World Geography TEKS

(1)  History. The student understands how geography and processes of spatial exchange (diffusion) influenced events in the past and helped to shape the present. The student is expected to:

(A)  analyze the effects of physical and human geographic patterns and processes on the past and describe their impact on the present, including significant physical features and environmental conditions that influenced migration patterns and shaped the distribution of culture groups today; and

(B)  trace the spatial diffusion of phenomena such as the Columbian Exchange or the diffusion of American popular culture and describe the effects on regions of contact.

(2)  History. The student understands how people, places, and environments have changed over time and the effects of these changes. The student is expected to:

(A)  describe the human and physical characteristics of the same regions at different periods of time to evaluate relationships between past events and current conditions; and

(B)  explain how changes in societies have led to diverse uses of physical features.

(3)  Geography. The student understands how physical processes shape patterns in the physical environment. The student is expected to:

(A)  explain weather conditions and climate in relation to annual changes in Earth-Sun relationships;

(B)  describe the physical processes that affect the environments of regions, including weather, tectonic forces, erosion, and soil-building processes; and

(C)  examine the physical processes that affect the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.

(4)  Geography. The student understands the patterns and characteristics of major landforms, climates, and ecosystems of Earth and the interrelated processes that produce them. The student is expected to:

(A)  explain how elevation, latitude, wind systems, ocean currents, position on a continent, and mountain barriers influence temperature, precipitation, and distribution of climate regions;

(B)  describe different landforms and the physical processes that cause their development; and

(C)  explain the influence of climate on the distribution of biomes in different regions.

(5)  Geography. The student understands how political, economic, and social processes shape cultural patterns and characteristics in various places and regions. The student is expected to:

(A)  analyze how the character of a place is related to its political, economic, social, and cultural elements; and

(B)  interpret political, economic, social, and demographic indicators (gross domestic product per capita, life expectancy, literacy, and infant mortality) to determine the level of development and standard of living in nations using the terms Human Development Index, less developed, newly industrialized, and more developed.

(6)  Geography. The student understands the types, patterns, and processes of settlement. The student is expected to:

(A)  locate and describe human and physical features that influence the size and distribution of settlements; and

(B)  explain the processes that have caused changes in settlement patterns, including urbanization, transportation, access to and availability of resources, and economic activities.

(7)  Geography. The student understands the growth, distribution, movement, and characteristics of world population. The student is expected to:

(A)  construct and analyze population pyramids and use other data, graphics, and maps to describe the population characteristics of different societies and to predict future population trends;

(B)  explain how political, economic, social, and environmental push and pull factors and physical geography affect the routes and flows of human migration;

(C)  describe trends in world population growth and distribution; and

(D)  examine benefits and challenges of globalization, including connectivity, standard of living, pandemics, and loss of local culture.

(8)  Geography. The student understands how people, places, and environments are connected and interdependent. The student is expected to:

(A)  compare ways that humans depend on, adapt to, and modify the physical environment, including the influences of culture and technology;

(B)  describe the interaction between humans and the physical environment and analyze the consequences of extreme weather and other natural disasters such as El Niño, floods, tsunamis, and volcanoes; and

(C)  evaluate the economic and political relationships between settlements and the environment, including sustainable development and renewable/non-renewable resources.

(9)  Geography. The student understands the concept of region as an area of Earth’s surface with related geographic characteristics. The student is expected to:

(A)  identify physical and/or human factors such as climate, vegetation, language, trade networks, political units, river systems, and religion that constitute a region; and

(B)  describe different types of regions, including formal, functional, and perceptual regions.

(10)  Economics. The student understands the distribution, characteristics, and interactions of the economic systems in the world. The student is expected to:

(A)  describe the forces that determine the distribution of goods and services in free enterprise, socialist, and communist economic systems;

(B)  classify where specific countries fall along the economic spectrum between free enterprise and communism;

(C)  compare the ways people satisfy their basic needs through the production of goods and services such as subsistence agriculture versus commercial agriculture or cottage industries versus commercial industries; and

(D)  compare global trade patterns over time and examine the implications of globalization, including outsourcing and free trade zones.

(11)  Economics. The student understands how geography influences economic activities. The student is expected to:

(A)  understand the connections between levels of development and economic activities (primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary);

(B)  identify the factors affecting the location of different types of economic activities, including subsistence and commercial agriculture, manufacturing, and service industries; and

(C)  assess how changes in climate, resources, and infrastructure (technology, transportation, and communication) affect the location and patterns of economic activities.

(12)  Economics. The student understands the economic importance of, and issues related to, the location and management of resources. The student is expected to:

(A)  analyze how the creation, distribution, and management of key natural resources affects the location and patterns of movement of products, money, and people; and

(B)  evaluate the geographic and economic impact of policies related to the development, use, and scarcity of natural resources such as regulations of water.

