Grade 7

GRADE 7
GEOGRAPHY

The Themes of Geographic Inquiry

APPLICABLE EXPECTATIONS

By the end of Grade 7, students will:

identify themes that geographers use to organize their inquiries: location/place, environment, region, interaction, and movement;
demonstrate an understanding of the place/location theme (i.e., a “place” is defined by unique physical and human characteristics; “location” means where a place is and where it is relative to other places);
demonstrate an understanding of the environment theme (e.g., in the system of non-living and living elements, people are part of the living elements);
demonstrate an understanding of the region theme (i.e., a region is a part of the earth’s surface that has similar characteristics; the concept of “region” helps to simplify complex ideas);
demonstrate an understanding of the interaction theme (e.g. the environment provides opportunities and challenges; people change the environment as they use it);
demonstrate an understanding of the movement theme (e.g. the flow of people, goods, and information and the factors that affect this flow).
communicate an understanding that various individuals and groups have different opinions on environmental issues (e.g., interactions: loggers, versus wilderness conservationists);
identify and describe regions where natural hazards exist (e.g., region: regions with earthquake activity, or with tornadoes)

Patterns in Physical Geography

APPLICABLE EXPECTATIONS

By the end of Grade 7, students will:

identify and explain how land forms are used to delineate regions;
identify and describe world land-form patterns (e.g., location of fold mountains along the west coast of North and South America);
identify and describe world climate patterns;
demonstrate an understanding that climate patterns result from the interaction of several factors; latitude, altitude, global wind systems, air masses, proximity to large bodies of water, ocean currents);
identify, through investigation, the effects of natural phenomena (e.g., tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes) on people and the environment;
demonstrate an understanding that natural vegetation patterns result from the interaction of several factors; temperature, precipitation, soil types, competition for available nutrients;
describe the correlation between physical patterns and types of crops
investigate and describe how specialized forms of agriculture (e.g., sheep, beef, dairy farming) relate to world patterns of land-forms, climate, and vegetation

Natural Resources

APPLICABLE EXPECTATIONS

By the end of Grade 7, students will:

demonstrate an understanding that people use renewable, non-renewable, and flow resources in a variety of ways to meet their needs;
demonstrate an understanding of how technology has affected natural resources
describe the influence of natural resources on any country (e.g., the development of the fishing industry along Canada’s coasts).
produce a report on the factors that affect the availability of natural resources in the future;
present and defend a point of view on how a resource should be used.