California History and Social Science Framework
Because integrated environmental studies can encompass geography as well as science, here are some excerpts from another state framework (1988)(pp...
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Because integrated environmental studies can encompass geography as well as science, here are some excerpts from another state framework (1988)(pp.16,25,50-51,57):
Students also should be able to judge the significance of the relative location of a place,..such as the location of a settlement on a natural harbor..Students must be able to use map and globe skills to determine absolute location,... determine directions... and interpret information available through the map's legend.
One of the most dynamic aspects of geographic education is the study of the ways people and environments interact in the human modification of the landscape...Geographic systems are in constant flux because of both physical and human influences. Natural resources gain value only through human need, and human need changes over time. Students should develop understanding of the major environmental issues confronting modern societies and of the consequences...of human decisions that affect the environment...
The following critical thinking skills are to be developed in the context of the history-social science curriculum: define and clarify problems; judge information related to a problem; and solve problems and draw conclusions...
During grade 5 students should learn how pre-Columbian settlers adjusted to their natural environment..and ask what happened when...the explorers...encountered indigenous people...At grade 6 students should come to apreciate the special significance of geographic place in the development of the human story...
Annotation
Certainly, similar problem-solving skills overlap in different subject areas. It is important, though, to lay out the concepts in the multiple subjects, included in a topic, such as environmental studies, so that, as appropriate, a coherent curricula design is implemented. For instance, students may acquire basic facts in geography, particularly in state and national studies, prior to grade 6 but not examine more complex topics until grade 12. Meanwhile, a science teacher is attempting to explore the effects of energy transfer on ecosystems. Such gaps will probably never be fully resolved; attention to checking students' intuitive constructs, though, will ease understanding.
