Geography - Curriculum - Victorian Curriculum

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Levels 7 and 8

Levels 7 and 8 Description

In Levels 7 and 8, students examine the processes that influence the characteristics of places. They consider spatial distributions and patterns and their implications and consider interconnections between and within places and changes resulting from these. This further develops their understanding of geographical concepts, including place, space and interconnection.

Students’ conceptual...

Students’ conceptual thinking is developed through four sub-strands:

Water in the world
Landforms and landscapes
Place and liveability
Changing nations

Water in the world focuses on water as an example of a renewable environmental resource. It develops students’ understanding of the concept of environment, including the ideas that the environment is the product of a variety of processes, that it supports and enriches human and other life in different ways and that the environment has its specific hazards.

Landforms and landscapes focuses on investigating geomorphology through a study of landscapes and their landforms. It also develops students’ understanding of the concept of environment and enables them to explore the significance of landscapes to people, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

Place and liveability focuses on the concept of place through an investigation of liveability. Students examine factors that influence liveability and how it is perceived, the idea that places provide us with the services and facilities needed to support and enhance our lives, and that spaces are planned and managed by people.

Changing nations focuses on the concept of change by investigating the changing human geography of countries, as revealed by shifts in population distribution, a sensitive indicator of economic and social change. It explores the process of urbanisation and how it interconnects with low and middle-income economies and societies. It investigates the reasons for the high level of urban concentration in Australia and examines issues related to the management and future of Australia’s urban areas.

Key questions:

How are people's perceptions of places and environments influenced by their reliance on them?
How do the interconnections between places, people and environments affect the lives of people?
How do environmental and human processes affect the characteristics of places and environments?
What are the consequences of changes to places and environments and how can these changes be managed?
What approaches can be taken to improve the availability of resources and access to services?

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Levels 7 and 8 Content Descriptions

Geographical Concepts and Skills

Place, space and interconnection Elaborations

Explain processes that influence the characteristics of places (VCGGC099)
1. explaining the physical causes and the temporal and spatial patterns of an atmospheric or hydrological hazard through a study of either droughts, storms, tropical cyclones or floods
2. exploring the geomorphology of the land and how this affects the liveability of a place
3. contrasting the effects of geomorphic processes that lower the land surface (weathering and erosion) and those that raise the land surface (transportation and deposition)
4. discussing urbanisation as a shift in where, how and why people live where they do
Identify, analyse and explain spatial distributions and patterns and identify and explain their implications (VCGGC100)
1. interpreting the spatial distribution of rainfall in Australia and comparing it with that of other continents
2. comparing accessibility to and availability of a range of services and facilities between different types of settlements (urban, rural and remote) in Australia and other countries. For example, shops, access to clean water, sanitation, education and health services
3. investigating the natural causes and spatial distribution of a geomorphological hazard. For example, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides and avalanches
4. exploring the arguments for and against a more balanced distribution of the urban population
Identify, analyse and explain interconnections within places and between places and identify and explain changes resulting from these interconnections (VCGGC101)
1. describing how water is an available resource when it is groundwater, soil moisture (green water), and surface water in dams, rivers and lakes (blue water), and a potential resource when it exists as salt water, ice, water vapour or waste water, and using the concept of the water cycle to show the connections between the different forms
2. explaining how the movement of water through the environment connects places. For example, the melting of snow in spring feeding rivers and dams downstream
3. comparing student access to and use of places and spaces in their local area and evaluating how this affects perceptions of liveability
4. analysing the role of landforms and landscapes in tourism. For example, Uluru in Australia or the Grand Canyon in the USA
5. examining how urbanisation can affect environmental quality and analysing the effects of erosion and sedimentation produced by human activities on landscape quality

