Standard 1: History Students in Geography-Western Hemisphere build an understanding of the cultural and social development of human civilization.

Goal 1.8: Build an understanding of the cultural and social development of human civilization.

6-9.GWH.1.8.1 Describe major aspects of the civilizations of the Western Hemisphere prior to European contact.

6-9.GWH.1.8.2 Examine the impact of Europeans on indigenous cultures in the Western Hemisphere.

6-9.GWH.1.8.3 Compare various approaches to European colonization in the Western Hemisphere.

6-9.GWH.1.8.4 Explain how and why events may be interpreted differently according to the points of view of participants and observers.

Standard 2: Geography

Goal 2.2: Explain how human actions modify the physical environment and how physical systems affect human activity and living conditions.

6-9.GWH.2.2.2 Locate, map, and describe the climate regions of the Western Hemisphere and their impact on human activity and living conditions.

6-9.GWH.2.2.3 Identify major biomes and explain ways in which the natural environment and climate of places in the Western Hemisphere are related.

6-9.GWH.2.2.4 Analyze and give examples of the consequences of human impact on the physical environment.

6-9.GWH.2.2.5 Evaluate ways in which technology influences human capacity to modify the physical environment.

Goal 2.3: Trace the migration and settlement of human populations on the earth’s surface.

6-9.GWH.2.3.1 Identify the names and locations of countries and major cities in the Western Hemisphere.

6-9.GWH.2.3.2 Describe major physical characteristics of regions in the Western Hemisphere.

6-9.GWH.2.3.3 Identify patterns of population distribution and growth in the Western Hemisphere and explain changes in these patterns which have occurred over time.

Standard 3: Economics

Goal 3.1: Explain basic economic concepts.

6-9.GWH.3.1.1 Define abundance and scarcity, and their impact on decision making such as trade and settlement.

Goal 3.2: Identify different influences on economic systems.

6-9.GWH.3.2.1 Describe how different economic systems in the Western Hemisphere answer the basic economic questions on what to produce, how to produce, and for whom to produce.

6-9.GWH.3.2.2 Compare the standard of living of various countries of the Western Hemisphere today using Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita as an indicator.

6-9.GWH.3.2.3 Analyze current economic issues in the countries of the Western Hemisphere using a variety of information resources.

6-9.GWH.3.2.4 Identify economic connections between a local community and the countries of the Western Hemisphere.

6-9.GWH.3.2.5 Identify specific areas of the Western Hemisphere with important natural resource deposits.

6-9.GWH.3.2.6 Investigate how physical geography, productive resources, specialization, and trade have influenced the way people earn income.

Standard 5: Global Perspectives

Goal 5.1: Build an understanding of multiple perspectives and global interdependence.

6-9.GWH.5.1.1 Discuss how social institutions, including family, religion, and education, influence behavior in different societies in the Western Hemisphere.

6-9.GWH.5.1.2 Give examples of how language, literature, and the arts shaped the development and transmission of culture in the Western Hemisphere.

6-9.GWH.5.1.3 Define ethnocentrism and give examples of how this attitude can lead to cultural misunderstandings.

6-9.GWH.5.1.4 Discuss present conflicts between cultural groups and nation-states in the Western Hemisphere.

6-9.GWH.5.1.5 Give examples of the benefits of global connections, such as developing opportunities for trade, cooperating in seeking solutions to mutual problems, learning for technological advances, acquiring new perspectives, and benefiting from developments in architecture, music, and the arts.

6-9.GWH.5.1.6 Give examples of the causes and consequences of current global issues, such as the expansion of global markets, the urbanization of the developing world, the consumption of natural resources, and the extinction of species, and speculate possible responses by various individuals, groups, and nations.