Voluntary State Curriculum (VSC)

Maryland has developed a Voluntary State Curriculum. that defines what students should know and be able to do at each grade, preK through 8, in four content areas: reading/English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies.  Within social studies, indicators have been developed for geography, economics, history, political science and people of the nation and the world.

Geography VSC

VSC – Kindergarten
A. Using Geographic Tools
1. Identify and describe how a globe and maps can be used to help people locate places

• Describe a globe as a model of Earth showing land and water
• Describe how maps are models showing physical features and/or human features of places
• Identify a location by using terms such as near-far, above-below, and here-there
• Identify pictures and photographs that represent places on a map such as, a  playground  and a fire station

B.  Geographic Characteristics of Places and Regions
1. Describe places in the immediate environment using natural/physical and human-made features

• Recognize physical features as landforms and bodies of water using photographs and pictures
• Identify land forms, such as mountains and hills, and bodies of water, such as oceans, rivers, and streams
• Using photographs and pictures, recognize human-made features as modifications people have made to the land
• Identify human-made features, such as buildings, sidewalks, streets, and bridges

C. Movement of People, Goods and Ideas
1. Describe how transportation and communication link people and places

• Identify ways that people travel on land, water, and air
• Explain how transportation is used to move goods and people from place to place
• Identify ways that people communicate messages

D. Modifying and Adapting to the Environment
1. Describe how people adapt to and modify their immediate environment

a.  Identify ways people adapt to the environment, such as wearing clothing that is appropriate to the weather
b.  Identify ways that people change their environment to meet their needs, such as planting crops or cutting forests

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VSC – Grade 1
A. Using Geographic Tools
1. Use geographic tools to locate and describe places on Earth

• Locate the continents and oceans using maps and a globe
• Use photographs and pictures to describe a place
• Identify a place using bird’s eye view
• Define  map elements as parts of a map that make it easy to use
• Describe where places are located on a map using relative distance and direction, such as near-far, above-below and cardinal directions (north, south, east, and west)

B.  Geographic Characteristics of Places and Regions
1. Describe places in the environment using geographic characteristics 

• Identify and describe physical characteristics of a place (physical features, climate, vegetation and animal life)
• Identify human characteristics of a place (human-made features, language, political system, how people make a living)
• Describe places by how people make a living and where they live

C. Movement of People, Goods and Ideas
1.  Explain how transportation and communication  link people and places by the movement of  goods, messages, and people

• Identify how transportation links people and goods  between places
• Explain how communication links people and messages between places

D. Modifying and Adapting to the Environment
1. Explain how people modify, protect, and adapt to their  environment

• Describe how people in a community modify their environment to meet changing needs for shelter, such as clearing land for a housing community
• Describe why and how people protect the  environment
• Explain how people adapt to changes in the environment, such as using less water in the drought

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VSC – Grade 2
A. Using Geographic Tools
1.  Use geographic tools to locate and describe places on Earth

• Identify the purpose and use of a globe and a variety of maps and atlases, such as school maps, neighborhood maps and simple atlases
• Identify and use map elements, such as title, compass rose, simple grid system, legend/key, date, and author to interpret a map
• Identify the equator, poles, seven continents, four oceans, and countries on a map and globe
• Describe a place using bird’s eye view, and satellite images, photographs, and pictures

B.  Geographic Characteristics of Places and Regions
1. Classify places and regions in an environment using geographic characteristics

a.  Identify natural/physical features and human–made features using maps   
     and photographs  
b.  Describe and classify regions using climate, vegetation, animal life, and natural/physical features
c.   Classify places as  rural and urban

• Describe how geographic characteristics determine choices, such as climate guides decisions about food, clothing, and shelter

C. Movement of People, Goods and Ideas
1. Explain how transportation and communication  link places by the movement of people, goods, and ideas

• Compare types of transportation used to move goods and people today and long ago
• Compare ways people communicate ideas today and long ago

D. Modifying and Adapting to the Environment
1.   Explain how people modify, protect, and adapt to their environment
a.   Describe ways, such as clearing trees and farming land, that people modify their environment and the impact of those  modifications
b.   Describe how and why people protect or fail to protect the environment

• Explain how people adapt to changes in the environment

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VSC – Grade 3
A.  Using Geographic Tools
1. Use geographic tools to locate and construct meaning about places on Earth

• Describe the purposes of a variety of maps and atlases, such as transportation maps, physical maps, and political maps
• Construct and interpret maps by using elements, such as title, compass rose, simple grid system, scale, legend/key, date, and author
• Identify  the location of communities, major cities in Maryland, and United States using a globe, maps, and atlases

B. Geographic Characteristics of Places and Regions
1. Compare places and regions around the world using geographic characteristics

