[32 Pa.B. 905]
[Continued from previous Web Page]
XVIII. GLOSSARY
Barter: The direct exchange of goods or services between people. Circular flow: The movement of resources, goods, and services through an economy. As a diagram, it can show how households and business firms interact with each other in the product and resource markets. Command economy: A system in which decisions are made largely by an authority such as a feudal lord or government planning agency. Comparative advantage: Economic theory that a country/individual should sell goods and services which it can produce at relatively lower costs and buy goods and services which it can produce at relatively higher costs. Competition: The rivalry among people and/or business firms for resources and/or consumers. Consumer: One who buys or rents goods or services and uses them. Consumer Price Index: The price index most commonly used to measure the impact of changes in prices on households; this index is based on a standard market basket of goods and services purchased by a typical urban family. Corporation: A business firm that is owned by stockholders and is a legal entity with rights to buy, sell and make contracts. Its chief advantage is that each owner's liability is limited to the amount of money he or she has invested in the company. Cost: What is given up when a choice is made; monetary and/or non monetary. Cost/benefit analysis: The process of weighing all predicted costs against the predicted benefits of an economic choice. Deflation: A general decline in the price level. Demand: The different quantities of a resource, good or service that potential buyers are willing and able to purchase at various possible prices during a specific time period. Division of labor: A method of organizing production whereby each worker specializes in part of the productive process. Economic growth: An increase in a society's output. Economic system: The ways societies organize to determine what goods and services should be produced, how goods and services should be produced and who will consume goods and services. Examples include traditional, command and market. Economics: The study of the behavior of individuals and institutions engaged in the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. Entrepreneur: Individual who begins, manages and bears the risks of a business (e.g., Milton Hershey, F.W. Woolworth). Equilibrium price: The outlay at which quantity demanded equals quantity supplied; market clearing price. Exchange rate: The price of one country's currency measured in another country's currency (e.g., United States dollar in German Mark, Japanese Yen in Canadian dollar). Federal Reserve System: The ''Central Bank'' of the United States (consisting of the Board of Governors and 12 district banks) which controls monetary policy; sometimes referred to as ''The Fed'' or Federal Reserve. Fiscal policy: Government decisions on taxation and spending to achieve economic goals. Gross Domestic Product: The market value of the total output of final goods and services produced by an economy in a given time period, usually 1 year. Goods: Objects that can satisfy people's wants. Household: The group of people living together under one roof; a group of individuals whose economic decision making is interrelated. Human resources: People's mental and physical abilities. Incentives: Factors that motivate or influence human behavior. Income: Payments earned by people in exchange for providing resources used to produce goods and services. Inflation: A general rise in the price level. Interdependence: Ideas, goods and services in one area affect decisions and events in other areas reducing self-sufficiency. Interest: Payment made for the use of borrowed money. Interest rate: The price of borrowed money. Labor force: That part of the population which is employed or actively seeking employment. Labor union: An organization of workers who seek to improve their common interests. Labor productivity: The total output divided by the quantity of labor employed to produce it. Law of demand: The lower the price of a good or service, the greater the quantity that people will buy, all else held constant (e.g., incomes, tastes). Law of supply: The higher the price of a good or service, the greater the quantity that business will sell, all else held constant (e.g., resource costs, technology). Loss: The difference that arises when a firm's total revenues are less than its total costs. Macroeconomics: Study of aggregate economic activity including how the economy works as a whole and seeks to identify levels of National income, output, employment and prices. Marginal analysis: A decision making tool that weights additional costs and benefits. Market: A place or process through which goods and services are exchanged. Market economy: An economic system in which decisions are made largely by the interactions of buyers and sellers. Microeconomics: Study of the behavior of consumers and firms and determination of the market prices and quantities transacted of factor inputs and goods and services. Mixed economy: An economic system in which decisions are made by markets, government and tradition. Monetary policy: Government decisions on money supply and interest rates to achieve economic goals. Money: A medium of exchange. Money supply: The amount of liquid assets which exists in the economy at a given time (e.g., currency, checkable