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Learning Journeys
National Standards
 Teacher Notes
Standards For the Field Trip
Each of the two Electronic Field Trips, one focused on science and one on social studies, will offer a total of two Learning Journeys. One of those units is cross-disciplinary and will be offered on both trips. All three Learning Journeys were developed with National Standards as a guide. To help these study units better fit in your curriculum, below is an index of which standards are addressed in each Learning Journey.

Adapted from:

  1. National Standards for grades 5-8 in Science (National Science Education Standards, National Research Council, 1996)
  2. National Standards for grades 5-8 in Geography & Culture (National Geography for Life, National Geography Standards, 1994).
  3. National Standards for middle grades in Curriculum Standards for Social Studies (National Council for the Social Studies, 1994).
Systems and Adaptation: Life on the Tundra (Science)

Life Science

  1. Migration of life across the land bridge
  2. Changing populations of plants, land and marine mammals, fish and migratory birds
  3. Effects of climatic conditions on plant and animal life in America
Earth Science
  1. Natural/human effects on the physical environment
  2. Seasonal change and impact on life
History & Nature of Science
  1. Meet scientists working in the Beringia and follow their scientific investigations.
  2. Use scientific data to explain land and life, past, present and future, in Beringia.
Geology and Geography: The Living Earth (Cross Disciplines -- Social Studies and Science)

Life Science

  1. Effects of global location, physical features and climatic conditions on plant and animal life in America.
Earth Science
  1. Changing land formations -- thaw lakes, maar lake basins, shoreline erosion and deposition, hot springs, lava flows, tephras, etc.
  2. Glacial periods, ice barriers and ice-free corridors
  3. Natural/human effects on the physical environment
  4. Changing seasons and effects on both physical/live systems
Science and Technology in Society
  1. Influence of information about the physical systems and their relations to living systems on society as a whole
History and Nature of Science
  1. Meet scientists (geologist) working in Beringia and follow their scientific investigations.
  2. Use scientific data to explain land and life, past, present and future in Beringia.
Social Studies Connections (NCSS)
  1. Use maps to illustrate and interpret changing physical geography, settlement patterns, ecology, etc.
  2. Examine changing physical systems and their effects: climate, sea levels and land formations.
  3. Trace common physical characteristics across Beringia and its current and historical ties to other regions.
  4. Apply geographic information to analyze the past, explain the present and plan for the future of Beringia
Social Studies Connections (Geography)
  1. The World in Spatial Terms: How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places and environments on Earth's surface
  2. Places and Regions: The physical and human characteristics of places
  3. Physical Systems: The Physical Processes that shape the patterns of Earth's surface
  4. Human Systems: The processes, patterns and functions of human settlement
  5. Environment and Society: How physical systems affect human systems
  6. The Uses of Geography: How to apply geography to interpret the past and the present and to plan for the future.
Cultural Geography: A Yupik Way of Life (Social Studies)

Social Studies Connections (NCSS)

  1. Trace common cultural ties between Beringia and other regions
  2. Identify interconnection between culture/lifeways of Beringia's indigenous peoples and its environment.
  3. Investigate influences, both beneficial and detrimental and historical and current, on isolated communities in Beringia; for example, mining and whale hunting, the development of a national preserve, etc.
  4. Examine Beringia from a variety of viewpoints, including that of an ancient migrant or early "settler" into the area.
  5. Examine and evaluate cultural attitudes toward the region and people of Beringia of outsiders, Inupiat youth, etc.
  6. Understand the economics of the dependence on subsistence living and apply this to human existence across Beringia.
  7. Analyze the economics of land use -- gold mines, petroleum fields, land preserves, indigenous settlements, trade and transportation.
  8. Apply geographic information to analyze the past, explain the present and plan for the future of Beringia.
Social Studies Connections (Geography)
  1. The World in Spatial Terms: How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools and technologies to show the migration of humanity across the Bering Land Bridge
  2. Places and Regions: How culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions
  3. Human Systems:
    1. The characteristics, distribution and migration of human populations on Earth's surface
    2. The patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earth's surface
    3. The process, patterns and functions of human settlement
  4. Environment and Society: The changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution and importance of resources
  5. The Uses of Geography: How to apply geography to interpret the past and the present and to plan for the future.

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