4-ESS2-2: Finding Patterns on Maps
Also called NGSS 4-ESS2-2 · Topic: Earth's Systems: Processes that Shape the Earth · Earth and Space Science
The Official Wording
Analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth’s features.
Clarification statement: Maps can include topographic maps of Earth’s land and ocean floor, as well as maps of the locations of mountains, continental boundaries, volcanoes, and earthquakes.
NGSS Lead States, 2013 · Read it on nextgenscience.org · checked October 15, 2026
What 4-ESS2-2 Means in Plain English
Fourth graders read maps to find patterns in where Earth's features are. They look at maps of mountains, ocean floors, volcanoes and earthquakes and notice, for example, that many volcanoes and earthquakes line up in bands, often along the edges of continents.
Students describe the patterns they see but do not yet explain them with moving plates, which comes in middle school (MS-ESS2-3). This builds on modeling landforms and water (2-ESS2-2) and supports planning for natural hazards (4-ESS3-2).
4-ESS2-2 I Can Statements
- I can read a map key to find Earth's features.
- I can describe where volcanoes and earthquakes are found.
- I can spot a pattern on a map and explain it.
4-ESS2-2 Worked Example
A map activity a class can do with a world map, two colors of dot stickers and a list of locations.
Do volcanoes and earthquakes happen everywhere, or in a pattern?
Set It Up: A large world map, red and blue dot stickers, and a teacher-made list of well-known volcanoes and large earthquakes.
- Place a red dot on the map for each volcano on the list.Red dots spread across the map
- Place a blue dot for each earthquake.Blue dots, many near the red ones
- Step back and look for where dots cluster and where they are missing.A ring of dots around the Pacific Ocean
- Compare with a map of mountain ranges.Many dots sit near ranges like the Andes
- Write one sentence describing the pattern.Most dots line up along coasts and ranges
The dots were not scattered evenly: most formed bands, especially a ring around the edges of the Pacific Ocean.
Why it works: Volcanoes and earthquakes mostly happen along certain long zones of Earth's crust, and a map turns those zones into a pattern you can see.
Common Mistakes with 4-ESS2-2
Thinking the dots are random
“Volcanoes can pop up anywhere.”
Try this: Plot many locations before deciding. With enough dots, clear bands appear, like the ring around the Pacific Ocean.
Ignoring the map key
Calling every dark patch on a relief map a mountain
Try this: Check the key before reading colors or symbols. On many maps, darker blue means deeper water and brown means higher land.
Thinking the ocean floor is flat
“Under the ocean it's just flat sand.”
Try this: Ocean floor maps show mountain ranges, deep trenches and volcanoes. The longest mountain range on Earth runs along the ocean floor.
Where 4-ESS2-2 Fits
Practice 4-ESS2-2
Quick Check
- Where are many volcanoes found on a world map?
- What does a map key tell you?
- Why might people want to know where earthquakes usually happen?