Advanced Placement Human Geography Syllabus This course is designed to provide students with a college level experience and to prepare them for the AP Exam in May 2008. Students will develop, through the use of geography, critical thinking skills to apply and analyze the fundamentals of geography. The course will be divided into 13 units, covering 15 weeks. These units include answering the question of What is Geography, as well as population, migration, culture, language, religion, ethnicity, political geography, development, agriculture, industry, services, and urban geography. This will leave 1 week to review for the AP Human Geography exam. Every student enrolled in the class will take the AP exam in May. The class is open to any freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior student. Course Objectives Examine patterns and processes regarding human interaction with the earth. Examine geographic methods such as mapmaking and data gathering and reporting. Examine spatial concepts and apply them to global and local situations and areas. Examine spatial patterns and processes to determine their meaning. Examine each of the above patterns and analyze how patterns and processes in one place affect patterns and processes in another. Textbooks and Study Material Algona, Peter S., and Meredith Marsh. How to Prepare for the AP Exam in Human Geography. Hauppauge. Barrons, 2003. Hurt, John Philip Antony and Shanna L. AP Test Prep Series: AP Human Geography. Upper Saddle River. Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008. Kuby, Michael, John Harner, and Patricia Gober. Human Geography in Action. 4 th ed. New York. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2007. Rubenstein, James M. The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography. 9 th ed. Upper Saddle River. Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008. The Power of Place: Geography for the 21 st Century. Video. Annenberg/CPB Project, 2003. Veregin, Howard. Goode s World Atlas, 21 st ed. Rand McNally, 2005. In addition to the above material, local, regional, and national newspapers (such as USA Today) will be used. This will allow students to interpret data, maps, images, and other geographic material in different scales. The internet will also be used on occasion. U.S. Census Bureau 1
o www.census.gov Population Reference Bureau o www.prb.org Study Material to accompany the Power of Place videos o www.learner.org/powerofplace Reading Assignments Students will be instructed in multiple means of critical reading. Students will have the freedom to use the means that best fits their learning style. Students will be instructed in Levels of Questions, Harvard Outline, Cornell Notes, Use of Subheadings, one pagers, and implementation of interactive notebooks. Students will be given ample opportunity to demonstrate their skills through text and outside reading assignments. Writing Assignments Students will be given instruction in analytical writing. This will take place through numerous Free Response Questions (FRQ) and Article Reviews. There will be at least one FRQ in each unit. Tests Tests will be a combination of Multiple Choice and FRQ questions. Students will be given a combination of these tests during each unit. Due to time constraints in each class period, students will answer 2 out of 3 FRQs. Students will take a comprehensive exam at the end of the semester. Unit tests will resemble the AP Human Geography test. Teaching Strategies Discussion of key terms, models, concepts Discussion and examination of case studies Application of key geographic skills Practice in writing through numerous FRQs Students will be taught to address each topic of discussion in relationship to space, scale, and interconnection Students will, from time to time, review magazine and newspaper articles typically through a reaction paper 2
Grades A 90 100 B 80 89 C 70 79 D 60 69 F 0 59 Unit 1 Thinking Geographically Week 1 o Rubenstein, Chapter 1: Thinking Geographically o Kuby, Chapter 1: True Maps, False Impressions o Maps and tools to make them o Uniqueness of place o Scale, distribution, and connections between places Assignments, Activities, Assessment o Case study questions from Kuby o Power of Place video series Lost In Space?: Geography Training for Astronauts Unit 2 Population Week 2 o Rubenstein, Chapter 2: Population o Kuby, Chapters 3 and 5: Tracking the AIDS Epidemic in the United States: Diffusion through Space and Time, One Billion and Counting: The Hidden Momentum of Population Growth in India o Distribution and density of population 3
