By Summer of 2010, my plan is to implement a course structure for all Summer School Social Studies courses in which students take a pre-test based on the State Core Standards. Since the Summer School courses are remediation courses, it will be assumed that any student who demonstrates proficiency on certain parts of the core does not need remediation in those areas. Students will then complete assignments in the other areas of the core to demonstrate proficiency.
For this course, the state core standards as identified by a team of BESD teachers are as follows:
- Understand the world in spatial perspective.
- Use maps and other geographic tools to acquire information from a spatial perspective
- Explore the concept of mental maps to organize information about people, places, and environments
- Analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on the earth's surface.
- Understand the human and physical characteristics of places and regions
- Interpret place by its human and physical characteristics.
- Assess how people create regions to interpret the earth's surface
- Evaluate how culture and experiences influence the way people live in places and regions.
- Understand how physical processes shape the earth's surface.
- Examine the physical processes that shape the earth's surface.
- Assess the characteristics and location of ecosystems.
- Understand how human activities shape the earth's surface.
- Analyze the characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on the earth's surface
- Analyze economic interdependence among regions and countries.
- Investigate various forms of governance and who they affect peoples and landscapes.
- Understand the interaction of physical and human systems.
- Explore how humans change the environment and how the environment changes humans.
- Assess the importance of natural and human resources.
- Use geographic knowledge to connect to today's world.
- Apply geographic concepts to interpret the past.
- Apply geographic concepts to interpret the present and plan for the future.
