Japan 中学2年 Social Studies: Geography Field

1. Japan's diverse regions: fieldwork methods

Observation, field and library research methods · Reading topographic and thematic maps; making maps

• Class 12 History Map Work: Finding Places Through Time – The map question in Class 12 History carries 5 marks. You get an outline map and must mark and name places. The places come from the themes you study: Harappan cities, the 16 mahajanapadas, Ashoka's inscriptions, Buddhist sites, Vijayanagara and Mughal places, and centres of 1857 and the national movement. The trick is simple. Remember each place by its river, its coast or its neighbour. Group places by age. Then marking becomes quick and sure.
• India Map Work for Class 12 Geography (People and Economy) – In Class 12 map work you locate and label places from the India People and Economy book on an outline map of India: crop areas, mines, oil fields, industrial centres, ports and airports. Learn a key of symbols, learn each place with a clue (near which coast, river or plateau), and practise marking it neatly with its name. Only an official outline map is used; we never draw or argue about borders.
• Introduction to Maps – A map is a small, flat drawing of all or part of the Earth, seen from above and drawn to a scale. Every map needs a title, scale, direction (north arrow), legend with symbols, and a grid based on a projection. Maps are grouped by scale (large or small) and by what they show (physical or cultural).
• World Map Work (Class 12): Farming Regions, Railway Terminals, Ports, Airports and Waterways – In Class 12 world map work you mark human-geography features on an outline map. Gathering happens in thick forests and cold lands; nomadic herding in dry lands; commercial ranching, extensive grain farming and mixed farming in temperate grasslands and developed plains. Four transcontinental railways cross continents from coast to coast. Big sea ports sit on coasts; big airports can be anywhere. The Suez and Panama canals are short cuts between oceans; the Rhine and the St Lawrence carry ships deep inland.
• World Map Work (Physical Geography): Oceans, Plates, Deserts, Seas, Currents and Hotspots – In map work you find physical features on an outline map of the world. Five oceans join into one world ocean. The crust is split into seven major and many minor plates; the Ring of Fire circles the Pacific and the mid-Atlantic ridge runs down the Atlantic. Hot deserts lie near 15°–30° on the west side of continents. Seas are smaller, partly closed parts of oceans. Warm currents flow towards the poles, cold currents towards the equator. Biodiversity hotspots are rich but threatened areas; four touch India.

2. Japan's regional characteristics and regionalisation

Natural environment: landforms, climate, hazards and disaster prevention · Population: ageing, distribution, depopulation and overcrowding · Resources, energy and industry · Transport and communication networks · Dividing Japan into regions using the four items

• Natural Hazards – A natural hazard is a natural event that can harm people and property, such as an earthquake, volcano, landslide, flood, drought or cyclone. It becomes a disaster when it hits people who are not ready. Geological hazards come from inside the Earth; meteorological (weather) hazards come from the air and water. Risk = hazard × vulnerability ÷ capacity to cope, so warning systems, strong buildings and trained people cut the damage.
• The Demographic Structure of Indian Society – Demography is the study of population: its size, how it grows, and who is in it (age, sex, place). Malthus said population grows faster than food, so hunger checks it. The theory of demographic transition says societies move from high birth and death rates, through a population explosion when deaths fall first, to low birth and death rates. Key measures are birth rate, death rate, growth rate, fertility rate, infant and maternal mortality, life expectancy, sex ratio and dependency ratio. India has a young population, which can be a demographic dividend if the young get jobs and skills. India's falling child sex ratio is a warning sign. Villages and cities are linked by migration, trade and media, yet divided by jobs, services and income. India's population policy moved from family planning (1952) through forced sterilisation in the Emergency to the National Population Policy 2000, which stresses health, education and choice.
• The World Population: Distribution, Density and Growth – People are not spread evenly on Earth. Most live on fertile plains near water; few live in deserts, high mountains or icy lands. Density tells how many people live on each square km. Geographical, economic and social factors explain the pattern. The world grew slowly for thousands of years and then very fast after 1800. Population changes through births, deaths and migration. The demographic transition theory shows how birth and death rates fall as a society moves from rural farming to urban industry. Countries use family planning and health care to control growth.

3. Regions of Japan

Study each region through one core theme

Coming soon

4. The future of the local area

Local issues and efforts to solve them · Proposing sustainable local futures

Coming soon