Geography

“God left His fingerprints all over creation.” Byron Snapp

OVERVIEW

The course is designed to build on the foundations laid in Primary School Geography classes. There are two units of study in the Year 7 curriculum for Geography: Water in the world and Place and liveability. Water in the world focuses on water as an example of a renewable environmental resource. This unit examines the many uses of water, the ways it is perceived and valued, its different forms as a resource, the ways it connects places as it moves through the environment, its varying availability in time and across space, and its scarcity. Place and liveability focuses on the concept of place through an investigation of liveability. This unit examines factors that influence liveability and how it is perceived, the idea that places provide us with the services and facilities needed to support and enhance our lives, and that spaces are planned and managed by people.

AIMS

• To enable students to develop geographic skills such as using an atlas, understanding mapping conventions and an ability to observe, organise and record data
• To develop students’ understanding of the concept of environment
• To recognise the interdependence and interconnections between people, places and environments
• To recognise the reliance of humans upon the natural environment and its processes, as well as how people change places and the impact of these changes
• To understand that natural resources such as water belong to God and we are stewards of the Earth and responsible to care for it
• To be able to describe geographical processes that influence the characteristics of places and how places are perceived and valued differently
• To develop students’ ability to evaluate the livability of their own place and to investigate whether it can be improved through planning

TOPICS INCLUDE

• Geographic skills, mapping and countries of the world
• Water in the world – in nature, human uses, management and hazards
• Place and livability

TIME ALLOCATION

• 6 periods per cycle for one semester

REQUIREMENTS

• Booklist Items

ASSESSMENT

• Geographic data / mapping skills test
• Water scarcity and livability assignments
• Examination
• Data analysis task

“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it”. Psalm 24:1