Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
The “geography pizza slices” I'm going to introduce you to are The Six Essential Elements. They
were developed as part of the National Geography Standards (see Geography For Life: The National
Geography Standards, 1994 , pages 32-35, published by Diane Publishing Company), which describe
indetail“whatthegeographicallyinformedpersonknowsandunderstands.”TheNationalGeography
Standards serve as a guide to education reform in the United States as it pertains to the teaching of
geography. They were written with the advice and input of professionals who specialize in diverse
aspects of geography and, accordingly, represent a broad consensus of the scope and structure of geo-
graphy. Specifically, therefore, I have chosen The Six Essential Elements to describe the content of
geography for the following three reasons:
They are more up-to-date than any alternative scheme and take a very broad, inclusive
view of geography.
As part and parcel of the National Geography Standards, they have a degree of authority
and authenticity that alternative sets of unifying concepts cannot match.
They are probably imbedded in your local public school curriculum. If yours is one of the
majority of states that recently has undergone standards-based education reform, then schools
in your area probably utilize the National Geography Standards and, thus, the six essential ele-
ments, which are at the heart of these standards. The six essential elements are:
• The world in spatial terms
• Places and regions
• Physical systems
• Human systems
• Environment and society
• Uses of geography
These may sound somewhat imposing, but rest assured, they refer to simple concepts that you en-
counter in your everyday life. Indeed, you are already familiar with each of them, though perhaps not
by their formal titles. I can prove it to you.
Where things are in the world: The world in spatial
terms
You probably have a preferred grocery store, clothing store, and restaurant, plus a map in your head
that tells you where they are and how to get to them. What's more, you could probably conjure up a
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