deposits, travelers' checks). Natural resources: Anything found in nature that can be used to produce a product (e.g., land, water, coal). Opportunity cost: The highest valued alternative given up when a decision is made. Partnership: A business in which ownership is shared by two or more people who receive all the profits and rewards and bear all the losses and risks. Price: The amount people pay in exchange for unit of a particular good or service. Price index: A measure of the current average level of costs compared to the average level of costs of a base year. Producer: One who makes goods or services. Productivity: Amount of output per unit of input over a period of time. It is used to measure the efficiency with which inputs can be used. Profit: Total revenue minus total costs. Progressive tax: A levy for which the percentage of income used to pay the levy increases as the taxpayer's income increases. Proportional tax: A levy for which the percentage of income used to pay the levy remains the same as the taxpayer's income increases. Public goods: Goods and services provided by the government rather than by the private sector. Goods that more than one person can use without necessarily preventing others from using the same goods or services. Public policy: A government's course of action that guides present and future decisions. Quantity demanded: The amount of a good or service people are willing and able to purchase at a given price during a specific time period. Quantity supplied: The amount of a good or service people are willing and able to sell at a given price during a specific time period. Regressive tax: A levy for which the percentage of income used to pay the levy decreases as the taxpayer's income increases. Resources: Inputs used to produce goods and services; categories include natural, human and capital. Scarcity: An economic condition that exists when demand is greater than supply. Services: Actions that are valued by others. Sole proprietorship: A business owned by an individual who receives all the profits and rewards and bears all the losses and risks. Specialization: A form of division of labor in which each individual or firm concentrates its productive efforts on a single or limited number of activities. Standard of living: A measurement of an individual's quality of life. A larger consumption of goods, services, and leisure is often assumed to indicate a higher standard of living. Supply: The different quantities of a resource, good or service that potential sellers are willing and able to sell at various possible prices during a specific time period. Trade: Voluntary exchange between two parties in which both parties benefit. Traditional economy: An economic system in which decisions are made largely by repeating the actions from an earlier time or generation. Unemployment rate: The percentage of the labor force that is actively seeking employment. Wants: Desires that can be satisfied by consuming goods, services or leisure activities.
Proposed Academic Standards for Geography
XIX. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction XX. THE ACADEMIC STANDARDS Basic Geographic Literacy 7.1. Geographic Representations Location of Places and Regions Connections Among Regions The Physical Characteristics of Places and Regions 7.2. Components of Earth's Physical Systems Physical Processes Affecting Places and Regions Interrelationships Among Physical Systems The Human Characteristics of Places and Regions 7.3. Population, Culture and Settlement Economic Activity Political Activity The Interactions Between People and Places 7.4. Dependence on Physical Systems Modifications to Accommodate Environments Impact of People on Physical Systems Glossary XXI.
XX. INTRODUCTION This document includes Proposed Academic Standards for Geography that describe what students should know and be able to do in four areas:
* 7.1. Basic Geographic Literacy
* 7.2. The Physical Characteristics of Places and Regions
* 7.3. The Human Characteristics of Places and Regions
* 7.4. The Interactions Between People and Places
The Proposed Geography Standards describe what students should know and be able to do at four grade levels (third, sixth, ninth and twelfth). They reflect the increasingly complex and sophisticated understanding of geography that students are expected to achieve as they progress through school. Throughout the standards, all grade levels must address the local-to-global progression (scales). Basic concepts found in lower grade levels must be developed more fully at higher grade levels.
Geography is the science of space and place on Earth's surface. Its subject matter is the physical and human phenomena that make up the world's environments and places. These proposed standards build on using geographic tools as a means for asking and answering geographic questions; setting information into a range of spatial contexts; recognizing places and regions as human concepts; understanding the physical processes that have shaped Earth's surface and the patterns resulting from those processes; identifying the relationships between people and environments; recognizing the characteristics and distribution of people and cultures on Earth's surface; focusing on the spatial patterns of settlements and their resulting political structures; and exploring the networks of economic interdependence and the importance of resources.
