Synthesizing Geography and History: An analysis of Pennsylvania Standards of History Education

Synthesizing Geography and History:
An analysis of Pennsylvania Standards of History Education
Michael Metz
Advised by Dr. James Higgins
Presented at 14th Annual Conference for Undergraduate Research & Creative
Expression
April 27th
, 2013
Academic Forum

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Introduction
During my time at Kutztown University, I have taken several courses on secondary education. I
have learned a fair amount about the educational process and how to teach middle school and high
school students. As I wish to be a social studies teacher, I have taken an interest in methods of
education deployed in the history classroom and whether it is possible to improve upon those methods
of education. In order to explore social studies education, I examined the Pennsylvania standards of
education and have decided that they can be improved on. I believe that geography, one of the seven
social sciences, is an incredibly important part of history that is not properly emphasized in history
curriculum. High school students need to be given a stronger knowledge base of geographic concepts
and how geography relates to history in classroom lesson plans. Current geography standards of
education are inadequate. I will describe the necessity of geography to history, my analysis and
evaluation of Pennsylvania state standards of education based on Bloom’s Taxonomy, the secondary
and primary research I conducted to evaluate my claims, and my proposed solution of creating new
history standards and lesson plans that synthesize geography and history into a comprehensive manner.
The final goal of this paper is to present the new geographic history standards I would propose to the
Pennsylvania Department of Education and to provide examples of lesson plans to demonstrate my
points.
Why is Geography so important to History?
History is important because it is the story of humanity. History is a discipline that allows us to
analyze the past and help us determine how to solve problems in the future. Analysis and
comprehension requires the researcher to find the determining factors of the events. Factors that
determine the course of events are essential to truly learning a historical event. Unless you know why
something happened, you are merely memorizing facts and thus storing them only in your short term

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memory. By introducing the concept of determining factors to students, they will achieve a better
understanding of history, thus taking their education to a deeper analytical level. Teaching history as a
discipline of determining factors instead of a list of events helps students learn research skills that can
be applied to any scientific discipline, as well as in real life. What factors influenced the event? How
would things have been differently? Why is this development the way that it is? What caused this to
happen? All of these questions are necessary to answer to truly understand historical events.
Geography is a primary source of determining factors of historical events; in fact, geography is a
source of determining factors for all the other aspects of social studies curriculum: history, political
science, economics, and anthropology. The earth’s landscape, proximity of cultures, and the trends
caused by human interaction with the land is potentially the biggest shaper of human history.
Geography determines where people live, what resources and technology people needed and used,
trade routes and subsequent colonization, where certain cultures spread and others were halted, how
battles were fought; the list is endless. Political lines and national lines have been and will be decided
due to geographic elements such as population centers and geographic features. Certain countries came
to dominate others due to resource allocation, thus bringing wealth to some and poverty to others.
Ethnic and national tensions are often immediately determined by the proximity of opposing cultures;
geography, however, shows us how those cultures developed into opposing viewpoints, thus showing
trends in history. By learning concepts of geographic awareness and analytical skills, a person will be
able to look beyond the surface of current events and find the true factors beneath the tension. A
popular belief of history is that by learning the mistakes of the past, we will prevent them in the future.
Geography is another tool to help students see why those mistakes were made in the first place, and if
possible, allowing future generations to fix those mistakes.

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Applying My Project to Bloom’s Taxonomy
One of the key frameworks I have built my paper around is Bloom’s Taxonomy. Bloom’s
Taxonomy is a classification system of educational goals in the classroom, originating in the 1950s.
Benjamin Boom created a series of questioning levels that express the level of difficulty of teaching
methods and question words. An illustration of the theory is shown below:
The lower section of the pyramid represents the simplest form of cognitive processes, while the
top of the pyramid expresses the most difficult of cognitive functions. Using this system, it is clear to see
that Bloom considers memorization and comprehension as the lower forms of education, while analysis,
synthesizing information, and evaluating data takes far high cognitive abilities. Bloom argues that
information that is merely memorized leaves the brain quickly and is thus should not be a goal of
educators. When students have to analyze and synthesize that information, however, the information
gets ingrained into the brain at a deeper level and thus becomes more meaningful in the long term for a
student’s education.
The theory behind Bloom’s Taxonomy is incredibly important to the educational process. In
order to fully understand the theory, I applied Bloom’s Taxonomy to the process of my Fall 2011

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independent study. By slowly building up my own levels of questioning, I slowly dived deeper and
deeper into Bloom’s theory. This project began with memorization. My early tasks in the semester were
to gather information, memorize of Bloom’s Taxonomy, find Pennsylvania’s standards for history and
geography, etc. The initial phase was the lowest level of my research, which demonstrates an important
point. The goal of this study is not to discredit the need to memorize facts. Rather, it is an attempt to
follow the “+1” teaching model, where teachers take material that students know and make it slightly
harder for them, thus increasing their students’ levels of comprehension. These facts are the base
knowledge behind any concepts in the higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy; the important thing that I
emphasize is that teachers hardly move past this initial stage of learning, especially in geography.
The next step of this study was to research geographic concepts and standards in order to better
understand the concepts I am advocating. Why is geography so important? Is history really influenced by
geography to the extent I believe? If so, to what extent is geography being taught? Are these standards
being upheld in Pennsylvania? These were all questions to which I had to answer after my initial phase
of gathering information. Some methods I took for tackling this part were to review concepts taught by
Diamond in Guns, Germs, and Steel. In this book, Diamond goes into great detail about the geography
advantages of Europe and central Asia, while civilizations like the Aztecs in the New World were not
blessed by geography. Diamond discusses the “why” behind things happening; why certain civilizations
have success, why others did not progress to farming, how countries won wars. Reviewing his work
helped me understand which concepts of geography are particularly important to history, such as
resource allocation, spatial distribution of populations, geopolitical situations, and more. There are
many long-term trends in geographic history that have caused the disparities in different areas
throughout the world today. Various Polynesian islands, for example, have less potential to grow cereal
crops and thus cause population bursts, due to resources on the island and topography of archipelagos.
The answers to questions such as “why did Europe conquer Africa and not the other way around” are

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not as clear cut as mere resource advantage. By all rights, Africa has more resources and a more diverse
environment than Europe, not to mention a chronological head start in human history. Geography is a
deeply analytical field of study. This is a discipline that is not simple facts and obvious answers. Many of
the “why” factors are complicated and multi-level, enough to build a strong curriculum.
During the understanding level of this project, I reviewed several books that explained
geography standards, and why they are taught. Geography gives students a global awareness that
cannot be achieved in almost any other class. This discipline broadens students’ minds to the changes
and shifts in the world, and how they affect our lives. Many students do not know the “why” behind
things. In history classes, they learn about dates and people, but why are they important? Many
students will not be able to answer that question. The same can be applied for geography. When given a
map, most students are asked to memorize where rivers, mountains, and cities are. Rarely, however, are
they asked to understand why they are memorizing those land features. Why is New York City where it
is? What is important about the Great Lakes? These questions are not answered in many history
curriculums. Pennsylvania’s standards of history do not call on teachers to go over the geographical
reasons behind many locations and events.
Understanding the concepts that are taught with history and geography standards helped me to
realize why students are not getting what they deserve in geography. Students are not required to
understand the basics of the knowledge in front of them; they have few chances to apply it in their lives
(the 3rd
level of Bloom’s Taxonomy). By seeing what the standards themselves are calling for, it is easy to
see why students often know geography as “point to this place on a map” and nothing else. This type of
knowledge is short term. Namely, students learn for the test itself, and forget the information shortly
after. Unless knowledge is meaningful and used repeatedly, that knowledge fades.

