The focus of this course is the study of the world’s peoples, places, and environments, with an emphasis on world regions. The knowledge, skills, and perspectives of the course are centered on the world’s population and cultural characteristics, landforms and climates, economic development, and migration and settlement patterns. Spatial concepts of geography will be used as a framework for studying interactions between humans and their environments. Using geographic resources, students will employ inquiry, research, and technology skills to ask and answer geographic questions. Particular emphasis is placed on students’ understanding and applying geographic concepts and skills to their daily lives.
Geographic skills provide the necessary tools and technologies for thinking geographically. These skills help people make important decisions in their daily lives, such as how to get to work and where to shop, vacation, or go to school. They also help people make reasoned political decisions and aid in the development and presentation of effective, persuasive arguments for and against matters of public policy. All of these decisions involve the ability to acquire, arrange, and use geographic information. Maps, as well as graphs, sketches, diagrams, photographs, and satellite-produced images, are essential tools of geography.
Basic Geographic Skills
Session 1: Sources of Geographic Information
Session 2: Longitude and Latitude
Session 3: Relative Location and Map Orientation
Session 4: Mental Maps of Local Locations; Following Verbal Directions
Session 5: Mental Maps of State Locations
Session 6: Mental Maps of U.S./World Locations
Session 7: Different Types of Maps
Session 8: The Evolution of Maps
Session 9: Map Projections; Distortion
Session 10: Review
Sample Assessment Items
Physical Geography, Regional Geography
Session 1: Weather Phenomena and Their Effects on the Environment
Session 2: The Impact of Ecological Processes on the Environment
Session 3: The Influence of Human Activity on the Environment
Session 4: The Influence of Technology on the Environment; The Impact of the Environment on Humans
Session 5: Physical Regions
Session 6: Cultural Regions
Session 7: Regional Landscapes and Cultural Characteristics
Session 8: Language and Ethnicity as Region Links
Session 9: Religions as Region Divider
Session 10: Local and National Spatial Divisions
Session 11: Spatial Divisions: Cooperation and Conflict
Session 12: International Spatial Divisions
Session 13: Spatial Divisions and Conflict
Session 14: Spatial Divisions and Cooperation
Sample Assessment Items
Population
Session 1: Population Distribution
Session 2: Characteristics of Human Populations
Session 3: Population Growth Rates
Session 4: Human Migration: Push Factors
Session 5: Human Migration: Pull Factors; Impact of Migrations
Session 6: Site and Situation
Session 7: Functions of Towns and Cities
Session 8: Influence of Urban Areas on Regions and Countries
Session 9: Reinforcement through Essay Composition
Sample Assessment Items
Economic Geography
Session 1: Changes in Energy Resources Use over Time
Session 2: Natural, Human, and Capital Resources
Session 3: Levels of Economic Activity
Session 4: Unequal Distribution of Resources
Session 5: Resource Use and Culture; Resource Use and Technologies
Session 6: Costs and Benefits of Resources Use
Session 7: Levels of Economic Development
Session 8: Criteria That Influence Economic Activity
Session 9: Comparative Advantage; Interdependence
Session 10: International Trade
Session 11: Changes in Economic and Social Interactions; Economic Unions
Sample Assessment Items
United States and Canada
Session 1: Physical Features
Session 2: Economic Characteristics
Session 3: Cultural Diversity
Session 4: Historical Cultural Characteristics
Session 5: Evolved Cultural Characteristics
Session 6: Cultural Landscape
Session 7: Cities
Sample Assessment Items
Latin America and the Caribbean
Session 1: Countries; Physical Features
Session 2: Economic Characteristics
Session 3: Cultural Diversity
Session 4: Historical Cultural Characteristics
Session 5: Cultural Landscape
Session 6: Capital Cities
Sample Assessment Items
Europe
Session 1: Countries; Physical Features
Session 2: Countries; Profile of a Nation
Session 3: More Physical Features; Climates
Session 4: Exchange Rates and Currency Exchange
Session 5: The European Union
Session 6: Economic Characteristics
Session 7: Reinforcement through Group Reports
Session 8: Cultural Characteristics
Sample Assessment Items
Russia and Central Asia
Session 1: Physical Features
Session 2: Climates; Vocabulary
Session 3: Natural Resources, Employment, Exports; Pollution; Fabergé Eggs
Session 4: Siberia
Session 5: Developing vs. Developed Countries
Session 6: Cultural Characteristics
Session 7: Review
Session 8: Assessment
Sample Assessment Items
North Africa and Southwest Asia (Middle East)
Session 1: Countries; Physical Features
Session 2: Climate; Vocabulary
Session 3: Monotheistic Religions
Sessions 4, 5, 6, and 7: Jerusalem; Judaism; Christianity; Islam
Session 8: Assessment
Session 9: Developed vs. Developing Countries
Session 10: Cultural Characteristics
Session 11: Arabic Art
Session 12: Global Choke Points
Session 13: Review
Session 14: Assessment
Sample Assessment Items
South Asia
Session 1: Countries; Physical Features
Session 2: Geographic Features; Hinduism
Session 3: Buddhism
Session 4: Distribution of Religions; History
Session 5: Timeline of Historic Events
Session 6: Indian and Pakistani Architecture, Landscapes, and Culture
Session 7: South Asian Boundary Changes and Disputes since 1947
Session 8: Kashmir
Session 9: South Asia Resources; Monsoons; Bangladesh
Session 10: South Asian Economic Development
Session 11: Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Al Qaeda; Unit Review
South Asia Quiz
South Asia Unit Test
Southeast and East Asia
Session 1: Countries; Physical Features
Session 2: Physical Characteristics
Session 3: Economic Characteristics
Session 4: Cultural Diversity
Session 5: Cultural Characteristics
Session 6: Cultural Heritage
Session 7: Important Cities
Session 8: Cultural Landscape
Sample Assessment Items
Sub-Saharan Africa
Session 1: Countries; Physical Features
Session 2: Countries; Profile of a Nation
Session 3: Physical Characteristics
Session 4: Characteristics of Developing Economies
Session 5: Economic Characteristics
Session 6: Ethnic Groups; Languages; Historical Names
Session 7: Cultural Characteristics
Session 8: Cultural Heritage Diversity; Analogies; Quiz
Sample Assessment Items
Australia, the Pacific Islands, and Antarctica
Session 1: Countries; Physical Features
Session 2: Physical Characteristics
Session 3: Economic Characteristics
Session 4: Cultural Characteristics
Session 5: Cities of Australia
Session 6: Cultural Landscape
Sample Assessment Items
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