o Why and where has population increased/decreased o Demographic Transition and Population Pyramids o Overpopulation and Thomas Malthus Assignments, Activities, Assessment o Power of Place video series Delhi: Bursting at the Seams, Kenya: Medical Geography Unit 3 Migration Week 3 o Rubenstein, Chapter 3: Migration o Kuby, Chapter 4: Newton s First Law of Migration: The Gravity Model o Why, where, and how far do people migrate o Global and US patterns of migration o Barriers to migration o Inter and intraregional migration Assignments, Activities, Assessment o Case study questions from Kuby o Power of Place video series Mexico: Motive to Migrate Unit 4 Culture Week 4 o Rubenstein, Chapter 4: Folk and Popular Culture o Kuby, Chapter 2: Layers of Tradition: Culture Regions at Different Scales o Origin and diffusion of folk and pop culture o Impact of culture on the physical environment o Threats to folk culture Assignments, Activities, Assessment o FRQ assignments and Exam o Case study questions from Kuby o Power of Place video series Vancouver: Hong Kong East 4
Unit 5 Language Week 5 o Rubenstein, Chapter 5: Language o Distribution and diffusion of English language speakers o How and why is English related to other languages o Distribution and diffusion of other language families o Preservation of local languages and language diversity o Power of Place video series Montreal: An Island of French Unit 6 Religion Weeks 6 7 o Rubenstein, Chapter 6: Religion o Kuby, Chapter 12: Do Orange and Green Class?: Residential Segregation in Northern Ireland o Distribution of religions universalizing and ethnic o How religions organize space o Conflicts among religious groups o Why religions are distributed differently o Power of Place video series Jerusalem: Capital of Two States? Unit 7 Ethnicity Week 8 o Rubenstein, Chapter 7: Ethnicity o Kuby, Chapter 13: Breaking Up Is Hard to Do: Nations, States, and Nation States 5
o Distribution of ethnicities o How, where, why do ethnicities become nationalities o Why ethnicities clash o Ethnic Cleansing o Power of Place video series Degestan: Caucuses Disconnect? Boston: Ethnic Mosaic Unit 8 Political Geography Week 9 o Rubenstein, Chapter 8: Political Geography o Location, problems, and development of states o Boundaries and boundary issues o Economic, political, and military cooperation between states o The increase in terrorism o Power of Place video series Operation Hold the Line Slovakia: New Sovereignty Laos: Isolated Heart Unit 9 Development Week 10 o Rubenstein, Chapter 9: Development o Kuby, Chapter 7: Rags and Riches: The Dimensions of Development o Explain economic, social, and demographic indicators of development o Compare and contrast, and examine the distribution of more and less developed countries o Explain the role of gender in relation to development o Discuss the routes LDCs can take to reach the MDC Level 6
o Power of Place video series Shanghai: Head of the Dragon Oman: Looking Beyond Oil Unit 10 Agriculture Week 11 o Rubenstein, Chapter 10: Agriculture o Kuby, Chapter 8: Food for Thought: The Globalization of Agriculture o Discuss the origins and diffusion of agriculture o Examine the different patterns and regions of agriculture in LDCs o Examine the different patterns and regions of agriculture in MDCs o Examine the challenges faced by commercial and subsistence farmers o Power of Place video series Northern Japan: Protecting the Harvest Vietnam: Fertile Dreams Unit 11 Industry Week 12 o Rubenstein, Chapter 11: Industry o Kuby, Chapter 6: Help Wanted: The Changing Geography of Jobs o Global distribution of industry o Situation and factors related to industry o Dynamics of industry in MDCs o Multiple Choice Test o Power of Place video series Liverpool: A Tale of Two Cities Shenyang: Hope for China s Rustbelt? Unit 12 Services Week 13 o Rubenstein, Chapter 12: Services o Kuby, Chapter 9: Take Me Out to the Ballgame: Market Areas and the Urban Hierarchy Discussion Topics o Types and origins of services 7
o Rural services o Central Place Theory, Market Area Analysis, Service Hierarchy o Discuss why businesses locate in populated areas o Explain the clustering of downtown businesses o Multiple Choice Test o Power of Place video series Taiwan: High Tech Tiger Indonesia: Tourist Invasion Unit 13 Urban Patterns Week 14 o Rubenstein, Chapter 13: Urban Patterns o Kuby, Chapter 11: The Disappearing Front Range: Urban Sprawl in Colorado Discussion Topics o Examine Areas experiencing urban growth o Examine distribution of people in the different models of urban structure o Explain problems of inner cities o Explain the problems of suburbs o Power of Place video series Tokyo: Anatomy of a Mega City Sao Paulo: The Outer Ring Chicago: Farming on the Edge Review Unit Week 15 Students will go over each aspect of the Course Outline available from AP Central, discussing, defining, and/or expanding on each item Students will review How to Prepare for the AP Human Geography Advanced Placement Examination Students will take a full length practice exam on a Saturday morning (date to be determined) in late April or early May Each student is required to take the Advanced Placement exam 8