| In this unit students combine what they have learned about physical and human geography to examine the ever-present geographic theme of human-environment interaction. As students investigate how humans adapt to, use and modify the environment, they explore how people create and address environmental problems. By employing a variety of spatial scales from local to global, students consider a variety of environmental issues and solutions as they continue to broaden their understanding of “global.” Throughout the unit, students investigate answers to the following questions: - How do humans create and address global environmental problems?
- How can environmental changes in one location become a global issue?
- How does energy production and distribution affect the environment?
- How does the distribution and utilization of natural resources influence the ways societies interact?
Students begin the unit with an environmental issue first introduced in Unit 1 – the causes and consequences of the drying up of the Aral Sea. They examine how an environmental change in one location can have consequences in other locations. The unit then focuses on natural resources, including their location, utilization and distribution. Students first consider the extent to which people depend on natural resources. By following the life cycle of a plastic bottle as an example, students explore how the environment can be affected at all stages of a product’s manufacture, use, and disposal. The unit then concentrates on energy production and distribution. Students read across multiple texts and synthesize information on a specific natural resource related to energy production for a group presentation. As they learn about the multiple ways in which people obtain energy, students distinguish between renewable and non-renewable resources and reflect upon the advantages and disadvantages of each. They then examine and discuss three different perspectives on climate change and write an argument in favor of one of these approaches. Throughout the unit, significant connections to science concepts are made as students explore how natural resources are used and the consequences of those uses. While the unit focuses primarily on contemporary environmental issues, students employ a historical perspective as they consider how and why the pace of resource use and extraction has accelerated over time. They also examine archaeological evidence to explore how people have modified the environment since early times and investigate the impact of cultural landscapes introduced in Unit 4 in terms of environmental modifications. Using the conceptual lens of land, water, and air, students explore environmental modifications of mountaintop removal, overfishing, and the depletion of the ozone layer. Students also examine modifications in terms of additions to or removal from the environment and engage in a brief internet research activity using a dedicated site for students. In investigating global environmental concerns such as climate change, deforestation, pollution, and resource use and depletion, students consider the role of technology in both harming and helping the environment. They explore ways in which people are combining technology and human ingenuity to create eco-friendly inventions to address environmental concerns. The unit concludes with an exploration of the relationship between the environment and conflict. Students explore how scarce natural resources such as water, minerals or fertile land are not evenly distributed or consumed across the planet and how this inequity may cause conflict. After identifying possible conflicts that could arise over natural resources, students analyze historical data regarding the role water has played in different conflicts over time. Students then engage in a case study analysis of a conflict between El Salvador and Honduras and identify demographic, environmental, social and economic factors relating to the conflict. This allows students to revisit the different social science perspectives introduced in Unit 1 and demonstrates why a multitude of perspectives can help us better understand and resolve conflicts. Literacy Adolescent literacy practices continue to be integrated throughout the unit. Students analyze political cartoons and posters related to environmental issues and continue to develop their summarization skills with informational texts. They read across multiple sources including maps, data sets in charts and graphs, info-graphics, and informational texts. Reading strategies and writing exercises are deliberately placed to support students’ growing independence. Research opportunities in this unit continue to be bounded but allow some growing independence as students conduct queries through a website specifically designed for student research. Challenges in Teaching There are several challenges in designing a unit on human-environment interaction. First, there is the persistent problem of depth versus breadth. In trying to teach too many examples, students often lose the opportunity to “get deep” with the content. While there are so many examples of human-environment interactions from which to choose, this unit deliberately uses examples that either were introduced in previous units or position students with conceptual lenses (air/water/land and additions/removals) from which they can explore other examples. Second, learning about human-environmental interactions requires students to combine science and social studies concepts. Teachers must be careful of the cognitive load placed on students. Proper scaffolding, multiple texts, and opportunities to process new information are imperative for students to develop meaningful understandings. Third, it was important to design a unit that was not all doom and gloom, leaving middle school students feeling helpless about the future of the planet. As a result, specific attention is also paid to how people are trying to solve some of the problems, even if they are on a small scale. Finally, there are a variety of opinions and political positions on the use of specific natural resources. This unit presents a variety of viewpoints and asks students to consider them all in an effort for students to determine their own position on certain environmental issues. |
| MI: Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, & Technical Subjects 6-12 Reading: History/Social Studies Key Ideas and Details
1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. RH.6-8.1. Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources. 2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas. RH.6-8.2. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions. 3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over the course of a text. RH.6-8.3. Identify key steps in a text’s description of a process related to history/social studies (e.g., how a bill becomes law, how interest rates are raised or lowered). Craft and Structure
4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. RH.6-8.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies. 5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole. RH.6-8.5. Describe how a text presents information (e.g., sequentially, comparatively, causally). 6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text. RH.6-8.6. Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts). Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words. RH.6-8.7. Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts. Text Types and Purposes
1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. WHST.6-8.1. Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content. WHST.6-8.1a. Introduce claim(s) about a topic or issue, acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically. WHST.6-8.1b. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant, accurate data and evidence that demonstrate an understanding of the topic or text, using credible sources. WHST.6-8.1c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence. WHST.6-8.1d. Establish and maintain a formal style. WHST.6-8.1e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented. Production and Distribution of Writing
