Academic+Standards

PA Standards for Environment and Ecology
PA Standards for Civics and Government PA Standards for Economics

Economics is concerned with the behavior of individuals and institutions engaged in the production, exchange and consumption of goods and services. As technology helps to reshape the economy, knowledge of how the world works is critical. People entering the workforce cannot function effectively without a basic knowledge of the characteristics of economic systems, how markets establish prices, how scarcity and choice affect the allocation of resources, the global nature of economic interdependence and how work and earnings impact productivity.
 * Pennsylvania **** Academic Standards for Economics ** Grade 3-6

A Pennsylvania governor remarked, "Among the freedoms we enjoy in America in our pursuit of happiness is the freedom to be independent, creative, visionary and entrepreneurial. We are free to pursue dreams…" To succeed, however, every student must know how to manage resources, prepare for the workforce, make wise investments and be informed about public policy. These standards are intended to provide direction in learning how economic activity impacts the forces of everyday life.

Describe how individuals, families and communities with limited resources make choices.
 * Economic Systems **

Define scarcity and identify limited resources. Identify and define natural, human and capital resources. Explain how limited resources and unlimited wants cause scarcity. Describe the natural, human and capital resources used to produce a specific good or service. Analyze how unlimited wants and limited resources affect decision making. Explain how resources can be used in different ways to produce different goods and services.
 * Scarcity and Choice **

Explain why goods, services and resources come from all over the nation and the world. Identify local resources. • Natural (renewable, nonrenewable and flow resources) • Human • Capital Explain how the location of resources, transportation and communication networks and technology have affected Pennsylvania economic patterns. • Agriculture (e.g., farms) • Forestry (e.g., logging) • Mining and mineral extraction (e.g., coal fields) • Manufacturing (e.g., steel mills) • Wholesale and retail (e.g., super stores, internet)
 * Economic Interdependence **


 * Academic Standards for Environment and Ecology ** Grade 3-6

The Declaration of Rights, Article l of the Pennsylvania Constitution states in Section 27: “The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and aesthetic values of the environment. **Pennsylvania’s public natural resources are the common property of all people, including generations yet to come.** As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.” To this end it is our responsibility to develop a citizenry that is aware of and concerned about the total environment and has the knowledge and skills to work toward solutions to current problems and the prevention of new ones.

Identify needs of people. • Identify plants, animals, water, air, minerals and fossil fuels as natural resources. • Explain air, water and nutrient cycles. • Identify how the environment provides for the needs of people**.** Identify products derived from natural resources. • Identify products made from trees. • Identify by-products of plants and animals. • Identify the sources of manmade products (e.g., plastics, metal, aluminum, fabrics, paper, cardboard). Know that raw materials come from natural resources. • Identify resources used to provide humans with energy, food, housing and water. • Explain how plants and animals may be classified as natural resources. • Compare means of growing or acquiring food. • Identify fiber and other raw materials used in clothing and shelter production. • Identify types of minerals and fossil fuels used by humans. Know that some natural resources have limited life spans. • Identify renewable and nonrenewable resources used in the local community. • Identify various means of conserving natural resources. • Know that natural resources have varying life spans. Identify by-products and their use of natural resources. • Understand the waste stream. • Identify those items that can be recycled and those that can not. • Identify use of reusable products. • Identify the use of compost, landfills and incinerators. Examine the renewability of resources. • Identify renewable resources and describe their uses. • Identify nonrenewable resources and describe their uses. • Compare finished products to their original raw material. • Identify the waste derived from the use of renewable and nonrenewable resources. • Determine how consumption may impact the availability of resources. • Compare the time spans of renewability for fossil fuels and alternative fuels. Explain natural resource distribution. • Distinguish between readily available and less accessible resources. • Identify the locations of different concentrations of fossil fuels and mineral resources. • Analyze the effects of management practices on air, land and water in forestry, agriculture, fisheries, wildlife, mining and food and fiber production that is unique to different climates. Describe the role of recycling and waste management. • Identify materials that can be recycled in the community. • Explain the process of closing the loop in recycling. • Compare the decomposition rates of different organic materials. • Describe methods that could be used to reuse materials for new products. • Evaluate the costs and benefits of disposable products.
 * Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources **

Identify the biological requirements of humans. • Explain how a dynamically changing environment provides for sustainability of living systems. • Identify several ways that people use natural resources. Know that environmental conditions influence where and how people live. • Identify how regional natural resources influence what people use. Describe how the development of civilization relates to the environment. • Explain how people use natural resources in their environment. • Locate and identify natural resources in different parts of the world. • Compare and contrast how people use natural resources throughout the world. Explain how people use natural resources. • Describe how natural resources are used for survival. • Explain how natural resources and technological changes have affected the development of civilizations. • Explain how climate and extreme weather events (e.g., drought, flood) influence people’s lives.
 * Humans and the Environment **
 * Academic Standards for Science and Technology **

Recognize the earth’s different water resources. • Know that approximately three fourths of the earth is covered by water. • identify and describe types of fresh and salt-water bodies. • Identify examples of water in the form of solid, liquid and gas on or near the surface of the earth. • Explain and illustrate evaporation and condensation. • Recognize other resources available from water (e.g., energy, transportation, minerals, food).
 * Earth Sciences **

** Science, Technology and Human Endeavors ** Know how human ingenuity and technological resources satisfy specific human needs and improve the quality of life. • Identify and distinguish between human needs and improving the quality of life. • Identify and distinguish between natural and human-made resources • Describe a technological invention and the resources that were used to develop it.

· Finite elements that cannot be replaced once they are used (e.g., petroleum, minerals). · Substances (e.g., oil, gas, coal, copper, gold) that, once used, cannot be replaced in this geological age.
 * Vocabulary **
 * Resources: ** Inputs used to produce goods and services; categories include natural, human and capital.
 * Capital Resources: ** The physical equipment used in the production of goods and services.
 * Circular flow: ** The movement of resources, goods and services through an economy. As a diagram, it can show how households and business firms interact with each other in the product and resource markets.
 * Competition: ** The rivalry among people and/or business firms for resources and/or consumers.
 * Demand: ** The different quantities of a resource, good or service that potential buyers are willing and able to purchase at various prices during a specific time period.
 * Equilibrium: ** The ability of an ecosystem to maintain stability among its biological resources (e.g., forest, fisheries, crops) so that there is a steady optimum yield.**Flow resources:** Temporal energy forces that are neither renewable nor nonrenewable, but must be used as, when and where they occur or they are lost (e.g., wind, sunlight).
 * Human resources: ** People’s intellectual and physical abilities.
 * Natural resources: ** Anything found in nature that can be used to produce a product (e.g., land, water, coal).
 * Nonrenewable resources: **
 * Renewable resources: ** Substances that can be regenerated if used carefully (e.g., fish, timber).
 * Supply: ** The different quantities of a resource, good or service that potential sellers are willing and able to sell at various prices during a specific time period.