Room: L229 AP HUMAN GEOGRAPHY SYLLABUS BRITTANY BROWN-LEROUX Ridge Point High School ~ Spring Semester 2014 E-mail: brittany.brown@fortbend.k12.tx.us (school) Conference: 6 th period (12:45-1:35) Phone: 281.634.9971 "The great aim of education is not knowledge, but action. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) The Five Goals of AP Human Geography 1. Use and think about maps and spatial data. 2. Understand and interpret the implications of associations among phenomena in places. 3. Recognize and interpret at different scales the relationships among patterns and processes. 4. Define regions and evaluate the regionalization process. 5. Characterize and analyze changing interconnections among places. Required Materials: Rubenstein, James M. 8 th edition, The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography, Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Education, Inc., 2005. (provided by school) Wood, Ethel 3rd edition, AP Human Geography: A Study Guide, Reading, PA,: WoodYard Publications, 2012. purchased by students @ $16.00 each a Spiral Notebook with *NO SMALLER THAN 8½ by 11 inch pages this is NOT standard size!!! *NO FEWER THAN 150 PAGES 1 box of Colored Map Pencils (box of 12, at least) Scotch Tape Marbled Composition notebook ($0.99 at CVS, Walgreens, Wal-Mart, Staples, or Office Depot, etc.) Highlighters Red Pens Pencils Black Pens Appreciated materials Kleenex and Hand Sanitizer! Supplemental Materials (utilized by teacher): Knox, Marston. Places and Regions in Global Context (4 th Edition). Pearson Education, 2005. Fellman, Getis and Getis. Human Geography (5 th edition). McGraw-Hill, 2005. Jordan, Terry and Mona Domosh. The Human Mosaic (7 th Edition). Freeman, 2004. Wood, Ethel AP Human Geography Workbook, (2 nd Edition). WoodYard Publication, 2009. Video and Electronic Sources: Country studies using Culturegrams.com, Council on Foreign Relations website studies as preparation for APHG Test, Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. National Geographic Society. The Commanding Heights by Daniel Yergin and Joseph Stanislaw. PBS Productions. The Power of Place: Geography for the 21 st Century -Annenberg Series with Harm DeBlij. The Economist, The New York Times-Times Select, The Christian Science Monitor, Foreign Policy Magazine, The Week Magazine, Maps101.com Geography in the News.
Organization of Course Students in grades 11-12 are eligible for AP Human Geography, which is offered as an elective on our campus. The pre-requisite for the course is a regional world geography class, taught in the 9 th grade. The textbook is composed of 14 chapters, so we will go through about one chapter a week. AP Human Geography College Board Exam May 13 th At the beginning of each appropriate chapter, you will read Ethel Wood s workbook for AP Human Geography. The book is divided into 8 units, which correspond with the College Board s breakdown of areas (see Topic Outline). Each applicable week, vocabulary, multiple-choice and Free Response Question (FRQ)will be due before the weekly chapter test (see calendars for exact dates). Each test consists one FRQ, at least 75 multiple choice and true/false questions, possibly a short answers section, usually, but not always, taken from a previous APHG exam. One field study during the semester of our community s various shopping areas of diverse ethnic groups is required. It is assigned near the end of the course so the students can synthesize concepts from many chapters (population, migration, language, religion, culture, ethnicity, urbanization and services) Assignments/Assessments - You will be held responsible for reading the Rubenstein book on your own time. Test will be given by Unit in the Rubenstein text. - You will be required to define the words found in the Study Guide book that you will purchase. - You will also be responsible for answering the questions at the end of each unit in the Study Guide book. - Expect to have homework this will be completed outside of school (not in my class, not in your other classes). - During class time we will spend time analyzing current event articles, maps, charts, and graphs related to the topic at hand. You will also create your own charts, graphs, and map trends in order to demonstrate the knowledge you have gained. We will view several videos in which you will watch and then relate it to the course vocabulary words. Classroom Rules 1. BE RESPONSIBLE This is a college course, and will be treated as such. Arrive on time and ready to learn. Bring ALL necessary materials to class everyday. 2. BE RESPECTFUL Respect yourself and the property and ideas of others. 3. FOLLOW ALL SCHOOL RULES SET FOURTH IN THE STUDENT HANDBOOK. 4. HAVE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE AND OPEN MIND. Classroom Procedures and Expectations All KHS guidelines will be enforced - including policies on absences, tardies, dress code, & the wearing if your Student ID. Arrive on time to class daily 3 tardies = 1 write-up. When bell rings, you are to be IN YOUR SEAT. If you are NOT in your seat, you are tardy. BE PREPARED for class with all materials needed (spiral notebook, supplies, etc.). Do NOT approach my desk unless you have raised your hand, asked permission and I have granted you that permission. In order to cover all of our course material, we must maximize class time. I expect each of you to be prepared, prompt and courteous at all times. ANY BEHAVIOR THAT CAUSES A LOSS OF LEARNING TIME IS UNACCEPTABLE. Thus - Take care of personal business (restroom break, water, sleeping, etc.) before class or during passing periods. - Raise your hand to be recognized, and do not talk unless given permission to do so. On days that homework and/or projects are due, they are due upon entering the classroom at the beginning of the period, not at the end of the period unless otherwise specified, or the assignment will receive a late grade! NO EATING, drinking, or gum chewing. DO YOUR OWN WORK AT ALL TIMES - anyone caught cheating will receive a 0 for that assignment & a write-up. Talking or having a cell phone or I-pod out during a test/quiz is considered cheating. BE SURE YOUR DESK AREA IS CLEAN (not just the top of your desk) before you leave each day. REMAIN IN YOUR SEAT UNTIL YOU ARE DISMISSED. You are NOT permitted to congregate at the door. Use appropriate language at all times. ABSOLUTELY NO CELLPHONES, I-PODS, MP3players OR OTHER ELECTRONIC DEVICES! - EVERY offence is $15.00 for cell phones and your parent/guardian will be notified. QUALITY work is expected at ALL times!!!
