Humans Change Physical Environments

Grade levels:

CONTENT STATEMENT

Human activities alter the physical environment, both positively and negatively.

CONTENT ELABORATION

People depend upon the physical environment to survive and modify the physical environment to suit their needs. Adaptations have both positive and negative consequences.

Examples of physical environment modifications include:

Dams help control flooding and provide areas for recreation but may destroy animal habitats.

A new highway improves transportation, but valuable farmland may be destroyed.

EXPECTATIONS FOR LEARNING

Describe positive and negative results of human changes to the physical environment.

Companies addressing the standard: