THE
NGS GEOGRAPHY STANDARDS: A SUMMARY
In October 1994, the US national geography standards were published as a
NGS book called Geography for Life. They
address how physical and human phenomena are spatially distributed over Earth's surface. They are designed to
help you prepare students to be geographically informed-to see meaning in the arrangement of things in space; to
see relations between people, places, and environments; to use geographic skills; and to apply spatial and
ecological perspectives to life situations. The six essential elements and the 18 standards contained within them
follow.
In late 2000, The CCGE released the Canadian equivalent
to the NGS document which can be found on the CCGE
website.
Geography studies the relationships between people, places, and
environments by mapping information about them into a spatial context. The geographically informed person
knows and understands: 1.How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to
acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective. 2. How to use mental maps to organize
information about people, places, and environments in a spatial context. 3. How to analyze the spatial organization
of people, places, and environments on Earth's surface.
The identities and lives of individuals and peoples are rooted in particular places
and in those human constructs called regions. The geographically informed person knows and understands: 4. The
physical and human characteristics of places. 5. That people create regions to interpret Earth's complexity. 6 How
culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions.
Physical processes shape Earth's surface and interact with plant and animal life to
create, sustain, and modify the ecosystems. The geographically informed person knows and understands: 7. The
physical processes that shape the patterns of Earth's surface. 8. The characteristics and spatial distribution of
ecosystems.
People are central to geography in that human activities help shape Earth's surface,
human settlements and structures are part of Earth's surface, and humans compete for control of Earth's surface.
The geographically informed person knows and understands: 9. The characteristics, distribution, and migration of
human populations. 10. The characteristics, distribution, and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics. 11. The
patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earth's surface. 12. The processes, patterns, and functions
of human settlement. 13. How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and
control of Earth's surface
The physical environment is modified by human activities, largely as a
consequence of the ways in which human societies value and use Earth's natural resources, and human activities
are also influenced by Earth's physical features and processes The geographically informed person knows and
understands: 14. How human actions modify the physical environment. 15. How physical systems affect human
systems. 16. The changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources.
Knowledge of geography enables people to develop an understanding of the
relationships between people, places. and environments over rime-that is, of Earth as it was, is, and might be. The
geographically informed person knows and understands: 17. How to apply geography to interpret the past, 18. How
to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future.
