Social Studies, Grade 9 - 12, World Geography- Physical, 2004
1.) Identify major landform features on Earth using latitude and longitude and a variety of geographic tools.
Examples: maps, globes, topographic maps, satellite imagery, reference and thematic maps
• Understanding the concept of plate tectonics in relation to the shape of the world
• Describing location and physical shape of the world's continents, oceans, and seas
• Locating major mountains, plateaus, plains, and bodies of water
Examples:
- mountains-Alps, Andes, Himalaya, Appalachian, Rocky;
- plateaus-Deccan and Tibetan plateaus;
- plains-Great Plains and altiplanos;
- bodies of water-Mississippi, Nile, Congo, Ganges, and Amazon Rivers
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2.) Describe Earth's climates and biomes.
Examples: desert, tropical rainforest, tropical savanna, Mediterranean woodland, boreal forest, tundra
• Describing how temperature, precipitation, and topography work together to determine world climates
• Using the Koeppen-Geiger classification system to locate and describe world climate regions
• Describing population adjustments and adaptations to environment and climate
• Differentiating between world biomes by climate, vegetation, and fauna
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3.) Identify components of Earth's physical systems.
• Describing how physical processes in the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere shape characteristics of places
Examples:
- atmosphere-weather, wind, atmospheric circulation;
- lithosphere-erosion;
- hydrosphere-rivers and streams;
- biosphere-plant and animal communities
• Describing characteristics of ecosystems
Examples: biological interdependence of organisms and their environments; effect of physical characteristics on the number, kinds, and distribution of plants and animals in an ecosystem
• Explaining multiple effects on biomes by an event using cause-and-effect situations
Examples: volcanic eruption event covering topsoil with hardened lava and obliterating flora and fauna, tornadoes damaging housing, floods leading to soil erosion and agricultural losses
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4.) Identify world patterns of extreme physical events.
Examples: earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, typhoons
• Describing how extreme events in different world regions affect human settlement
Examples: earthquakes in Turkey, hurricanes in coastal region of eastern United States, tornadoes in Alabama
• Mapping natural disasters to illustrate alteration of landscapes
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5.) Describe the consequences of deliberate and inadvertent human activities in altering the local and global environment.
Examples: restocking of fish, reforestation, crop rotation, depletion of rainforests, air pollution, habitat destruction
• Discussing the debate over global climate change
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6.) Describe long-term management and policies aimed at protecting Earth's resources.
• Describing the effect of water shortages on human populations
Examples: costs and difficulties of water shortages in the western United States; use of market pricing to conserve water; water disputes between and among the southeastern states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee
• Identifying plans to safeguard people and property in the event of major natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes
• Explaining various perceptions people and communities have regarding natural hazards and how they react to these hazards
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