Teaching Geography in VA versus MD public schools

[Anonymous]

I've been wondering why my MD public school student doesn't seem to be learning much in social studies, particularly not a lot of geography compared to what I remember being required when I was teaching in VA. For my own understanding of how the geography standards compare between the two states, I made this list of what VA public school students are supposed to learn in gepgraphy, versus what is considered appropriate for MD public school students. I looked at the geography standards on teh state curriculum, loking specifically for objectives where students were required to "locate" or "identify" or "label" -- not ones where they were supposed to "compare" or "consider". THose objectives do not require a student to learn the geography, just have the locations pointed out to them so they can do the camparing.

Here are the results -- I don't know if this interestes anyone but myself. I do feel that students in VA public schools have a lot more expected of them, and are being better prepared for future history classes, by being required to have a solid background in geography.



Geography standards in VA that specifically ask a student to locate or identify

Grade 1:
identify the physical shape of the United States and Virginia on maps and globes;
locate Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and Richmond, the capital of Virginia, on a United States map.

Grade 2:
Locate China and Egypt on world maps;
locate the regions of the Powhatan, Sioux, and Pueblo Indians on United States maps;
locate the equator, the seven continents, and the four oceans on maps and globes;
locate selected rivers (James River, Mississippi River, Rio Grande), mountain ranges (Appalachian Mountains and Rocky Mountains), and lakes (Great Lakes) in the United States.

Grade 3:
locate Greece, Rome, and West Africa;
position and label the seven continents and four oceans to create a world map;
use the equator and prime meridian to identify the four hemispheres;
locate the countries of Spain, England, and France;
locate the regions in the Americas explored by Christopher Columbus (San Salvador in the Bahamas), Juan Ponce de Léon (near St. Augustine, Florida), Jacques Cartier (near Quebec, Canada), and Christopher Newport (Jamestown, Virginia);
locate specific places on a simple letter-number grid system.

Grade 4 (VA history)
locate Virginia and its bordering states on maps of the United States;
locate and describe Virginia’s Coastal Plain (Tidewater), Piedmont, Blue Ridge Mountains, Valley and Ridge, and Appalachian Plateau;
locate and identify water features important to the early history of Virginia (Atlantic Ocean, Chesapeake Bay, James River, York River, Potomac River, and Rappahannock River);
locate three American Indian (First American) language groups (the Algonquian, the Siouan, and the Iroquoian) on a map of Virginia;

Grade 5 (US History)
locate the seven continents;
locate and describe the location of the geographic regions of North America: Coastal Plain, Appalachian Mountains, Canadian Shield, Interior Lowlands, Great Plains, Rocky Mountains, Basin and Range, and Coastal Range;
locate and identify the water features important to the early history of the United States:
Great Lakes, Mississippi River, Missouri River, Ohio River, Columbia River, Colorado River, Rio Grande, Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Gulf of Mexico.

Grade 6 (US History Part 2)
locate the 50 states and the cities most significant to the historical development of the United States.

Source: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/history_socialscience/index.shtml


Geography Standards in MD that require a student to locate or identify

Grade 1:
Locate the continents and oceans using maps and a globe

Grade 2
Identify the equator, poles, seven continents, four oceans, and countries on a map or globe.

Grade 3
Identify the location of communities, major cities in MD, US and the world using a globe, maps and atlases.


Grade 4:
Identify and locate natural/physical features and human-made features of Maryland such as Appalachian Mountains, Piedmont Plateau, and Atlantic Coastal Plain
Identify and locate natural/physical features and human-made features of the United States (none listed)

Grade 5: nothing

Grade 6: nothing

source: http://mdk12.org/instruction/curriculum/social_studies/index.html

[Anonymous]

GeoBowl - Learn more about how some parents in Silver Spring, frustrated by the social studies curriculum, started an innovative activity that brings geography into schools.

http://sites.google.com/a/gtamc.org/www/resources/extracurricular/geobowl

[Anonymous]

OP, thank you for posting your comparison!

[Anonymous]

I used to teach Civics in FCPS and we had to really fight to keep the Geography component in the 8th grade curriculum. I hope it's still there!

Geography determines everything about a country's success or failure and how their people adapt (landlocked, access to natural resources, climate, proximity to religious cultural clashes, famine, disease, defense)

There's no way for students to understand the situation in Afghanistan, Haiti or China without understanding why the country is forced to make the choices it has to make based on its geography.

Sorry for the soapbox

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to teach Civics in FCPS and we had to really fight to keep the Geography component in the 8th grade curriculum. I hope it's still there!

Geography determines everything about a country's success or failure and how their people adapt (landlocked, access to natural resources, climate, proximity to religious cultural clashes, famine, disease, defense)

There's no way for students to understand the situation in Afghanistan, Haiti or China without understanding why the country is forced to make the choices it has to make based on its geography.

Sorry for the soapbox

Don't be sorry about the soapbox. I wonder about this often. Like when the local news identified a missing Sri Lankan woman as middle eastern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to teach Civics in FCPS and we had to really fight to keep the Geography component in the 8th grade curriculum. I hope it's still there!

Geography determines everything about a country's success or failure and how their people adapt (landlocked, access to natural resources, climate, proximity to religious cultural clashes, famine, disease, defense)

There's no way for students to understand the situation in Afghanistan, Haiti or China without understanding why the country is forced to make the choices it has to make based on its geography.

Sorry for the soapbox

I'm the OP -- I totally agree!

I had NO geography instruction, ever. I barely learned history for that matter. I'm attempting to teach myself now (at age 40+) just because I feel there is a big gap in my education and knowledge.

For kids in school -- especially middle and high school -- I can know totally see the benefit of having a solid grasp of basic geography, to help them understand history.

Excellent article on that topic, here: You Can't Argue With Geography

http://www.fpri.org/footnotes/065.200009.mcdougall.cantarguegeography.html