GIS + GPS = Illinois State Standards

Illinois Social Studies #17 - Geography

The following information should be helpful to exploring the relationships to GIS, GPS and the state standards. The world of geography is a very encompassing subject. Besides geography, when looking at the standards below, try to relate them to other subject areas as well.

STATE GOAL 17: Understand world geography and the effects of geography on society, with an emphasis on the United States.
Illinois Social Studies Standards covered below --> ( 17A, 17B, 17C, & 17D).

The need for geographic literacy has never been greater or more obvious than in today's tightly interrelated world. Students must understand the world's physical features, how they blend with social systems and how they affect economies, politics and human interaction. Isolated geographic facts are not enough. To grasp geography and its effect on individuals and societies, students must know the broad concepts of spatial patterns, mapping, population and physical systems (land, air, water). The combination of geographic facts and broad concepts provides a deeper understanding of geography and its effects on individuals and societies.

Learning Standard	17A. Locate, describe and explain places, regions and features on the Earth.
Early Elementary	17.A.1a Identify physical characteristics of places, both local and global (e.g., locations, roads, regions, bodies of water).
Early Elementary	17.A.1b Identify the characteristics and purposes of geographic representations including maps, globes, graphs, photographs, software, digital images and be able to locate specific places using each.
Late Elementary	17.A.2a Compare the physical characteristics of places including soils, land forms, vegetation, wildlife, climate, natural hazards.
Late Elementary	17.A.2b Use maps and other geographic representations and instruments to gather information about people, places and environments.
Middle & Junior High School	17.A.3a Explain how people use geographic markers and boundaries to analyze and navigate the Earth (e.g., hemispheres, meridians, continents, bodies of water)
Middle & Junior High School	17.A.3b Explain how to make and use geographic representations to provide and enhance spatial information including maps, graphs, charts, models, aerial photographs, satellite images.
Early High School	17.A.4a Use mental maps of physical features to answer complex geographic questions (e.g., how physical features have deterred or enabled migration).
Early High School	17.A.4b Use maps and other geographic instruments and technologies to analyze spatial patterns and distributions on earth.
Late High School	17.A.5 Demonstrate how maps, other geographic instruments and technologies are used to solve spatial problems (e.g., land use, ecological concerns).
Learning Standard	17B Analyze and explain characteristics and interactions on the Earth's physical systems.
Early Elementary	17.B.1a Identify components of the Earth's physical systems.
Early Elementary	17.B.1b Describe physical components of ecosystems.
Late Elementary	17.B.2a Describe how physical and human processes shape spatial patterns including erosion, agriculture and settlement.
Late Elementary	17.B.2b Explain how physical and living components interact in a variety of ecosystems including desert, prairie, flood plain, forest, tundra.
Middle & Junior High School	17.B.3a Explain how physical processes including climate, plate tectonics, erosion, soil formation, water cycle, and circulation patterns in the ocean shape patterns in the environment and influence availability and quality of natural resources.
Middle & Junior High School	17.B.3b Explain how changes in components of an ecosystem affect the system overall.
Early High School	17.B.4a Explain the dynamic interactions within and among the Earth's physical systems including variation, productivity and constructive and destructive processes.
Early High School	17.B.4b Analyze trends in world demographics as they relate to physical systems.
Late High School	17.B.5 Analyze international issues and problems using ecosystems and physical geography concepts
Learning Standard	17C. Understand relationships between geographic factors and society.
Early Elementary	17.C.1a Identify ways people depend on and interact with the physical environment (e.g., farming, fishing, hydroelectric power).
Early Elementary	17.C.1b Identify opportunities and constraints of the physical environment
Early Elementary	17.C.1c Explain the difference between renewable and nonrenewable resources.
Late Elementary	17.C.2a Describe how natural events in the physical environment affect human activities
Late Elementary	17.C.2b Describe the relationships among location of resources, population distribution and economic activities (e.g., transportation, trade, communications).
Late Elementary	17.C.2c Explain how human activity affects the environment.
Middle & Junior High School	17.C.3a Explain how human activity is affected by geographic factors.
Middle & Junior High School	17.C.3b Explain how patterns of resources are used throughout the world.
Middle & Junior High School	17.C.3c Analyze how human processes influence settlement patterns including migration and population growth
Early High School	17.C.4a Explain the ability of modern technology to alter geographic features and the impacts of these modifications on human activities.
Early High School	17.C.4b Analyze growth trends in selected urban areas as they relate to geographic factors.
Early High School	17.C.4c Explain how places with various population distributions function as centers of economic activity (e.g., rural, suburban, urban).
Late High School	17.C.5a Compare resource management methods and policies in different regions of the world.
Late High School	17.C.5b Describe the impact of human migrations and increased urbanization on ecosystems
Late High School	17.C.5c Describe geographic factors that affect cooperation and conflict among societies.
Learning Standard	17D. Understand the historical significance of geography.
Early Elementary	17.D.1 Identify changes in geographic characteristics of a local region (e.g., town, community).
Late Elementary	17.D.2a Describe how physical characteristics of places influence people's perceptions and their roles in the world over time.
Late Elementary	17.D.2b Identify different settlement patterns in Illinois and the United States and relate them to physical features and resources.
Middle & Junior High School	17.D.3a Explain how and why spatial patterns of settlement change over time.
Middle & Junior High School	17.D.3b Explain how interactions of geographic factors have shaped present conditions.
Early High School	17.D.4 Explain how processes of spatial change have affected human history (e.g., resource development and use, natural disasters).
Late High School	17.D.5 Analyze the historical development of a current issue involving the interaction of people and geographic factors (e.g., mass transportation, changes in agricultural subsidies, flood control).

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