Ontario · Grade 12
World Issues: A Geographic Analysis, Grade 12 (University Preparation)
- CGW4U
Ontario’s Grade 12 social studies course, from Geographic Skills and Careers to Changing Societies: The Local and Global Community.
- Units
- 5
- Lessons
- 13
- Skills
- 43
- Provincial exam
- None
- Official curriculum
- Ontario Ministry of Education
Unit by unit
Every skill in the course, with its official code.
Unit 1 · 4 skills
Geographic Skills and Careers
Skills and Careers in Geographic Analysis
Skills geographic analysis builds
I can describe the skills geographic investigation of world issues helps me develop.
Official code: A2.1
Working like a geographer
I can apply a geographer's skills and work habits in everyday situations.
Official code: A2.2
World issues in the news
I can use geographic thinking to analyse current world events.
Official code: A2.3
Careers in geography
I can identify careers where a geography background is an asset.
Official code: A2.4
The official wording · 4 outcomes
- A2.1
- describe several ways in which geographic investigation can help them develop skills, including spatial skills and the essential skills in the Ontario Skills Passport
- A2.2
- apply in everyday contexts skills and work habits developed through geographic investigation
- A2.3
- apply the concepts of geographic thinking when analysing current events involving geographic issues
- A2.4
- identify some careers in which a geography background might be an asset
Key ideas
Geographic analysis builds spatial skills — reading maps, using spatial technologies, seeing relationships between regions.
It also builds transferable essential skills: research, graphing, decision making, problem solving, planning.
Geographic work habits include asking probing questions, listening to multiple perspectives, and collaborating.
Using quantitative data and spatial thinking to support an argument is a habit that transfers to daily life.
The four concepts of geographic thinking apply directly to real news: spatial significance, patterns and trends, interrelationships, geographic perspective.
Watch out for
- Thinking geography is only about naming places on a map.
- Not connecting a skill to postsecondary study, work, or everyday life.
- Thinking geography skills only apply inside a classroom.
Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit
Unit 2 · 9 skills
Quality of Life and Access to Resources
Resources, Conflict, and Quality of Life
Resources and quality-of-life indicators
I can analyse how resource access relates to quality-of-life indicators.
Official code: B1.1
Resources and conflict
I can assess how resource disparities drive social and political conflict.
Official code: B1.2
The ethics of resource control
I can analyse the ethical issues in controlling and profiting from natural resources.
Official code: B1.3
Population, Politics, and Quality of Life
Population distribution and quality of life
I can analyse how population distribution and density relate to quality of life.
Official code: B2.1
Migration and quality of life
I can analyse how migration and quality of life influence each other.
Official code: B2.2
Policies of the past and inequality
I can assess how political and economic policies produce inequality.
Official code: B2.3
Classifying the World into Regions
Classifying countries with indicators
I can classify countries into groupings using indicators and criteria.
Official code: B3.1
The limits of classification
I can evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of classification indicators.
Official code: B3.2
Classification applied to global issues
I can apply indicators and classification systems to analyse a current global issue.
Official code: B3.3
The official wording · 9 outcomes
- B1.1
- analyse relationships between the distribution and availability of natural resources in a country or region and its quality of life, as reflected by various indicators
- B1.2
- assess relationships between disparities in the distribution or quality of resources
- B1.3
- analyse ethical issues relating to the control and development of natural resources and the distribution of economic benefits from resource exploitation
- B2.1
- analyse interrelationships between global population distribution, population density, and quality of life
- B2.2
- analyse interrelationships between population migration
- B2.3
- assess the effects of past and present political and economic policies on inequality
- B3.1
- use statistical indicators and other criteria to classify countries into a variety of groupings on the basis of common characteristics
- B3.2
- evaluate particular indicators or characteristics that are used to classify countries, and analyse the advantages and disadvantages of their use
- B3.3
- apply statistical indicators and regional classification systems to the analysis of current global issues
Key ideas
Quality of life is measured with indicators: life expectancy, infant mortality, per capita income, years of schooling.
Population is unevenly distributed across the globe, with widely varying densities.
Countries can be grouped by common characteristics: government type, culture, language, religion.
Access to and distribution of natural resources shapes those indicators in a country or region.
High or low density interacts with quality of life through pressure on land, services, and resources.
Watch out for
- Assuming resource wealth always raises quality of life.
- Assuming high density always means low quality of life.
- Using a single indicator to define a whole country.
Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit
Unit 3 · 10 skills
Sustainability and Environmental Stewardship
Protecting the Environment: Agreements and Initiatives
International environmental agreements
I can assess how effective international environmental agreements are.
Official code: C1.1
Who is responsible for the environment
I can analyse the roles of organizations, governments, and companies in protecting the environment.
Official code: C1.2
Values, beliefs, and public opinion
I can analyse how values and beliefs shape public opinion on sustainability.
Official code: C1.3
National sustainability policies
I can analyse how effective national sustainability policies are.
