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Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority

Geography

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  1. 9-10

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...

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Levels 9 and 10 Content Descriptions

Geographical Concepts and Skills

Place, space and interconnection Elaborations
  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. 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
  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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
  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. 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
  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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.

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