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Americans are not given that opportunity to apply their knowledge of language on a regular
basis. Unless application is utilized, for language and geography, the knowledge will quickly be lost. I
entered this phase of my project when I began taking geographical concepts and combining them with
history, the early stages of the new standards I would later create. Was it possible to apply geography to
history, to take historical facts and data and be able to incorporate geography as well? I did this by
finding a high school level American History curriculum textbook in the library and paging through the
lessons presented. By understanding the core of the lessons, I found that they could be taught with a
geographical spin. I would bring in elements of cultural and physical geography and decide whether or
not they were applicable, and in most cases they were.
For example, take Boston and all the heat it received from Britain pre-Revolutionary War.
Historically, they were subjected to strict taxes, intrusions from British soldiers, and riots such as the
Boston Tea Party. I posed this question: why Boston? Why not New York, Philadelphia, or any of the
cities in the south? The answer behind that is geography. Early on, Boston was one of the best port cities
in colonial America. Due to natural features that create sheltered harbors, and wind patterns of the
Atlantic Ocean, Boston is a natural place for trade. Being one of the best trading harbors, Britain
cracked down more forcefully than on a few farms in Virginia. By using this example, students can utilize
concepts from physical geography to understand why Boston was such a targeted city. They can then
apply that information to future scenarios involving trade and port cities. This is but one example, but
virtually any unit lesson in the curriculum book from the library can be taught by incorporating
geography.
Reviewing PDE SAS Standards of Education
Analyzing is the next step, level 4, in Bloom’s Taxonomy. The ability to compare, contrast,
criticizes, examine, and question a concept and its different components. I performed this level of

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questioning when I reviewed the standards for Pennsylvania education in both history and geography.
These standards are provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Education Standards Aligned System.
The first question I pose is to what extent are the standards of history and geography curriculum
integrated. There are 15 PA standards for history, with 12 of them being the same standard applied to
PA, U.S., and World history. In essence, Students have 7 history standards in whatever type of class they
have at the time, be it one of the three categories previously mentioned. Of those 7 essential standards,
only 2 include geography. Even then, they are merely mentioned as a subcategory of the standard itself
(Appendix A). This apparent lack of geographical information in the history standards indicates that
students are not learning history in a proper, geographical context, thus missing many key factors in
history.
My second question asked while analyzing the standards was how well does geography and
history compare to each other on a ranking list of Bloom’s Taxonomy. This is done in more detail in my
section on the standards themselves, but as a brief summary, geography standards fall short. By the 12th
grade level, 6 out of the 7 standards of geography ask for nothing higher than analyzing, level 4 of
Bloom’s Taxonomy. History standards, by contrast, all hit at least level 5, with one of the standards even
reaching Creating (level 6), the highest level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. In short, students are asked to do
much less in geography classes as then they are in history classes. The standards of questioning in
geography classes do not ask students to think as hard in geography classes, as compared to history
standards. The information is applied at low levels of thinking and thus disappears shortly.
Another critique I have of geography standards in Pennsylvania is that there are no standards
for 10th
and 11th
grade. Geography is lumped as an environmental science class in many school districts,
and thus takes a back seat to the “harder sciences” such as biology, chemistry, and physics. Students are
not expected to have to know geography very consistently in secondary education. Furthermore, there

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is a decent gap between the expectations for 9th
grade and 12th
grade geography. I illustrate this point
by comparing the expectations between the two grades, and what levels of knowledge students are
expected to supply in each perspective grade. In 9th
grade, 5 of the 7 standards are at the second level of
analysis, Understanding. Then, after 2 years of not having geography, 12th
grade students are expected
to apply level four Analysis concepts. There is a level gap that is randomly skipped between the two
years. The fact that there are grade levels where geography is not required is a problem in itself, but the
expectation of stepping up the level of application without properly scaffolding geography techniques
throughout the years is inefficient. History standards, by contrast, take a slightly more gradual increase
that mirrors students’ growth throughout high school. In 9th
grade, history standards have students
thinking at level 4, Analyzing; In 12th
grade, the majority of the standards are at level 5, Evaluating, with
a few at level 6. History is required throughout all of high school, and the skills necessary to meet the
standards of history start higher up the scale of Bloom’s Taxonomy then geography do. This makes it
easier for students to transition between history classes throughout the years, because students are
only going up one level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Geography standards, by contrast, skip 10th
and 11th
grade
and skip the Application of Bloom.
This weakness of the standards I found during the analyzing section of my progress is the core of
my argument. I believe that the standards of geography are far too weak in the Pennsylvania school
system. Geography classes as a whole do not have the same level of standards as other science and
social studies classes and are not as consistently present in school curriculum as they should be. In
addition to this, geography is an significant part of history and thus should be completely integrated into
the standards of history. Instead, history standards glance over geography, giving it a backseat to other
issues such as economics and religion. Geography concepts are often the true, underlying concepts and
reasons behind many events in history. The discipline should not be glossed over in the classroom. My
proposal is to integrate elements of physical and cultural geography into history classes in order to give

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students the proper chances to apply their knowledge of geography. This has the added benefit of
essentially combining what is currently considered an earth science class into that of a social science.
Teachers will argue that they do not have enough time to teach the concepts of both history and
geography into a single class period. I argue that the concepts are integrated so well with each other
(even the more “science-y” concepts) that teachers are not doing their students justice when they teach
history without geography.
How do history teachers feel about teaching geography?
At this point in my project, this is all just theory. My belief that students are not being taught
proper geography, especially concepts that apply to history, had been merely speculation. The next step
in my project, following Bloom’s Taxonomy, is to evaluate the validity of my theory. Is this a study worth
looking into? Is there actual merit to my argument? I decided to test this by sending out surveys to both
teachers and students to high schools and colleges in the area. For the teachers, I created a short survey
designed to gather how they feel about geography in the classroom. Do they agree with me? Are they
using more than just maps? Do they truly understand what geography is? These are all questions I
sought to answer when sending out this survey (please see Appendix D). The responses to the teacher
surveys were somewhat varied. In particular, the results fell into two categories: older teachers and
younger teachers. Several teachers who responded had been teaching for over 25 years. While they
believe that geography is important to social studies and use maps often in their classrooms, neither of
them assign map quizzes or tests in their classroom. I asked if they used any of the following map types
in their classrooms: political, land features, population, economic status, transportation routes,
resources, languages, war maps, religion, and ancient history. Out of those 10 categories, the older
teachers utilized less than half of these categories into their geographical analysis of the content.

