Geography for Life Geography’s Key Concepts, Skills and Perspectives & ISSEarthKAM

A vision of what geography education should be …

who sees meaning in the arrangement of things in space… Can you identify London, Amsterdam, Rome, Moscow, and Berlin? A geographically informed person…

Who sees relations between places & environments people A geographically informed person…

Who uses geographic skills… A geographically informed person…

And who applies spatial and ecological perspectives to life situations. A geographically informed person…

Six essential elements –World in Spatial Terms –Places and Regions –Physical Systems –Human Systems –Environment & Society –Uses of Geography

The World in Spatial Terms Std 1: Using maps, globes and geographic representations to acquire, process, report information Std 2: Use mental maps to organize information Std 3: Analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments

Spatial Relations Skills needed to recognize spatial distribution and spatial patterns Identify shapes Recalling and representing layouts Connecting locations Associating and correlating spatially distributed phenomena

Spatial Relations (cont.) Comprehending & using spatial hierarchies Regionalizing Comprehending distance decay and nearest neighbor effects Imagining maps from verbal descriptions Sketch mapping Comparing maps Overlaying and dissolving maps

Places & Regions Std 4: Human & physical characteristics of places Std 5: People create regions to interpret Earth’s complexity Std 6: Culture & experience influence people’s perceptions of places/regions

Physical Systems Std 7: Physical processes that shape patterns of Earth’s surface Std 8: Characteristics and distribution of ecosystems

Human Systems Std 9: Char’s, distribution, migration of humans Std 10: Char’s, distribution of cultures Std 11: Patterns and networks of economic interdependence Std 12: Processes, patterns, functions of human settlements Std 13: Conflict and cooperation

Environment & Society Std 14: How human actions modify the physical environment Std 15: How physical systems affect human systems Std 16: The meaning, use, distribution and importance of resources

Uses of Geography Std 17: How to apply geography to interpret the past Std 18: How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future

Fit to Your State Curriculum?