Oklahoma Academic Standard 4. The student will analyze the interactions of humans and their environment in the Western Hemisphere.

Objectives:

6.4.1  Describe the commercial agriculture and industrial regions that support human development.

6.4.2  Evaluate the effects of human modification on the natural environment through transformation caused by subsistence and commercial agriculture, industry, demand for energy, and urbanization. 

In a Nutshell

Human impact on the environment caused by farming, industry, use of natural resources, and population growth is an undeniable fact. Study of the interaction of humans and their environments is the core of modern geographic knowledge and understandings. Investigating the effects of human development on our planet will help students grasp the importance of their daily choices and the need to consider the long-term consequences of those choices.

Teacher Action 

Student Action 

• Guide students in drawing upon gathered information to analyze how a specific problem can manifest itself in local, regional, and global levels over time, evaluating options for individual and collective solutions to environmental issues.

• Provide frequent opportunities for students to formulate viable research questions related to energy usage and environmental impact. 

• Identify the influences of multiple environmental factors on current situations in the Western Hemisphere.

• Explain how individual and collective decisions can affect the physical environment, both positively and negatively.

• Acquire, determine the meaning, and appropriately use academic vocabulary and phrases related to human modification of the natural environment. 

Key Concepts 

Misconceptions 

• types of agricultural systems, including subsistence farming, nomadic herding, shifting cultivation, commercial (plantation) 

• three sectors of industrial activities, including extraction of raw materials, manufacturing of finished goods, services provided to consumers

• local and global examples of human-environment interaction which support human development, such as dam building, irrigation, sewage projects, windmills, forestry, refinement of fossil fuels

• local and global examples of human-environment interaction with the potential of damaging the environment, such as slash-and-burn methods of agriculture, deforestation (clear-cutting methods), navigation projects, pollution from industry, open-pit mining

• impact of urbanization on availability of resources and public services; potential of pollution and overcrowding

• Some students may assume that most examples of human-environment-interaction produce negative outcomes for the environment, neglecting to realize the positive impact that human actions can have on appropriate and planned use of the environment and its resources.  

Instructional Resources