We live in a world shaped by geographic forces. Our land, our water, our climates, and the resources we can use all depend on these forces. People’s cultures, including their governments and ways of working, also shape geography. Learn about our planet, its physical features, how people adapt to and change them, and the societies and cultures they create.
Students will be able to:
Explain how to locate points on Earth’s surface.
Discuss how to use the five themes of geography.
Analyze the best ways to show Earth’s surface.
Explain how to read maps.
Discuss the different kinds of maps.
Explain the relationship between Earth’s movement and the days and the seasons.
Describes Earth’s internal structure.
Describe what forces shape Earth’s surface.
Identify how climate differs from weather.
Explain why temperatures, precipitation, and air movements vary over time and space.
Describe Earth’s main climate regions.
Analyze how climates shape Earth’s ecosystems.
Analyze how people depend on the environment and either harm or protect it.
Compare the causes and effects of population growth, movement by people, and urbanization.
Describe how societies are structured.
Explain how languages, religion, and the arts express culture.
Analyze how cultures change.
Describe economics.
Summarize the effects of economic activity.
Compare different economic systems.
Explain how people can make the most of their money.
Identify how and why trade takes place.
Discuss why barriers are sometimes placed on trade.
Explain how and why countries seek economic development and higher productivity.
Analyze the purposes of government.
Compare different types of government.
Discuss how governments are organized.
Explain why conflict and cooperation occur between countries.
Identify the rights and responsibilities of citizens.
Contrast how citizenship has varied among nations and over time.
Discuss how people have measured time.
Explain how historians use historical sources.
Analyze how historians use archaeology and other sources.