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Furthermore, none of the survey takers over 25 years old articulated any substantial geographical tools
or even how to use them in the classroom.
The groups of younger teachers, ones who have been teaching for less than 10 years, were
slightly better versed in the use of geography in the classroom. All of the younger teachers who
answered my survey give students map quizzes and use a variety of maps in their classroom. My
problem, however, is that when asked to describe what geography assignments were used in the
classroom, they amounted to little more than asking the students to label land features. When asked
about how they normally assess the knowledge of their students, most teachers responded that they
ask students to evaluate and synthesize information presented to them and through their own research.
Why then, are these same procedures not included when it comes to geography? The teachers who
responded to this survey also had little to say when I asked if they know of any geographical tools
besides maps, and how to apply them in the classroom. Geography is a discipline that seeks to
understand spatial awareness and make connections between human and environmental interactions.
Some tools to utilize are maps, geographic information systems, remote systems, mathematical models,
participant observations, surveys, and graphs. Almost none of these tools are applied in high school
classrooms. This is a problem, because students should be given all the tools needed to maximize their
potential when understanding the world in history classes.
Analysis of Geography Quizzes given to High School and College Level Students
The next step of my project was to create a short geography quiz to be administered to high
school students and college level students. This was done in order to see if students are receiving the
level of education required by the PA standards. The quizzes for the students was a short, 20-minute
quiz I created to test the standards of history and geography (Appendix E). I selected questions that ask
for elements of geography and historical geography, questions which fulfill both current Pennsylvania

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standards (please see Appendix A and Appendix B). I pulled topics from US, World, and Pennsylvania
history in order to follow the guidelines specified in PA’s standards of education. The quiz was given
primarily to high school students, with 20 college student participants to note any differences between
age groups. Appendix F is a graphical representation and notes on the results the of the student results,
which will now be explained. Appendix G is a series of graphs comparing the test results that include two
sets of high school freshmen, one set of high school seniors, and one set of college level students.
When evaluating the high school results, there were several criteria I looked for students to
accomplish. The first level of my evaluation was how consistent student results were with the levels of
Bloom’s Taxonomy. My test had 14 questions, with a certain amount of questions dedicated to each
level of Bloom’s Taxonomy; for example, the first 5 questions were “Remembering,” the next 3
questions were “Understanding,” and so on. Out of 35 students who participated in this initial phase of
the study, the results were as follows:
Level of Bloom’s Taxonomy # of students who correctly answered
out of 35 students (age 14-18)
1. Remembering 16.4
2. Understanding 13.67
3. Applying 20
4. Analyzing 17
5. Evaluating 12
6. Creating 3
My original theory is that students would perform best from levels 1-4, with a gradual decrease
in correct answers as the students’ progress through the levels of Bloom. From this numerical
representation of academic skills, there appears to be a bell curve, with students having top skills in
Applying and Analyzing. It is good to see that students are succeeding the most in level 3 and level 4 of
Bloom’s Taxonomy, but looks can be deceiving from this analysis. I believe that students scored as high
as they did in level 3 because question 9 of my student test (Appendix E) was potentially the vaguest

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question on the test. I accepted a wide range of answers for the question because there are many
factors that must be considered when building a city. Students were able to take what they know from
their home lives and apply it to a new scenario. The high score in level 4, Analyzing, should be explained
by a printing error when sending out the surveys to the students. Question 12, the second question that
falls into Level 4 of Bloom, did not print out correctly when being given to the high school students, thus
rendering that question impossible for them to answer. I decided to supplement data collected from
college students and converting it to the same scale I used to evaluate the high school students. The
problem with that method, I now see, is that college students generally did far better on this exam than
high school students. Many of the concepts that students must apply on this exam are used constantly
in college; college students, many of them in their junior year, were far more prepared for this test. By
viewing the graphs in Appendix G, however, it is interesting to note the similarity in the shape of the
curves of freshman, senior, and college student results.
Despite this slight error in the data, one can still gather that students are being taught the skills
necessary to answer the later questions in my test, levels 5 and 6 of Bloom. Only a third of the students
who participated were able to properly evaluate the content on the designated questions, and only 8%
of the participants were able to create a true hypothesis for level 6. This is not even a matter of correctly
answering the question; the participants did not defend their points or create a new argument. They
listed a bunch of facts, but lacked the skills that are required for critical thinking and creation of new
material. This suggests that students are not being taught the skills designated by PA history standards.
Students are able to remember short term information and apply it to new scenarios, but analytical,
evaluative, and creative skills are lacking.
How well students responded to the various levels of Bloom was the first level I analyzed the
results from. The second level was how well students were able to understand and utilize the maps and

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graphs provided with questions 1-3, 8, 12, and 14. Students performed at much lower levels when asked
to analyze maps, when compared to the questions without such visual aids. Multiple professors have
told me that one skill many employers are noticing that college students lack is the ability to access
information on a graph. Students do not know how to organize graphical information, properly take key
concepts, and utilize graphs to see trends and create new ideas. The data from the participant results
indicates that students are not effectively using visual aids. While the point of my study is that
memorization should not be the key factor of education, it is still important. Students in history classes
have been looking at maps of the US and Europe all their lives. It is impossible to watch the news or flip
through current events without crossing a map or chart. These skills are necessary in all disciplines. By
incorporating geography into history, history curriculum will become much more capable to help
students learn analytical and evaluative skills in a discipline that is normally lecture based, not graph
based.
The third level that I analyzed the participant results were comparing how well students
performed at the three aspects of history that PA standards focus on: PA history, U.S. History, and World
History. Unfortunately for my first batch of participants, the question on PA history became unusable
due to printer issues, so I must wait until my next set of high school data comes in. By using the college
responses, however, it is clear to see that most PA students have a good awareness of what happens in
PA. Students know the basic geographic layout of this state and the population, political, and economic
centers of the state. For the most part, students were next best at US history. The education system
appears to be doing a good job at teaching students early colonization of America, important land
features of America and how they have been historically used, and general population trends of the
nation. My only critique of their knowledge is when I asked students to correctly match 10 states on a
map of the United States. Almost every student was able to answer the New England states and even
the states in the south. This may potentially be explained by their proximity to Northeastern America

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and their education of the south during Civil War units. My critique stems from the fact that most high
school students were not able to match southwestern and Midwestern states of America. As a trend,
the farther away from Pennsylvania those students had to match, the less likely the students were
correct at guessing the states. I believe this comes from a general belief that “there is nothing in the
Midwest,” to quote my little sister. Regardless, it is disappointing to see that 12 years of history
education has not properly taught students where the states are located in their own country. This is
also apparent in question 7 of my test. Every PA student knew that New York City is among the top 2
biggest cities in America, but almost none knew that Los Angeles (on the other side of the country) is the
second largest city in America.
The next section of the test that I would like to look at is world geography. Student scores on the
world geography questions were poor. I asked students to match countries in the Middle East
specifically because it is currently a large part of the news and recent history, considering the Gulf War
and Iraq War. Only 1/5th
of the students can be considered competent in Middle Eastern geography.
Major land features in Asia, top world languages, necessary transportation routes; students were
generally not able to answer questions at a global level. The one exception to this trend is how well
students performed when asked to label countries in Europe, but I contribute this anomaly to the
intensive focus history curriculum put in European history. Students are not given enough true world
history in PA curriculum. Students do not know world trends and how they affect history outside of
Western culture. I fully believe that if I had asked questions about Africa or eastern Asia, I would have
had even poorer results than I received on knowledge that students consistently receive in PA
classrooms. This trend of decreasing knowledge from PA historical geography, to U.S. and finally World
history, shows that students are missing the most fundamentals of geography: spatial awareness. Our
school systems focus so much on material that directly relates to us that students miss out on the much
larger picture, creating an egocentric society of Western culture.