• Compare places and regions using geographic features
• Identify natural/physical and human-made features of places and regions
• Describe population distribution of places and regions such as rural and urban
• Describe how geographic characteristics of places and regions change over time and influence the way people live and work

C. Movement of People, Goods and Ideas
1. Describe how transportation and communication networks link places through the movement of people, goods, and ideas

• Explain how transportation and communication networks connect places, people, and ideas
• Identify reasons for the movement of people from one community or region to another

D. Modifying and Adapting to the Environment
1. Explain how people modify, protect, and adapt to their environment

• Describe how people in a community modify their environment to meet changing needs for  transportation, shelter, and making a living
• Describe why and how people make decisions  about protecting the environment
• Compare ways that people adapt to the environment for food, clothing, and shelter

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VSC – Grade 4
A. Using Geographic Tools
1. Use geographic tools to locate places and describe the human and physical characteristics of those places

a      Construct and interpret a variety of  maps using map elements
b.    Use photographs, maps, charts, graphs, and atlases to describe geographic 
       characteristics of Maryland/United States
c.    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

B. Geographic Characteristics of Places and Regions
1. Describe similarities and differences of regions by using geographic characteristics

• Compare physical characteristics of different places and regions of Maryland and the United States including natural/physical features, weather and climate, soil, vegetation, minerals and animal life
• Compare human characteristics of different places and regions of Maryland the United States, including human-made features, language, religions, political systems, economic activity, and population distribution
• Describe how geographic characteristics of a place or region change over time and affect the way people live and work

C. Movement of People, Goods and Ideas
1. Describe and analyze population growth,  migration, and settlement patterns in Maryland and regions of the United States 

• Explain how geographic characteristics influenced settlement patterns in Maryland and the United States
• Explain how changes in transportation and communication led to the growth and development of towns and cities in Maryland and United States

c.    Describe the transportation and communication networks for the movement of people, goods, and ideas to, from and within Maryland such as Bay Bridge, National Road, B & O Railroad, the Port of Baltimore, and C &  O Canal
d.    Identify the reasons for the movement of  peoples to, from, and within Maryland  and the United States

D. Modifying and Adapting to the Environment
1. Describe how people adapt to, modify and impact the natural environment

• Compare ways Native American societies in Maryland used the natural environment for food, clothing, and shelter
• Describe ways and reasons

people in Maryland and the United States modify the natural environment and  the consequences of modifications

• Explain how the growth of communities and suburbs have had consequences on the environment, loss of farmland, and pollution
• Describe how land use and urban growth are influenced by governmental decisions

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VSC – Grade 5
A.  Using Geographic Tools
1. Use geographic tools to locate places and describe human and physical characteristics in Colonial America

• Use map elements to interpret and construct a variety of maps
• Use a globe and a variety of maps, atlases to identify natural/physical features of colonial settlements
• Use photographs, maps, and drawings to describe geographic characteristics
• Compare geographic locations and geographic characteristics of colonial settlements, such as, Jamestown, Plymouth, Boston, Philadelphia, Charleston, and New York City

B. Geographic Characteristics of Places and Regions
1. Examine the similarities and differences of regions in Colonial America

• Compare the natural/physical and human characteristics of the three colonial regions

• New England
• Middle
• Southern

• Describe how geographic characteristics of a place or region changed from early settlements through the colonial period
• Explain how geographic characteristics affect how people live and work, and the population distribution of a place or region

C. Movement of People, Goods and Ideas
1. Describe and analyze population growth, migration and settlement patterns in Colonial America

• Explain how geographic characteristics influenced settlement patterns in Colonial America
• Analyze the consequences of migration between the colonies and immigration to the colonies, such as Europeans and Africans immigrating to the east coast of the United States
• Explain the importance of shipping and trading to the economic development of the colonies, such as Triangular Trade

D.  Modifying and Adapting to the Environment
1. Explain why and how people adapt to and  modify the natural environment and the impact of those modifications

• Compare ways Native American societies used the natural environment for food, clothing, and shelter
• Describe ways that colonists in the New England, Middle and Southern regions adapted to and modified the environment, such as the uses of the grist mill, water wheels and plantation farming
• Explain how colonists adapted to and modified their environments and how these modifications sometimes created environmental problems

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VSC – Grade 6
A.  Using Geographic Tools
1. Use geographic tools to locate places and describe the human and physical characteristics in early world history

• Use maps to compare geographic locations of civilizations from world history to:

• Mesopotamia
• Africa including Egypt, Nubia/Kush and sub-Saharan Africa
• Indus River Valley
• Northern China
• Greeks and Romans
• Mesoamerican, such as the Incas, Mayans and Aztecs

b.   Use photographs and thematic maps, to identify and describe physical and human characteristics of early civilizations
B. Geographic Characteristics of Places and Regions

