How to use maps and other geographic representations, geospatial technologies, and spatial thinking to understand and communicate information.

The geographically informed person must use maps and other geograph­ic representations, geospatial technologies, and spatial thinking to acquire, understand, and communicate information. Knowing how to identify, access, evaluate, and use appropriate geographic representations will ensure college and career readiness for students. Students will have an array of powerful problem-solving and decision-making skills for use in both their educational pursuits and their adult years.

Therefore, Standard 1 contains these themes: Properties and Functions of Geographic Representations, Using Geospatial Data to Construct Geographic Representations, and Using Geographic Representations.

Thinking about the world in spatial terms (spatial thinking) allows students to describe and analyze the spatial patterns and organization of people, places, and environments on Earth. Spatial thinking skills are essential in processing geospatial data. Geospatial data link physical and human attributes of points or places on Earth’s surface (such as roads, other built features, and rivers) and can be compiled, organized, stored, manipulated, and represented in many ways. Maps are graphic representations of selected aspects of Earth’s surface and are still a key geographic mode of representation. Globes, graphs, diagrams, and aerial and satellite images (remote sensing) also allow us to visualize spatial patterns on Earth. No single representation, however, can show everything, and the features depicted on each representation are selected to fit a particular purpose.

Geospatial technologies such as geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing (RS), and global positioning systems (GPS), as well as Internet-based mapping sites such as digital globes and geospatial visualizations, allow us to analyze and represent geospatial data in powerful ways.

At all grade levels, students need practice and experiences in how to collect and display information (data) on maps, graphs, and diagrams. They must understand what a map is and what it can—and cannot—do. They need to be able to read and interpret maps and other geographic representations. And finally, students must know how to make maps, from hand-drawn sketch maps to more complex representations using a range of appropriate technologies.

By learning to think spatially, students can understand such basic concepts as scale, alternative map projections that show Earth from different perspectives, and the relationships between spatial processes and spatial patterns. By understanding these themes, students will be equipped with tools that provide important problem-solving and decision-making skills in geography and across the entire K-12 curricu­lum.

Student Knowledge and Comprehension at Each Grade Level

4th Grade

Properties and Functions of Geographic Representations

1. Properties and functions of geographic representations—such as maps, globes, graphs, diagrams, aerial and other photographs, remotely sensed images, and geographic visualization

Therefore, the student is able to:

A. Identify and describe the properties (position and orientation, symbols, scale, perspective, coordinate systems) and functions of geographic representations, as exemplified by being able to

• Identify and describe the properties of a variety of maps and globes (e.g., title, legend, cardinal and intermediate directions, scale, sym­bols, grid, principal parallels, meridians) and purposes (wayfinding, reference, thematic).
• Identify and describe the functions of a variety of geographic rep­resentations.
• Identify and describe the properties and functions of maps students collect from magazines, news articles, and tourist brochures.

B. Describe how properties of geographic representations determine the purposes they can be used for, as exemplified by being able to

• Identify the maps or types of maps most appropriate for specific purposes, (e.g., to locate physical and/or human features, to deter­mine the shortest route from one town to another town, to compare the number of people living at two or more locations).
• Describe how a variety of geographic representations (maps, globes, graphs, diagrams, aerial and other photographs, GPS) are used to communicate different types of information.
• Describe how maps are created for a specific purpose (e.g., school fire-drill map, the route from home to school, classroom map of learning center materials).

Using Geospatial Data to Construct Geographic Representations

2. Geospatial data are connected to locations on Earth’s surface

Therefore, the student is able to:

A. Identify examples of geospatial data, as exemplified by being able to

• Identify landmarks on the school grounds and describe their size, shape, and location.
• Identify the spatial location of each student’s assigned seat in the classroom.
• Identify the locations and types of trees in the neighborhood of the school.

B. Construct maps and graphs to display geospatial data, as exemplified by being able to

• Construct a map that displays geospatial data using symbols ex­plained in a key (e.g., a sketch map to illustrate a narrative story, a map of cars in the school parking lot showing type and color, a class­room map showing different types of tables, desks, and chairs).
• Describe the results of a survey of classmates about a geographic question concerning their school (e.g., where to add another swing set, where to add a cover over existing playground equipment, where to place more drinking fountains) using graphs and maps.
• Construct a map of the United States using symbols to show quan­tities by state (e.g., population, professional sports teams, mountain peaks over a certain elevation).

3. Geospatial technologies—Internet-­based mapping applications, GIS, GPS, geovisualization, and remote sensing—display geospatial data

Therefore, the student is able to:

A. Compare how different geospatial technologies are used to display geospatial data, as exemplified by being able to

• Identify and describe the types of information communicated by different Internet-based mapping technologies.
• Describe and analyze the similarities and differences among the results from different online navigation systems.
• Compare the similarities and differences of information presented in online road maps, satellite images, or street-view data.

Using Geographic Representations

4. The interpretation of geographic representations

Therefore, the student is able to:

A. Describe and analyze the ways in which geographic representations communicate geospatial information, as exemplified by being able to

• Describe the purpose and components of a typical map key or leg­end.
• Describe and analyze the similarities and differences in information displayed at different scales.
• Analyze the different ways of symbolizing geospatial data (e.g., graduated circles, cartograms, choropleth versus isopleth maps).

8th Grade

Properties and Functions of Geographic Representations

1. Properties and functions of geographic representations—such as maps, globes, graphs, diagrams, aerial and other photographs, remotely sensed images, and geographic visualization

Therefore, the student is able to:

A. Identify and describe the properties (position and orientation, symbols, scale, perspective, coordinate systems) and functions of geographic representations, as exemplified by being able to

• Identify and describe the properties of a variety of maps and globes (e.g., title, legend, cardinal and intermediate directions, scale, sym­bols, grid, principal parallels, meridians) and purposes (wayfinding, reference, thematic).
• Identify and describe the functions of a variety of geographic rep­resentations.
• Identify and describe the properties and functions of maps students collect from magazines, news articles, and tourist brochures.