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While I am attempting to analyze a lot for these results, I will acknowledge and critique the
mechanics of my own study. My first critique, one that I have already stated, is the printer problems that
made question 12 unusable on the test. Until my next set of results comes in, there is not proper data
on level 4 of Bloom, analyzing. I also recognize that this initial data comes from a relatively small group
of students in a rather homogeneous school district. In an ideal study, I would have far more test results
from a variety of school districts. Lack of teacher respondents and time constraints made this impossible
for the initial phase of my study, however. I also recognize that the questions on my test tried to cover a
large amount of material (PA, US, and World history/geography), and thus is not as comprehensive or
detailed as I would like. Finally, this test was given during valuable classroom time in high schools. As
such, I believe that most students were pressed for time and were unable to answer questions as fully as
they might have without the time constraint. This would have been difficult to overcome, because I was
already asking a large favor of the high school teachers for taking out their time to help me with this
study. This was a brisk study and would need many more results to show any truly conclusive data.
A Proposed Solution
From the application of Bloom and the geography test administered to different levels of
students, I argue that the current PA standards of education do not properly incorporate aspects of
geography into history curriculum. My solution is to revise the PA standards of education. I will do this
by combining the standards of history and geography into a single comprehensive list, while
simultaneously rewording the standards in such a way that students are required to utilize higher order
thinking skills as per Bloom’s Taxonomy. The new standards for history curriculum in Pennsylvania are
outlined in Appendix H. The new standards are combinations from both disciplines through which both
goals can be accomplished in the same lesson. I have also added a new category of standards titled
Historical Analysis of Current Events. I added this category for two reasons. The first reason is because

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the characteristics of any current society stem from a combination of historic and geographic factors,
thus making the present an important part of history. The second reason is because it gives students a
place in school where they can combine their knowledge of history and apply it to the world around
them. From personal observations, I have found that the main reason that students who do not enjoy
history feel that way is because they do not believe it affects the world today. By providing a standard
which allows students to make connections between present day events and the factors of the past that
have caused them, students will have an increased awareness and a more cosmopolitan viewpoint of
the world around them.
There are several benefits to the implementation of the new history standards. The main benefit
which I had brought up earlier in this paper is that students will be called on to think more critically
about information presented to them. The current standards do not challenge students to think with
their total capacity. The new standards will ask teachers to increase the level of difficulty of material
given to the students. This will help students in the long run because they will enter college more
prepared to use critical, analytical, and synthetic skills that will make them more competitive in the job
market. For the students, an increase in geography taught in their history classrooms will be beneficial
because geography has many visual components; graphs, charts, maps, diagrams, etc. History classes
are often based in verbal teaching methods due to lecturing of stories and events. An increase in
geographic tools in the classroom will appeal to students who are visual learners who may have
difficulty in a classroom that is normally based in audio memorization.
Possibly the most beneficial aspect of the new history standards is the integration of different
disciplines into a single classroom. While geography is included in the social sciences, the discipline also
has strong connections to the physical sciences and is often presented as earth sciences at the
secondary level. If applied effectively, history teachers would be teaching many aspects of geography

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that fit into a science classroom, thus giving students knowledge from two different but connected fields
of study. In a tough economy where school districts are tightening their belts and trying to find ways to
combine classrooms, these new standards that integrate multiple disciplines into the same lesson would
be ideal. History classes are currently focused on less than the other main fields of study because
standardized testing focuses on math, English, and more recently, science. By combining the social
sciences with the earth sciences of geography, students in their history classes will be practicing for their
science exams. Integrating different disciplines also helps students see connections between classes. All
teachers should strive for this level of integration in their lesson plans.
Demonstrating This Solution
One of the critiques of this solution is that history classes already have enough information to
cover and that I am asking teachers to cover too much material in a single lesson plan. My response to
this is that it is indeed possible to fit content knowledge of geography with only a minimal sacrifice of
other information. It is more beneficial for a student to learn how to understand material from multiple
perspectives and multiple disciplines than for the student to learn an intense amount of information
about a single event in history, only to forget it once the summative exam is over. In order to
demonstrate this point, I created lesson plans that align with my revised standards that could be
effectively implemented in the corresponding history classroom: Pennsylvania history, American history,
World history, etc. These lesson plans should show that with a little creativity and by looking at
traditional lesson plans from a geographic perspective, these revised standards can easily fit into the
classroom setting. These lessons and activities are a combination of original lesson plans of my own and
modified lesson plan activities from free educational websites such as EDSITEment and
explorepahistory.com. I would like to show that pre-existing lesson plans can be altered to gain
geographic concepts while retaining their historical significance. I also seek to show examples of

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activities of lesson plans that align with my standards, in order to demonstrate that other teachers have
taken strides to include advanced levels of geography in their lessons. Five of the fifteen lesson plans
incorporate activities from educational websites; the source of those lesson plan activities is indicated at
the bottom of my lesson plans. I intend to accomplish my goal of higher level thinking in terms of
geography with my lesson plans and their corresponding standards through my examples listed below.
For each standard described below, please locate the corresponding lesson plan to see the supporting
activities. I will also note that there are no lesson plans for standards 8.1.12.A and 8.1.12.B listed in
Appendix H because they were not altered in any way to incorporate an enhanced understanding of
geography.
Lesson Plan 1: Gerrymandering
Standard 8.1.12.C: Analyze, synthesize, and integrate historical and geographic data, using geographic
tools to create a product that supports and appropriately illustrates inferences and conclusions drawn
from research
The goal of this standard is to teach students how to understand data and to give them the
chance to manipulate that data into a new form. In this case, I decided to use a lesson plan that
incorporates the political concept of gerrymandering, the redistribution of county lines in order to break
up political parties in an area. In this lesson plan, students are given maps that show gradient of racial
diversity and political parties respectively. Students must deduce how gerrymandering would be applied
to those maps based off the numeric and graphic data presented. Students are asked to do more than
memorize the map or find a location. They have to be able to explain what is happening on the map and
how it applies to the political injustice of gerrymandering, a concept which makes more sense to explain
visually than verbally. Furthermore, students must practice gerrymandering themselves by redrawing
the lines on the maps to accurately simulate the concept, giving students the chance to get hands-on

