| WG.1 |
The student will use maps, globes, satellite images, photographs, or diagrams to |
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a) |
obtain geographical information about the world’s countries, cities, and environments; |
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b) |
apply the concepts of location, scale, map projection, or orientation; |
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c) |
develop and refine mental maps of world regions; |
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d) |
create and compare political, physical, and thematic maps; |
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e) |
analyze and explain how different cultures use maps and other visual images to reflect their own interests and ambitions. |
NOTE: The Virginia Board of Education adopted the revised 2008 History and Social Science Standards of Learning at the January 10, 2008, meeting. Full implementation of these documents is scheduled for the 2010-2011 school year, as outlined in Superintendent’s Memorandum Informational Number 49.
Explain how the use of a variety of sources supports the process of geographic inquiry.
Define the following geographic concepts:
• Scale
• Latitude
• Longitude
• Relative location
• Orientation
Explain that latitude and longitude define absolute location.
Explain how relative location describes the spatial relationship between and among places.
Explain that a variety of scales are necessary to represent areas when developing maps and the scale determines the amount of detail shown on a map.
Explain that a compass rose (directional indicator) identifies map orientation.
Explain that a compass rose (directional indicator) to identify and use cardinal directions.
Demonstrate the following sources used to obtain information:
• GIS (Geographic Information Systems)
• Field work
• Satellite images
• Photographs
• Maps and globes
• Data bases
• Primary sources
Identify the following uses of mental maps to organize information:
• Carry out daily activities (e.g., route to school, shopping)
• Give directions to others
• Understand world events
Explain that people develop and refine their mental maps through both personal experience and learning.
Describe the following ways mental maps can be developed and refined:
• Comparing sketch maps to maps in atlases or other resources
• Describing the location of places in terms of reference points (e.g., the equator, prime meridian)
• Describing the location of places in terms of geographic features and land forms (e.g., west of the Mississippi River, north of the Gulf of Mexico)
• Describing the location of places in terms of the human characteristics of a place (e.g., languages, types of housing, dress, recreation, customs and traditions)
Explain that mental maps serve as indicators of how well people know the spatial characteristics of certain places.
Illustrate the following ways maps show information:
• Symbols
• Color
• Lines
• Boundaries
• Contours
Explain that a map is a visual representation of geographic information.
Show the following major types of thematic maps:
• Population (e.g., distribution and density)
• Economic activity
• Resource
• Language
• Ethnicity
• Climate
• Precipitation
• Vegetation
• Physical
• Political
Explain how maps reflect changes over time in the following areas:
• Knowledge
- Map of Columbus’s time
- Satellite images
- GIS (Geographic Information Systems)
• Place names
- Formosa, Taiwan, Republic of China
- Palestine, Israel, Occupied Territories
• Boundaries
- Africa — 1914, 1990s
- Europe — Before World War II and after World War II; since 1990
- Russia and the former Soviet Union
- Middle East — Before 1948; after 1967
• Perspectives of place names
- Arabian Gulf v. Persian Gulf
- Sea of Japan v. East Sea
- Middle East v. North Africa and Southwest Asia
• Disputed areas
- Korea
- Western Sahara
- Former Yugoslavia
- Kashmir
Explain that all maps are distorted representations of the Earth’s surface.
Identify the following aspects of the Earth that can be distorted by maps:
• Area
• Shape
• Distance
• Direction
• Explain that different map projections are developed for specific purposes.
Show samples of the following map projections:
• Mercator
• Polar
• Robinson
Identify the following ways in which specific projections are used:
• Mercator — Ship navigation
• Polar — Airline navigation
• Robinson — Data representation
Below is an annotated list of Internet resources recommended for this organizing topic. Copyright restrictions may exist for the material on some Web sites. Please note and abide by any such restrictions.
Alternative Assessment in Geography: 9-12 — Alternative Geography Assessment Items. Illinois. State University. <http://www.coe.ilstu.edu/IGA/interact/assess/9-12.htm>. This Web site provides sample assessments for geography, as well as a classification of test items to national and state standards in geography.
Dana, Peter H. Map Projections Overview. University of Texas at Austin. <http://www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/notes/mapproj/mapproj_f.html>. This site provides information on map projections.
The Geographic Information Systems . <http://www.gis.com/>. This site provides information on Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Outline Maps — Education Place. Houghton Mifflin, 2002. <http://www.eduplace.com/ss/ssmaps/>. This site permits visitors to print a variety of maps related to this organizing topic.
“Sleuthing for a Lost Ship.” National Geographic Xpeditions: Geography Standards in Your Classroom. <http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/18/g68/ballardsleuthing.html>. This Web site provides a lesson plan to help students understand the uses of geography. Additional lesson plans can also be accessed from this site.
Virginia Standards of Learning Assessments for the 2001 History and Social Science Standards of Learning: History and Social Science Released Items for Virginia and United States History. Virginia Department of Education 2003/04. <http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Assessment/Release2003/History/VA-RIBs_g11wgeo-1.pdf>.
Virginia Standards of Learning Assessments for the 2001 History and Social Science Standards of Learning: World Geography Test Blueprint. Virginia Department of Education, 2003/04. <http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Assessment/HistoryBlueprints03/2002Blueprint9WG.pdf>. This site provides assessment information for the course in World Geography.
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