At each grade level, instructional content should be selected to support the development of geographic understanding. In the primary grade levels (1-3), the emphasis should be on identifying the basic characteristics of the world (answering the what question); at the intermediate grade levels (4-6), the emphasis should be on describing spatial patterns of phenomena (answering the where and when questions); at the middle grade levels (7-9), the emphasis should be on explaining spatial patterns of phenomena (answering the how question); and at high school grade levels (10-12), the emphasis should be on analyzing spatial patterns of phenomena (answering the why question). Although the emphasis may focus on specific questions, these questions may be encountered at any grade level.
Geography is an integrative discipline that enables students to apply geography skills and knowledge to life situations at home, at work and in the community. Therefore, these standards should be cross-walked with those in Civics and Government, Economics and History to create an interdisciplinary view of the world. Topics and concepts in geography directly relate to standard statements in Environment and Ecology, Economics, Mathematics, Science and Technology, Civics and Government.
Teachers should employ the ''Five Fundamental Themes of Geography'' while proceeding through the Academic Standards for Geography. The relationship between the themes and the standards is clear. The standards describe what students should know and be able to do while the themes provide a clear conceptual basis for teachers and students to use in organizing their knowledge.
These are the ''Five Fundamental Themes of Geography'':
Theme Description Location The absolute and relative position of a place on Earth's surface Place How physical and human characteristics define and distinguish a place Human-Environment
InteractionsHow humans modify and adapt to natural settings Movement How people, ideas and materials move between and among locations Regions How an area displays unity in terms of physical and human characteristics A glossary is included to assist the reader in clarifying terminology contained in the standards.
7.1. Basic Geographic Literacy 7.1.3. GRADE 3 7.1.6. GRADE 6 7.1.9. GRADE 9 7.1.12. GRADE 12 Pennsylvania's public schools shall teach, challenge and support every student to realize his or her maximum potential and to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to . . . A. Identify geographic tools and their uses.
* Characteristics and purposes of different geographic representations
* Maps and basic map elements
* Globes
* Graphs
* Diagrams
* Photographs
* Geographic representations to display spatial information
* Sketch maps
* Thematic maps
* Mental maps to describe the human and physical features of the local areaA. Describe geographic tools and their uses.
* Basis on which maps, graphs and diagrams are created
* Aerial and other photographs
* Reference works
* Field observations
* Surveys
* Geographic representations to display spatial information
* Absolute location
* Relative location
* Flows (e.g., goods, people, traffic)
* Topography
* Historic events
* Mental maps to organize an understanding of the human and physical features of Pennsylvania and the home county
* Basic spatial elements for depicting the patterns of physical and human features
* Point, line, area, location, distance, scale
* Map grids
* Alpha-numeric system
* Cardinal and intermediate directions
A. Explain geographic tools and their uses.
* Development and use of geographic tools
* Geographic information systems [GIS]
* Population pyramids
* Cartograms
* Satellite-produced images
* Climate graphs
* Access to computer-based geographic data (e.g., Internet, CD-ROMs)
* Construction of maps
* Projections
* Scale
* Symbol systems
* Level of generalization
* Types and sources of data
* Geographic representations to track spatial patterns
* Weather
* Migration
* Environmental change (e.g., tropical forest reduction, sea-level changes)
* Mental maps to organize and understand the human and physical features of the United StatesA. Analyze data and issues from a spatial perspective using the appropriate geographic tools.
* Spatial patterns of human features that change over time (e.g., intervening opportunity, distance decay, central place theory, locational preference)
* Physical patterns of physical features that change over time (e.g., climate change, erosion, ecological invasion and succession)
* Human and physical features of the world through mental mapsB. Identify and locate places and regions.
