4.8 Humans and the Environment
Date: 21 Aug 2006
Pennsylvania Academic Standards for Environment and Ecology
4.8: Humans and the Environment
This page contains the criteria for teaching Humans and the Environmentthat were developed in the PA Academic Standards. Clicking on a grade levelbelow will skip directly to the criteria for educators teaching at or belowthat grade. Clicking on the criteria will lead to all the teaching resourcesrelated to it.
Fourth Grade |Seventh Grade |Tenth Grade |Twelfth Grade
| Grade 4 : Humans and the Environment (4.8.4) |
| Fourth Grade: 4.8A |
Fourth Grade: 4.8B |
Fourth Grade: 4.8C |
Fourth Grade: 4.8D |
Identify the biological requirements of humans.
- Explain how a dynamically changing environment provides for sustainability of living systems.
- Identify several ways that people use natural resources.
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Know that environmental conditions influence where and how people live.
- Identify how regional natural resources influence what people use.
- Explain the influence of climate on how and where people live.
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Explain how human activities may change the environment.
- Identify everyday human activities and how they affect the environment.
- Identify examples of how human activities within a community affect the natural environment.
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Know the importance of natural resources in daily life.
- Identify items used in daily life that come from natural resources.
- Identify ways to conserve our natural resources.
- Identify major land uses in the community.
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| Grade 7 : Humans and the Environment (4.8.7) |
| Seventh Grade: 4.8A |
Seventh Grade: 4.8B |
Seventh Grade: 4.8C |
Seventh Grade: 4.8D |
Describe how the development of civilization relates to the environment.
- Explain how people use natural resources in their environment.
- Locate and identify natural resources in different parts of the world.
- Compare and contrast how people use natural resources throughout the world.
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Explain how people use natural resources.
- Describe how natural resources are used for survival.
- Explain how natural resources and technological changes have affected the development of civilizations.
- Explain how climate and extreme weather events (e.g., drought, flood) influence people's lives.
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Explain how human activities may affect local, regional and national environments.
- Describe what effect consumption and related generation of wastes have on the environment.
- Explain how a particular human activity has changed the local area over the years.
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Explain the importance of maintaining the natural resources at the local, state and national levels.
- Explain how human activities and natural events have affected ecosystems.
- Explain how conservation practices have influenced ecosystems.
- Define the roles of Pennsylvania agencies that deal with natural resources.
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| Grade 10 : Humans and the Environment (4.8.10) |
| Tenth Grade: 4.8A |
Tenth Grade: 4.8B |
Tenth Grade: 4.8C |
Tenth Grade: 4.8D |
Analyze how society's needs relate to the sustainability of natural resources.
- Explain why some societies have been unable to meet their natural resource needs.
- Compare and contrast the use of natural resources and the environmental conditions in several countries.
- Describe how uses of natural resources impact sustainability.
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Analyze the relationship between the use of natural resources and sustaining our society.
- Explain the role of natural resources in sustaining society.
- Analyze the effects of a natural resource's availability on a community or region.
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Analyze how human activities may cause changes in an ecosystem.
- Analyze and evaluate changes in the environment that are the result of human activities.
- Compare and contrast the environmental effects of different industrial strategies (e.g., energy generation, transportation, logging, mining, agriculture).
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Explain how the concept of supply and demand affects the environment.
- Identify natural resources for which societal demands have been increasing.
- Identify specific resources for which human consumption has resulted in scarcity of supply (e.g., buffalo, lobsters).
- Describe the relationship between population density and resource use and management.
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| Grade 12 : Humans and the Environment (4.8.12) |
| Twelfth Grade: 4.8A |
Twelfth Grade: 4.8B |
Twelfth Grade: 4.8C |
Twelfth Grade: 4.8D |
Explain how technology has influenced the sustainability of natural resources over time.
- Describe how technology has changed the use of natural resources by business and industry.
- Analyze the effect of natural resource conservation on a product over time (e.g., automobile manufacturing, aluminum can recycling, paper products).
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Analyze technology's role on natural resource sustainability.
- Explain how technology has decreased the use of raw natural resources.
- Explain how technology has impacted the efficiency of the use of natural resources.
- Analyze the role of technology in the reduction of pollution.
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Analyze how pollution has changed in quality, variety and toxicity as the United States developed its industrial base.
- Analyze historical pollution trends and project them for the future.
- Compare and contrast historical and current pollution levels at a given location.
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Analyze the international implications of environmental occurrences.
- Identify natural occurrences that have international impact (e.g., El Nino, volcano eruptions, earthquakes).
- Analyze environmental issues and their international implications.
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