithsonian Museums, the Library of Congress, the White House, the Capitol, the Washington monument, the National Archives, Arlington National Cemetery, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Iwo Jima Memorial, and Mount Vernon).
4.14 Identify the five different European countries (France, Spain, England, Russia, and the Netherlands) that influenced different regions of the present United States at the time the New World was being explored and describe how their influence can be traced to place names, architectural features, and language.
4.15 Describe the diverse nature of the American people by identifying the distinctive contributions to American culture of:
- A several indigenous peoples in different areas of the country (e.g., Navajo, Seminoles, Sioux, Hawaiians, and Inuits).
- B African Americans, including an explanation of their early concentration in the South because of slavery and the Great Migration to northern cities in the 20th century, and recent African immigrant groups (e.g., Ethiopian) and where they tended to settle in large numbers.
- C major European immigrant groups who have come to America, locating their countries of origin and where they tended to settle in large numbers (e.g., English, Germans, Italians, Scots, Irish, Jews, Poles, and Scandinavians).
- D major Spanish-speaking (e.g., Cubans, Mexicans) and Asian (e.g., Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese) immigrant groups who have come to America in the 19th and 20th centuries, locating their countries of origin and where they tended to settle in large numbers.
4.16 Identify major immigrant groups that live in Massachusetts and where they now live in large numbers (e.g., English, Irish, Italians, French Canadians, Armenians, Greeks, Portuguese, Haitians, and Vietnamese).

Canada

4.17 On a map of North America, locate Canada, its provinces, and major cities.
4.18 Describe the climate, major physical characteristics, and major natural resources of Canada and explain their relationship to settlement, trade, and the Canadian economy.
4.19 Describe the major ethnic and religious groups of modern Canada.
4.20 Identify when Canada became an independent nation and explain how independence was achieved.
4.21 Identify the location of at least two Native American tribes in Canada (e.g., Kwakiutl and Micmac) and the Inuit nation and describe their major social features.
4.22 Identify the major language groups in Canada, their geographic location, and the relations among them.

Mexico

4.23 On a map of North America, locate Mexico and its major cities.
4.24 Describe the climate, major physical characteristics, and major natural resources of Mexico and explain their relationship to the Mexican economy.
4.25 Identify the language, major religion, and peoples of Mexico.
4.26 Identify when Mexico became an independent nation and describe how independence was achieved.

Optional Learning Standards for Central America and the Caribbean Islands

4.27 On a map of North and South America, locate the Isthmus of Panama which divides North from South America. Use a map key to locate islands, countries, and major cities of Central America and the Caribbean Islands.
4.28 Describe the climate and the major natural resources of Central America and the Caribbean Islands and explain their relationship to the economy of those regions.
4.29 Identify the different languages used in different countries in the Caribbean region today (e.g., Spanish in Cuba, French in Haiti, English in Barbados, and Jamaica).
4.30 Identify when the countries in the Caribbean and in Central America became independent nations and explain how independence was achieved.

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Optional Standards for Ancient China, c. 3000-200 BC/BCE

4.1 On a map of Asia, locate China, the Huang He (Yellow) River and Chang Jiang (Yangtze) Rivers, and the Himalayan Mountains.

4.2 Describe the topography and climate of eastern Asia, including the importance of mountain ranges and deserts, and explain how geography influenced the growth of Chinese civilization.

4.3 Describe the ideographic writing system used by the Chinese (characters, which are symbols for concepts/ideas) and how it differs from an alphabetic writing system.

4.4 Describe important technologies of China such as bronze casting, silk manufacture, and gunpowder.

4.5 Identify who Confucius was and describe his writings on good government, codes of proper conduct, and relationships between parent and child, friend and friend, husband and wife, and subject and ruler.

4.6 Describe how the First Emperor unified China by subduing warring factions, seizing land, centralizing government, imposing strict rules, and creating with the use of slave labor large state building projects for irrigation, transportation, and defense (e.g., the Great Wall).

4.7 After visiting a museum, listening to a museum educator in school, or conducting research in the library, describe an animal, person, building, or design depicted in an ancient Chinese work of art.

Regions of the United States

4.8 On a map of the world, locate North America. On a map of North America, locate the United States, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi and Rio Grande Rivers, the Great Lakes, Hudson Bay, and the Rocky and Appalachian Mountain Ranges.

4.9 On a map of North America, locate the current boundaries of the United States (including Alaska, Hawaii, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico). Locate the states of the Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, and West regions of the United States, in addition to the six states of New England.

4.10 Identify the states, state capitals, and major cities in each region.

4.11 Describe the climate, major physical features, and major natural resources in each region.

4.12 Identify and describe unique features of the United States (e.g., the Everglades, the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, the Redwood Forest, Yellowstone National Park, and Yosemite National Park).

4.15 Describe the diverse nature of the American people by identifying the distinctive contributions to American culture of:

A several indigenous peoples in different areas of the country (e.g., Navajo, Seminoles, Sioux, Hawaiians, and Inuits).

B African Americans, including an explanation of their early concentration in the South because of slavery and the Great Migration to northern cities in the 20th century, and recent African immigrant groups (e.g., Ethiopian) and where they tended to settle in large numbers.

C major European immigrant groups who have come to America, locating their countries of origin and where they tended to settle in large numbers (e.g., English, Germans, Italians, Scots, Irish, Jews, Poles, and Scandinavians).

D major Spanish-speaking (e.g., Cubans, Mexicans) and Asian (e.g., Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese) immigrant groups who have come to America in the 19th and 20th centuries, locating their countries of origin and where they tended to settle in large numbers.

4.16 Identify major immigrant groups that live in Massachusetts and where they now live in large numbers (e.g., English, Irish, Italians, French Canadians, Armenians, Greeks, Portuguese, Haitians, and Vietnamese).

Canada

4.17 On a map of North America, locate Canada, its provinces, and major cities.

4.18 Describe the climate, major physical characteristics, and major natural resources of Canada and explain their relationship to settlement, trade, and the Canadian economy.

4.19 Describe the major ethnic and religious groups of modern Canada.

4.20 Identify when Canada became an independent nation and explain how independence was achieved.

4.21 Identify the location of at least two Native American tribes in Canada (e.g., Kwakiutl and Micmac) and the Inuit nation and describe their major social features.

4.22 Identify the major language groups in Canada, their geographic location, and the relations among them.

Mexico

4.23 On a map of North America, locate Mexico and its major cities.

4.24 Describe the climate, major physical characteristics, and major natural resources of Mexico and explain their relationship to the Mexican economy.

4.25 Identify the language, major religion, and peoples of Mexico.

4.26 Identify when Mexico became an independent nation and describe how independence was achieved.

Optional Learning Standards for Central America and the Caribbean Islands

4.27 On a map of North and South America, locate the Isthmus of Panama which divides North from South America. Use a map key to locate islands, countries, and major cities of Central America and the Caribbean Islands.

4.28 Describe the climate and the major natural resources of Central America and the Caribbean Islands and explain their relationship to the economy of those regions.

4.29 Identify the different languages used in different countries in the Caribbean region today (e.g., Spanish in Cuba, French in Haiti, English in Barbados, and Jamaica).

4.30 Identify when the countries in the Caribbean and in Central America became independent nations and explain how independence was achieved.