Geography Curriculum and Strands
"On a fundamental level, geography is about the fusion of the natural world and the social world. It's about understanding the physical processes - how the climate works, how volcanoes work, how glaciers work, etc. - but also recognizing how society imposes itself on those forces and changes them...It is that fusion of the natural and the social that is true geography"
- Iain Stewart, "What Geography Means to Me" (2015)
Geography answers the phrase, "What is where, why there, and why care?" (C.F. Gritzner, 2002). The Grades 7 and 8 geography program provides students with the opportunity to investigate the patterns, processes, and relationships withing and between Earth's physical environments and human communities.
The Ontario Grades 7-8 Geography Curriculum consists of two thematic strands on the following topics: Grade 7 A. Physical Patterns in a Changing World - understanding significant patterns in Earth’s physical features and some natural processes and human activities that create and change those features B. Natural Resources Around the World: Use and Sustainability - investigating issues related to the impact of the extraction/harvesting and/or use of natural resources around the world from a geographic perspective Grade 8 A. Global Settlement: Pattern and Sustainability - analyzing the interrelationship between Earth's physical features and processes and human settlement B. Global Inequalities: Economic Development and Quality of Life - understanding patterns and factors affecting economic development and quality of life in different regions of the world |
How Earth Made Us (2010) - BBC Documentary Series
Professor Iain Stewart presents the incredible story of the natural forces that have shaped our history. This series tells the story of how the Earth has influenced human history, from the dawn of civilization to the modern industrial age. It reveals how geology, geography and climate have been a far more powerful influence on the human story than has previously been acknowledged.
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Geography Games
- World Geography Games - Test your knowledge of countries, capitals, continents, flags, and much more!
- Sheppard Software Geography Games - By playing Sheppard Software's geography games, you will gain a mental map of the world's continents, countries, capitals, & landscapes!
General Resources
- Statistics Canada - the Canadian federal government agency produces data on Canada's population, resources, economy, society, and culture
- Worldometers - real time statistics
- World Atlas - educational resource for world maps, atlases, and in-depth geography
- World Data Atlas - world and regional statistics, national data, maps, rankings