GLE-Geo8
COLORADO MODEL CONTENT
STANDARDS FOR GEOGRAPHY
8th Grade Level Expectations
Standard 1:
Students know how to use and construct maps, globes and other geographic tools to locate and derive information about people, places, and environments.
1.1 Students know how to use maps, globes, and other geographic tools to acquire, process, and report information from a spacial perspective.
Sixth through eighth grade students will: do all of the above plus:
1.1.1 understand the concept of the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn - what they represent, what they are due to and their significance in terms of seasons and temperature on Earth;
1.1.2 understand the essence of climate zones: Arctic, Tropic, Temperate;
1.1.3 locate and explain the Arctic Circle and the Antarctic Circle;
1.1.4 understand how a flat map represents the round globe - Mercator, conic and plane projections.
1.2 Students develop knowledge of Earth to locate people, places and
environments.
Eighth grade students will: do all of the above plus:
1.2.1 discuss the geography of the British colonial empire in light of its break-up in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s;
1.2.2 discuss from geographical point of view the emergence of the Communist Empire, including the creation of the People's Republic of China, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, the political alliances of the Cold War period;
1.2.3 discuss the Civil rights Movement in the U.S. in connection with the geographical "hot spots";
1.2.4 demonstrate knowledge of the relationship between the geography/resources of the Middle East and "Oil Politics";
1.2.5 describe, from a geographical point of view, the break up of the Soviet Union and the realignment of countries after the end of the Cold War;
1.2.6 discuss conflicts in Africa, the end of Apartheid in South Africa;
1.2.7 demonstrate expanded knowledge of the geography of Canada and Mexico in light of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
1.3 Students know how to analyze the dynamic spacial organization of people, places and environments.
Fifth through eighth grade students will:
1.3.1 trace and/or draw custom maps featuring information according to the desired use of the maps;
1.3.2 analyze maps, in order to discover and summarize information about geographical areas;
1.3.3 organize information obtained through the reading of maps in graphs, diagrams, and other visual aids, in order to illustrate specific
demographic, physical and other topics;
1.3.4 gather field information and record it on custom maps;
1.3.5 trace on maps the spread of human migrations, cultures, languages, religions, diseases;
1.3.6 discover patterns of human habitation and activities through the study of maps;
1.3.7 discuss the places of the world that America depends on for imported resources and goods.
with increasing depth and competence.
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Standard 2:
Students know the physical and human characteristics of places, and use this knowledge to define and study regions and their patterns of change.
2.1 Students know the physical characteristics of places.
Fifth through eighth grade students will: do all of the above plus:
2.1.1 describe and compare the physical characteristics of places, using a variety of visual materials and data sources;
2.1.2 describe and compare human characteristics of places;
2.1.3 examine and explain human impact on the landscape/environment;
2.1.4 identify and analyze how technology shapes the physical and human characteristics of places.
2.2 Students know how and why people define regions.
Fifth through eight grade students will:
2.2.1 identify and describe regions in terms of physical and human characteristics;
2.2.2 explain how regions are connected through cultural ties, trade, language, resources, through the use of maps;
2.2.3 explain how regions change over space and time.
2.3 Students know how culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions.
Fifth through eighth grade students will:
2.3.1 gather and compare information on how people of different backgrounds view the same place or region;
2.3.2 compare ways in which people of different cultural origins build out and name places in the same regions;
2.3.3 explain why immigrants to the United States hold on to customs from their home countries.
Standard 3:
Students understand how physical processes shape the Earth's
surface patterns and systems.
3.1 Students know the physical processes that shape Earth's surface patterns.
Fifth through eighth grade students will:
3.1.1 understand and describe how the environment can affect human settlement and vice versa;
3.1.2 identify the elements of ecosystems and explain how they are related to life within;
3.1.3 research and explain how physical processes influence ecosystems;
3.1.4 explain the distribution of types of ecosystems and their impact on human populations;
3.1.5 analyze the importance of distance in human interaction.
3.2 Students know the characteristics and distributions of physical systems of land, air, water, plants, and animals.
Fifth through eighth grade students will: do all of the above plus:
3.2.1 identify and describe the physical components of the Earth's atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere (e.g. climates, land forms, bodies of water, ecosystems);
3.2.2 understand how natural processes create or change land forms, and give actual geographic locations as examples;
3.2.3 define renewable and non-renewable Earth resources;
3.2.4 predict the consequences of physical processes on the Earth's surface and weather conditions.
