High School Geography

The World in Spatial Terms

Places and Regions

Physical Systems

Human Systems

Environment and Society

The Uses of Geography

How to use maps and other geographic representations, geospatial technologies, and spatial thinking to understand and communicate information

How to use mental maps to organize information about people, places, and environments in a spatial context

How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on Earth's surface

The physical and human characteristics of places

That people create regions to interpret Earth's complexity

How culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions

The physical processes that shape the patterns of Earth's surface

The characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems and biomes on Earth's surface

The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on Earth's surface

The characteristics, distribution, and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics

The patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earth's surface

The processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement

How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of Earth's surface

How human actions modify the physical environment

How physical systems affect human systems

The changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources

How to apply geography to interpret the past

How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future

Explain the advantages of coordinating multiple geographic representations—such as maps, globes, graphs, diagrams, aerial and other photographs, remotely sensed images, and geographic visualizations to answer geographic questions  

Identify and explain the metadata properties (e.g., resolution, date of creation, and method of collection) of geospatial data

Evaluate the quality and quantity of geospatial data appropriate for a given purpose,

Evaluate the appropriate and ethical uses of different geospatial technologies and methods for acquiring, producing, and displaying geospatial data

Analyze geographic representations and suggest solutions to geographic questions at local to global scales using geographic representations and geospatial technologies,

Identify from memory and explain the locations, characteristics, patterns, and relationships among human and physical systems

Explain the development of completeness and accuracy in the student’s mental map of places and regions

Identify from memory and explain the locations, characteristics, patterns, and relationships of places and regions to answer geographic questions

Compare an individual’s mental map before and after a geographic event or experience

Analyze and explain the spatial organization of people, places, and environments (where things are in relation to other things) using spatial concepts

Analyze and explain changes in spatial patterns as a result of the interactions among human and physical processes through time

Analyze and explain the spatial features, processes, and organization of people, places, and environments using models of human and/or physical systems (e.g., urban structure, sediment transport, and spatial interaction)

Explain how and why place-based identities can shape events at various scales

Explain how physical or human characteristics interact to create a place by giving it meaning and significance

Explain how physical or human characteristics interact to change the meaning and significance of places

Identify and explain how a place can exist within multiple regional classifications

Describe and explain the processes that have resulted in regional change

Explain how and why people view places and regions differently as a function of their ideology, race, ethnicity, language, gender, age, religion, politics, social class, and economic status

Explain the possible consequences of people’s changing perceptions of places and regions in a globalized and fractured world

Explain how the effects of physical processes vary across regions of the world and over time  

Explain the ways in which Earth’s physical processes are dynamic and interactive

Explain how variability in Earth-Sun relationships affect Earth’s physical processes over time

Analyze and explain the results of interactions of physical processes over time

Explain how there are short-term and long-term changes in ecosystems

Explain how local and global changes influence ecosystems

Explain the geographic distribution of ecosystems

Evaluate ecosystems in terms of their biodiversity and productivity

Explain how climate can influence and change the characteristics and geographic distribution of biomes

Describe and compare the demographic characteristics of people in the local area

Describe how the number of people varies from place to place

Explain why people live in different types of places

Describe examples of different human migrations

Explain why people move from one place to another

Describe how people and places change as a result of migration

Describe and explain the characteristics that constitute any particular cultural system (e.g., Amish, Japanese, Maori)

Explain how different cultures provide contexts from which people may view the world differently

Identify and analyze the spatial patterns of cultural landscapes at multiple scales

Explain differences in the human imprints on the physical environment of different cultures

Identify and explain examples of cultural convergence

Identify and explain examples of cultural divergence

Explain how and why globalization has increased the rate of change in cultures

Explain how economic activities change over time

Identify and analyze the origins and development of and changes in patterns of economic activities

Explain how the economic systems of countries and regions consist of multiple coordinated economic activities

Explain why and how economic systems change

Explain the effects of technological changes in communications and transportation systems on the speed and distances over which people, products, and ideas move

Explain how and why the number and range of functions of settlements have changed and may change in the future

Explain and compare the factors that contribute to the growth or decline of settlements over time

Compare and explain the changing functions, sizes, and spatial patterns of settlements

Analyze and explain the structure and development of megacities and megalopoli

Explain and compare the growth and structure of cities using different urban models

Explain how territorial divisions are used to manage Earth’s surface

Compare the reasons for and consequences of different systems for dividing and controlling space

Evaluate how countries and organizations cooperate to address global issues,

Explain the ways conflict affects the cohesiveness and fragmentation of countries

Explain the causes and consequences of political and social revolutions resulting from issues of control of land and resources

Explain the global impacts of human changes in the physical environment,

Evaluate the intended and unintended impacts of using technology to modify the physical environment

Describe and evaluate scenarios for mitigating and/or adapting to environmental changes caused by human modifications

Explain how people may view the physical environment as both an opportunity or a constraint depending on their choice of activities

Explain and compare how people in different environments think about and respond to environmental hazards

Explain how environmental hazards affect human systems and why people may have different ways of reacting to them

Explain how societies adapt to reduced capacity in the physical environment

 Analyze the concept of “limits to growth” to explain adaptation strategies in response to the restrictions imposed on human systems by physical systems

Explain the relationship between the quest for resources and the exploration, colonization, and settlement of different regions of the world

Explain how globalization and higher standards of living affect the meaning and use of resources

Analyze and explain the relationships between the spatial patterns of settlement and resources

Analyze and evaluate patterns of trade in resources

Explain and compare the costs and benefits of using various types of renewable, nonrenewable, and flow resources

Evaluate policy decisions regarding the sustainable use of resources in different regions and at different spatial scales in the world

Analyze and explain the connections between sequences of historical events and the geographic contexts in which they occurred

 Identify and explain the causes and processes of change in the geographic characteristics and spatial organization of places, regions, and environments over time

Analyze and evaluate the role that people’s past perceptions of places, regions, and environments played as historical events unfolded

Explain and evaluate the influences of the geographic context on current events and issues to make informed decisions and predictions about the future,

Analyze and evaluate the connections between the geographic contexts of current events and possible future issues

Identify and explain the causes and processes of current and possible future changes in the geographic characteristics and spatial organization of places, regions, and environments

Evaluate how perceptions vary and affect people’s views of contemporary issues and strategies for addressing them