National Geography Standards (NGS)

Maryland’s Voluntary State Curriculum in geography is based on National Geography Standards. National Geography Standards contain what is most important and enduring in geography.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/standards/

Use the scale bar at the top of this page to find a full explain of each of the standards.
Click on:
Xpedition Hall to find an interactive “museum” that takes you on geography journeys through all the standards.
Activities offers students the opportunity to use geography to complete a variety of missions.
Lessons plans to search for grade level appropriate lessons and ideas.
Atlas to obtain maps that can be downloaded and printed.

1.  The World in Spatial Terms
Standard 1:
How to Use Maps and Other Geographic Representations, Tools, and Technologies to Acquire, Process, and Report Information From a Spatial Perspective

Standard 2:
How to Use Mental Maps to Organize Information About People, Places, and Environments in a Spatial Context

Standard 3:
How to Analyze the Spatial Organization of People, Places, and Environments on Earth’s Surface

2.  Places and Regions
Standard 4:
The Physical and Human Characteristics of Places

Standard 5:
That People Create Regions to Interpret Earth’s Complexity

Standard 6:
How Culture and Experience Influence People’s Perceptions of Places and Regions

3.  Physical Systems
Standard 7:
The Physical Processes That Shape the Patterns of Earth’s Surface

Standard 8:
The Characteristics and Spatial Distribution of Ecosystems on Earth’s Surface

4.  Human Systems
Standard 9:
The Characteristics, Distribution, and Migration of Human Population on Earth’s Surface

Standard 10:
The Characteristics, Distribution, and Complexity of Earth’s Cultural Mosaics

Standard 11:
The Patterns and Networks of Economic Interdependence on Earth’s Surface

Standard 12:
The Processes, Patterns, and Functions of Human Settlement

Standard 13:
How the Forces of Cooperation and Conflict Among People Influence the Division and Control of Earth’s Surface

5. Environment and Society
Standard 14:
How Human Actions Modify the Physical Environment

Standard 15:
How Physical Systems Affect Human Systems

Standard 16:
The Changes That Occur in the Meaning, Use, Distribution, and Importance of Resources

6. The Uses of Geography
Standard 17:
How to Apply Geography to Interpret the Past

Standard 18:
How to Apply Geography to Interpret the Present and Plan for the Future

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