Standard 4:
Students understand how economic, political, cultural, and social processes interact to shape patterns of human populations, interdependence, cooperation, and conflict.
4.1 Students know the characteristics, location, distribution, and migration of human populations.
Fifth through eighth grade students will: do all of the above plus:
4.1.1 describe and discuss the reasons for human migrations (e.g. famine, slave trade, wars, persecution) after studying related literature;
4.1.2 create graphs depicting population numbers and distribution;
4.1.3 describe the influence of population on environment;
4.1.4 analyze the characteristics of a certain population.
4.2 Students know the nature and spacial distribution of cultural patterns.
Fifth through eighth grade students will: do all of the above plus:
4.2.1 use interviews with real people to define cultural change;
4.2.2 differentiate among different cultures in Colorado;
4.2.3 differentiate among different cultures in other parts of the world;
4.2.4 use cultural clues/artifacts to identify historical migrations;
4.2.5 analyze the impact of various cultures on physical elements of the Earth;
4.2.6 use a variety of maps to research information regarding the location and movements of various cultures;
4.2.7 analyze geographical factors that have generated cultural change.
4.3 Students know the patterns and networks of economic interdependence.
Fifth through eighth grade students will: do all of the above plus:
4.3.1 identify economic activities within a region and examine the reasons for their locations;
4.3.2 explain the need for trade among regions, based on local availability of resources and goods;
4.3.3 construct maps to illustrate historical patterns of human origins and activities;
4.3.4 compile examples of cultural and economic reasons for changes in human societies;
4.3.5 analyze systems to deliver services and goods;
4.3.6 discuss world trade and explain the systems that support it.
4.4 Students know the processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement.
Fifth through eighth grade students will:
4.4.1 use maps to compare and contrast historic factors that have changed land use in a region;
4.4.2 deduct geographical reasons for human settlements in specific areas;
4.4.3 classify cities according to their human and environmental characteristics;
4.4.4 compare patterns of land use and human settlement in various regions;
4.4.5 classify cities according to their physical characteristics;
4.4.6 analyze the process of the creation of a megalopolis.
4.5 Students know how cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of the Earth's surface.
Fifth through eighth grade students will:
4.5.1 describe political, social, and economic divisions throughout early American history;
4.5.2 understand and describe how people divide the Earth's surface into different types of territorial units;
4.5.3 analyze the reasons for divisions and cooperation among peoples, in terms of geography.
Standard 5:
Students understand the effects of interactions between human and physical systems and the changes in meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources.
5.1 Students know how human actions modify the physical environment.
Fifth through eighth grade students will
5.1.1 examine the factors that have caused the disappearance of an animal or plant species;
5.1.2 understand the interrelatedness of environmental systems and its impact on life (human and other);
5.1.3 describe ways in which humans adapt to physical changes in the Earth's environments;
5.1.4 explain how environmental changes in one place affect other places (acid rain, pollution, pesticides, etc.);
5.1.5 predict new ways for humans to adapt to their environments;
5.1.6 use maps to track the influence of environmental changes from one place to another.
5.2 Students know how physical systems affect human systems.
Fifth through eighth grade students will:
5.2.1 understand how population growth affects air, land and water quality, and how they impact the physical environment;
5.2.2 explore the positive and negative effects of humans on the environment;
5.2.3 explain how people's lives are influenced by population movements.
5.3 Students know the changes that occur in the meaning, use, location,
distribution, and importance of resources.
Fifth through eighth grade students will: do all of the above plus:
5.3.1 track specific resources' distribution throughout the world;
5.3.2 compare countries and their development based on their available resources;
5.3.3 examine current impact of resource use;
5.3.4 predict the changes to a region with better management and resource use;
5.3.5 examine and report how energy resources in different countries are used.
Standard 6:
Students apply knowledge of people, places, and environments to understand the past and present and to plan for the future.
6.1 Students know how to apply geography to understand the past.
Fifth through eighth grade students will: do all of the above plus:
6.1.1 identify the various geographic aspects of a region;
6.1.2 analyze the impact human migration has had on regions and countries;
6.1.3 examine how various regions/countries deal with social, economic and political changes.
6.1.4 explain how competition for resources causes conflict.
6.2 Students know how to apply geography to understand the present and plan for the future.
Fifth through eighth grade students will: do all of the above plus:
6.2.1 examine various social, political and economic regions and see how they are different from past to present;
6.2.2 show how environments and resources have affected various areas from past to present;
6.2.3 predict the future of regions based on available resources and human interaction.
6.2.4 explain and discuss the need for responsible environmental management practices.
