Social Studies - 2019-20
WG.2 b - Humans and the Environment
The student will analyze how physical and ecological processes shape Earth’s surface by
b) describing how humans influence the environment and are influenced by it;
Adopted: 2015
BIG IDEAS
Theme- Environment & Interaction
What makes up the Earth's environment?
How do humans affect their environment?
How does technology help humans adapt to their environment?
UNDERSTANDING THE STANDARD
Physical and ecological processes shape Earth’s surface.
Humans both influence and are
influenced by their environment.
ESSENTIALS
Physical and ecological processes
- Earthquakes
- Floods
- Volcanic eruptions
- Erosion
- Deposition
Human impact on environment
- Water diversion/management
- Aral Sea
- Colorado River
- Dams (e.g., Aswan High Dam, Three Gorges Dam, Itaipu Dam)
- Canals
- Reservoirs
- Irrigation
- Landscape changes
- Agricultural terracing (e.g., in China, Southeast Asia)
- Polders (e.g., in the Netherlands)
- Deforestation (e.g., in Nepal, Brazil, Malaysia)
- Desertification (e.g., in Africa, Asia)
- Environmental changes
- Acid rain (e.g., forests in Germany, Scandinavia, China, Eastern North America)
- Pollution (e.g., in Mexico City, Chernobyl; oil spills)
- Potential climate change (e.g., changes in sea level, temperature, and weather patterns)
KEY VOCABULARY
Updated: Jun 13, 2018