* Physical features
* Continents and oceans
* Major landforms, rivers and lakes in North America
* Local community
* Human features
* Countries (i.e., United States, Mexico, Canada)
* States (i.e., Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, West Virginia)
* Cities (i.e., Philadelphia, Erie, Altoona, Pittsburgh, Scranton, Harrisburg, Johnstown, Allentown, Washington D.C., Baltimore, New York, Toronto, Cleveland
* Local community
* Regions as areas with unifying geographic characteristics
* Physical regions (e.g., landform regions, climate regions, river basins)
* Human regions (e.g., neighborhoods, cities, states, countries)
B. Describe and locate places and regions.
* Coordinate systems (e.g., latitude and longitude, time zones)
* Physical features
* In Pennsylvania (e.g., Coastal Plain, Piedmont, Appalachians)
* In the United States (e.g., Great Lakes, Rocky Mountains, Great Plains)
* Human features
* Countries (e.g., United Kingdom, Argentina, Egypt)
* States (e.g., California, Massachusetts, Florida)
* Provinces (e.g., Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia)
* Major human regions (e.g., Mid Atlantic, New England, Southwest)
* Counties (e.g., Lancaster, Lackawanna, Jefferson)
* Townships (e.g., Dickinson, Lower Mifflin, Southampton)
* Major cities (e.g., London, Los Angeles, Tokyo)
* Ways in which different people view places and regions (e.g., as places to visit or to avoid)
* Community connections to other places
* Dependence and interdependence
* Access and movement
B. Explain and locate places and regions.
* How regions are created to interpret Earth's complexity (i.e., the differences among formal regions, functional regions, perceptual regions)
* How characteristics contribute to regional changes (e.g., economic development, accessibility, demographic change)
* How culture and experience influence perceptions of places and regions
* How structures and alliances impact regions
* Development (e.g., First vs. Third World, North vs. South)
* Trade (e.g., NAFTA, the European Union)
* International treaties (e.g., NATO, OAS)
* How regions are connected (e.g., watersheds and river systems, patterns of world trade, cultural ties, migration)
B. Analyze the location of places and regions.
* Changing regional characteristics (e.g., short- and long-term climate shifts; population growth or decline; political instability)
* Criteria to define a region (e.g., the reshaping of south Florida resulting from changing migration patterns; the US-Mexico border changes as a function of NAFTA; metropolitan growth in the Philadelphia region)
* Cultural change (e.g., influences people's perceptions of places and regions)Basic Geography Literacy must include local-to-global progression (scales) for all students at all grade levels for the standard statements and their descriptors. Basic concepts introduced in lower grade levels must be developed more fully throughout higher grade levels. Portions of Basic Geography Literacy relate directly to the Mathematics Standards.
7.2 The Physical Characteristics of Places and Regions 7.2.3. GRADE 3 7.2.6. GRADE 6 7.2.9. GRADE 9 7.2.12. GRADE 12 Pennsylvania's public schools shall teach, challenge and support every student to realize his or her maximum potential and to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to. . . A. Identify the physical characteristics of places and regions.
* Physical properties
* Landforms (e.g., plains, hills, plateaus and mountains)
* Bodies of water (e.g., rivers, lakes, seas and oceans)
* Weather and climate
* Vegetation and animals
* Earth's basic physical systems
* Lithosphere
* Hydrosphere
* Atmosphere
* BiosphereA. Describe the physical characteristics of places and regions.
* Components of Earth's physical systems (e.g., clouds, storms, relief and elevation [topography], tides, biomes, tectonic plates)
* Comparison of the physical characteristics of different places and regions (e.g., soil, vegetation, climate, topography)
A. Explain the physical characteristics of places and regions including spatial patterns of Earth's physical systems.
* Climate regions
* Landform regionsA. Analyze the physical characteristics of places and regions including the interrelationships among the components of Earth's physical systems.
* Biomes and ecosystem regions
* Watersheds and river basins
* World patterns of biodiversityB. Identify the basic physical processes that affect the physical characteristics of places and regions.
* Earth-sun relationships (i.e., seasons and length of day, weather and climate)
* Extreme physical events (e.g., earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes)B. Describe the physical processes that shape patterns on Earth's surface.
