AP Human Geography
2024 - 2025 Course Syllabus
Teacher: Mr. Wetter
[email protected]
Feedyourbrains.com
INTRODUCTION: Welcome to AP Human Geography! The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the systematic study of patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding, use, and alteration of Earth’s surface. You will employ spatial concepts and landscape analysis using maps, aerial photos, and satellite images to examine human social organization and its environmental consequences. You will also learn about the methods and tools geographers use in their science and practice.
THE AP EXAM: Students who take Advanced Placement Human Geography are required to sit for the AP Human Geography exam and there is an exam fee of $99. If for any reason a student does not take the A.P. Exam, the name of your course will be changed to an “honors” or “regular” designation rather than “A.P.” This may impact class standing/weighted grades.
GOALS: On successful completion of the course, students should have developed skills enabling them to:
· Use and think about maps and spatial data. Maps and spatial data are fundamental to the discipline of geography. Students will learn how to use maps and spatial data to pose and solve problems, to analyze spatial information, and to think critically about what is revealed in different types of maps.
· Understand and interpret the implications of associations among phenomena in places. Students will learn not just to recognize and interpret spatial patterns but to assess the nature and significance of the relationships among phenomena that occur in the same place, and to understand how tastes and values, political regulations, and economic constraints work together to create types of cultural landscapes.
· Recognize and interpret at different scales the relationships among patterns and processes. Geographical analysis requires a sensitivity to scale as a framework for understanding how events and processes at different scales influence one another. Students should understand that phenomena they are studying at the local scale may well be influenced by developments regionally, nationally, or globally.
· Define regions and evaluate the regionalization process. Geography is concerned not simply with describing patterns but with analyzing how they came about and what they mean. Students should be seeing regions as objects of analysis and exploration and move beyond simply locating and describing regions to considering how and why they come into being and what they reveal about the changing character of the world in which we live.
· Characterize and analyze changing interconnections among places. At the heart of a geographical perspective is a concern with the ways in which events and processes operating in one place can influence those operating in other places. Students should view places and patterns not in isolation but in terms of their spatial and functional relationship with other places and patterns.
TOPICS:
Thinking Geographically
Language
Political Geography
Industry
Population
Religion
Development
Services
Migration
Ethnicity
Agriculture
Urban Patterns
Folk & Popular Culture
Resource Issues
MATERIALS:
Students should have the following materials available to use:
A) Notebook, folder, paper, and pencils
B) School issued laptop
TEXTBOOK: An Introduction to Human Geography - Rubenstein
OFFICE HOURS: Mr. Wetter will be in his room (103) after school, before school, or during class periods by appointment for makeup or tutoring.
CLASS RULES:
1) Turn off and put away cell phones & electronic devices unless instructed.
2) Follow directions
3) Be on time
4) Use proper language & manners
5) Keep the room clean
6) No food/gum/drinks
CONSEQUENCES: consequences may be immediately elevated depending on severity of infraction
1) Warning (possible parent contact)
2) Student/teacher conference
3) Parent/teacher contact and/or conference
4) Teacher detention
5) Office referral
EVALUATION: A student should score at least a 70% on tests in order to demonstrate mastery of a topic. If they do not pass the student has the option to perform a remediation activity of the instructor's choice and then, after demonstrating proficiency, a second remediation session can be scheduled in order to retake the test. All students performing under a 90% on an assessment summative may retake the test provided that they have completed additional work of the instructor's choice. MINI SUMMATIVES (vocab exams) are NOT eligible for retakes). A student will have only one opportunity to retake the test and the better of the two grades will be taken. Exam retakes must be taken within 10 school days or else it cannot be retaken and only one retake can be taken per school quarter unless approved by the instructor. Overall grades will be calculated by the following formula: 25% for formative assignments (ex. homework) and 75% for summative assignments (ex. tests).
EXAMS: You will be tested on the major concepts, ideas, and vocabulary covered in class or found in your text at the end of every chapter. Exam questions will come from the notes you take during lecture/discussions, information from class activities and/or labs, and from the guided reading questions assigned for homework. For each chapter, exams may contain…
1) a 100 point multiple choice exam that checks your comprehension of the content covered.
2) a free-response question similar to the ones used on the AP Exam that you will take in May.
3) a vocabulary exam by matching terms with their definitions.
Students who complete the reading assignments, take the time to answer the guided reading questions, and review notes & daily work should be well prepared for the exams.
QUIZZES: Questions are normally related to work completed during class the day before or on your reading assignments. Students who are on task during class and complete their own work usually do very well on daily quizzes. Students who miss a quiz will need to schedule a make-up time.
DAILY WORK: Each student should have a three 3 – ring notebook and/or folder with pockets. The middle section of the folder should consist of at least 100 pages of ruled notebook paper. You will keep all notes & information from class in this folder. Daily work is given to you to help you understand the material and prepare you for the exam at the end of the chapter. During the quarter, I will collect and grade work you have been assigned.
MID-TERM/FINAL: Students will be expected to take a comprehensive exam at the end of each semester.
Teacher’s Authority to Override Final Grade: A teacher may override the final grade if a student’s overall performance warrants it. Before the grade override is finalized, the teacher must notify the parent/guardian concerning the student’s performance if the override may result in a lower final grade. The teacher may issue a failing grade override based on the student’s overall performance only with the approval of the principal.
