School ended yesterday! I told myself I could take a weekend off before I started full-time work on the Zombie-Based Geography curriculum. However, I was too excited to put off working any longer. All of the standards are outlined, fit into the narrative, and ready for projects to be designed. My next step will probably be to plan out all of the lessons for each project. So far it has been going really well.
Below I’m posting the 18 Geography standards that are worked into the ZBL curriculum. Each of those standards have multiple bullet points of elements that make up the standard. Each of those elements are addressed in ZBL, making it a very rich and standards based program. It doesn’t just touch on each of the standards, it goes into all 75 elements of the 18 different standards. Below are all 75 elements, grouped by standard. I am holding off on showing you how I tie each of the 75 elements into the narrative (but they are all planned). I will show you the web that places all of the standards and elements into the framework:
Web of Geography Standards
| National Geography Standard |
| 1) The World in Spatial Terms How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective (all used throughout the unit) |
| 1A) Recognize characteristics and applications of maps, globes, aerial and other images. |
| 1B) Make and use different globes, graphs, charts, databases, and models. |
| 1C) Evaluate when to use certain maps or other tools and technology to solve geographic problems |
| 1D) Use tools and technology to ask and answer questions about spatial distribution and patterns on earth |
| 2) Mental Maps How to use mental maps to organize information about people, places, and environments in a spatial context. |
| 2A) Identify important physical and human features on maps |
| 2B) Draw mental maps and compare to atlases for accuracy |
| 2C) Draw mental map for a purpose |
| 2D) Analyze individual’s interpretations and attitudes toward places through their mental maps |
| 3) Spatial information on EarthHow to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on Earth’s surface |
| 3A) Analyze and explain physical and human distribution |
| 3B) Analyze and explain patterns of land use patterns such as distance, accessibility, and connections |
| 3C) Explain how places are connected and their interdependence and accessibility |
| 3D) Describe patterns of migration and diffusion |
| 4) Places and Regions The physical and human characteristics of places |
| 4A) Analyze the physical characteristics of a place (p.150) |
| 4B) Analyze the human characteristics of places (p. 150) |
| 4C) Identify and analyze how technology shapes human characteristics of places (p. 151) |
| 5) Creating Regions People create regions to interpret Earth’s complexity (pp. 152-153) |
| 5A) Identify the criteria used to define a region |
| 5B) Identify types of regions |
| 5C) Explain how regions change over space and time |
| 5D) Explain how regions are connected |
| 5E) Evaluate the influences and effects of regional labels and images |
| 6) Cultural Influence on Regions How culture and experience influence people’s perception of places and regions |
| 6A) Evaluate the characteristics of places and regions from a variety of points of view |
| 6B) Explain how technology affects the ways in which culture groups perceive and use places and regions |
| 6C) Identify ways culture influences people’s perceptions of places and regions |
| 6D) Illustrate and explain how places and regions serve as cultural symbols |
| 7) Physical Systems The physical processes that shape the patterns of the Earth’s surface |
| 7A) Use physical processes to explain patterns in the physical environment |
| 7B) Analyze physical patterns in terms of processes that created them |
| 7C) Explain how Earth-Sun relationships affect Earth’s physical processes and create physical patterns |
| 7D) Describe the processes that produce renewable and nonrenewable resources |
| 7E) Predict the consequences of a specific physical process operating on Earth’s surface |
| 8) Physical Systems and Ecosystems The characteristics and spatial distributions of ecosystems on Earth’s surface |
| 8A) Explain the distribution of ecosystems from local to global scales |
| 8B) Explain the functions and dynamics of ecosystems |
| 8C) Explain how physical processes influence ecosystems |
| 8D) Explain how human processes contribute to changes in ecosystems |
| 9) Human Systems – Migration, Population The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on Earth’s surface |
| 9A) Describe the structure of different populations through the use of key demographic concepts |
| 9B) Analyze the population characteristics of places to explain population patterns |
| 9C) Explain migration streams over time |
| 9D) Describe ways in which human migration influences the character of a place |
| 10) Human Systems – Culture The characteristics, distribution, and complexity of Earth’s cultural mosaics |
| 10A) Identify ways in which communities reflect the cultural background of their inhabitants |
| 10B) Identify and describe the distinctive cultural landscapes associated with migrant populations |
| 10C) Describe and explain the significances of patterns of cultural diffusion in the creation of Earth’s varied cultural mosaic |
| 11) Human Systems – Pattens of Economics The patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earth’s surface |
| 11A) List and define the major terms used to describe economic activity in a geographic context |
| 11B) Explain the spatial aspects of systems designed to deliver goods and services |
| 11C) Analyze and evaluate issues related to the spatial distribution of economic activities |
| 11D) Identify and explain the primary geographic causes for world trade |
| 11E) Analyze historical and contemporary economic trade networks |
| 11F) Identify and explain the factors influencing industrial location in the United States |
| 11G) Compare and evaluate the roles of historical and contemporary systems of transportation and communication in the development of economic activities |
| 12) Human Systems – Settlement The processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement |
| 12A) Identify and describe settlement patterns |
| 12B) Identify factors involved in the development of cities |
| 12C) Analyze the ways in which both the landscape and society would change as a consequence of shifting from a dispersed to a concentrated settlement form |
| 12D) Explain the causes and consequences of urbanization |
| 12E) Identify and define the internal spatial structures of cities |
| 13) Human Systems – Cooperation and Conflict How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of Earth’s surface |
| 13A) Identify and explain reasons for the different spatial divisions in which the student lives |
| 13B)Explain why people cooperate but also engage in conflict to control Earth’s surface |
| 13C)Describe the factors that affect the cohesiveness and integration of countries |
| 13D) Analyze the divisions on Earth’s surface at different scales (local to global) |
| 14) Environment and Society – Human Actions How human actions modify the physical environment |
| 14A) Analyze the environmental consequences of humans changing the physical environment |
| 14B) Identify and explain the ways in which human-induced changes in the physical environment in one place can cause changes in other places |
| 14C) Evaluate the ways in which technology influences human capacity to modify the physical environment |
| 15) Environment and Society – Physical Systems How physical systems affect human systems |
| 15A) Analyze ways in which human systems develop in response to conditions in the physical environment |
| 15B) Explain how the characteristics of different physical environments affect human activities |
| 15C) Describe the effects of natural hazards on human systems |
| 16) Environment and Society – Resources The changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources |
| 16A) Describe and analyze world patterns of resource distribution and utilization |
| 16B) Describe the consequences of the use of resources in the contemporary world |
| 16C) Evaluate different viewpoints regarding resource use |
| 16D) Identify the role of technology in resource acquisition and use |
| 16E) Identify and develop plans for the management and use of renewable, nonrenewable, and flow resources |
| 16F) Explain the critical importance of energy resources to the development of human societies |
| 17) The Uses of Geography – Past How to apply geography to interpret the past |
| 17A) Describe the ways in which the spatial organization of society changes over time |
| 17B) Assess the roles that spatial and environmental perceptions played in the past |
| 17C) Analyze the effects of physical and human geographic factors on major historic events |
| 17D) List and describe significant physical features that have influence historical events |
| 18) The Uses of Geography – Present and Future How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future |
| 18A) Analyze the interaction between physical and human systems to understand possible causes and effects of current conditions on Earth and to speculate on future conditions |
| 18B) Integrate multiple points of view to analyze and evaluate contemporary geographic issues |
| 18C) Demonstrate an understanding of spatial organization of human activities and physical systems and be able to make informed decisions |