Official code: C1.4
Local sustainability initiatives
I can assess how effective local sustainability initiatives are.
Official code: C1.5
Population Growth and the Limits of the Earth
Population growth and the environment
I can analyse how population growth affects the natural environment.
Official code: C2.1
Theories of carrying capacity
I can analyse theories about the earth's carrying capacity.
Official code: C2.2
Managing the Commons
The commons and the global commons
I can explain what the commons and global commons are and why they matter geographically.
Official code: C3.1
Human impact on the commons
I can analyse how human activities damage the commons.
Official code: C3.2
Managing the commons
I can analyse the challenges of managing the commons.
Official code: C3.3
The official wording · 10 outcomes
- C1.1
- assess the effectiveness of various inter- national agreements for protecting the natural environment
- C1.2
- analyse the roles and responsibilities of international organizations, governments, and companies with respect to the protection of the natural environment
- C1.3
- analyse the influence of the values and beliefs of individuals and groups
- C1.4
- analyse the effectiveness of policies, programs, and initiatives in various countries in enhancing sustainability
- C1.5
- assess the effectiveness of local sustainability initiatives in building sustainable communities
- C2.1
- analyse the impacts of population growth and related trends
- C2.2
- analyse theories relating to the impact of global population growth on the carrying capacity of the earth
- C3.1
- explain the meaning and geographic significance of the commons
- C3.2
- analyse the impacts of human activities on the commons
- C3.3
- analyse issues relating to the management of the commons
Key ideas
International agreements set shared rules to protect the environment across borders.
Population growth drives urbanization, migration, and more travel.
Common-pool resources — water, fish, fishing grounds, forests, pastures — are shared and hard to exclude anyone from.
Examples include the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol, the Montreal Protocol, and the Convention on Biological Diversity.
These trends increase pressure on land, water, air, and ecosystems.
Watch out for
- Assuming every signed agreement is enforced.
- Treating population growth as the only environmental factor.
- Thinking every resource has a clear owner.
Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit
Unit 4 · 9 skills
Interactions and Interdependence: Globalization
Trade, Immigration, and a Connected World
Trade agreements and interdependence
I can analyse how trade agreements shape interdependence and well-being.
Official code: D1.1
Immigration and interdependence
I can analyse how immigration and immigration policy shape interdependence and countries.
Official code: D1.2
The Impacts of Globalization and Who Manages Them
Impacts on economies and the environment
I can analyse how globalization affects economic and social conditions and the environment.
Official code: D2.1
Globalization and connections between countries
I can analyse how globalization changes the relationships between countries.
Official code: D2.2
The responsibility of consumers
I can assess what consumers can do to moderate globalization's impacts.
Official code: D2.3
The responsibility of governments and businesses
I can assess how governments and businesses can manage globalization's impacts.
Official code: D2.4
What Globalization Is and What Drives It
The globalization of economic activity
I can describe how economic activity has become globalized.
Official code: D3.1
What drives the globalized economy
I can analyse the factors driving a globalized economy.
Official code: D3.2
The globalization of culture
I can describe and explain the globalization of culture.
Official code: D3.3
The official wording · 9 outcomes
- D1.1
- analyse the influence of selected international trade agreements
- D1.2
- analyse the influence of immigration on global interdependence and on individual countries
- D2.1
- analyse issues relating to the impacts of globalization on economic and social conditions
- D2.2
- analyse the impacts of globalization on indi- vidual countries and on the interrelationships between countries
- D2.3
- assess the responsibility of consumers for moderating economic, social, and environmental impacts associated with globalization
- D2.4
- assess the responsibilities of governments and businesses for managing economic, en- vironmental, and social impacts associated with globalization
- D3.1
- describe ways in which economic activity has become globalized
- D3.2
- analyse factors that have influenced the trend towards a globalized economy
- D3.3
- describe the globalization of culture
Key ideas
Trade agreements bind countries' economies together, increasing interdependence.
Globalization outsources manufacturing to low-wage countries and costs jobs in high-wage ones.
National economies are increasingly integrated with one another.
They affect economic, environmental, and social well-being of participating countries.
It also raises pollution, risks exploiting migrant workers, and increases the risk of global pandemics.
Watch out for
- Assuming trade agreements benefit everyone equally.
- Seeing globalization as all good or all bad.
- Thinking economies are still mostly national and self-contained.
Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit
Unit 5 · 11 skills
Changing Societies: The Local and Global Community
Governments, Aid, and Individuals as Agents of Change
Government population policies
I can analyse government population policies and assess their impacts.
Official code: E1.1
International aid
I can assess how effective international aid is at improving quality of life.
Official code: E1.2
Individuals as global citizens
I can assess how individuals contribute to human rights and act as global citizens.
Official code: E1.3
State security and human rights
I can describe how states protect security and analyse the tension with human rights.
