Common Curriculum Goals	Content Standards	Grade 3 Benchmarks	Grade 5 Benchmarks	Grade 8 Benchmarks	Grade 10 Benchmarks	Grade 12 Benchmarks
Social Sciences: Geography
Maps, Charts, Graphs and Other Geographic Tools as Sources of Information Understand the spatial concepts of location, distance, direction, scale, movement and region.
Recognize and use appropriate geographic tools and technology (e.g., maps, globes, graphs, diagrams, aerial and other photographs and satellite-produced images) to answer geographic questions, analyze spatial distributions and patterns and solve geographic problems.
Locate major physical and human (cultural) features of the Earth.
Use maps to organize information about people, places and environments in a spatial context.
Physical and Cultural Characteristics of Places and Regions Compare physical (e.g., landforms, vegetation, wildlife, climate and natural hazards) and human (e.g., population, land use, la nguage and religion) characteristics of places and regions.	Identify the physical and human (cultural) characteristics of places and regions and how they change through time.	Describe characteristics of places.	Describe and explain physical and cultural characteristics of regions in the United States.	Compare physical and cultural characteristics of the regions of the world.	Compare physical and cultural characteristics of the same place at different times in history.	Identify and explain how physical and cultural characteristics of a place have, over time, contributed to a contemporary issue.
Understand the social, cultural and economic processes that change the characteristics of places and regions over time (e.g., development, accessibility, migration, resource use, belief systems, transp ortation and communication systems, major technological changes, environment, wars).
Understand why places and regions are important to human identity and serve as symbols to unify or fragment society.
Distribution and Migration of People, Ideas and Products Analyze the causes of human migration (e.g., density, food and water supply, transportation and communication systems) and its eff ects (e.g., impact on physical and human systems).	Describe the distribution and migration of human population, ideas and products and predict future trends.	Identify reasons people move from one location to another.	Identify human migration patterns in the United States.	Identify and describe transportation and communication networks affecting the flow of people, goods and ideas.	Analyze demographic patterns and transportation and communication networks to predict contemporary trends.	Identify and analyze the relationship of economic activity, both historical and current, on the movement and patterns of people and goods. Analyze demographic patterns and transportation and communication networks to predict future trends.
Understand the functions, sizes and spatial arrangements of urban areas on Earth.
Compare and contrast one area of settlement to another (e.g., resources, length of settlement, accessibility).
Predict trends in world population numbers and patterns including differences in settlement of developing and developed countries.
Interaction Between Physical Environments and Humans Describe the consequences of humans changing the physical environment (e.g., ozone, forests, air, water) and how human changes in one place affect other places.	Explain how humans and the physical environment impact and influence each other.	Identify how people depend on and modify their physical environment.	Describe ways people have adapted to and been influenced by their physical environment.	Explain how human modification of the physical environment in one place affects other places.	Analyze the relationship between human settlement patterns and changes in the Earth's physical systems.	Evaluate contemporary issues dealing with the relationships between humans and the earth's physical systems and hypothesize future situations and potential solutions.
Understand how differing points of view, self interests and global distribution of natural resources play a role in conflict over territory.
Describe how physical characteristics of places and regions affect human activities.
Understand the geographic results of resource use and management programs and policies.