Grades You will receive a progress report every 3 weeks and a grade every 9 weeks. There will be a minimum of 3 Major Grades (MG) and 6 Daily Grades (DG) per grading period. You will need to keep a record of your assignments in your ISN and record each of your grades. *I will ONLY tell you your grades for Friday sheets, progress reports and report cards. *GRADING SYSTEM: All grades are weighted and you will be told how much each grade earned will count in your average. Some grades will count only once. Some major grades may count more. Semester Finals will be worth 20% (1/5 th ) of the semester grade. Major grades: 50% Daily grades: 50% Chapter/Unit exams Daily activities/assignments Major projects (individual and cooperative) Homework assignments Other activities designated by teacher Quizzes *DISTRICT GRADING POLICY: In each grading period there will be at least three major grades and six daily grades. Progress reports will be sent out every 3 weeks. These progress grades will consist of a minimum of 1 major grade and 2 daily grades. Make-Up and Late Work IT IS THE STUDENT S RESPONSIBILITY TO GET MAKEUP WORK. If you miss one day and it is an excused absence, you have one day to make up the work. Check with a classmate or me before or after class for the agenda for the days missed. It is YOUR responsibility to make up work after an absence. I will NOT hunt you down for make-up work. o One day for each day of an absence will be provided for make-up work. o You will need to turn your make-up work directly to me. Do NOT just put it on my desk or you will NOT receive credit. o If a test was scheduled before you are absent, then you will be required to take the test the day you return. If you were here the day before the announced quiz, test, or assignment due date, you are required to make up the test/quiz or turn in the assignment the day you return, unless you present a doctor s note indicating an illness. (This includes school sponsored trips and other absences.) You may take the test/quiz or turn in the assignment the day following your return only if you were ill, with an excused absence from the Attendance Office, if not, you will receive a ZERO. If you miss more than one day (excused), you are responsible for arranging a time with me. Make-up tests/quizzes must be arranged with me. o If you are absent on the day a Major Grade Assignment (i.e. Project, Essay) is due, you MUST make arrangements to get the project to class. If you do not, you will receive a late grade. o School sponsored trips - I will give make-up work before the absence if possible. Again, if you are missing a major test or quiz, you are responsible for making it up the day you return. NO EXCEPTIONS! If a Major Grade project is due on the day of a school sponsored trip, you still must make arrangements to get it to class or it will be a late grade. Assignments are due at the BEGINNING of the period or it is considered LATE. Late work will be accepted up until the last week of the grading period. Late work one day late will receive 15 points off, two days late 30 points off, more than 2 days late - 50 points off. You are allowed ONLY 3 late assignment opportunities per each nine week grading period. o Any more than 3 late assignments turned in during a 9 week grading period will receive an automatic Zero.