Data and information Elaborations

Collect and record relevant geographical data and information from useful primary and secondary sources, using ethical protocols (VCGGC102)
1. gathering from a range of primary and digital sources, for example, from GIS layers, observation, annotated field sketches, surveys and interviews, or photographs, relevant data about the impacts of and responses to a hydrological hazard, or the factors influencing decisions people make about where to live
2. collecting geographical information from secondary sources, such as digital sources, thematic maps, weather maps, climate graphs, compound column graphs and population pyramids, reports, census data and the media
3. applying ethical research methods, including the use of protocols for consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
4. considering the usefulness of primary and secondary data by finding out when it was collected and for what purpose, and comparing this to the purpose of research
5. gathering relevant data about the ways to protect significant landscapes from a range of primary and digital sources, such as from observation, annotated field sketches, surveys and interviews, or photographs
Select and represent data and information in different forms, including by constructing appropriate maps at different scales that conform to cartographic conventions, using digital and spatial technologies as appropriate (VCGGC103)
1. creating an annotated diagram to demonstrate how water flows through the environment and connects places, or the influence of environmental quality on the liveability of places
2. constructing tables and graphs of demographic or economic data for Australia or China
3. creating annotated diagrams to show a landscape and its landforms
4. creating a map to show the spatial distribution and patterns of liveability, using computer mapping software
5. using a satellite image to construct a map to show the areas affected by a hydrological hazard, in Australia and another region of the world
Analyse maps and other geographical data and information using digital and spatial technologies as appropriate, to develop identifications, descriptions, explanations and conclusions that use geographical terminology (VCGGC104)
1. using aerial images of contrasting places to identify differences in housing density
2. using graphs, weather maps and satellite images to examine the temporal and spatial patterns of a selected hydrological hazard in Australia and another region of the world, such as countries of the Asia region, or from the Pacific region
3. using digital maps and overlays of an area to observe, describe and contrast the spatial associations of geographical phenomena. For example, the relationship between economic activities and river systems and the availability of surface water
4. interpreting topographic maps and digital terrain models, cross-sections or block diagrams to investigate landforms and their features
5. reviewing the results of an analysis to propose and defend answers to a question, emphasising at least one of the geographical concepts of place, space, environment, interconnection, sustainability, scale or change

Geographical Knowledge

Water in the world Elaborations

Classification of environmental resources and the forms that water takes as a resource (VCGGK105)
1. classifying resources into renewable/non-renewable and finite/infinite resources, and investigating examples of each type
2. describing how water is an available resource when it is groundwater, soil moisture (green water), and surface water in dams, rivers and lakes (blue water), and a potential resource when it exists as salt water, ice, water vapour or waste water, and using the concept of the water cycle to show the connections between the different forms
Ways that flows of water connect places as they move through the environment and the ways this affects places (VCGGK106)
1. explaining how the movement of water through the environment connects places. For example, the melting of snow in spring feeding rivers and dams downstream
2. investigating the environmental, economic and social effects of water as it connects people and places. For example, the effects of water in the Snowy Mountains, or of upstream irrigation on downstream water quality
The quantity and variability of Australia’s water resources compared with those in other continents and how water balance can be used to explain these differences (VCGGK107)
1. investigating the main causes of rainfall and applying their geographical knowledge to explain the seasonal rainfall patterns in their own place and in a place with either significantly higher or lower rainfall
2. interpreting the spatial distribution of rainfall in Australia and comparing it with that of other continents
3. using the concept of the water balance (the relationship between rainfall, evaporation and runoff) to explain the differences between Australia and other continents in water resources
Nature of water scarcity and the role of humans in creating and overcoming it, including studies drawn from Australia and West Asia and/or North Africa (VCGGK108)
1. investigating the causes of water scarcity. For example, an absolute shortage of water (physical), inadequate development of water resources (economics), or the way water is used
2. comparing the effectiveness in reducing water scarcity of methods that increase the supply of water (such as recycling waste water, stormwater harvesting and re-use, desalination and inter-regional transfer of water) with methods that reduce the demand for water (such as pricing, changing the use of water and water restrictions)
3. examining why water is a difficult resource to manage. For example, difficulties in accounting for its economic value, its competing uses and variability of supply over time and space
4. explaining why some land use management practices such as land cleaning and some farming practices have adversely affected water supply
The spiritual, economic, cultural and aesthetic value of water for people, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and peoples of the Asia region, that influence the significance of places (VCGGK109)
1. examining and comparing places in Australia and countries of the Asia region that have economies and communities based on irrigation. For example, rice production in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area in NSW and the Mekong Delta in Vietnam
2. exploring the multilayered meanings (material, cultural and spiritual wellbeing) associated with rivers, waterholes, seas, lakes, soaks and springs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
3. examining bays, rivers, waterfalls or lakes in Australia and in countries of the Asia region that have been listed as either World Heritage sites or national parks for their aesthetic and cultural value
4. investigating the spiritual significance of water in an Asian culture
Causes of an atmospheric or hydrological hazard and its impacts on places, and human responses to it to minimise harmful effects on places in the future (VCGGK110)
1. explaining the physical causes and the temporal and spatial patterns of an atmospheric or hydrological hazard through a study of either droughts, storms, tropical cyclones or floods
2. explaining the economic, environmental and social impacts of a selected atmospheric or hydrological hazard on people and places, and investigating community responses to the hazard