21
with modern practices of drawing census lines based of geographic data. This lesson integrates history,
geography, and politics.
Lesson Plan 2: Napoleon in Russia
Standard 8.1.12.D: Assess how physical changes to a region may have global impact on historical
societies
There are two geographic elements in this lesson plan to address. The first is teaching students
the geographic term of specific heat and having students apply specific heat to the land mass of Asia.
Specific heat is taught in science classes such as oceanography and chemistry, thus linking scientific
lessons with historical events. The lesson on specific heat was developed to give kids an explanation
behind the well known concept of “Russia is cold.” Specific heat helps to explain this ideal in a more
scholarly method. The second geographic element of this lesson plan is the analysis of the temperature
cycles graph. Students have to pull information from the graph draw conclusions from that information.
This was designed to address the lacking of many students’ ability to read charts; this concern has been
voiced by many of my professors, seeing as how the ability to accurately read data is a valuable skill in
the job market. With the temperature graph, students can understand how scientific data can help
contribute an understanding to historical events.
Lesson Plan 3: Canals in Pennsylvania
Standard 8.2.12.A: Evaluate the role groups and individuals from Pennsylvania played in the social,
political, cultural, environmental, and economic development of the U.S., world.
This is the first of several standards that will address Pennsylvania History classrooms. This is the
first attempt to increase the level of geography standard 7.4.12.B. This new standard focuses the region
of study in the original geography standard as well as pushes the level of thinking from analyzing human

22
activity to evaluating human activity. This lesson plan in particular asks students to evaluate the impact
of entrepreneurs on the transportation network in Pennsylvania and their manipulation of the
environment to suit their needs. In the 19th
century, entrepreneurs tried to create manmade waterways
to lower the costs of transportation and bridge the gap between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Students
are put into groups and must answer questions on a community Google Doc that call students to judge
the impact of these entrepreneurs on the history of Pennsylvania. Students are introduced to the topic
by having them evaluate the pros and cons of various transportation methods that run historic and
modern economies.
Lesson Plan 4: Iron Smelting
Standard 8.2.12.B: Assess the impact of historical documents, artifacts, and the physical processes of
places and regions in Pennsylvania which are critical to U.S. history and the world
This standard was altered from its original form to include “physical processes” as a factor to
consider when assessing impacts on history. Historical documents and artifacts can indeed have a
profound effect on history, but the landscape itself has been overlooked as a factor that determines the
character of an area. In this lesson plan, students examine images of coal mining furnaces and explore
one of the most well known industries in Pennsylvania. Students discuss the impact of Appalachia and
the natural resources provided by the land itself to the industry. The students are also asked to look at
census data on the current job market breakdown in Pennsylvania and decide if the coal industry is still
important to the state’s character. Once again, students are given maps that require analysis of natural
resources instead of memorization of locations.

23
Lesson Plan 5: Influenza in Philadelphia
Standard 8.2.12.C: Evaluate how continuity and change of physical processes of regions in Pennsylvania
are interrelated to the U.S. and the world: Physical and human geography of population and
settlement
This lesson plan discusses the influenza epidemic of 1917-1918 and its effect on Philadelphia.
Students will learn about the different types of diseases and how they are spread throughout a
population. Students will discuss the origins of the influenza disease and note its spatial diffusion across
continents. They are given several charts to analyze; one chart shows the death curves of the virus, and
another chart compares the death rates of casualties of war and disease, showing how the environment
is an even deadlier killer than humans are to each other. Students also have to make decisions based on
a map of their own school and create what they think is the best way to prevent transmitted diseases in
the school. This activity forces students to think critically about disease diffusion in their own setting and
make decisions that school boards must make on a regular basis about keeping their population safe.
Lesson Plan 6: History of Philadelphia
8.2.12.D: Evaluate determining factors of conflict and cooperation among groups and organizations in
Pennsylvania and how they have influenced the growth and development of the US and the world.
This lesson plan addresses the first of my standards that deals with determining factors: factors
that explain the origins or reason behind a historical event, usually a decision made. In this case,
students explore the origins of Philadelphia’s location and why it is located at its current spot. Students
will create a map and then be asked to assess the connection between the location of “fall line” cities on
the East Coast of America. While students will at first be doing the rote activity of filling out a map, the
core of the activity is the analysis afterwards. Students will compare the maps they created with an

24
elevation chart to see how well their work matches up with professional data. Students will discuss the
connection between the elevation of landmasses in Pennsylvania and how that contributes to the
cooperation of early settlers of the Philadelphia region. Students should gain an understanding of how
the land itself plays an important role in determining settlement location.
Lesson 7: A New Deal Dams
Standard 8.3.12.A: Evaluate the role groups and individual played in the social, political, cultural,
environmental, and economic development of the U.S., world.
Standard 8.3.12.A is the same standard as 8.2.12.A (Lesson Plan 3); the difference is that this is
the first of the standards that addresses United States history instead of Pennsylvania history. In this
lesson, students are directed to take a closer looks at programs created by the government during the
New Deal to help American citizens with the Depression. Students will split up into groups, research one
of the New Deal programs, and create a brochure detailing the effectiveness of the program. Students
must also review another group’s brochure. My focus behind this lesson plan is less about geography
and more about the level of questioning being asked. In this lesson, students must synthesize facts
about a government program in order to create a marketable product, essentially “selling” their
program. Students have to judge what information is necessary as well as judge the effectiveness of the
program itself, using evidence to support their conclusion. This requires more than listing information. I
still throw in a bit of geography by providing an example of a brochure for the students to look at. My
example explains the benefits and consequences of the dams built by the Tennessee Valley Authority
and its effect on the local environment. Many of the programs that the students have to choose from
also involve Americans changing their environment, which would likely come up in the students’
research.

25
Lesson 8: Life on the Plains
8.3.12.B: Assess the impact of historical documents, artifacts, and the physical processes of places and
regions which are critical to U.S. history and the world.
This lesson plan is focused completely on the land itself in the Midwestern Plains region of the
United States. This lesson plans calls on students to study pictures of the environment from the
perspectives of both the Native Americans and westward expanding settlers. Students must interpret
how these unique groups of people view the land and how those viewpoints shape the character of the
Great Plains. What can primary sources of sodbuster photographs and Indian tribal paintings teach
students about culture? How does the geography of the landscape decide what this culture is? These are
questions the students will explore. Students must put themselves into the shoes of these groups and
write a letter back to their families, describing the environment and their new life on the plains. They
must give an opinion on life in the plains, which falls under the questioning level of evaluation and
assessment. At the beginning of the lesson, students will be given a worksheet on orographic lift, the
physical process of this region of the United States that explains the dry terrain. Students must be able
to explain this process.
Lesson 9: 1950s Suburbia
8.3.12.C: Evaluate how continuity and change of regions in the U.S. are interrelated to the U.S. and the
world: Physical and human geography of population and settlement
This lesson plan introduces students to a subcategory of geography known as urban geography,
the study of cities and urban growth. In this lesson plan, students must examine the effects of the
automobile on the physical layout of city development. Through readings, students will look at the
political, economic, and social functions of automobiles. Students will learn about President

26
Eisenhower’s push for the highway system across America that is still in place today. Students will have
to reconstruct Adam’s Model of urban development and be able to explain the factors that led to the
pattern of urban development during each of the eras in the model. The model can be applied to Google
Earth images of modern cities, especially with Google Earth’s timeline feature. While not used in this
lesson plan, the teacher can use the road function of Google Earth to further connect the photograph of
the city with the model discussed in class.
Lesson 10: Trail of Tears
8.3.12.D: Evaluate determining factors of conflict and cooperation among groups and organizations in
the U.S. and how they have influenced the growth and development of the U.S. and the world.
This lesson plan demonstrates the next of the “determining factors” standards. This lesson plan
details the relocation of Indian Tribes from their established homes in Georgia to the rough territory of
Oklahoma in the 1830s. This goal of this lesson plan is twofold. First, students examine the primary
document of the Indian Relocation Act and must evaluate President Jackson’s justifications for removing
the Indians from their land. The ability to judge an action and form an opinion on that judgment is
among the higher levels of thinking, according to Bloom. The second goal of this lesson is to have
students be able to explain the reason behind the Indian relocation in the first place, thus the
determining factor. In the case of the Trail of Tears, the reason for their relocation is in the land itself.
The Indians were sitting on large deposits of gold which white people wanted. Had the Indians not had
land on that gold, it is likely that this lesson plan would never be created. Students are asked to look at a
map and must be able to pull political boundaries from the map in order to explain why the Indians
were relocated to Oklahoma.

27
Lesson Plan 11: The Columbian Exchange
8.4.12.A: Evaluate the role of groups and individuals in the social, political, cultural, environmental, and
economic development of world history.
In this lesson plan, students will take a look at the Columbian Exchange, the transmission of
products and diseases between the Old World and the New World. In this lesson plan, students will look
into the origins of crops and foods that are common in their own daily diets. Students will assess the
impact of the Columbian Exchange on their own lives in this manner. They will be given a small project
where they have to create a comparison chart between the items exchanged between the Native
Americans and the European settlers. Students will discuss the geographic term spatial diffusion and be
shown a video clip of Walmart’s spatial diffusion across America. For homework, students must further
assess the Columbian Exchange by examining the scientific reasons behind the disproportionate
exchange of disease between the two sets of continents. Students have to make connections between
diseases, animal domestication, and isolation.
Lesson 12: Understanding the Treaty of Versailles
8.4.12.B: Assess the impact of historical documents, artifacts, and the physical processes of places and
regions which are critical to world history.
8.4.12.D: Evaluate determining factors of conflict and cooperation among groups and organizations and
how they have influenced the growth and development of the world.
The topic of the Treaty of Versailles after World War I encompasses two of my standards. I tried
to fit a lot of material into one lesson plan and decided that this topic needs to consist of a 2 day period
in order to hit both standards properly. Standard 8.4.12.D is the first one to be addressed in the lesson.
The students are split into pairs and must compare maps of Europe in 1914 and in 1919. The students

28
have to discover what is different about the two maps without being able to see the other person’s
map. Students will be given a discussion on the classifications on borders between countries, both
physical and cultural. The teacher will discuss the reasons that the Allies decided to redraw the borders
of Europe. Then, students must decide if the Allies made good decisions in the borders they created and
whether those borders contributed to further conflict between ethnic groups. Standard 8.4.12.B is
addressed by having the students look specifically at the punishments enforced on Germany. Students
look at the primary document of the Rhineland articles to see the exact punishments. The teacher will
direct the students to the punishments taken on particular regions of Germany, such as the
demilitarized zone of the Rhineland and the industrial region that seriously impacted Germany’s
economy. Upon learning about these punishments on Germany, students must decide if the Allies were
justified in their harsh treatment of Germany by splitting up the country.
Lesson 13: Global Disasters
8.4.12.C: Evaluate how continuity and change of physical processes of places and regions are
interrelated throughout the world: Commerce and industry
This lesson plan would be implemented in the later stages of a world history class. The teacher
starts by leading a demonstration on the recent trend of globalization between the cultures and
economies of the world. Students must work on a pro-con chart where the students decide which
countries benefit and which countries lose out in a globalized world. Then, students will have to act as
the economic advisor for a country that has recently been hit by a natural disaster. The students must
pick a recent natural disaster and look up data on the economic impact that disaster had on the country.
Students must be able to describe which local exports were affected by the natural disaster and which
importing countries suffered the most from the natural disaster. The students must also be able to
explain the geographic processes that led to the natural disaster itself and assess how their country can

29
prevent a second natural disaster from having the same effect. Finally, students must evaluate the effect
of globalization on their own lives and how life would be different if the countries of the world were not
globalized.
Lesson 14: The Gift of the Nile
8.5.12.A: Evaluate the significance of physical and historical processes in shaping the character of places
and regions
This lesson plan calls on the students to combine what they learn about ancient Egypt and apply
it to modern world problems. Students will evaluate the importance of the Nile on the culture of Egypt.
Students will learn specific geographic terms such as annual flooding periods known as inundation and
stream load. The students will read an online article discussing how the consistency of the Nile affected
the mindset of the ancient Egyptians, specifically their positive outlook on life and belief in cycles. After
discussing the Nile’s effect on ancient Egypt, the students must them consider the river’s effect on the
modern economy of Egypt. Students are presented with a common international issue of water flow. In
this case, students must work in groups and petition the government of Sudan to stop their project of
building a dam that will decrease the flow of water into Egypt. Students must be able to explain the
aspects of modern Egypt that still rely heavily on this source of water.
Lesson 15: Location of Los Angeles
Standard 8.5.12.B: Support determining factors for current day events in their historical context.
In this lesson plan, students will learn about the factors that led to Los Angeles being the second
most economically important city in the United States. Standard 8.5.12.B was created to give students
an increased understanding of the modern world by helping them to trace determining factors through
time. The main activity of this lesson has the students split up into 3 groups. Each group reads an article

30
on one of the 3 factors that led to the rise of Los Angeles as an economic powerhouse, each of which is
related to its location in the United States. Oranges in Los Angeles were only made possible due to the
warm climate. The city also is located near some of the better oil fields in America. The third group
analyzes the city’s location in regards to transportation routes. Students will have to be able to explain
the factor they learned about to 2 other students who had the other two factors for LA’s success. Finally,
the students will have to compare Los Angeles with San Francisco via map and Google Earth in order to
understand some of the demographic and economic differences between the cities.
Conclusion
Through the course of this project, I have strived to explain and demonstrate the benefits of
applying Bloom’s Taxonomy to the Pennsylvania standards of education with geography. By increasing
the difficulty level of the standards of education, I hope to help improve the quality of education across
the state by raising the bar for teachers as well as students. I tried to incorporate geography into history
lessons at a far deeper level than seems to be currently present in the classroom. Even without changing
the standards, it is apparent that geographic concepts are not being properly handled in the social
studies classroom. While “the study of the earth” may have strong roots in the science field, which does
not mean that its principles should not be touched on in the social studies classroom. Geography is,
after all, one of the social sciences and should command a strong presence in the social studies
classroom. History is often focused on the most in high school education. These new standards are an
attempt to widen that focus. Through my lesson plans, I wished to demonstrate that it is possible to
incorporate ways to teach and study geography without terribly detracting from the history lesson. I am
not trying to say that every single history lesson should have a geographic component. I am strongly
suggesting that teachers should add geographic elements when they will be beneficial to the
understanding of the historical content. While some people may disagree with my views on the subject,

31
I hope that this study will at least get people thinking about the standards of education of the social
studies and whether a revision of those standards will be beneficial to the increasing level of education
our society is calling for. As a future educator myself, I hope to spread the importance of analyzing our
system rather than blindly accepting it. Regardless of the impact this study makes, I know that I am far
better prepared for synthesizing geography and history in my classrooms.