Topic Outline Following is an outline of the major content areas covered by the AP Human Geography Exam, as well as the approximate percentages of the multiple-choice section that are devoted to each area. This outline is a guide and is not intended as an exclusive list of topics. Percentage Goals for Exam (multiple-choice Content Area section) I. Geography: Its Nature and Perspectives 2 weeks 5 10% A. Geography as a field of inquiry B. Evolution of key geographical concepts and models associated with notable geographers C. Key concepts underlying the geographical perspective: location, space, place, scale, pattern, regionalization, and globalization D. Key geographical skills 1. How to use and think about maps and spatial data 2. How to understand and interpret the implications of associations among phenomena in places 3. How to recognize and interpret at different scales the relationships among patterns and processes 4. How to define regions and evaluate the regionalization process 5. How to characterize and analyze changing interconnections among places E. New geographic technologies, such as GIS, remote sensing, and GPS F. Sources of geographical ideas and data: the field, census data, and satellite imagery II. Population 2.5 weeks 13 17% A. Geographical analysis of population 1. Density, distribution, and scale 2. Implications of various densities and distributions 3. Patterns of composition: age, sex, race, and ethnicity 4. Population and natural hazards: past, present, and future B. Population growth and decline over time and space 1. Historical trends and projections for the future 2. Theories of population growth, including the Demographic Transition Model 3. Patterns of fertility, mortality, and health 4. Regional variations of demographic transitions 5. Effects of population policies C. Population movement 1. Migration selectivity 2. Major voluntary and involuntary migrations at different scales 3. Theories of migration, including push and pull factors, human capital, and life course 4. International migration and refugees 5. Socioeconomic consequences of migration III. Cultural Patterns and Processes 3 weeks 13 17% A. Concepts of culture 1. Traits 2. Diffusion 3. Acculturation, assimilation, and globalization 4. Cultural regions B. Cultural differences 1. Language 2. Religion 3. Ethnicity 4. Gender 5. Popular and folk culture C. Cultural landscapes and cultural identity 1. Values and preferences 2. Symbolic landscapes and sense of place 3. Environmental impact of cultural attitudes and practices IV. Political Organization of Space 2.5 weeks 13 17% A. Territorial dimensions of politics 1. The concept of territoriality 2. The nature and meaning of boundaries 3. Influences of boundaries on identity, interaction, and exchange 4. Federal and unitary states 5. Spatial relationships between political patterns and patterns of ethnicity, economy, and environment B. Evolution of the contemporary political pattern 1. The nation-state concept 2. Colonialism and imperialism 3. Democratization C. Changes and challenges to political territorial arrangements 1. Changing nature of sovereignty 2. Fragmentation, unification, alliance 3. Supranationalism and devolution 4. Electoral geography, including gerrymandering 5. Terrorism
V. Agriculture and Rural Land Use 2 weeks 13 17% A. Development and diffusion of agriculture 1. Neolithic Agricultural Revolution 2. Second Agricultural Revolution 3. Green Revolution 4. Modern Commercial Agriculture B. Major agricultural production regions 1. Agricultural systems associated with major bioclimatic zones 2. Variations within major zones and effects of markets 3. Linkages and flows among regions of food production and consumption C. Rural land use and settlement patterns 1. Models of agricultural land use, including von Thünen s model 2. Settlement patterns associated with major agriculture types 3. Land use/land cover change, irrigation, conservation (desertification, deforestation) D. Modern commercial agriculture 1. Biotechnology, including genetically modified plants and animals 2. Spatial organization and diffusion of industrial agriculture 3. Organic farming and local food production 4. Environmental impacts of agriculture VI. Industrialization and Economic Development 2 weeks 13 17% A. Growth and diffusion of industrialization 1. The changing roles of energy and technology 2. Industrial Revolution 3. Evolution of economic cores and peripheries 4. Geographic critiques of models of economic localization (i.e., bid rent, comparative costs of transportation), industrial location, economic development, and world systems B. Contemporary patterns and impacts of industrialization and development 1. Spatial organization of the world economy 2. Variations in levels of development 3. Deindustrialization and economic restructuring 4. Globalization and international division of labor 5. Natural resources and environmental concerns 6. Sustainable development 7. Local development initiatives: government policies 8. Women in development VII. Cities and Urban Land Use 2 weeks 13 17% A. Development and character of cities 1. Origin of cities 2. Rural urban migration and urban growth 3. Global cities and megacities 4. Suburbanization and edge cities B. Models of urban systems 1. Rank-size rule 2. Central place theory 3. Gravity model C. Models of internal city structure 1. Concentric zone model 2. Sector model 3. Multiple-nuclei model 4. Changing employment mix 5. Changing demographic and social structures 6. Uneven development, ghettoization, and gentrification D. Built environment and social space 1. Housing 2. Transportation and infrastructure 3. Political organization of urban areas 4. Urban planning and design 5. Patterns of race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By signing this, you are acknowledging that you have received a copy and understand the classroom and course expectations for Mrs. Brown-Leroux s AP Human Geography. Student Name (Print) Student Signature Date Parent/Guardian Name (Print): Parent/Guardian daytime phone number: Parent/Guardian Signature: Parent/Guardian evening phone number: Parent/Guardian E-mail address: