This volume presents a framework for developing courses of study in geography at grade levels 7-12. Several sample courses illustrate how the framework may be used. Five fundamental themes in geographic education provide the basis for the framework. The suggested learning opportunities are designed to incorporate various levels of thinking. These opportunities direct attention to the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that result in a total geography course. The fundamental themes for geographic education are: (1) Location: position on the Earth's surface; (2) Place: physical and human characteristics; (3) Relationships within places: humans and environments; (4) Movement: humans interacting on the Earth; and (5) Regions: how they form and change. The cognitive skills that are developed in these courses are grouped as follows: asking geographic questions; acquiring geographic information; presenting geographic data; interpreting and analyzing geographic information; developing and testing hypotheses and geographic generalizations. A glossary of selected terms and a list of references are included. (DB)