1. Examine how physical and human characteristics shape the identity of places and regions and influence the development of civilizations in world history

• Identify and describe physical characteristics that influenced human settlement
• Explain how physical characteristics of a place influenced human activities, such as agriculture, transportation, art and architecture and economic activity in the ancient world
• Explain how human perceptions of and interactions with the environment changed over time in due to technologies, such as road building, dam construction, and agricultural improvements

C. Movement of People, Goods and Ideas
1. Describe and analyze population growth, migration and settlement patterns in early world history

• Identify reasons why people migrate, such as economic opportunity, climate, and political reasons
• Explain how the development of transportation and communication networks influenced the movement of people, goods and ideas from place to place, such as trade routes in Africa, Asia and Europe, and the spread of Islam
• Describe how economic systems and cultural diffusion help to shape patterns of human settlement and interaction

D. Modifying and Adapting to the Environment
1. Analyze why and how people modify their natural environment and the impact of those modifications

a.   Describe ways people modified their environment to meet their needs, such as cultivating lands, building roads, dams, and aqueducts
b.  Analyze how people in early world history perceived and reacted to environmental concerns, such as flooding, drought, and depletion of natural resources and evaluate the consequences of those actions

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VSC – Grade 7

A.  Using Geographic Tools
1. Use geographic tools to locate places and describe the human and physical characteristics in  the contemporary world

• Use maps to compare geographic locations of places and regions
• Use photographs and thematic maps to compare human and physical characteristics of places and regions
• Analyze geographic issues and problems

B. Geographic Characteristics of Places and Regions
1. Analyze interrelationships among physical and human characteristics that shape the identity  of places and regions around the world

• Identify and describe physical characteristics that influenced human settlement

• Explain how physical and human characteristics of a region such as vegetation, climate, minerals, population density and religion, affect its economic growth and the way people make a living
• Analyze how regional characteristics and interests including economic development, climate, and the environmental impact government policies
• Identify geographic factors that have influenced international relations and economic development in world regions, such as trade, infrastructure, and health issues

C. Movement of People, Goods and Ideas
1. Describe and analyze population growth, migration and settlement patterns in contemporary world regions

• Identify reasons why people migrate, such as economic opportunity, climate, political reasons and government policies
• Evaluate the consequences of migration and settlement in various regions of the world, such as employment, changes in population and cultural diversity/conflict
• Explain how regional population patterns, trends, and projections affect the environment and influence government policies

D. Modifying and Adapting to the Environment
1. Analyze why and how people in contemporary world regions modify their natural environment and the impact of those modifications

• Identify trade offs of using resources to pursue economic opportunities v. preserving the environment, such as water use, the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and strip mining
• Evaluate the consequences of modifying the natural environment, such as desertification, air pollution, and climate change
• Identify and explain land use issues that illustrate the conflict between economic growth, deforestation, mining, and burning fossil fuels
• Explain how land use and environmental issues such as burning the rain forest and environmental preservation are addressed by government policy

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VSC – Grade 8

A.  Using Geographic Tools
1. Use geographic tools to analyze geographic issues and problems prior to 1877

• Use thematic maps to locate places and describe the human and physical characteristics, such as settlement patterns, migration, population density, transportation, and communication networks
• Explain interrelationships among physical and human characteristics that shaped the nation
•  Analyze thematic maps to determine demographic and economic information about a region

B. Geographic Characteristics of Places and Regions
1. Analyze how geographic characteristics influenced the location and development of regions in the United States prior to 1877

• Analyze how geographic characteristics influenced the location and development of economic activities, such as farming, lumbering, fur trading, whaling and the rise of the industry in the early national period
• Describe how changes in transportation systems, such as roads, canals and railroads affected the expansion of trade and settlement
• Analyze how geographic characteristics stimulated regional growth, such as the purchase of the Louisiana Territory

C. Movement of People, Goods and Ideas
1. Analyze population growth, migration and settlement patterns in the United States prior to 1877

• Explain why Americans migrated west, such as fertile soil, minerals,  and economic opportunity, and the impact on that region
• Describe the effects of the influx of immigrants on the United States

c.   Explain how the regional demographic factors of constituents, such as race, ethnicity, education, occupation, and wealth affect public policy and voting issues

D. Modifying and Adapting to the Environment
1. Analyze why and how people in the United States modify their natural environment and the impact of those modifications

• Analyze the trade offs of using resources to pursue economic opportunities v. preserving the environment, such as westward movement
• Explain the consequences of modifying the natural environment, such as soil erosion, loss of soil fertility and over -fishing
• Identify and explain land use issues that illustrate the conflict between economic growth and using the environment
• Analyze how land use was  managed by the federal government such as the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787

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