Place and liveability Elaborations

Factors that influence the decisions people make about where to live and their perceptions of the liveability of places (VCGGK111)
1. investigating their and others’ interpretations of the concept of liveability and why what makes a place liveable may vary from person to person according to age, education, income, cultural background and other variables
2. comparing student access to and use of places and spaces in their local area and evaluating how this affects perceptions of liveability
3. discussing why many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples live on their Country/Place or might prefer to if they had the choice
Influence of accessibility to services and facilities; and environmental quality, on the liveability of places (VCGGK112)
1. comparing accessibility to and availability of a range of services and facilities between different types of settlements (urban, rural and remote) in Australia and other countries. For example, shops, access to clean water, sanitation, education and health services
2. examining the role transport plays in people’s ability to access services and participate in activities in the local area
3. explaining the importance of water quality to the liveability of places
4. investigating the concept of environmental quality and surveying the environmental quality of their local area and its effect on liveability
5. exploring the geomorphology of the land and how this affects the liveability of a place
Environmental, economic and social measures used to evaluate places for their liveability, comparing two different places (VCGGK113)
1. comparing objective measures of liveability such as transportation infrastructure, with subjective measures such as people’s perceptions
2. comparing two liveability surveys and how this affects ranking places
3. evaluating surveys of liveability and the measures they use
Influence of social connectedness and community identity on the liveability of places (VCGGK114)
1. discussing the different types of places where people and groups can feel included or excluded, safe or threatened, and evaluating how this affects perceptions about liveability of places
2. investigating the extent to which people in their place are socially connected or socially isolated and its effect on liveability
Strategies used to enhance the liveability of places, especially for young people, including examples from Australia and Europe (VCGGK115)
1. researching methods implemented in Australia and Europe to improve the liveability of a place, and evaluating their applicability to their own locality
2. developing a specific proposal to improve an aspect of the liveability of their place, taking into account the needs of diverse groups in the community, including, for example, young people through fieldwork in the local recreation area or Traditional Owners by developing bilingual signage or indigenous garden projects
3. discussing the impact of increasing housing density on the liveability of places, and on their environmental sustainability

Landforms and landscapes Elaborations

Different types of landscapes and their distinctive landform features (VCGGK116)
1. identifying different types of landscapes, such as coastal, riverine, arid, mountain and karst, and describing examples from around the world, including Antarctica
2. identifying some iconic landforms in Australia and the world, and describing what makes them iconic
3. exploring the names, meanings and significance of landform features from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander perspective
Geomorphic processes that produce landforms, including a case study of at least one landform (VCGGK117)
1. describing the influence of folding, faulting or volcanism on a chosen landform
2. contrasting the effects of geomorphic processes that lower the land surface (weathering and erosion) and those that raise the land surface (transportation and deposition)
The differences in at least one landform in Australia compared to other places and the geomorphic processes involved (VCGGK118)
1. undertaking fieldwork at a site such as the 12 Apostles and using secondary sources to compare wave action and weathering with a similar landform, such as Raukar - Limestone Sea Stacks of Gotland in Sweden
2. comparing weathering processes acting on rock masses in one location with another in Australia or elsewhere, considering differences in climate, rock type, rock structure and erosion
Human causes of landscape degradation, the effects on landscape quality and the implications for places (VCGGK119)
1. analysing the effects of erosion and sedimentation produced by human activities on landscape quality, including farming and recreation
2. examining the effects of mining and quarrying, and urban development, on landscape quality and how this affects places
3. describing the effects of river regulation, including dams, locks, channel straightening and drains, on riverine and wetland landscape quality
4. investigating the effects on coastal landscape quality of the built elements of places. For example, urban development, marinas and sea walls
5. investigating the ways introduced plants or animals or activities such as mining affect landscape quality and examining the effects on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
Spiritual, cultural and aesthetic value of landscapes and landforms for people, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, that influence the significance of places, and ways of protecting significant landscapes (VCGGK120)
1. discussing the significance of landscapes in literature, song/music, film, art and identity
2. analysing the role of landforms and landscapes in tourism. For example, Uluru in Australia or the Grand Canyon in the USA
3. exploring the multilayered meanings (material, cultural and spiritual wellbeing) associated with landscapes and landforms by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
4. identifying different views about the recreational, psychological, aesthetic and spiritual value of particular environments and about the nature and extent of their protection, and discussing how this links to ideas about environmental sustainability
5. investigating a significant landscape that is threatened by human activities and developing a proposal for the future of the landscape that takes account of the views of the diverse groups, including Traditional Owners, with an interest in its use or protection
Causes of a geomorphological hazard and its impacts on places and human responses to it to minimise harmful effects on places in the future (VCGGK121)
1. investigating the natural causes and spatial distribution of a geomorphological hazard. For example, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides and avalanches
2. discussing the extent to which human alteration of environments has contributed to the occurrence of the geomorphological hazard
3. describing how the effects caused by geomorphological hazards are influenced by social, cultural and economic factors. For example, where people choose to live, poverty, and lack of infrastructure and resources to prepare and respond
4. researching how the application of principles of prevention, mitigation and preparedness minimises the harmful effects of geomorphological hazards
5. investigating the negative and positive impacts of bushfires on Australian landscapes and ways of responding to the risk and events of bushfires

Changing nations Elaborations

The causes and consequences of urbanisation, drawing on a study from Indonesia (VCGGK122)
1. discussing urbanisation as a shift in where, how and why people live where they do
2. exploring the connections between urbanisation and economic and social opportunities
3. examining how urbanisation can affect environmental quality. For example, carbon emissions and water consumption
The causes and consequences of urban concentration and urban settlement patterns between Australia and the United States of America and reasons for these similarities and differences (VCGGK123)
1. researching the causes of urban concentration in Australia and the United States of America. For example, the history of European settlement, migration, the export orientation of the economy, the centralisation of state governments, environmental constraints and the shape of transportation networks
2. applying the concept of place to explain why urbanisation produces different spatial outcomes in different countries
The reasons for and effects of international migration to Australia (VCGGK124)
1. identifying and explaining the main types and patterns of international migration. For example, permanent migration, temporary labour migration, student migration, forced migration (including refugees) and family reunion
2. investigating where and why international migrants settle in Australia and how this may reinforce urban concentration
3. exploring the changing cultural diversity of the Australian population
The reasons for and effects of internal migration in Australia and China (VCGGK125)
1. identifying and explaining the main types, patterns and trends of internal migration in Australia. For example, employment, lifestyle and retirement migration
2. examining the effects of resource development in Australia on employment growth in both the resource regions and the cities, and on internal migration
3. explaining why changes in the spatial distribution of population are a good indicator of economic and social change in a country
4. examining the role of labour migration in the urban development of China. For example, the growth of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province
5. exploring the issues relating to China’s ‘floating population’
The challenges of managing and planning Australia’s urban future (VCGGK126)
1. examining the forecasts for the size of Australia’s major cities and regional urban centres, and discussing the implications for their environmental sustainability and liveability
2. investigating ways of managing the projected growth of Australia’s cities and regional urban centres
3. exploring the arguments for and against a more balanced distribution of the urban population
4. examining how Canberra can be used as an example of urban decentralisation
5. proposing action to respond to geographical issues related to urbanisation

Levels 7 and 8 Achievement Standard

By the end of Level 8, students explain processes that influence the characteristics of places. They identify, analyse and explain interconnections and spatial characteristics and identity and explain their implications.

They compare strategies for a geographical challenge, taking into account a range of factors and predict the likely outcomes.

They ethically collect, record and select relevant geographical data and information from useful sources. They select and represent data and information in a range of appropriate forms including maps at different scales that conform to cartographic conventions. They analyse maps and other geographical data and information, and use geographical terminology, to develop identifications, descriptions, explanations and conclusions. They use digital and spatial technologies to represent and analyse data and information.

Levels 9 and 10

Levels 9 and 10 Description

In Levels 9 and 10, students consider changes in the characteristics of places and the implications of these. They consider significant spatial distributions and patterns and evaluate their implications, and consider interconnections between and within places and changes resulting from these, over time and at different scales. This further develops their understanding of geographical concepts...

Students’ conceptual thinking is developed through four sub-strands:

Biomes and food security
Environmental change and management
Geographies of interconnections
Geographies of human well-being

Biomes and food security focuses on investigating the role of the biotic environment and its role in food and fibre production. Students examine the biomes of the world, their alteration and significance as a source of food and fibre, and the environmental challenges and constraints on expanding food production in the future.

Environmental change and management focuses on investigating environmental geography. It begins with an overview of environmental change and the factors that influence it. Students investigate a specific environmental change in Australia and one other country. They examine the causes and consequences of the change and strategies to manage the change.

Geographies of interconnections focuses on investigating how people, through their choices and actions, are connected to places throughout the world in a wide variety of ways, and how these connections help to make and change places and their environments.

Geographies of human wellbeing focuses on investigating global, national and local differences in human wellbeing between places. Students examine the different concepts and measures of human wellbeing and spatial differences in wellbeing, and evaluate the differences from a variety of perspectives. They explore programs designed to reduce the gap between differences in wellbeing.

Key questions

What are the causes and consequences of change in places and environments?
What are the future implications of changes to places and environments and what management options exist for sustaining human and natural systems into the future?
Why are interconnections and interdependencies important for the future of places and environments?
How can the spatial variation between places and changes in environments be explained?

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Levels 9 and 10 Content Descriptions

Geographical Concepts and Skills

Place, space and interconnection Elaborations

Predict changes in the characteristics of places over time and identify the possible implications of change for the future (VCGGC127)
1. researching the potential of agricultural production in northern Australia
2. discussing the effects of people's cultural and leisure choices on towns and cities or heritage areas. For example, predicting how changing choices may affect these and other places in the future
3. evaluating the effects of international demand for food products on biodiversity throughout the world, in the places of their production
4. identifying trends in human wellbeing in countries over time
Identify, analyse and explain significant spatial distributions and patterns and identify and evaluate their implications, over time and at different scales (VCGGC128)
1. identifying and describing the major aquatic and terrestrial biomes of Australia and the world, and their spatial distribution
2. examining how information and communication technologies have made it possible for places in India and the Philippines, for example, to provide a range of global business services
3. proposing geographical management strategies for the environmental change being investigated, for example, establishing reserves and corridors to preserve biodiversity (a spatial strategy), ecosystem-based management (an environmental strategy), urban planning to reduce energy consumption (a spatial strategy), and addressing the underlying as well as immediate causes of environmental change (holistic thinking)
4. examining spatial data on human wellbeing in India to identify the regions with different levels of wellbeing, identifying patterns and debating explanations of the differences
Identify, analyse and explain significant interconnections within places and between places over time and at different scales, and evaluate the resulting changes and further consequences (VCGGC129)
1. evaluating the effects of international demand for food products on biodiversity throughout the world, in the places of their production
2. using the concept of a system to examine the interconnections between biophysical processes and the human actions, and their underlying causes, that generate environmental change, together with the consequences of these changes
3. identifying the biomes in Australia and overseas that produce some of the foods and plant material people consume and ways that the production of food and fibre has altered some biomes through, for example, vegetation clearance
4. examining how a person’s wellbeing is influenced by where they live, with reference to at least two different scales in a country of the Asia region
5. exploring how transport networks operate to connect people to services, including how supply chain logistics influence these connections

Data and information Elaborations

Collect and record relevant geographical data and information, using ethical protocols, from reliable and useful primary and secondary sources (VCGGC130)
1. gathering relevant data about challenges to food production or the effects of people’s travel, recreational, cultural or leisure choices on places from a range of primary sources such as from observation and annotated field sketches, conducting surveys and interviews and experiments, or taking photographs
2. collecting geographical information from secondary sources. For example, topographic, thematic, choropleth, and weather maps, climate graphs, compound column graphs and population pyramids, scatter plots, tables, satellite images and aerial photographs, reports, census data and the media
3. collecting quantitative and qualitative data using ethical research methods, including the use of protocols for consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
4. evaluating the reliability and usefulness of data and information by considering how and when it was collected, by whom and for what purpose, and comparing this to the purpose of the research
Select, organise and represent data and information in different forms, including by constructing special purpose maps that conform to cartographic conventions, using digital and spatial technologies as appropriate (VCGGC131)
1. creating a diagram to illustrate the flows of nutrients and energy within a biome, and the alterations to these flows produced by agriculture
2. developing a table to show the types of challenges to food production in Australia compared to other areas of the world, or the ways that places and people are interconnected through trade
3. using scatter plots of data for countries or smaller areas to investigate the relationship between two variables, such as per capita income and life expectancy for countries, and to identify anomalies
4. creating a map to show the relationship between biomes and world food production, using a spatial technologies application
5. constructing and interpreting choropleth maps to show patterns of human wellbeing at a local scale
Analyse and evaluate data, maps and other geographical information using digital and spatial technologies and Geographical Information Systems as appropriate, to develop identifications, descriptions, explanations and conclusions that use geographical terminology (VCGGC132)
1. constructing a graph to show the relationship between growth in world population and world food production
2. comparing maps showing transport networks with survey responses on personal mobility
3. analysing environmental change, such as the clearance of vegetation or a plan for a vegetation corridor, using topographic maps and satellite images
4. identifying the relevant layers of a Geographical Information System and using them to investigate how they can portray and analyse demographic, economic and environmental data, and investigating the use of GIS by organisations.
5. testing conclusions by considering alternative points of view about an area of investigation and providing a response using as organisers at least two of the concepts of place, space, environment, interconnection, sustainability, scale and change

Geographical Knowledge

Biomes and food security Elaborations

Distribution and characteristics of biomes as regions with distinctive climates, soils, vegetation and productivity (VCGGK133)
1. identifying and describing the major aquatic and terrestrial biomes of Australia and the world, and their spatial distribution
2. examining the influence of climate on biomass production (as measured by net primary productivity) in different biomes
Environmental, economic and technological factors that influence crop yields in Australia and across the world (VCGGK134)
1. investigating the environmental constraints on agricultural production in Australia, such as soil moisture, water resources and soils, and the extent to which agricultural innovations have overcome them
2. investigating how high crop yields around the world (for example from wheat, rice and maize) are related to factors such as irrigation, accessibility, labour supply, landforms and agricultural technologies, such as high yielding varieties
3. using the concept of soil moisture budget to examine the spatial and seasonal quantity of soil moisture available for agriculture in different places in Australia
The interconnection between food production and land and water degradation; shortage of fresh water; competing land uses; and climate change, for Australia and other areas of the world (VCGGK135)
1. exploring environmental challenges to food production from land degradation (soil erosion, salinity, desertification), industrial pollution, water scarcity and climate change
2. identifying the impacts on food production from competing land uses. For example, urban and industrial uses, mining, production of food crops for biofuels, production of food crops for livestock, and recreation (such as golf courses)
3. evaluating whether some ways of increasing food production could threaten sustainability
Human alteration of biomes to produce food, industrial materials and fibres, and the environmental effects of these alterations (VCGGK136)
1. identifying the biomes in Australia and overseas that produce some of the foods and plant material people consume
2. investigating ways that the production of food and fibre has altered some biomes through, for example, vegetation clearance, introduction of exotic species, drainage, terracing and irrigation
3. using the concept of a system to identify the differences between natural and agricultural ecosystems in flows of nutrients and water, and in biodiversity
Land and resource management strategies used by Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander peoples to achieve food security over time (VCGGK137)
1. investigating the knowledge and practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that enabled them to use resources and environments sustainably (such as rotational use and harvesting of resources through planned movement, controlled burning, temporary or permanent prohibitions on hunting animals and harvesting plants, and limitations on harvesting) and how some of this knowledge is currently shared among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and also with non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
2. investigating the impacts of alterations of biomes on the productivity and availability of staple resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, for example, the Murnong (yam daisy) in Victoria
Challenges in feeding the current and projected populations of Australia and the world, and responses to these challenges (VCGGK138)
1. examining the effects of anticipated future population growth on global food production and security, and its implications for agriculture and agricultural innovation
2. researching the potential of agricultural production in northern Australia
3. identifying how poverty, food wastage, government policies and trade barriers could affect future food security
4. applying an understanding of the functioning of natural and agricultural ecosystems to investigate ways of making Australian agriculture more sustainable
5. examining a contemporary geographical issue related to food production and security and debating alternative responses that consider environmental, economic and social factors

Geographies of interconnection Elaborations

Perceptions people have of place, and how this influences their connections to different places (VCGGK139)
1. comparing people's perception and use of places and spaces in their local area, such as different age groups
2. investigating how people in places in other countries perceive, use and are connected to their place and space
Ways in which transportation and information and communication technologies are used to connect people to services, information and people in other places (VCGGK140)
1. describing the differences in people’s access to the internet between and within countries and exploring how information and communication technologies are being used to connect people to information, services and people in other places, for example, in rural and remote areas across Australia and the world, including selected countries of the Asia region
2. examining how information and communication technologies have made it possible for places in India and the Philippines, for example, to provide a range of global business services
3. exploring how transport networks operate to connect people to services, including how supply chain logistics influence these connections
Ways that places and people are interconnected with other places through trade in goods and services, at all scales (VCGGK141)
1. investigating how and why places are interconnected regionally, nationally and globally through trade in goods and services
2. investigating some of the products and/or services that businesses in their town, city or rural region sell to other places
3. examining tourism, students and retirees as sources of income for some places
Effects of the production and consumption of goods on places and environments throughout the world and including a country from North-East Asia (VCGGK142)
1. exploring the environmental impacts of the consumer product on the places that produce the raw materials, make the product, and receive the wastes at the end of its life
2. identifying the effects of international trade in consumer products on Australian places
3. evaluating the effects of international demand for food products on biodiversity throughout the world, in the places of their production
Effects of people’s travel, recreational, cultural or leisure choices on places, and the implications for the future of these places (VCGGK143)
1. investigating the global growth of tourism and its likely effects on the future of places
2. discussing the effects of people's cultural and leisure choices on towns and cities or heritage areas. For example, predicting how changing choices may affect these and other places in the future

Environmental change and management Elaborations

Different types and distribution of environmental changes and the forms it takes in different places (VCGGK144)
1. creating a map to show measures of environmental change, using a spatial technologies application
2. examining spatial data and information on desertification affecting drylands
3. describing and analysing a global map showing access to safe water and investigating differences in water pollution in different places
Environmental, economic and technological factors that influence environmental change and human responses to its management (VCGGK145)
1. identifying human-induced environmental changes, such as water and atmospheric pollution, loss of biodiversity, degradation of land, inland and coastal aquatic environments, and evaluating the challenges they pose for the sustainability of environmental functions
2. evaluating the concept of ecosystem services and the importance of these services for sustainability of biodiversity
3. discussing whether environmental change is necessarily a problem that should be managed
4. proposing geographical management strategies for the environmental change being investigated, for example, establishing reserves and corridors to preserve biodiversity (a spatial strategy), ecosystem-based management (an environmental strategy), urban planning to reduce energy consumption (a spatial strategy), and addressing the underlying as well as immediate causes of environmental change (holistic thinking)
5. applying the concept of place to explain the variety of strategies and solutions to similar environmental changes in different places
Environmental worldviews of people and their implications for environmental management (VCGGK146)
1. describing the role of people’s environmental worldviews, for example, human-centred and earth-centred, in producing different attitudes and approaches towards environmental management
2. comparing the differences in people’s views about the causes of environmental issues in Australia and across the world
3. explaining people’s choices of methods for managing or responding to environmental changes
4. discussing the influence of people’s world views on programs for the management of the environmental change being investigated
Causes and consequences of an environmental change, comparing examples from Australia and at least one other country (VCGGK147)
1. using the concept of a system to examine the interconnections between biophysical processes and the human actions, and their underlying causes, that generate environmental change, together with the consequences of these changes
2. evaluating the effects of the environmental change on the sustainability of the environment
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ approaches to custodial responsibility and environmental management in different regions of Australia (VCGGK148)
1. researching the role of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in environmental management
2. explaining Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander models of sustainability that contribute to broader conservation practices
3. discussing why land management agencies are working with Traditional Owners to manage environmental change and challenges
Application of environmental economic and social criteria in evaluating management responses to an environmental change, and the predicted outcomes and further consequences of management responses on the environment and places, comparing examples from Australia and at least one other country (VCGGK149)
1. explaining how communities and governments attempt to balance environmental, economic and social criteria in decisions on environmental programs, and the extent to which there can be trade-offs between them
2. debating the practical and ethical dilemmas of national and international conservation programs aimed at the environmental change being investigated