4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. WHST.6-8.4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. 5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. WHST.6-8.5. With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed. Research to Build and Present Knowledge
7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. WHST.6-8.7. Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration. 8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism. WHST.6-8.8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. 9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. WHST.6-8.9. Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis reflection, and research. MI: Social Studies (2007) G1.2 Geographical Inquiry and Analysis
Use geographic inquiry and analysis to answer important questions about relationships between people, cultures, their environment, and relations within the larger world context. 6 – G1.2.4 Use observations from air photos, photographs (print and CD), films (VCR and DVD) as the basis for answering geographic questions about the human and physical characteristics of places and regions. 6 – G1.2.5 Use information from modern technology such as Geographic Positioning System (GPS), Geographic Information System (GIS), and satellite remote sensing to locate information and process maps and data to analyze spatial patterns of the Western Hemisphere to answer geographic questions. 6 – G1.2.6 Apply the skills of geographic inquiry (asking geographic questions, acquiring geographic information, organizing geographic information, analyzing geographic information, and answering geographic questions) to analyze a problem or issue of importance to a region of the Western Hemisphere. G1.3 Geographical Understanding
Use geographic themes, knowledge about processes and concepts to study the Earth. 6 – G1.3.1 Use the fundamental themes of geography (location, place, human environment interaction, movement, region) to describe regions or places on earth. 6 – G1.3.3 Explain the different ways in which places are connected and how those connections demonstrate interdependence and accessibility. G2.2 Human Characteristics of Place
Describe the human characteristics of places. 6 – G2.2.2 Explain that communities are affected positively or negatively by changes in technology (e.g., Canada with regard to mining, forestry, hydroelectric power generation, agriculture, snowmobiles, cell phones, air travel). G3.2 Ecosystems
Describe the characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on the Earth’s surface. 6 – G3.2.1 Explain how and why ecosystems differ as a consequence of differences in latitude, elevation, and human activities (e.g., South America’s location relative to the equator, effects of elevations on temperature and growing season, proximity to bodies of water and the effects on temperature and rainfall, effects of annual flooding on vegetation along river flood plains such as the Amazon). G4.4 Forces of Cooperation and Conflict
Explain how forces of conflict and cooperation among people influence the division of the Earth’s surface and its resources. 6 – G4.4.1 Identify factors that contribute to conflict and cooperation between and among cultural groups (control/use of natural resources, power, wealth, and cultural diversity). G5 Environment and Society
Explain that the physical environment is modified by human activities, which are influenced by the ways in which human societies value and use Earth’s natural resources, and by Earth’s physical features and processes. Explain how human action modifies the physical environment and how physical systems affect human systems.
G5.1 Humans and the Environment
Describe how human actions modify the environment. 6 – G5.1.1 Describe the environmental effects of human action on the atmosphere (air), biosphere (people, animals, and plants), lithosphere (soil), and hydrosphere (water) (e.g., changes in the tropical forest environments in Brazil, Peru, and Costa Rica). 6 – G5.1.2 Describe how variations in technology affect human modifications of the landscape (e.g., clearing forests for agricultural land in South America, fishing in the Grand Banks of the Atlantic, expansion of cities in South America, hydroelectric developments in Canada, Brazil and Chile, and mining the Kentucky and West Virginia). 6 – G5.1.3 Identify the ways in which human-induced changes in the physical environment in one place can cause changes in other places (e.g., cutting forests in one region may result in river basin flooding elsewhere; building a dam floods land upstream and may permit irrigation in another region). G5.2 Physical and Human Systems
Describe how physical and human systems shape patterns on the Earth’s surface. 6– G5.2.1 Describe the effects that a change in the physical environment could have on human activities and the choices people would have to make in adjusting to the change (e.g., drought in northern Mexico, disappearance of forest vegetation in the Amazon, natural hazards and disasters from volcanic eruptions in Central America and the Caribbean and earthquakes in Mexico City and Colombia). G6 Global Issues Past and Present (H1.4.3, G1.2.6)
Throughout the school year the students are introduced to topics that address global issues that integrate time and place. Included are capstone projects that entail the investigation of historical and contemporary global issues that have significance for the student and are clearly linked to the world outside the classroom. The topics and issues are developed as capstone projects within units and at the end of the course. Regular experiences with those topics and issues are necessary during each grade in order to build the background students will require to complete in-depth capstone projects.
G6.1 Global Topic Investigation and Issue Analysis (P2) 6 – G6.1.1 Contemporary Investigations – Conduct research on contemporary global topics and issues, compose persuasive essays, and develop a plan for action. (H1.4.3, G1.2.6, See P3 and P4) C4 Relationship of United States to Other Nations And World Affairs
Explain that nations interact with one another through trade, diplomacy, treaties and agreements, humanitarian aid, economic sanctions and incentives, and military force, and threat of force.
C4.3 Conflict and Cooperation Between and Among Nations Explain the various ways that nations interact both positively and negatively. 6 – C4.3.1 Explain the geopolitical relationships between countries (e.g., petroleum and arms purchases in Venezuela and Ecuador; foreign aid for health care in Nicaragua). 6 – C4.3.2 Explain the challenges to governments and the cooperation needed to address international issues in the Western Hemisphere (e.g., migration and human rights). 6 – C4.3.3 Give examples of how countries work together for mutual benefits through international organizations (e.g. North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Organization of American States (OAS), United Nations (UN)). E3 International Economy
Analyze reasons for individuals and businesses to specialize and trade, why individuals and businesses trade across international borders, and the comparisons of the benefits and costs of specialization and the resulting trade for consumers, producers, and governments.
E3.1 Economic Interdependence
Describe patterns and networks of economic interdependence, including trade. 6 – E3.1.2 Diagram or map the movement of a consumer product from where it is manufactured to where it is sold to demonstrate the flow of materials, labor, and capital (e.g., global supply chain for computers, athletic shoes, and clothing). © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. |