* Earth-sun relationships (i.e., differences between equinoxes and solstices, reasons they occur and their relationship to latitude)
* Climate types (e.g., marine west coast, humid continental, tropical wet and dry)
* Climate change, (e.g., global warming/cooling, desertification, glaciations)
* Plate tectonics
* Hydrologic cycleB. Explain the dynamics of the fundamental processes that underlie the operation of Earth's physical systems.
* Wind systems
* Water cycle
* Erosion cycle
* Plate tectonics
* Ocean currents
* Natural hazards
B. Analyze the significance of physical processes in shaping the character of places and regions.
* Circulation of the oceans
* Ecosystem processes
* Atmospheric systems
* Extreme natural eventsThe Physical Characteristics of Places and Regions must include local-to-global progression (scales) for all students at all grade levels for the standard statements and their descriptors. Basic concepts must be developed more fully throughout higher grade levels. Portions of Physical Characteristics of Places and Regions relate directly to Science and Technology and Environment and Ecology standards.
7.3 The Human Characteristics of Places and Regions 7.3.3. GRADE 3 7.3.6. GRADE 6 7.3.9. GRADE 9 7.3.12. GRADE 12 Pennsylvania's public schools shall teach, challenge and support every student to realize his or her maximum potential and to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to. . A. Identify the human characteristics of places and regions by their population characteristics.
* The number and distribution of people in the local community
* Human movement in the local community (e.g., mobility in daily life, migration)
A. Describe the human characteristics of places and regions by their population characteristics.
* Spatial distribution, size, density and demographic characteristics of population at the county and state level.
* Causes of human movement
* Mobility (e.g., shopping, commuting, recreation)
* Migration models (e.g., push/pull factors, barriers to migration)
A. Explain the human characteristics of places and regions by their population characteristics.
* Spatial distribution, size, density and demographic characteristics of population at the state and National level
* Demographic structure of a population (e.g., life expectancy, fertility rate, mortality rate, infant mortality rate, population growth rate, the demographic transition model)
* Effects of different types and patterns of human movement
* Mobility (e.g., travel for business)
* Migration (e.g., rural to urban, short term vs. long term, critical distance)
A. Analyze the significance of human activity in shaping places and regions by their population characteristics:
* Spatial distribution, size, density and demographic characteristics of population at the international level
* Demographic trends and their impacts on patterns of population distribution (e.g., carrying capacity, changes in fertility, changes in immigration policy, the mobility transition model)
* Impact of movement on human systems (e.g., refugees, guest workers, illegal aliens)B. Identify the human characteristics of places and regions by their cultural characteristics.
* Components of culture (e.g., language, belief systems and customs, social organizations, foods, ethnicity)
* Ethnicity of people in the local community (e.g., customs, celebrations, languages, religions)
B. Describe the human characteristics of places and regions by their cultural characteristics.
* Ethnicity of people at the county and state levels (e.g., customs, celebrations, languages, religions)
* Spatial arrangement of cultures creates distinctive landscapes (e.g., cultural regions based on languages, customs, religion, building styles as in the Pennsylvania German region)B. Explain the human characteristics of places and regions by their cultural characteristics.
* Ethnicity of people at national levels (e.g., customs, celebrations, languages, religions)
* Culture distribution (e.g., ethnic enclaves and neighborhoods)
* Cultural diffusion (e.g., acculturation and assimilation, cultural revivals of language)B. Analyze the significance of human activity in shaping places and regions by their cultural characteristics.
* Cultural conflicts (e.g., over language (Canada), over political power (Spain), over economic opportunities (Mexico))
* Forces for cultural convergence (e.g., the diffusion of foods, fashions, religions, language)
C. Identify the human characteristics of places and regions by their settlement characteristics.
* Types of settlements (e.g., villages, towns, suburbs, cities, metropolitan areas)
* Factors that affect where people settle (e.g., water, resources, transportation)C. Describe the human characteristics of places and regions by their settlement characteristics.
* Current and past settlement patterns in the local area
* Factors that affect the growth and decline of settlements (e.g., immigration, transportation development, depletion of natural resources, site and situation)C. Explain the human characteristics of places and regions by their settlement characteristics.
