Iowa / ITBS Social Studies — Grade 4

📋 Test Overview

Test

Iowa / ITBS-style Social Studies practice

Grade level

Grade 4

Length

practice + challenge + 4 explain prompts — more practice than Testing Mom's Grade 4 Social Studies

Topics

Geography & regions (latitude/longitude, landforms, maps) · government & the Constitution (branches, Bill of Rights, checks & balances) · economics (scarcity, opportunity cost, supply & demand, trade) · U.S. history & sources

How it's upgraded

Big ideas reviewed first; Fred explains the reasoning; challenge questions apply concepts

Standards

C3 / Iowa Social Studies — civics, geography, economics, history

Before you start: Grade 4 social studies looks at regions, how government and the economy work, and how we study the past.

📌 FlyingMinds rule: Connect each fact to a big idea: place, power, money, or the past.

🔮 WARM-UP · NOT SCORED

🦉 Fred asks: Why is it helpful to split government into three branches?

Starter: Three branches help because __________ .

🎯 Practice score: 0 / 40

🟢 Part A — Geography & regions

Geographers describe places using regions, landforms, and location.

GeographyGEOGRAPHY

1. Lines that run east-west and measure distance north or south of the equator are lines of —

longitude the legend latitude scale

GeographyGEOGRAPHY

2. Lines that run north-south and measure east or west are lines of —

longitude latitude elevation scale

GeographyGEOGRAPHY

3. A large area with common features, like the Great Plains, is called a —

county only region compass legend

GeographyGEOGRAPHY

4. Which landform is a low area between hills or mountains?

peak plateau peninsula valley

GeographyGEOGRAPHY

5. A flat, raised area of land is a —

plateau valley canyon bay

GeographyGEOGRAPHY

6. Which body of water is part of an ocean but partly enclosed by land?

a plateau a desert a bay a prairie

GeographyGEOGRAPHY

7. On a map, the tool that shows how map distance compares to real distance is the —

legend title compass rose scale

GeographyGEOGRAPHY

8. The four main directions on a compass are —

up, down, left, right north, south, east, west hot, cold, wet, dry near, far, in, out

🔵 Part B — Government & the Constitution

The U.S. has three branches of government and a Constitution that sets the rules.

CivicsGOVERNMENT

9. The plan of government that is the 'supreme law of the land' is the —

Constitution dictionary atlas timeline

CivicsGOVERNMENT

10. The first ten amendments to the Constitution, protecting rights, are the —

Pledge Preamble only Bill of Rights Declaration

CivicsGOVERNMENT

11. Which branch INTERPRETS laws and includes the Supreme Court?

legislative executive local judicial

CivicsGOVERNMENT

12. Which branch is made up of the House and the Senate (Congress)?

judicial legislative executive county

CivicsGOVERNMENT

13. The president can refuse to sign a bill into law. This power is called a —

veto vote trial tax

CivicsGOVERNMENT

14. Splitting power among three branches so none gets too strong is called —

scarcity checks and balances migration weathering

CivicsGOVERNMENT

15. Citizens age 18 and older can take part in choosing leaders by —

ignoring laws leaving the country voting paying no taxes

CivicsGOVERNMENT

16. Which level of government is led by a governor?

the United Nations a city council only the Supreme Court state government

🟡 Part C — Economics

People make choices about goods, services, and money because resources are limited.

EconomicsECONOMICS

17. Giving up one thing to get another is called —

a surplus opportunity cost a tariff a region

EconomicsECONOMICS

18. When there is not enough of something for everyone who wants it, there is —

scarcity a surplus a profit a region

EconomicsECONOMICS

19. A person who makes or grows products to sell is a —

consumer voter governor producer

EconomicsECONOMICS

20. Money earned from selling goods after paying costs is —

a tax scarcity profit a need

EconomicsECONOMICS

21. When many people want a product but there is little of it, the price usually —

goes up goes down disappears stays at zero

EconomicsECONOMICS

22. Trading goods and services between countries is —

a timeline a region an amendment international trade

EconomicsECONOMICS

23. Setting aside money for the future instead of spending it is —

spending borrowing only saving wasting

EconomicsECONOMICS

24. Natural resources used to make products are called —

profits raw materials taxes laws

🟣 Part D — U.S. history

Explorers, colonies, and important events shaped the country.

HistoryHISTORY

25. The first people to live in North America were the —

Native Americans European colonists astronauts factory owners

HistoryHISTORY

26. A person who travels to learn about unknown places is an —

inventor governor consumer explorer

HistoryHISTORY

27. The document that declared the American colonies free from Britain is the —

Bill of Rights atlas Declaration of Independence Pledge

HistoryHISTORY

28. Settlements ruled by a faraway country are called —

regions colonies continents counties

HistoryHISTORY

29. To put historical events in the order they happened, you use a —

compass legend timeline glossary

HistoryHISTORY

30. A letter written by someone who lived through an event is a —

secondary source primary source fable map

HistoryHISTORY

31. A textbook written today about the past is a —

secondary source primary source diary from then compass

HistoryHISTORY

32. People who moved west to settle new land long ago were —

senators tourists explorers from space pioneers

⚪ Part E — Map & civics review

Mixed review of geography, government, and citizenship.

Civics/GeographyREVIEW

33. Which would you use to find the exact location of a city using latitude and longitude?

a calendar a dictionary a globe or map grid a thermometer

Civics/GeographyREVIEW

34. Paying taxes helps the government provide —

one person's vacation private toys secret prizes public services like roads and schools

Civics/GeographyREVIEW

35. Which is a RESPONSIBILITY of a citizen?

obeying laws and serving on a jury breaking rules ignoring elections never helping

Civics/GeographyREVIEW

36. A government in which citizens vote for their leaders is a —

monarchy with no votes democracy (republic) dictatorship scarcity

Civics/GeographyREVIEW

37. Which resource is renewable?

coal wind oil natural gas

Civics/GeographyREVIEW

38. The capital city of the United States is —

New York City Los Angeles Chicago Washington, D.C.

Civics/GeographyREVIEW

39. Which shows the correct order: smallest to largest?

city, state, country country, state, city state, country, city city, country, state

Civics/GeographyREVIEW

40. Freedom of speech is protected by the —

scale bar compass rose Bill of Rights timeline

🏆 Challenge score: 0 / 12

🏆 Challenge round. Think like a citizen, geographer, and historian.