Official code: E1.4
Technology, Media, and Cities as Agents of Change
Technology as an agent of change
I can explain how technology drives change and could improve the future.
Official code: E2.1
Mass media and social change
I can analyse how mass media drives social and political change.
Official code: E2.2
Urbanization as an agent of change
I can analyse how urbanization drives social, economic, and environmental change.
Official code: E2.3
Human Rights, Food, and Health Challenges
Ethnic tension and crimes against humanity
I can analyse how ethnic and religious tensions lead to crimes against humanity.
Official code: E3.1
Protecting human rights globally
I can assess who is responsible for protecting human rights worldwide.
Official code: E3.2
The rights of women and children
I can analyse women's and children's rights issues and assess responses.
Official code: E3.3
Food security and safety
I can analyse food-security challenges and assess responses.
Official code: E3.4
The official wording · 11 outcomes
- E1.1
- analyse government policies for controlling population growth
- E1.2
- assess the effectiveness of various inter- national aid policies, programs, and practices
- E1.3
- assess the contributions of various individuals to advancing human rights and improving the quality of life in various countries
- E1.4
- describe how governments protect the security of the state
- E2.1
- explain the impact of technology as an agent of change
- E2.2
- analyse the influence of mass media, including the Internet, on social and political change
- E2.3
- analyse the role of urbanization as an agent of social, economic, and environmental change
- E3.1
- analyse relationships between ethnic and/or religious tensions and crimes against humanity by governments or armed opposition groups
- E3.2
- assess the responsibility of governments and international bodies for the promotion and protection of human rights
- E3.3
- analyse issues relating to the rights of women and children
- E3.4
- analyse challenges relating to food security and safety, and assess ways of responding to these challenges
Key ideas
Governments try to control population growth through policy.
Technology transforms how people work, communicate, and live.
Ethnic and religious tensions can escalate into crimes against humanity.
Examples include China's one-child policy, incentives to raise birth rates, and immigration to offset aging.
It can be directed toward beneficial change — clean energy, medical advances, connectivity.
Watch out for
- Assuming population policies always achieve their goal.
- Seeing technology's effects as only positive or only negative.
- Treating such crimes as spontaneous rather than rooted in tension.
Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit
Plan the term
Pick your term and the days you study. Each unit gets its share of the weeks and comes back a week later for a review. The last two weeks go over the whole course.
Which course?
Ontario has 4 social studies courses for Grade 12. Here they are side by side.
- Canadian and International Law, Grade 12 (University Preparation)CLN4U5 units · 56 skillsNo provincial examWhat it coversLegal Skills and Careers · Foundations of Law · Rights and Freedoms in Canada and the World · International Law · International Legal Issues
- World History since the Fifteenth Century, Grade 12 (College Preparation)CHY4C5 units · 50 skillsNo provincial examWhat it coversHistorical Inquiry: Skills and Careers · The World, 1450–1650 · The World, 1650–1789 · The World, 1789–1900 · The World since 1900
- World History since the Fifteenth Century, Grade 12 (University Preparation)CHY4U5 units · 58 skillsNo provincial examWhat it coversHistorical Inquiry: Skills and Careers · The World, 1450–1650 · The World, 1650–1789 · The World, 1789–1900 · The World since 1900
- World Issues: A Geographic Analysis, Grade 12 (University Preparation)This courseCGW4U5 units · 43 skillsNo provincial examWhat it coversGeographic Skills and Careers · Quality of Life and Access to Resources · Sustainability and Environmental Stewardship · Interactions and Interdependence: Globalization · Changing Societies: The Local and Global Community
What a university, college or program asks for is theirs to say: check its admission page, and your school’s course guide.
The official curriculum
This page follows Ontario’s own curriculum for World Issues: A Geographic Analysis, Grade 12 (University Preparation).
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Course Companion
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Questions about World Issues: A Geographic Analysis, Grade 12 (University Preparation)
What is World Issues: A Geographic Analysis, Grade 12 (University Preparation)?
Ontario’s Grade 12 social studies course: 5 units and 43 skills, from Geographic Skills and Careers to Changing Societies: The Local and Global Community.
What units are in World Issues: A Geographic Analysis, Grade 12 (University Preparation)?
1. Geographic Skills and Careers, 2. Quality of Life and Access to Resources, 3. Sustainability and Environmental Stewardship, 4. Interactions and Interdependence: Globalization and 5. Changing Societies: The Local and Global Community.
Is there a provincial exam for World Issues: A Geographic Analysis, Grade 12 (University Preparation)?
No. Ontario gives no provincial exam for World Issues: A Geographic Analysis, Grade 12 (University Preparation).
Can MapleMind help with World Issues: A Geographic Analysis, Grade 12 (University Preparation)?
Yes. MapleMind teaches every skill of World Issues: A Geographic Analysis, Grade 12 (University Preparation), step by step, with practice and checks, and its tutor answers questions about any of them. It’s free with daily limits, on iPhone, Android and the web.
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