Geographies of human wellbeing Elaborations

Interconnecting causes of spatial variations between countries in selected indicators of human wellbeing (VCGGK150)
1. investigating the locational, economic, social, technological, political and or environmental causes of inequalities in wellbeing between countries
2. examining and explaining differences in indicators by gender between countries
3. investigating the interrelationships between the rate of population growth and human wellbeing in countries
4. examining how the possession of natural resources, such as minerals can affect wellbeing in a country
Reasons and consequences for spatial variations in human wellbeing on a regional scale within India or another country of the Asia region; and on a local scale in Australia (VCGGK151)
1. examining spatial data on human wellbeing in India to identify the regions with different levels of wellbeing, identifying patterns and debating explanations of the differences
2. examining how a person’s wellbeing is influenced by where they live, with reference to at least two different scales in a country of the Asia region
3. researching spatial differences in the wellbeing of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population across Australia, and the extent to which these differences depend on how wellbeing is measured
4. explaining the spatial pattern of human wellbeing in Australia at a local scale, such as within a city or region, and its causes
Different ways of measuring and mapping human wellbeing and development, and how these can be applied to measure differences between places (VCGGK152)
1. examining and comparing different concepts of human wellbeing, including those held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
2. identifying and evaluating different ways of measuring wellbeing, such as per capita income or the UN Human Development Index, and applying them to investigate spatial variations in human wellbeing and comparing the results from different measures
3. examining the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and their relationship to human wellbeing
4. identifying trends in human wellbeing in countries over time
Issues affecting the development of places and their impact on human wellbeing, drawing on a study from a developing country or region in Africa, South America or the Pacific Islands (VCGGK153)
1. evaluating relationships between gross domestic product (GDP) per capita over time and trends in measures of wellbeing in the selected country or region
Role of initiatives by international and national government and non-government organisations to improve human wellbeing in Australia and other countries (VCGGK154)
1. investigating ways of reducing inequalities in wellbeing between places at a local scale in Australia
2. discussing the objectives and outcomes of an Australian Government overseas economic and social development program or a non-government overseas aid program in a specific country or region within a country
3. identifying ways to improve the wellbeing of remote Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander communities, including ways proposed by the communities

Levels 9 and 10 Achievement Standard

By the end of Level 10, students predict changes in the characteristics of places over time and identify implications of change for the future. They identify, analyse, and explain significant spatial distributions and patterns and significant interconnections within and between places, and identify and evaluate their implications, over time and at different scales.

They evaluate alternative views on a geographical challenge and alternative strategies to address this challenge, using environmental, social and economic criteria, explaining the predicted outcomes and further consequences and drawing a reasoned conclusion.

They ethically collect relevant geographical data and information from reliable and useful sources. They select, organise and represent data and information in different forms, using appropriate digital and spatial technologies and through special purpose maps that conform to cartographic conventions. They analyse and evaluate geographical data, maps and information using digital and spatial technologies and Geographical Information Systems as appropriate to develop identifications, descriptions, explanations and conclusions that use geographical terminology.