Social Science goal 17

Why This Goal Is Important:
The need for geographic literacy has never been greater or more obvious than in today's tightly interrelated world. Students must understand the world's physical features, how they blend with social systems and how they affect economies, politics and human interaction. Isolated geographic facts are not enough. To grasp geography and its effect on individuals and societies, students must know the broad concepts of spatial patterns, mapping, population and physical systems (land, air, water). The combination of geographic facts and broad concepts provides a deeper understanding of geography and its effects on individuals and societies.

Learning Standards	Early Elementary	Late Elementary	Middle/Junior High School	Early High School	Late High School
A. Locate, describe and explain places, regions and features on the Earth.	17.A.1a Identify physical characteristics of places, both local and global (e.g., locations, roads, regions, bodies of water). 17.A.1b Identify the characteristics and purposes of geographic representations including maps, globes, graphs, photographs, software, digital images and be able to locate specific places using each.	17.A.2a Compare the physical characteristics of places including soils, land forms, vegetation, wildlife, climate, natural hazards. 17.A.2b Use maps and other geographic representations and instruments to gather information about people, places and environments.	17.A.3a Explain how people use geographic markers and boundaries to analyze and navigate the Earth (e.g., hemispheres, meridians, continents, bodies of water). 17.A.3b Explain how to make and use geographic representations to provide and enhance spatial information including maps, graphs, charts, models, aerial photographs, satellite images.	17.A.4a Use mental maps of physical features to answer complex geographic questions (e.g., how physical features have deterred or enabled migration). 17.A.4b Use maps and other geographic instruments and technologies to analyze spatial patterns and distributions on earth.	17.A.5 Demonstrate how maps, other geographic instruments and technologies are used to solve spatial problems (e.g., land use, ecological concerns).
B. Analyze and explain characteristics and interactions on the Earth's physical systems.	17.B.1a Identify components of the Earth's physical systems. 17.B.1b Describe physical components of ecosystems.	17.B.2a Describe how physical and human processes shape spatial patterns including erosion, agriculture and settlement. 17.B.2b Explain how physical and living components interact in a variety of ecosystems including desert, prairie, flood plain, forest, tundra.	17.B.3a Explain how physical processes including climate, plate tectonics, erosion, soil formation, water cycle, and circulation patterns in the ocean shape patterns in the environment and influence availability and quality of natural resources. 17.B.3b Explain how changes in components of an ecosystem affect the system overall.	17.B.4a Explain the dynamic interactions within and among the Earth's physical systems including variation, productivity and constructive and destructive processes. 17.B.4b Analyze trends in world demographics as they relate to physical systems.	17.B.5 Analyze international issues and problems using ecosystems and physical geography concepts.
C. Understand relationships between geographic factors and society.	17.C.1a Identify ways people depend on and interact with the physical environment (e.g., farming, fishing, hydroelectric power). 17.C.1b Identify opportunities and constraints of the physical environment. 17.C.1c Explain the difference between renewable and nonrenewable resources.	17.C.2a Describe how natural events in the physical environment affect human activities. 17.C.2b Describe the relationships among location of resources, population distribution and economic activities (e.g., transportation, trade, communications). 17.C.2c Explain how human activity affects the environment.	17.C.3a Explain how human activity is affected by geographic factors. 17.C.3b Explain how patterns of resources are used throughout the world. 17.C.3c Analyze how human processes influence settlement patterns including migration and population growth.	17.C.4a Explain the ability of modern technology to alter geographic features and the impacts of these modifications on human activities. 17.C.4b Analyze growth trends in selected urban areas as they relate to geographic factors. 17.C.4c Explain how places with various population distributions function as centers of economic activity (e.g., rural, suburban, urban).	17.C.5a Compare resource management methods and policies in different regions of the world. 17.C.5b Describe the impact of human migrations and increased urbanization on ecosystems. 17.C.5c Describe geographic factors that affect cooperation and conflict among societies.
D. Understand the historical significance of geography.	17.D.1 Identify changes in geographic characteristics of a local region (e.g., town, community).	17.D.2a Describe how physical characteristics of places influence people's perceptions and their roles in the world over time. 17.D.2b Identify different settlement patterns in Illinois and the United States and relate them to physical features and resources.	17.D.3a Explain how and why spatial patterns of settlement change over time. 17.D.3b Explain how interactions of geographic factors have shaped present conditions.	17.D.4 Explain how processes of spatial change have affected human history (e.g., resource development and use, natural disasters).	17.D.5 Analyze the historical development of a current issue involving the interaction of people and geographic factors (e.g., mass transportation, changes in agricultural subsidies, flood control).