Standards of Learning
for History & Social Science

Grade 4
Virginia Studies: 1607 to Present

4.2 - The student will use the concepts of absolute location and relative location to locate and identify on maps and globes his/her local city or county, Virginia, the other original states, Western Europe, West Africa; explain how physical characteristics, transportation routes, climate and specialization influenced the variety of crops, products and industries and the general patterns of economic growth in Virginia; illustrate how communities in Virginia differ in physical features, such as land use, population density, architecture, services and transportation; construct physical maps and three-dimensional models that include the essential map elements and the geographic regions of Virginia (Tidewater, Piedmont, Ridge and Valley, Allegheny Plateau).

4.3 - The student will explain the economic, social and political life of the Virginia colony, with emphasis on its political and economic relationship to England and other nations; characteristics and contributions of various groups of people.

4.5 - The student will evaluate the social, political and economic life in Virginia from the Reconstruction Period to the 20th century, with emphasis on the economic and social transition from a rural, agricultural society to a more urban, industrialized society

4.6 - The student will trace the history of Virginia in the 20th century, with emphasis on the impact of advances in transportation on migration, economic development, and the integration of Virginia into the U.S. economy and eastern Virginia into the northeast megalopolis; the types of taxes collected and the types of services provided by each level of government.