Geography

In this unit you will explore the physical patterns of our planet and how they change. You will describe and locate the world's major landforms and find out how plate tectonics builds mountains and volcanoes, and how weathering, erosion, glaciers and people reshape the land. You will read topographic maps and draw cross-sections. You will study the world's oceans, lakes, rivers and drainage basins, the major climate regions, the factors that shape climate (LOWERN), and how to read and make climate graphs. You will describe natural vegetation regions and what changes them, see how landforms, climate, water and vegetation interact, and look at natural disasters and how people respond. You will compare how different peoples living in similar environments have responded, including First Nations, Métis and Inuit and other Indigenous peoples, and assess the perspectives and sustainability of those responses. Finally, you will carry out your own geographic inquiry.

Remember from Grade 4: you learned about Canada's physical regions, map skills, landforms, climate and natural vegetation, and in Grade 4 science you learned about rocks, weathering, erosion and glaciers. Grade 7 takes these ideas to the whole world and adds new spatial skills. Climate-graph cities and the town of Riverton use clearly marked sample (pretend) data; all maps and diagrams are schematic and not to scale. Every lesson has a hands-on activity, lots of practice and a short quiz.

Curriculum expectations covered: A1.1 to A1.4, A2.1 to A2.6 and A3.1 to A3.11 (The Ontario Curriculum, Social Studies, Grades 1 to 6; History and Geography, Grades 7 and 8, Geography Grade 7, Strand A).

In this unit you will investigate natural resources around the world: what they are, where they are found, how people extract, harvest and use them, and whether that use is sustainable. You will sort resources into renewable, non-renewable and flow resources and link them to Earth's physical features; analyse how a resource's location and accessibility shape how it is extracted and used; compare how different regions make electricity; look at case studies from the Amazon, Sweden, the Grand Banks, West Africa and China; identify short- and long-term effects such as deforestation, desertification, smog, acid rain, climate change, soil contamination, habitat destruction and flooding; describe the perspectives of different groups, including the rights and diverse views of First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities; examine responses like sustainable development, certification labels and boycotts; assess the work of agencies, NGOs, Indigenous communities and governments that protect resources; use thematic maps and GIS; carry out a geographic inquiry; and create a personal action plan.

This unit builds on Grade 4 social studies (natural resources and industries in Canada), Grade 5 science (renewable and non-renewable energy), Grade 6 science (making electricity) and Grade 6 social studies (global issues, international cooperation and the inquiry process). Pretend examples and pretend data are clearly marked.

Curriculum expectations covered: B1 (B1.1 to B1.4), B2 (B2.1 to B2.6) and B3 (B3.1 to B3.6) (Ontario History and Geography, Grade 7, Geography Strand B: Natural Resources Around the World: Use and Sustainability, 2018, revised 2023). B1 (Application): analyse aspects of the extraction/harvesting and use of natural resources in different regions of the world, and assess ways of preserving these resources. B2 (Inquiry): use the geographic inquiry process to investigate issues related to the impact of the extraction/harvesting and/or use of natural resources around the world from a geographic perspective. B3 (Understanding Geographic Context): demonstrate an understanding of the sources and use of different types of natural resources and of some of the effects of the extraction/harvesting and use of these resources.