B. Describe how properties of geographic representations determine the purposes they can be used for, as exemplified by being able to

• Identify the maps or types of maps most appropriate for specific purposes, (e.g., to locate physical and/or human features, to deter­mine the shortest route from one town to another town, to compare the number of people living at two or more locations).
• Describe how a variety of geographic representations (maps, globes, graphs, diagrams, aerial and other photographs, GPS) are used to communicate different types of information.
• Describe how maps are created for a specific purpose (e.g., school fire-drill map, the route from home to school, classroom map of learning center materials).

Using Geospatial Data to Construct Geographic Representations

2. Geospatial data are connected to locations on Earth’s surface

Therefore, the student is able to:

A. Identify examples of geospatial data, as exemplified by being able to

• Identify landmarks on the school grounds and describe their size, shape, and location.
• Identify the spatial location of each student’s assigned seat in the classroom.
• Identify the locations and types of trees in the neighborhood of the school.

B. Construct maps and graphs to display geospatial data, as exemplified by being able to

• Construct a map that displays geospatial data using symbols ex­plained in a key (e.g., a sketch map to illustrate a narrative story, a map of cars in the school parking lot showing type and color, a class­room map showing different types of tables, desks, and chairs).
• Describe the results of a survey of classmates about a geographic question concerning their school (e.g., where to add another swing set, where to add a cover over existing playground equipment, where to place more drinking fountains) using graphs and maps.
• Construct a map of the United States using symbols to show quan­tities by state (e.g., population, professional sports teams, mountain peaks over a certain elevation).

3. Geospatial technologies—Internet-­based mapping applications, GIS, GPS, geovisualization, and remote sensing—display geospatial data

Therefore, the student is able to:

A. Compare how different geospatial technologies are used to display geospatial data, as exemplified by being able to

• Identify and describe the types of information communicated by different Internet-based mapping technologies.
• Describe and analyze the similarities and differences among the results from different online navigation systems.
• Compare the similarities and differences of information presented in online road maps, satellite images, or street-view data.

Using Geographic Representations

4. The interpretation of geographic representations

Therefore, the student is able to:

A. Describe and analyze the ways in which geographic representations communicate geospatial information, as exemplified by being able to

• Describe the purpose and components of a typical map key or leg­end.
• Describe and analyze the similarities and differences in information displayed at different scales.
• Analyze the different ways of symbolizing geospatial data (e.g., graduated circles, cartograms, choropleth versus isopleth maps).

12th Grade

Properties and Functions of Geographic Representations

1. Geographic contexts (the human and physical characteristics of places and environments) provide the basis for analyzing current events and making predictions about future issues

Therefore, the student is able to:

A. Explain and evaluate the influences of the geographic context on current events and issues to make informed decisions and predictions about the future, as exemplified by being able to

• Identify different views regarding contemporary social and environmental challenges and analyze the geographic factors influencing the stakeholders and their preferred policies (e.g., visions from local citizens about the relative importance of privacy versus security, opinions from residents of multiple states about a shared resource and about mechanisms for seeking resolution, viewpoints from around the world about relationships between economic development, resource consumption, population, and environmental alteration).
• Evaluate the current zoning policies for high-crime areas in a metropolitan area and predict changes in zoning and land use that may positively affect the community.
• Analyze the geographic consequences on different continents of strategies for responding to a global health pandemic (e.g., effects of closing international airports, quarantine of ships or cargoes, implementation of immunization plans for susceptible populations).

B. Analyze and evaluate the connections between the geographic contexts of current events and possible future issues, as exemplified by being able to

• Evaluate the feasibility and long-range impacts in a series of scenarios for dealing with social and environmental issues (e.g., absorbing and dispersing refugees, responding to threats from global warming, managing the future of Antarctica).
• Analyze the geographic implications of storing low-level nuclear material in a given state or region (e.g., suitability of sites, distribution of population, transportation network and routes).
• Analyze the effects of current rates of population growth on long-term sustainability in different regions of the world.

Changes in Geographic Contexts

2. The current and possible future causes and processes of change in the geographic characteristics and spatial organization of places, regions, and environments

Therefore, the student is able to:

A. Identify and explain the causes and processes of current and possible future changes in the geographic characteristics and spatial organization of places, regions, and environments, as exemplified by being able to

• Identify areas where people are engaged in nationalistic movements and analyze the potential of these groups to change the current political geographies of their nation states.
• Describe and explain the possible effects of new electronic communication technologies on everyday life (e.g., location-based services on purchasing, telecommuting on the demand for commercial real estate and traffic volume and patterns, outsourcing of technological services).
• Describe and explain the possible effects of new routes and technologies on world trade patterns (e.g., the effects of increasing the size of the Panama Canal, opening the route through the Arctic Ocean, the development of increasingly larger supertankers and cargo ships).

Perceptions of Geographic Contexts

3. Multiple and diverse perceptions of the world must be taken into account to understand contemporary and future issues

Therefore, the student is able to:

A. Evaluate how perceptions vary and affect people’s views of contemporary issues and strategies for addressing them, as exemplified by being able to

• Explain how and why residents of different regions of the country might evaluate energy policy proposals differently (e.g., Alaska and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge [ANWR] oil drilling, California and off-shore oil production, mid-Atlantic states and the Marcellus Oil Shale Field).
• Explain how perceptions of immigration differ among people depending on their location, socioeconomic status, or occupation.
• Identify and compare different perspectives about international climate change agreements regarding carbon emissions from the points of view of the developed countries and the less-developed countries.