* Current and past settlement patterns in Pennsylvania and the United States
* Forces that have re-shaped modern settlement patterns (e.g., central city decline, suburbanization, the development of transport systems)
* Internal structure of cities (e.g., manufacturing zones, inner and outer suburbs, the location of infrastructure)C. Analyze the significance of human activity in shaping places and regions by their settlement characteristics.
* Description of current and past settlement patterns at the international scale (e.g., global cities)
* Use of models of the internal structure of cities (e.g., concentric zone model, sector theory, multiple nuclei theory)
* Forces that have reshaped settlement patterns (e.g., commuter railroads, urban freeways, the development of megalopoli and edge cities)D. Identify the human characteristics of places and regions by their economic activities.
* Location factors in the spatial distribution of economic activities (e.g., market, transportation, workers, materials)
* Producers of consumer products and services (e.g., bread, pizza, television, shopping malls)
* Products of farms and factories at the local and regional level (e.g., mushrooms, milk, snack foods, furniture)
* Spatial distribution of resources
* Non-renewable resources
* Renewable resources
* Flow resources (e.g., water power, wind power)D. Describe the human characteristics of places and regions by their economic activities.
* Spatial distribution of economic activities in the local area (e.g., patterns of agriculture, forestry, mining, retailing, manufacturing, services)
* Factors that influence the location and spatial distribution of economic activities (e.g., market size for different types of business, accessibility, modes of transportation used to move people, goods and materials)
* Spatial distribution of resources and their relationship to population distribution
* Historical settlement patterns and natural resource use (e.g., waterpower sites along the Fall Line)
* Natural resource-based industries (e.g., agriculture, mining, fishing, forestry)D. Explain the human characteristics of places and regions by their economic activities.
* Spatial distribution of economic activities in Pennsylvania and the United States (e.g., patterns of agriculture, forestry, mining, retailing, manufacturing, services)
* Factors that shape spatial patterns of economic activity both Nationally and internationally (e.g., comparative advantage in location of economic activities; changes in resource trade; disruption of trade flows)
* Technological changes that affect the definitions of, access to, and use of natural resources (e.g., the role of exploration, extraction, use and depletion of resources)D. Analyze the significance of human activity in shaping places and regions by their economic characteristics.
* Changes in spatial distribution of economic activities at the global scale (e.g., patterns of agriculture, forestry, mining, retailing, manufacturing, services)
* Forces that are reshaping business (e.g., the information economy, business globalization, the development of off-shore activities)
* Effects of changes and movements in factors of production (e.g., resources, labor, capital)E. Identify the human characteristics of places and regions by their political activities.
* Type of political units (e.g., townships, boroughs, counties, states, country (nation state))
* Political units in the local areaE. Describe the human characteristics of places and regions by their political activities.
* Spatial pattern of political units in Pennsylvania
* Functions of political units (e.g., counties, municipalities and townships, school districts, PA General Assembly districts (House and Senate), U.S. Congressional districts, states)E. Explain the human characteristics of places and regions by their political activities.
* Spatial pattern of political units in the United States
* Geographic factors that affect decisions made in the United States (e.g., territorial expansion, boundary delineation, allocation of natural resources)
* Political and public policies that affect geography (e.g., open space, urban development)E. Analyze the significance of human activity in shaping places and regions by their political characteristics:
* Spatial pattern of political units in the global system
* Role of new political alliances on the international level (e.g., multinational organizations, worker's unions, United Nations' organizations)
* Impact of political conflicts (e.g., secession, fragmentation, insurgencies, invasions)The Human Characteristics of Places and Regions must include local-to-global progression (scales) for all students at all grade levels for the standard statements and their descriptors. Basic concepts found in lower grade levels must be developed more fully throughout higher grade levels. Portions of Human Characteristics of Places and Regions relate directly to the Civics and Government and Economics Standards.
[Continued on next Web Page]
No part of the information on this site may be reproduced for profit or sold for profit.This material has been drawn directly from the official Pennsylvania Bulletin full text database. Due to the limitations of HTML or differences in display capabilities of different browsers, this version may differ slightly from the official printed version.