Canadian Council for Geographic Education:“…geography provides a conceptual link for children between home, school, and the world beyond. Geographers study how people interact with the environment and with each other from place to place and they classify Earth into regions in order to draw generalizations about the complex world in which we live.”

Humberside Geography Department

WhY Take Geography?

Geography helps us understand the world in a variety of ways.

· Geography teaches students important skills (spatial, analytical);

· Geography helps students learn about the world;

· Geography contributes to international understanding;

· Geography helps us understand our own country;

· Geography contributes to an understanding of citizenship, economics, history and the environment.

Teachers

Ms. D. Tsanos

Dimitra.Tsanos@tdsb.on.ca

Ms. M. Watkinson

Marianne.Watkinson@tdsb.on.ca

Mme. J.Wukasch

Jenna.Wukasch@tdsb.on.ca

Ms.D.Tsanos

Ms.M. Watkinson

Courses Offered

Grade 9

CGC1W1 - Academic Issues in Canadian Geography

CGC1W4/5 - Enjeux géographiques du Canada

Grade 11

CGF3M1 - Natural Disasters

CGF3M4/5 - Nature en action : un monde physique

Grade 12

CGW4U1 - Canadian World Issues

CGW4U4/5 - Le Canada et le monde

Grade 9 Geography

The Geography of Canada is a mandatory grade 9 course. At Humberside we include the following skills and experiences to teach students about their country:

· Spatial Technology - Geographic Information Systems

- Making Story Maps, Spatial Journals using online mapping programs

- Walking tour of the neighbourhood and High Park exploring Thematic

Landmarks

· Problem based learning about issues affecting Canadians

- Indigenous issues, climate change, population projections, urban planning

- Debates about resource extraction in Canada

- Culminating Project on the Oak Ridges Moraine discussing the protection of the Greenbelt

Enduring Expectations - Grade 9

The Geography department believes that there are certain ‘enduring expectation’s that should be achieved in grade 9 geography. By meeting these expectations the students will have a strong knowledge and skills foundation that will serve them well in future geography courses and in a variety of subject areas.

- interpreting and analysing visual information and data; graphs, tables, maps, images

- media literacy; comprehension, critical analysis and interpretation of written information

- understanding of the connection between human and physical/environmental systems

- Canada’s economic and social relationships with the rest of the world

- basic knowledge of Canada and what has shaped it; physically, culturally and environmentally

Grade 11 Geography

CGF3M1 - Natural Disasters

This course will explore physical processes related to Earth’s water, land and air.

Students will investigate how these processes shape the planet’s natural characteristics and affect human systems, how they are involved in the creation of natural disaster, and how they influence the impacts of human disasters.
Throughout the course, students will apply the concepts of geographic thinking and the geographic inquiry process and use spatial technologies to analyze these processes, make predictions related to natural disasters, and assess ways of responding to them.

Grade 12 Geography

CGW4U1 and CGW4U4/5 - Canadian and World Issues

Students will:

learn about war and conflict around the world and the effects they have on people in places like Syria and Afghanistan.
understand the factors that create disparities around the World.
Understand the spread of disease and its potential impacts.
present debates and newscasts and story maps about recent issues about what's in our food and pipeline projects in Canada.
enrich their learning with real-life experiences by visiting post-secondary institutions, photo exhibits and film festivals on environmental topics like pipelines and Indigenous issues in our own country.
campaign for food security, sweat free garments, GMO free food and a waste-free school with real life relevant assignments.

Outdoor Education

Getting outside is essential in Geography. Here are some field trips that some of our classes have attended from grade 9 to 12.

Grade 9 Walking Tours

Visiting High Park and exploring thematic landmarks and hiking the trails for our Spatial Journal Assignment

Grade 11 Physical Geography Trip

Previous trips include:

Managing our resources Mining Pit visit and Halton Hills Hike and Campfire

Scarborough Bluffs and the Brickworks looking at Erosion, Geological History of Toronto and watersheds

Guest Speakers from Geography TMU looking at Drone Technology in High Park

Grade 11 AGO Trip

Visiting the Edward Burtynsky exhibit 'Anthropocene' To see the human impacts to our environment.

Grade 12 Trips

Visiting the Hot Docs Film Festival at Bloor Cinema and Ryerson University to visit post secondary options in Geography.

Careers in Geography

GIS Analyst

City governments, county agencies, other governmental bodies, and private groups often need experienced GIS (geographic information system) professionals. Coursework and internships in GIS are especially important. Computer programming and engineering skills are also helpful in this arena—the more you know about computers, the better off you are.

Environmental Manager

Environmental assessment, cleanup, and management companies do business throughout the world. A geographer brings excellent skills to project management and the development of papers such as environmental impact reports. It's a wide-open field with tremendous growth opportunities.

Retail Marketing

Another way to become involved in demography, the study of human populations, is marketing, where you gather demographic information and get the word out to those interested in the demographics you're researching. This is one of the more glamorous arenas for a geographer.

Real Estate Analyst

Real estate appraisers and analysts develop an estimate of value for a piece of property, researching market areas, assembling data, and using various analytical techniques to provide a number that reflects all market evidence. This multidisciplinary field incorporates aspects of geography, economics, finance, environmental planning, and law. Typical appraisal tools include aerial photos, topographic maps, GIS, and GPS, which also are the tools of a geographer.