Geography

The student uses geographic tools to collect, analyze, and interpret data. The student is expected to:

Apply geographic tools, including grid systems, legends, symbols, scales, and compass roses, to construct and interpret maps;

Translate geographic data into a variety of formats such as raw data to graphs and maps.

The student understands the concept of regions in the United States. The student is expected to:

Describe a variety of regions in the United States such as political, population, and economic regions that result from patterns of human activity;

Describe a variety of regions in the United States such as landform, climate, and vegetation regions that result from physical characteristics such as the Great Plains, Rocky Mountains, and Coastal Plains;

Locate on a map important political features such as the ten largest urban areas in the United States, the 50 states and their capitals, and regions such as the Northeast, the Midwest, and the Southwest;

Locate on a map important physical features such as the Rocky Mountains, Mississippi River, and Great Plains.

The student understands the location and patterns of settlement and the geographic factors that influence where people live. The student is expected to:

Identify and describe the types of settlement and patterns of land use in the United States;

Explain the geographic factors that influence patterns of settlement and the distribution of population in the United States, past and present;

Analyze the reasons for the location of cities in the United States, including capital cities, and explain their distribution, past and present.

The student understands how people adapt to and modify their environment. The student is expected to:

Describe how and why people have adapted to and modified their environment in the United States, past and present, such as the use of human resources to meet basic needs;

Analyze the positive and negative consequences of human modification of the environment in the United States, past and present.