Project GO
Urban Heat Island
Overview
Background Information
Content Enhancement Video
Standards—Lesson One: What are Urban Heat Islands?
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills Standards (TEKS) – World Geography Studies
| (8) Geography. Aligns to NGS Standard 14 and Standard 15 | The student understands how people, places, and environments are connected and interdependent. The student is expected to: (A) Compare way that humans depend on, adapt to, and modify the physical environment, including the influences of culture and technology; (C) Evaluate the economic and political relationships between settlements and the environment, including sustainable development and renewable/non-renewable resources. |
| (19) Science, technology, and society. Aligns to NGS Standard 14 | The student understand the impact of technology and human modification on the physical environment. The student is expected to: (A) Evaluate the significance of major technological innovations in the areas of transportation and energy that have been used to modify the physical environment; (B) Analyze ways technological innovations such as air conditioning and desalinization have allowed humans to adapt to places; and (C) Examine the environmental, economic, and social impacts of advances in technology on agriculture and natural resources. |
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills Standards (TEKS) – Alignment to other grade TEKS
| (WG.8) Geography. The student understands how people, places, and environments are connected and interdependent. | (6.6C) Analyze the effects of the interaction of physical processes and the environment on humans. |
| (6.7) Geography. The student understands the impact of interactions between people and the physical environment on the development and conditions of places and regions. | |
| (6.7B) Identify and analyze ways people have modified the physical environments such as mining, irrigation, and transportation infrastructure |
National Geography Standards (NGS)
| Standard | Grade 4 Benchmark | Grade 8 Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Standard 14. How human actions modify the physical environment | K-4.1. People modify the physical environment | 5-8.1. Human modifications of the physical environment in one place often lead to changes in other places |
| K-4.3. The consequences of human modifications on the physical environment | 5-8.2. The use of technology has changed the scale at which people can modify the physical environment | |
| 5-8.3. The physical environment can both accommodate and be endangered by human activities | ||
| Standard 15. How physical systems affect human systems | K-4.1. Physical environment provides opportunities for and imposes constraints on human activities | 5-8.1 The characteristics of a physical environment provide opportunities for and imposes constraints on human activities |
| K-4.2.Enviornmental hazards affect human activities | 5-8.2. The types, causes, and characteristics of environmental hazards occur at a variety of scales from local to global | |
| K-4.3. People adapt to the conditions of the physical environment | 5-8.3 People use tools and technologies in adapting to the physical environment |
Standards—Lesson Two: Identifying Urban Heat Islands?
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills Standards (TEKS) – World Geography Studies
| (8) Geography. Aligns to NGS Standard 14 and Standard 15 | The student understands how people, places, and environments are connected and interdependent. The student is expected to: (A) Compare way that humans depend on, adapt to, and modify the physical environment, including the influences of culture and technology; (C) Evaluate the economic and political relationships between settlements and the environment, including sustainable development and renewable/non-renewable resources. |
| (21) Social Studies Skills. Aligns to NGS Standard 1 | The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired from a variety of valid sources. The student is expected to: (A) Analyze and evaluate the validity and utility of multiple sources of geographic information such as primary and secondary sources, aerial photographs and maps; (B) Locate places of contemporary geopolitical significance on a map; and (C) Create and interpret different types of maps to answer geographic questions, infer relationships, and analyze change. |
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills Standards (TEKS) – Alignment to other grade TEKS
| (WG.8) Geography. The student understands how people, places, and environments are connected and interdependent. | (6.6C) Analyze the effects of the interaction of physical processes and the environment on humans. |
| (6.7) Geography. The student understands the impact of interactions between people and the physical environment on the development and conditions of places and regions. | |
| (6.7B) Identify and analyze ways people have modified the physical environments such as mining, irrigation, and transportation infrastructure |
National Geography Standards (NGS)
| Standard | Grade 4 Benchmark | Grade 8 Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Standard 1. How to use maps and other geographic representations, geospatial technologies, and spatial thinking to understand and communicate information | K-4.1. Properties and functions of geographic representations – such as maps, globes, graphs, diagrams, aerial and other photographs, remotely sensed images, and geographic visualizations | 5-8.1. The advantages and disadvantages of using different geographic representations – such as maps, globes, graphs, diagrams, aerial and other photographs, remotely sensed images, and geographic visualizations for analyzing spatial distributions and patterns |
| K-4.2. Geospatial data are connected to locations on Earth’s surface | 5-8.2. The acquisition and organization of geospatial data to construct geographic representations | |
| K-4.3. Geospatial technologies – internet-based mapping applications, GIS, GPS, geovisualization, and remote sensing – display geospatial data | 5-8.3. Geospatial technologies can be used to construct geographic representations using geospatial data | |
| K-4.4. The interpretation of geographic representations | 5-8.4. The use of geographic representations to ask and answer geographic questions | |
| Standard 14. How human actions modify the physical environment | K-4.2. People use technology to get what they need from the physical environment | 5-8.2. The use of technology has changed the scale at which people can modify the physical environment |
| Standard 15. How physical systems affect human systems | K-4.1. Physical environment provides opportunities for and imposes constraints on human activities | 5-8.1 The characteristics of a physical environment provide opportunities for and imposes constraints on human activities |
| K-4.2. Environmental hazards affect human activities | 5-8.2. The types, causes, and characteristics of environmental hazards occur at a variety of sales from local to global | |
| K-4.3. People adapt to the conditions of the physical environment | 5-8.3 People use tools and technologies in adapting to the physical environment |
Standards—Lesson Three: Heat Sensitivity
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills Standards (TEKS) – World Geography Studies
| (8) Geography. Aligns to NGS Standard 14 and Standard 15 | The student understands how people, places, and environments are connected and interdependent. The student is expected to: (A) Compare way that humans depend on, adapt to, and modify the physical environment, including the influences of culture and technology; (C) Evaluate the economic and political relationships between settlements and the environment, including sustainable development and renewable/non-renewable resources. |
| (19) Science, technology, and society. Aligns to NGS Standard 14 | The student understand the impact of technology and human modification on the physical environment. The student is expected to: (A) Evaluate the significance of major technological innovations in the areas of transportation and energy that have been used to modify the physical environment; (B) Analyze ways technological innovations such as air conditioning and desalinization have allowed humans to adapt to places; and (C) Examine the environmental, economic, and social impacts of advances in technology on agriculture and natural resources. |
| (20) Science, technology, and society. Aligns to NGS Standard 18 | The student understands how current technology affects human interaction. The student is expected to: (A) Describe the impact of new information technologies such as the Internet, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), or Geography Information Systems (GIS); and (B) Examine the economic, environmental, and social effects of technology such as medical advancements or changing trade patterns on societies at different levels of development. |
| (21) Social Studies Skills. Aligns to NGS Standard 1 | The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired from a variety of valid sources. The student is expected to: (A) Analyze and evaluate the validity and utility of multiple sources of geographic information such as primary and secondary sources, aerial photographs and maps; (B) Locate places of contemporary geopolitical significance on a map; and (C) Create and interpret different types of maps to answer geographic questions, infer relationships, and analyze change. |
| (23) Social Studies Skills. Aligns to NGS Standard 18 | The student uses problem-solving and decision-making skills, working independently and with others, in a variety of settings. The student is expected to: (A) Plan, organize, and complete a research project that involves asking geographic questions; acquiring, organizing, and analyzing information; answering questions; and communicating results; (B) Use case studies and GIS to identify contemporary challenges and to answer real-world questions; and (C) Use problem-solving and decision-making processes to identify a problem, gather information, list and consider options, consider advantages and disadvantages, choose and implement a solution, and evaluate the effectiveness of the solution. |
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills Standards (TEKS) – Alignment to other grade TEKS
| (WG.8) Geography. The student understands how people, places, and environments are connected and interdependent. | (6.6C) Analyze the effects of the interaction of physical processes and the environment on humans. |
| (6.7) Geography. The student understands the impact of interactions between people and the physical environment on the development and conditions of places and regions. | |
| (6.7B) Identify and analyze ways people have modified the physical environments such as mining, irrigation, and transportation infrastructure |
National Geography Standards (NGS)
| Standard | Grade 4 Benchmark | Grade 8 Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Standard 1. How to use maps and other geographic representations, geospatial technologies, and spatial thinking to understand and communicate information | K-4.1. Properties and functions of geographic representations – such as maps, globes, graphs, diagrams, aerial and other photographs, remotely sensed images, and geographic visualizations | 5-8.1. The advantages and disadvantages of using different geographic representations – such as maps, globes, graphs, diagrams, aerial and other photographs, remotely sensed images, and geographic visualizations for analyzing spatial distributions and patterns |
| K-4.2. Geospatial data are connected to locations on Earth’s surface | 5-8.2. The acquisition and organization of geospatial data to construct geographic representations | |
| K-4.4. The interpretation of geographic representations | 5-8.4. The use of geographic representations to ask and answer geographic questions | |
| Standard 14. How human actions modify the physical environment | K-4.2. People use technology to get what they need from the physical environment | 5-8.2. The use of technology has changed the scale at which people can modify the physical environment |
| Standard 15. How physical systems affect human systems | K-4.1. Physical environment provides opportunities for and imposes constraints on human activities | 5-8.1 The characteristics of a physical environment provide opportunities for and imposes constraints on human activities |
| K-4.2. Environmental hazards affect human activities | 5-8.2. The types, causes, and characteristics of environmental hazards occur at a variety of sales from local to global | |
| K-4.3. People adapt to the conditions of the physical environment | 5-8.3 People use tools and technologies in adapting to the physical environment | |
| Standard 18. How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future | K-4.1. Geographic contexts are the settings for current events | 5-8.1. Geographic contexts (the human and physical characteristics of places and environments) provide the basis for problem solving and planning |
| K-4.2. Places, regions, and environments will continue to change | 5-8.2. Change occurs in the geographic characteristics and spatial organization of places, regions, and environments | |
| K-4.3. People’s perceptions of the world – places, regions, and environments – are constantly changing | 5-8.3. People’s perceptions of the world affect their views of the present, and expectation about the future |