Canada · Ontario Curriculum Expectations
Grade 8 Geography
This course explores the dynamic relationship between people and their environments through the lens of global patterns and local impacts. Students analyze demographic shifts, resource management, and economic systems to understand how geographic choices shape our collective future.
Global Settlement Patterns
Students examine why people live where they do and how physical geography dictates the growth of urban and rural centers.
An analysis of the physical and social factors that encourage or discourage human habitation in specific regions.
Investigating the rapid growth of cities and the challenges of providing infrastructure for millions of residents.
Using demographic data to visualize how humans are spread across the continents.
Demographic Trends and Transitions
This unit focuses on population characteristics, migration patterns, and the socio-economic impacts of changing demographics.
Studying the stages of population growth and how industrialization affects birth and death rates.
Exploring the reasons why individuals and groups move across borders or within countries.
A deep dive into the geographic and political causes of displacement today.
Global Economic Systems
An exploration of how goods, services, and labor are organized globally and the resulting inequalities.
Distinguishing between primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary sectors of the economy.
Analyzing the networks that connect producers and consumers across the planet.
Examining the indicators of development and the reasons for economic disparity between nations.
Quality of Life and Human Rights
Students investigate how geographic location influences access to health, education, and basic rights.
Using the HDI to compare the well-being of people in different parts of the world.
Exploring how gender roles and rights are influenced by geographic and cultural contexts.
Analyzing the causes of hunger and the geographic challenges of global food systems.
People and the Environment
This unit examines the impact of human activity on natural systems and the search for sustainable solutions.
Investigating the environmental and social consequences of mining, logging, and oil drilling.
Studying the geographic evidence of climate change and how different regions are responding.
Exploring innovations in green technology and sustainable city planning.
Geographic Inquiry and Mapping
Students develop advanced spatial skills and use geographic tools to solve real-world problems.
An introduction to digital mapping and how layered data is used in modern decision making.
Analyzing how different map projections distort our perception of the world.
Applying geographic principles to the local community through observation and data gathering.