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Geography · Grade 4

Landforms and Earth Processes

Earth's surface is always changing, sometimes in seconds and sometimes over millions of years. Learners see how weathering, erosion and deposition carved the Grand Canyon and built the Mississippi Delta, learn that Earth's outer layer is broken into moving plates that cause earthquakes and volcanoes such as Mount St. Helens and Kīlauea, and sort and order changes from fast to slow, including how people prepare for sudden ones.

  • 4 lessons
  • About 90 minutes
  • Earth processes check: 10 questions
  • Ways to answer: choose an answer, highlight a text, pin a map, pick map regions, match pairs and type a number
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What learners will discover

  • Explain weathering and erosion and identify them in landforms such as the Grand Canyon.
  • Explain deposition and how rivers, wind, waves and ice build new land, using the Mississippi Delta and dunes as examples.
  • Describe Earth's moving plates and explain why most volcanoes and earthquakes happen near plate edges, with real examples including Mount St. Helens, the San Andreas Fault and Kīlauea.
  • Classify and order changes to Earth's surface from fast to slow, and describe how people prepare for sudden changes.

Lessons

  1. Breaking and carrying rock 8 steps4 practiceabout 20 min
  2. Building new land 7 steps4 practiceabout 20 min
  3. Plates, volcanoes and earthquakes 9 steps5 practiceabout 25 min
  4. Fast and slow changes 7 steps4 practiceabout 20 min
  5. Earth processes check 10 questions at the end

Keep exploring

Games to practice with

  • Globe ExplorerSpin a real 3D globe, flip to the flat map, and find continents, oceans and countries.
  • Pin the PlanetDrag the pin onto wonders, cities and exact latitude and longitude points.
  • Mapmaker QuestFollow directions to make a map, then read its legend, compass rose and scale.

More 4th grade geography

Guide for grown-ups