32
Appendix A: History Standards, 12th
grade
Standard Level of
Bloom’s
Taxonomy
8.1- Historical Analysis and Skills Development
o 8.1.12.A: Evaluate patterns of continuity and rates of change over time,
applying context of events
5
o 8.1.12.B: Evaluate the interpretation of historical events and sources,
considering the use of fact versus opinion, multiple perspectives, and
cause and effect relationships
5
o 8.1.12.C: Analyze, synthesize, and integrate historical data, creating a
product that supports and appropriately illustrates inferences and
conclusions drawn from research
6
8.2- Pennsylvania History
o 8.2.12.A: Evaluate the role groups and individuals from Pennsylvania
played in the social, political, cultural, and economic development of the
U.S. and the world.
5
o 8.2.12.B: Evaluate the impact of historical documents, artifacts, and places
in Pennsylvania which are critical to U.S. history and the world.
5
o 8.2.12.C: Evaluate how continuity and change in Pennsylvania are
interrelated to the U.S. and the world
 Belief systems and religions
 Commerce and industry
 Technology
 Politics and government
 Physical and human geography
 Social organizations
5
o 8.2.12.D: Evaluate how conflict and cooperation among groups and
organizations in Pennsylvania have influenced the growth and
development of the US and the world.
5
8.3- U.S. History
o 8.3.12.A: Evaluate the role groups and individuals from the U.S. played in
the social, political, cultural, and economic development of the world.
5
in U.S. History which are critical to world history.
5
o 8.3.12.C: Evaluate how continuity and change in U.S. history are
interrelated to the world.
5

33
 Technology
organizations in the U.S. have influenced the growth and development of
the world.
5
8.4- World History
o 8.4.12.A: Evaluate the role groups and individuals played in the social,
political, cultural, and economic development throughout world history.
5
that are critical to world history.
5
o 8.4.12.C: Evaluate how continuity and change have impacted the world
today.
 Technology
5
organizations have impacted the development of the world today,
including its effects on Pennsylvania..
5

34
Appendix B: Geography Standards: 12th
Grade
Standard Level of Bloom’s
Taxonomy
Standard Area 7.1: Basic Geographical Literacy
o 7.1.12.A: Use geographic tools to analyze information about the
interaction between people, places, and the environment
4 (PC)
o 7.1.12.B: Assess how physical changes to a region may have global
impact
5 (P)
Standard Area 7.2: Physical Characteristics of Places and Regions
o 7.2.12.A: Analyze the physical characteristics of places and regions,
including the interrelationships among the components of Earth’s
physical system
4 (P)
o 7.2.12.B: Analyze the significance of physical processes in shaping the
character of places and regions
4 (P)
Standard Area 7.3: Human Characteristics of Places and Regions
o 7.3.12.A: Analyze the human characteristics of places and regions using
the following criteria:
 Population
 Culture
 Settlement
 Economic Activities
4 (C)
Standard Area 7.4: Interactions between people and the environment
o 7.4.12.A: Analyze the global effects of changes in the physical systems
4 (P)
o 7.4.12.B: Analyze the global effects of human activity on the physical
systems
4 (C)
In the Level of Bloom’s Taxonomy column:
o P = physical geography
o C = cultural geography

35
Appendix C: Book Resources
Below is a list of book resources I used to help further my understanding of geography,
history, standards of education, and teaching methods.
America: Pathways to the Present – Cayton, Perry, Reed, Winkler
Encouraging Skillful, Critical, and Creative Thinking- workbook developed by Richard D. Solomon and
Neil A. Davidson
Five Themes of Geography- Cheryl S. Knight
GIS in Schools- Richard Audet and Gail Ludwig
Give Me Liberty! An American History Volume 1 – Eric Foner
Guns, Germs, and Steel- Jarod Diamond
How to Use Maps and Globes- Helen H. Carey
Meeting the Needs of your Most Able Pupils: Geography – Jane Ferretti
National Geography Standards: 1994- U.S. Department of Education
Physical Geography: Science and Systems of the Human Environment – Alan Strahler
Regional Landscapes of the United States and Canada – Stephen S. Birdsall
Teaching Geography – Phil Gersmehl
Teaching Global Literacy Using Mnemonics- Joan Ebbsesmoyer
The Cultural Landscape: An introduction to Human Geography – James M. Rubenstein
The Shaping of America: A Geographical Perspective on 500 Years of History, Volumes 1-4 – D.W. Meinig

36
APPENDIX D: Social Studies Teacher Survey
Thank you for participating in this survey. This survey is part of a study that is attempting to analyze
history curriculum in Pennsylvania. Your answers are very important for this study. Thanks again!
1. Howe long have you been teaching?
2. What grades do you teach?
o 6th
o 7th
o 8th
o 9th
o 10th
o 11th
o 12th
3. What types of social studies classes do you teach?
o US History
o US Government
o World History
o European History
o Ancient History
o Economics
o Sociology
o Anthropology
o Other
4. In history, how important are dates to your lesson?
o Not important
o Not very important
o Doesn’t matter to you either way
o Somewhat important
o Very important

37
5. What types of tests do you primarily give to your students?
o Multiple choice
o Short answer
o True/false
o Essay
o Single test combination of multiple choice, short answer, true false, and essay
o Other
6. In general, what kind of projects do you give in your class?
7. In your own words, what is geography?
8. How important do you think geography is to social studies?
o not important
o not very important
o doesn’t matter to you either way
o somewhat important
o very important
9. How often do you use maps in your classroom?
o Daily
o Several times per week
o Once per week
o Several times per month
o Once per month
o Rarely/never

38
10. Do you give your students map quizzes/assignments?
o Yes
o No
11. If you give your students map quizzes or assignments, how often do you give
them?
o daily
o several times per week
o several times per month
o once per month
o rarely/never
12. What do those quizzes/projects look like? In other words, what are your
students required to do?
13. What types of maps do you show your students? Circle all that apply.
o Political
o Land features
o Population
o Economic status
o Transportation routes
o Resources
o Language
o War/battle maps
o Religion
o Ancient history
o Other
14. Other than maps, what other geography tools can you think of? Can any of
them be used in your classroom?