(13)  Government. The student understands the spatial characteristics of a variety of global political units. The student is expected to:

(A)  interpret maps to explain the division of land, including man-made and natural borders, into separate political units such as cities, states, or countries; and

(B)  compare maps of voting patterns or political boundaries to make inferences about the distribution of political power.

(14)  Government. The student understands the processes that influence political divisions, relationships, and policies. The student is expected to:

(A)  analyze current events to infer the physical and human processes that lead to the formation of boundaries and other political divisions;

(B)  compare how democracy, dictatorship, monarchy, republic, theocracy, and totalitarian systems operate in specific countries; and

(C)  analyze the human and physical factors that influence the power to control territory and resources, create conflict/war, and impact international political relations of sovereign nations such as China, the United States, Japan, and Russia and organized nation groups such as the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU).

(15)  Citizenship. The student understands how different points of view influence the development of public policies and decision-making processes on local, state, national, and international levels. The student is expected to:

(A)  identify and give examples of different points of view that influence the development of public policies and decision-making processes on local, state, national, and international levels; and

(B)  explain how citizenship practices, public policies, and decision making may be influenced by cultural beliefs, including nationalism and patriotism.

(16)  Culture. The student understands how the components of culture affect the way people live and shape the characteristics of regions. The student is expected to:

(A)  describe distinctive cultural patterns and landscapes associated with different places in Texas, the United States, and other regions of the world and how these patterns influenced the processes of innovation and diffusion;

(B)  describe elements of culture, including language, religion, beliefs and customs, institutions, and technologies;

(C)  explain ways various groups of people perceive the characteristics of their own and other cultures, places, and regions differently; and

(D)  compare life in a variety of urban and rural areas in the world to evaluate political, economic, social, and environmental changes.

(17)  Culture. The student understands the distribution, patterns, and characteristics of different cultures. The student is expected to:

(A)  describe and compare patterns of culture such as language, religion, land use, education, and customs that make specific regions of the world distinctive;

(B)  describe major world religions, including animism, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism, and their spatial distribution;

(C)  compare economic, political, or social opportunities in different cultures for women, ethnic and religious minorities, and other underrepresented populations; and

(D)  evaluate the experiences and contributions of diverse groups to multicultural societies.

(18)  Culture. The student understands the ways in which cultures change and maintain continuity. The student is expected to:

(A)  analyze cultural changes in specific regions caused by migration, war, trade, innovations, and diffusion;

(B)  assess causes, effects, and perceptions of conflicts between groups of people, including modern genocides and terrorism;

(C)  identify examples of cultures that maintain traditional ways, including traditional economies; and

(D)  evaluate the spread of cultural traits to find examples of cultural convergence and divergence such as the spread of democratic ideas, U.S.-based fast-food franchises, the English language, technology, or global sports.

(19)  Science, technology, and society. The student understands the impact of technology and human modifications on the physical environment. The student is expected to:

(A)  evaluate the significance of major technological innovations in the areas of transportation and energy that have been used to modify the physical environment;

(B)  analyze ways technological innovations such as air conditioning and desalinization have allowed humans to adapt to places; and

(C)  examine the environmental, economic, and social impacts of advances in technology on agriculture and natural resources.

(20)  Science, technology, and society. The student understands how current technology affects human interaction. The student is expected to:

(A)  describe the impact of new information technologies such as the Internet, Global Positioning System (GPS), or Geographic Information Systems (GIS); and

(B)  examine the economic, environmental, and social effects of technology such as medical advancements or changing trade patterns on societies at different levels of development.

(21)  Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired from a variety of valid sources, including electronic technology. The student is expected to:

(A)  analyze and evaluate the validity and utility of multiple sources of geographic information such as primary and secondary sources, aerial photographs, and maps;

(B)  locate places of contemporary geopolitical significance on a map; and

(C)  create and interpret different types of maps to answer geographic questions, infer relationships, and analyze change.

(22)  Social studies skills. The student communicates in written, oral, and visual forms. The student is expected to:

(A)  design and draw appropriate graphics such as maps, diagrams, tables, and graphs to communicate geographic features, distributions, and relationships;

(B)  generate summaries, generalizations, and thesis statements supported by evidence;

(C)  use geographic terminology correctly;

(D)  use standard grammar, spelling, sentence structure, and punctuation; and

(E)  create original work using proper citations and understanding and avoiding plagiarism.

(23)  Social studies skills. The student uses problem-solving and decision-making skills, working independently and with others, in a variety of settings. The student is expected to:

(A)  plan, organize, and complete a research project that involves asking geographic questions; acquiring, organizing, and analyzing information; answering questions; and communicating results;

(B)  use case studies and GIS to identify contemporary challenges and to answer real-world questions; and

(C)  use problem-solving and decision-making processes to identify a problem, gather information, list and consider options, consider advantages and disadvantages, choose and implement a solution, and evaluate the effectiveness of the solution.