Ten map questions over four pages make up this 4th grade science worksheet, linked to NGSS 4-ESS2-2. Students start on North America with the Rocky Mountains, the Appalachians, and the Mississippi River. A map of the Pacific then plots volcanoes and earthquakes to reveal the Ring of Fire. An ocean floor diagram adds the mid-ocean ridge and the ocean trench. In the final question, students predict landforms beside a deep trench on the coast of a brand new continent.
4-ESS2-2
“Analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth's features.”
Every part, especially questions 4 to 6 on the Ring of Fire pattern and question 10, which uses the trench pattern to predict features.
Students name the western mountain range and the river down the middle of the continent. They then tick the one true statement about the map.
A map of dots and stars around the Pacific Ocean shows where volcanoes and earthquakes happen. Students explain the name Ring of Fire and decide whether someone over 1,000 miles from the ocean is likely to feel a major earthquake.
Three questions name the underwater mountain chain and the deep drop-offs, then ask where the trench sits in the diagram.
Students imagine a deep trench along a new continent's western coast and predict two features on the land beside it.
Wall map
Pair Part 1 with a wall map of North America. Students trace the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River with a finger before they answer.
Class vote
Take a vote on question 6 before anyone writes. Then have students point to the dots on the map that back up their vote.
Challenge task
Give question 10 alone to students who finish early. The key expects a tall mountain range, volcanoes, and earthquakes near the coast.
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