39
Appendix E: Student Tests
1. Attached to the back of this packet is a map of the United States. Please match the 10 states
listed with their abbreviation. Only label the states listed.
2. In the map to the left, please label the countries with their letter:
a. Britain
b. France
c. Russia
d. Germany
e. Italy
f. Spain
g. Poland
h. Greece
Black Sea
3. Please label:
a. Afghanistan
b. Iraq
c. Iran
d. Egypt
e. Israel
4. What is the most spoken language in the world?
a. Spanish
b. Mandarin
c. English
d. Hindustani

40
5. What geographical border has historically separated India from China?
a. Himalaya Mountains
b. Ganges River
c. Alps Mountains
d. Yellow River
6. What natural event frequently happens in India?
a. Earthquakes
b. Volcano eruptions
c. El Nino effect
d. Monsoon
7. What are the two largest cities in America? What about their location makes them so
important?
a.
b.
8. By examining this map of population change, it is clear that people are moving to the Southwest
and Florida, while people are leaving the Midwest. Can you think of several reasons why this is?
9. Imagine that you are a city planner. You have been given the task of choosing where a new city
should be built. What are 2-3 factors that you should consider when you pick a location?
a.

41
b.
c.
10. Why are the Great Lakes so important to America? Why are the Appalachia Mountains such a
hindrance?
11. Compare and Contrast the impact that the physical landscape had on settlement in
Massachusetts vs. Virginia.
12. Examine this political map of the 2008 presidential election. What assumptions can you predict
about demographics and population density in the respective areas? ( blue= republican,
red = democrat)
13. Many scholars argue that the United States was blessed with physical traits and resources that
have led to its general success in today’s economy. Defend this point by listing several (3-4) of
these physical traits.
14. Throughout its history, Russia has constantly fought for control over the Black Sea, located on
the map in question #2. The Black Sea connects to the Mediterranean Sea and has been fought
over in World War I and the Cold War. In several sentences, formulate a hypothesis describing
why the Black Sea is so important to Russia

42
Question 1 Map. Label the following states:
- Minnesota -MN
- Arizona - AZ
- Alabama- AL
- Iowa- IA
- New Hampshire - NH
- Idaho- ID
- Kentucky- KY
- Massachusetts - MA
- Illinois- IL
- Missouri - MO

43
Appendix F: Raw Data for High School Y

44
Appendix G: Student Tests Graphic Results
The following graphs display the test scores on my student tests. These results show the percent
of students in each grade group that answered each of the 14 questions correctly on the test. The
analysis of these graphs is described earlier in this paper. I have kept the names of the schools private as
per requested by the teachers who administered the test in the accompanying school districts. Here is
the breakdown of student participants in their respective sets:
School X Freshmen = 30 Students
School Y Freshmen = 8 Students
School Y Seniors = 26 Students
College Level Students = 20 Students
Graph 1
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
%ofCorrectResponses
Test Question Number
9th Grade Results- School X and School Y
School X
School Y

45
Graph 2
The data on this graph is intriguing because for the first 9 questions of the test, freshmen outperformed
seniors. Seniors at this high school scored better on questions 10-14, which consisted of the higher level
questions according to Bloom. Are freshmen better at simpler thinking skills? Do seniors learn analytical
and evaluation skills that they didn’t have as freshmen?
0.00
20.00
40.00
60.00
80.00
100.00
120.00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
PercentofStudentswithCorrectResponses
Freshmen and Seniors Results - School Y
School Y 9th
Grade
School Y 12th
Grade

46
Graph 3
The scores displayed on this graph are almost parallel, with the college level students slightly
outperforming School Y’s seniors across the board.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
College vs. School Y 12th Grade Results
School Y 12th Grade
College

47
Graph 4
*One item which is interesting to note is how relatively consistent the curves are between all four test
groups. Most of the peak scores and trough scores align. In order to make sure that all the test scores
were accurate representation of the data set, I calculated the scores into a standard deviation test for
each respective set of data.
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
All Study Group Results
School Y 9th Grade
School Y 12th Grade
Scool X 9th Grade
College Students

48
Appendix H: History Standards 12th
grade: revised
Standard Bloom’s Taxonomy
Level
8.1- Historical Analysis and Skills Development
o 8.1.12.A: Evaluate patterns of continuity and rates of change over time, applying context of
events
5
o 8.1.12.B: Evaluate the interpretation of historical events and sources, considering the use
of fact versus opinion, multiple perspectives, and cause and effect relationships
5
o 8.1.12.C: Analyze, synthesize, and integrate historical and geographic data, using
geographic tools to create a product that supports and appropriately illustrates inferences
and conclusions drawn from research
 GEG 7.1.12.A
6
o 8.1.12.D: Assess how physical changes to a region may have global impact on historical
societies
 GEG 7.1.12.B
5
8.2- Pennsylvania History
o 8.2.12.A: Evaluate the role groups and individuals from Pennsylvania played in the social,
political, cultural, environmental, and economic development of the U.S., world.
 GEG 7.4.12.B
5
o 8.2.12.B: Assess the impact of historical documents, artifacts, and the physical processes
of places and regions in Pennsylvania which are critical to U.S. history and the world.
 GEG 7.2.12.A
5
o 8.2.12.C: Evaluate how continuity and change of regions in Pennsylvania are interrelated
to the U.S. and the world
 Technology
 Physical and human geography of population and settlement
GEG 7.3.12.A
5
o 8.2.12.D: Evaluate determining factors of conflict and cooperation among groups and
organizations in Pennsylvania and how they have influenced the growth and development
of the US and the world.
5
8.3- U.S. History
o 8.3.12.A: Evaluate the role groups and individual played in the social, political, cultural,
environmental, and economic development of the U.S., world.
 GEG 7.4.12.B
5
of places and regions which are critical to U.S. history and the world.
 GEG 7.2.12.A
5

49
o 8.3.12.C: Evaluate how continuity and change of regions in the U.S. are interrelated to the
U.S. and the world
 Technology
GEG 7.3.12.A
5
organizations in the U.S. and how they have influenced the growth and development of
the U.S. and the world.
5
8.4- World History
o 8.4.12.A: Evaluate the role of groups and individuals in the social, political, cultural,
environmental, and economic development of world history.
 GEG 7.4.12.B
5
of places and regions which are critical to world history.
 GEG 7.2.12.A
5
o 8.4.12.C: Evaluate how continuity and change of regions are interrelated throughout the
world
 Technology
GEG 7.3.12.A
5
organizations and how they have influenced the growth and development of the world.
5
8.5- Historical Analysis of Current Events
o 8.5.12.A: Evaluate the significance of physical and historical processes in shaping the
character of places and regions
 GEG 7.2.12.B
5
o 8.5.12.B: Support determining factors for current day events in their historical context. 5
In the standards listed above:
o Green indicates the supplication of geography into the base history standard
o Purple indicates the source of the geography supplications from the original PA
standards of geography for 12th
grade

Synthesizing Geography and History: An analysis of Pennsylvania Standards of History Education

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