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Social Studies Curriculum Social Studies - World Geography
Lesson Plans

WG Strand 1: HUMANS AND THEIR PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

The earth's physical environment varies greatly from place to place. The interactions between physical systems and human systems create opportunities and challenges for people and places. The implications of these interactions affect both physical systems and human systems.

Possible Guiding Questions to Consider:

  • How does the physical geography of a place influence the lives of the people in that place?
  • What are the most significant consequences of human interactions with their environment?
  • How do physical and human characteristics help geographers define a region?
  • How are places and regions connected? How are they similar? How are they different?
  • How does the environment influence which agricultural methods are used in various places?
  • What are the intended and unintended effects of altering our physical landscape?
  • How do geographers use geospatial data to help make informed decisions?

WG Standard 1.4:

Students will use geographic reasoning to propose actions that mitigate or solve issues, such as natural disasters, pollution, climate change, and habitat loss.
  • Creating DOK Pamphlets Using iPad
    This lesson plan aims at incorporating technology, in this case the Pages app on iPad, to create pamphlets that demonstrate depth of knowledge of social studies content. 
  • Global Issues
    This inquiry leads students through an investigation of global citizenship, global cooperation, as well as how local solutions have been used to solve shared global issues. The inquiry is designed to open students? eyes to their role as global citizens. It is also designed for students to uncover the similarities in issues faced by rural American citizens and citizens of developing countries. Students investigate glocal problems, issues demonstrating global interconnectedness. They examine local solutions that have been applied globally and consider the role of global cooperation in bringing solutions to those problems. Finally, students assess the effectiveness of global cooperation in solving shared issues. These tasks prepare students to write an evidence-based argument that addresses the compelling question: How do local communities solve global problems?
  • Students learn about how food security affects the US and the world.
    Students learn about how food security affects the US and the world.
    Being food secure means having enough nutritious food for a healthy and active life. Across the world, nearly a billion people face food security challenges. This can be because nutritious food isn?t always available in communities, people can?t always afford it, or people do not consume an adequate variety of foods to stay healthy. In the U.S. and in the world, food security advocates?including many Peace Corps Volunteers?are working with government programs, nonprofit organizations, and local communities to improve food security.


UEN logo http://www.uen.org - in partnership with Utah State Board of Education (USBE) and Utah System of Higher Education (USHE).  Send questions or comments to USBE Specialist - Robert  Austin and see the Social Studies website. For general questions about Utah's Core Standards contact the Director - Jennifer  Throndsen.

These materials have been produced by and for the teachers of the State of Utah. Copies of these materials may be freely reproduced for teacher and classroom use. When distributing these materials, credit should be given to Utah State Board of Education. These materials may not be published, in whole or part, or in any other format, without the written permission of the Utah State Board of Education, 250 East 500 South, PO Box 144200, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-4200.