Virginia Standards of Learning for World Geography
The focus of this course is the study of the world's people, places,
and environments with historical emphasis on Asia, Latin America,
Africa, and the Middle East. The knowledge, skills, and
perspectives of the course are centered on the world's population
and cultural characteristics, its countries and regions, land forms
and climates, natural resources and natural hazards, economic and
political systems, and migration and settlement patterns. Spatial
concepts of geography will be linked to chronological concepts of
history to set a framework for studying human interactions.
The course will emphasize how people in various cultures influence and
are influenced by their physical and ecological environments. Using
texts, maps, globes, graphs, pictures, stories, diagrams, charts,
and a variety of geographic, inquiry/research, and technology
skills, students consider the relationships between people and
places while asking and answering geographic questions.
10.1 The student will use maps, globes, photographs, and pictures to
analyze the physical and human landscapes of the world in order
to
* recognize the different map projections and explain the
concept of distortion;
* show how maps reflect particular historical and political
perspectives;
* apply the concepts of scale, orientation, latitude and
longitude;
* create and compare political, physical, and thematic maps of
countries and regions; and
* identify regional climatic patterns and weather phenomena
and relate them to events in the contemporary world.
10.2 The student will analyze how selected physical and ecological
processes shape the Earth's surface, in terms of
* how humans influence and are influenced by the environment;
and
* how people's ideas and relationship to the environment
change over time, particularly in response to new
technologies.
10.3 The student will explain how
* geographic regions change over time;
* characteristics of regions have led to regional labels;
* regional landscapes reflect the cultural characteristics of
their inhabitants as well as historical events; and
* technological advances have led to increasing interaction
among regions.
10.4 The student will analyze how certain cultural characteristics
can link or divide regions, in terms of language, ethnic
heritage, religion, political philosophy, social and economic
systems, and shared history.
10.5 The student will compare and contrast the distribution, growth
rates, and characteristics of human population, in terms of
settlement patterns and the location of natural and capital
resources.
10.6 The student will analyze past and present trends in human
migration and cultural interaction as they are influenced by
social, economic, political, and environmental factors.
10.7 The student will locate and identify by name the major
countries in each region and the world's major rivers, mountain
ranges, and surrounding bodies of water.
10.8 The student will identify natural hazards, describe their
characteristics, explain their impact on human and physical
systems, and assess efforts to manage their consequences in
developed and less developed regions.
10.9 The student will identify natural, human, and capital
resources, describe their distribution, and explain their
significance, in terms of location of contemporary and selected
historical economic and land-use regions.
10.10 The student will analyze the patterns of urban development,
in terms of site and situation, the function of towns and
cities, and problems related to human mobility, social
structure, and the environment.
10.11 The student will analyze the regional development of Asia,
Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and the Caribbean,
in terms of physical, economic, and cultural characteristics
and historical evolution from 1000 A.D. to the present.
10.12 The student will analyze the patterns and networks of
economic interdependence, with emphasis on formation of
multi national economic unions, international trade, and the
theory of competitive advantage, in terms of job
specialization, competition for resources, and access to
labor, technology, transportation, and communications.
10.13 The student will distinguish between developed and
developing countries and relate the level of economic
development to the quality of life.
10.14 The student will analyze the forces of conflict and
cooperation as they influence
* the way in which the world is divided among independent
countries and dependencies;
* disputes over borders, resources, and settlement areas;
* the historic and future ability of nations to survive and
prosper; and
* the role of multinational organizations.
10.15 The student will apply geography to interpret the past,
understand the present, and plan for the future by
* using a variety of maps, charts, and documents to explain
historical migration of people, expansion and disintegration
of empires, and the growth of economic systems; and
* relating current events to the physical and human
characteristics of places and regions.
Pre-IB
World Geography Course Outline or Links
for My Geography Students
My Students
/
Geography Links /
Sociology Links /
High School Students
/
Parents
/
Teachers
Create a Map /
Creating this Site
/
Contact Geo Teacher
@ R. S. Williams 1998
Last updated 8/23/98