Grade 11 Humanities: Geography

In this unit, 'Physical geography: Earth, landforms and climate', you learn to explain landform processes and climate patterns. You work with exam-style questions and written reasoning. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Place it: find where and when 'Physical geography: Earth, landforms and climate' happens, on a map, a timeline or in a local example.
• Gather: read or listen to two short sources and note who is speaking and why.
• Use it: explain landform processes and climate patterns. Give a reason and one piece of evidence for every point.
• Weigh it: say what another person might think, and why, before you decide.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Explain Earth's structure and plates. Earth has a core, a mantle and a thin crust. The crust and upper mantle form rigid tectonic plates that move a few centimetres per year. Their movement builds and breaks landforms. Draw a cross-section and label the crust as the thinnest layer, only a small share of Earth's radius.
2. Step 2, Link plate boundaries to landforms. At a convergent boundary plates collide: the Indian and Eurasian plates created the Himalayas as fold mountains. At a divergent boundary plates separate: the Mid-Atlantic Ridge forms new ocean floor. At a transform boundary plates slide past each other, causing earthquakes along faults such as the San Andreas.
3. Step 3, Explain weathering, erosion and deposition. Weathering breaks rock where it lies, by frost, heat or rain. Erosion moves material. A river cuts a V-shaped valley near its source, carries sediment and deposits it on a floodplain or in a delta near the sea. Write the three words in order for a mountain stream.
4. Step 4, Explain climate controls. Latitude: the equator gets the most direct sunlight because Earth is a sphere, and the axis tilt of 23.5 degrees puts the tropics at 23.5 degrees north and south. Altitude: air cools about 6.5 degrees Celsius for every 1,000 m. Worked example: 28 degrees at sea level, a station at 3,000 m is 28 - 19.5 = 8.5 degrees.
5. Step 5, Explain a regional pattern. Near the equator the rising air of the Intertropical Convergence Zone brings heavy rain. In June to August this zone moves north, and in South Asia warm moist winds blow from sea to land, producing the monsoon rains. Dry months follow when winds reverse. Link wind direction to rainfall in two sentences.
6. Step 6, Your turn: a town at 200 m has 24 degrees Celsius. Estimate the temperature at a village at 2,200 m and name the process. Answer: The height difference is 2,000 m and 2 x 6.5 = 13 degrees, so 24 - 13 = 11 degrees Celsius; temperature falls with altitude at the lapse rate.

Activity. About 40 to 50 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a timed paper and an error log.

Standard to meet. Explain landform processes and climate patterns: at least 70 percent on an exam-style task, with the method shown.

In this unit, 'Oceans, soils and natural vegetation', you learn to describe ocean circulation and soil formation. You work with exam-style questions and written reasoning. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Place it: find where and when 'Oceans, soils and natural vegetation' happens, on a map, a timeline or in a local example.
• Gather: read or listen to two short sources and note who is speaking and why.
• Use it: describe ocean circulation and soil formation. Give a reason and one piece of evidence for every point.
• Weigh it: say what another person might think, and why, before you decide.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Describe the oceans. Oceans cover about 71 percent of Earth's surface. Average salinity is about 35 parts per thousand, meaning 35 g of salt in 1 kg of seawater. Worked example: 2 kg of seawater holds 2 x 35 = 70 g salt. Salinity is lower where rivers and rain add fresh water and higher in hot, dry seas.
2. Step 2, Describe surface currents. Winds and Earth's rotation drive large circular systems called gyres. They turn clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and anticlockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. The Gulf Stream carries warm water north-eastwards across the Atlantic, warming western Europe, while the cold Humboldt (Peru) Current flows north along South America's west coast.
3. Step 3, Describe deep circulation. Cold, salty water is dense and sinks near the poles, then flows slowly along the ocean floor, while warm surface water moves toward the poles to replace it. This slow conveyor, driven by temperature and salinity, moves heat around the planet and takes hundreds of years or more to complete a circuit.
4. Step 4, Describe soil formation. Soil forms from five factors: parent rock, climate, relief, living organisms and time. Rock is weathered into mineral particles, plants add humus, and water moves material downward. A soil profile has an O layer of litter, an A topsoil rich in humus, a B subsoil and a C layer of weathered rock.
5. Step 5, Link soils and vegetation. In hot, wet regions heavy rain leaches nutrients, leaving red laterite soils but fast-growing rainforest. Temperate grasslands often build deep dark soils rich in humus. Safety for a soil jar test: wear gloves, do not taste or sniff directly, and wash hands afterward. Describe how climate changes soil colour.
6. Step 6, Your turn: state the gyre direction in the Southern Hemisphere and name the soil horizon holding most humus. Then find the salt in 5 kg of seawater. Answer: anticlockwise; the A horizon (topsoil); 5 x 35 = 175 g of salt.

Activity. About 40 to 50 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a timed paper and an error log.

Standard to meet. Describe ocean circulation and soil formation: at least 70 percent on an exam-style task, with the method shown.

In this unit, 'Human geography: population and settlement', you learn to analyse population and settlement patterns. You work with exam-style questions and written reasoning. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Place it: find where and when 'Human geography: population and settlement' happens, on a map, a timeline or in a local example.
• Gather: read or listen to two short sources and note who is speaking and why.
• Use it: analyse population and settlement patterns. Give a reason and one piece of evidence for every point.
• Weigh it: say what another person might think, and why, before you decide.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Describe population distribution. World population passed 8 billion in 2022. Density is people divided by area. Worked example: an invented country has 60 million people on 300,000 square kilometres, so density = 60,000,000 / 300,000 = 200 people per square kilometre. Population clusters near rivers, coasts and fertile plains and is sparse in deserts and high mountains.
2. Step 2, Calculate natural change. Birth rate is births per 1,000 people per year; death rate is deaths per 1,000. If birth rate is 20 and death rate is 8, natural increase is 20 - 8 = 12 per 1,000, which is 1.2 percent. The rule of 70 gives doubling time as 70 / 1.2, about 58 years.
3. Step 3, Analyse the demographic transition. Stage 1 has high birth and death rates. In stage 2 death rates fall first, so population grows fast. In stage 3 birth rates fall. In stage 4 both are low and growth is slow. Ask which stage a country is in by checking its rates and age structure.
4. Step 4, Analyse settlement patterns. A nucleated settlement clusters around a centre such as a crossroads. A linear settlement follows a road, river or coast. A dispersed settlement has scattered farms. Site is the exact spot, for example a dry hill above a river, while situation is its position relative to routes and other places.
5. Step 5, Analyse urbanisation. The world became more than half urban in the late 2000s (check the current figure). Rural people migrate to cities because of push factors such as low incomes and pull factors such as jobs and schools. Rapid growth can strain housing and water supply. Explain how one pull factor could attract a family.
6. Step 6, Your turn: a country has birth rate 30 and death rate 10 per 1,000. Find natural increase and doubling time. Answer: 30 - 10 = 20 per 1,000, which is 2 percent; 70 / 2 = 35 years.

Activity. About 40 to 50 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a timed paper and an error log.

Standard to meet. Analyse population and settlement patterns: at least 70 percent on an exam-style task, with the method shown.

In this unit, 'Geographical data and maps', you learn to read maps and use simple statistics. You work with exam-style questions and written reasoning. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Place it: find where and when 'Geographical data and maps' happens, on a map, a timeline or in a local example.
• Gather: read or listen to two short sources and note who is speaking and why.
• Use it: read maps and use simple statistics. Give a reason and one piece of evidence for every point.
• Weigh it: say what another person might think, and why, before you decide.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Read the scale. A scale of 1:50,000 means 1 cm on the map is 50,000 cm on the ground, which is 500 m. Worked example: a path 4.6 cm long is 4.6 x 500 = 2,300 m, or 2.3 km. Check the scale in the key before you measure, because different maps use different scales.
2. Step 2, Give a six-figure grid reference. Read along the bottom (eastings) first, then up the side (northings): along the corridor, then up the stairs. A church in square 12 across and 34 up, four tenths across and seven tenths up, has reference 124347. Write eastings first every time.
3. Step 3, Read contours and gradient. Contour lines join places of equal height. Close lines mean a steep slope; wide lines mean a gentle slope. Gradient is vertical rise divided by horizontal distance. If land rises 100 m over 2,000 m, the gradient is 100 / 2,000 = 0.05, or 5 percent, which is 1 in 20.
4. Step 4, Use simple statistics. Monthly rainfall in mm: 6, 9, 9, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20. Sum = 104, so mean = 104 / 8 = 13. The median is the middle of the ordered list, (12 + 14) / 2 = 13. The mode is 9, the most common. The range is 20 - 6 = 14.
5. Step 5, Interpret and present data. Use a line graph for change over time, a bar chart for comparing places, a scatter graph for a relationship between two variables. A mean of 13 mm with a range of 14 mm suggests rainfall varies a lot. State the pattern, then give one reason it matters.
6. Step 6, Your turn: on a 1:25,000 map a road measures 6 cm. How long is it on the ground? Answer: 1 cm is 25,000 cm, which is 250 m, so 6 x 250 = 1,500 m, or 1.5 km.

Activity. About 40 to 50 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a timed paper and an error log.

Standard to meet. Read maps and use simple statistics: at least 70 percent on an exam-style task, with the method shown.

On the slide: L1 Basic · My place and my map

Notes: Name your home, street and one nearby place and point to them on a simple picture map. Notes: draw the route from the classroom to the gate with four landmarks; learners walk it and say left or right at each turn.

On the slide: L2 Awareness · Map keys and weather

Notes: Read a simple map key and describe daily weather in four words. Notes: use a map with symbols for road, river and school; learners find all three, then record sun, cloud, rain or wind for five days and count how many days were dry.

On the slide: L3 Foundation · Continents, oceans and climate

Notes: Locate the seven continents and five oceans and describe one climate zone. Notes: label a blank world outline from memory, then compare a hot wet place with a cold dry one by temperature, rainfall and plants, and say how people dress and build differently.

On the slide: L4 Practitioner · Rivers and population density

Notes: Explain how rivers shape land and calculate population density. Notes: density = people divided by area; 12,000 people on 40 square km gives 300 per square km. Learners compare an area with 18,000 people on 90 square km (200 per square km) and say which feels more crowded.

On the slide: L5 Specialist · Fieldwork and grid references

Notes: Plan a small field investigation, present results in a graph and give a six-figure grid reference. Notes: measure a stream width at five points: 2.1, 2.8, 3.4, 3.9 and 4.6 m, mean 3.36 m. Learners write a hypothesis and name one source of error.

This course: Grade 11 Humanities Geography is at this level. Its units include Physical geography: Earth, landforms and climate; Oceans, soils and natural vegetation; Human geography: population and settlement; Geographical data and maps.

On the slide: L6 Advanced · GIS and spatial analysis

Notes: Analyse spatial data with GIS and evaluate theories of urban and environmental change. Notes: a city grows from 1.20 to 1.47 million in ten years, a rise of 22.5 per cent or about 2.05 per cent a year compounded. Learners check the data source, date and boundary used.

On the slide: L7 Super expert · Design a geographic study

Notes: Design and defend a research project on a geographic question, with sampling, spatial statistics and uncertainty. Notes: a survey estimating a proportion within 5 points at 95 per cent confidence needs about 385 responses (1.96 squared x 0.25 / 0.05 squared). Learners test for spatial autocorrelation and report limits.