- This refers to the final grade of the grading period, or the final grade for the course.
Viewing of PG-13 Movie Release
Often appropriate PG-13 movies or sections of PG-13 movies can be utilized effectively to enrich classroom instruction and accomplish identified objectives. If you give permission for your child to view such materials, you do not have to do anything. (NOTE: NO “R” rated movies will ever be shown per Policy). If you do NOT wish to grant permission for your child to view any PG-13 movies identified by the teacher as effective in teaching the curriculum, please contact me via email at [email protected] or send in a note with your student.
EXTRA HELP
If you experience unusual difficulty in the assignments, either in general or consistently in a specific area, this is a signal to seek extra help. For best results, attend extra help sessions as needed, rather than only the day before a test or major assignment. Bring in homework to help locate troublesome areas. I am available before school, after school, or during lunch for tutoring. It is your responsibility to attend tutoring if you are having difficulty as I cannot force you to attend.
2024 - 2025 Course Syllabus
Teacher: Mr. Wetter
[email protected]
Feedyourbrains.com
INTRODUCTION: Welcome to AP Human Geography! The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the systematic study of patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding, use, and alteration of Earth’s surface. You will employ spatial concepts and landscape analysis using maps, aerial photos, and satellite images to examine human social organization and its environmental consequences. You will also learn about the methods and tools geographers use in their science and practice.
THE AP EXAM: Students who take Advanced Placement Human Geography are required to sit for the AP Human Geography exam and there is an exam fee of $99. If for any reason a student does not take the A.P. Exam, the name of your course will be changed to an “honors” or “regular” designation rather than “A.P.” This may impact class standing/weighted grades.
GOALS: On successful completion of the course, students should have developed skills enabling them to:
· Use and think about maps and spatial data. Maps and spatial data are fundamental to the discipline of geography. Students will learn how to use maps and spatial data to pose and solve problems, to analyze spatial information, and to think critically about what is revealed in different types of maps.
· Understand and interpret the implications of associations among phenomena in places. Students will learn not just to recognize and interpret spatial patterns but to assess the nature and significance of the relationships among phenomena that occur in the same place, and to understand how tastes and values, political regulations, and economic constraints work together to create types of cultural landscapes.
· Recognize and interpret at different scales the relationships among patterns and processes. Geographical analysis requires a sensitivity to scale as a framework for understanding how events and processes at different scales influence one another. Students should understand that phenomena they are studying at the local scale may well be influenced by developments regionally, nationally, or globally.
· Define regions and evaluate the regionalization process. Geography is concerned not simply with describing patterns but with analyzing how they came about and what they mean. Students should be seeing regions as objects of analysis and exploration and move beyond simply locating and describing regions to considering how and why they come into being and what they reveal about the changing character of the world in which we live.
· Characterize and analyze changing interconnections among places. At the heart of a geographical perspective is a concern with the ways in which events and processes operating in one place can influence those operating in other places. Students should view places and patterns not in isolation but in terms of their spatial and functional relationship with other places and patterns.
TOPICS:
Thinking Geographically
Language
Political Geography
Industry
Population
Religion
Development
Services
Migration
Ethnicity
Agriculture
Urban Patterns
Folk & Popular Culture
Resource Issues
MATERIALS:
Students should have the following materials available to use:
A) Notebook, folder, paper, and pencils
B) School issued laptop
TEXTBOOK: An Introduction to Human Geography - Rubenstein
OFFICE HOURS: Mr. Wetter will be in his room (103) after school, before school, or during class periods by appointment for makeup or tutoring.
CLASS RULES:
1) Turn off and put away cell phones & electronic devices unless instructed.
2) Follow directions
3) Be on time
4) Use proper language & manners
5) Keep the room clean
6) No food/gum/drinks
CONSEQUENCES: consequences may be immediately elevated depending on severity of infraction
1) Warning (possible parent contact)
2) Student/teacher conference
3) Parent/teacher contact and/or conference
4) Teacher detention
5) Office referral
EVALUATION: A student should score at least a 70% on tests in order to demonstrate mastery of a topic. If they do not pass the student has the option to perform a remediation activity of the instructor's choice and then, after demonstrating proficiency, a second remediation session can be scheduled in order to retake the test. All students performing under a 90% on an assessment summative may retake the test provided that they have completed additional work of the instructor's choice. MINI SUMMATIVES (vocab exams) are NOT eligible for retakes). A student will have only one opportunity to retake the test and the better of the two grades will be taken. Exam retakes must be taken within 10 school days or else it cannot be retaken and only one retake can be taken per school quarter unless approved by the instructor. Overall grades will be calculated by the following formula: 25% for formative assignments (ex. homework) and 75% for summative assignments (ex. tests).
EXAMS: You will be tested on the major concepts, ideas, and vocabulary covered in class or found in your text at the end of every chapter. Exam questions will come from the notes you take during lecture/discussions, information from class activities and/or labs, and from the guided reading questions assigned for homework. For each chapter, exams may contain…
1) a 100 point multiple choice exam that checks your comprehension of the content covered.
2) a free-response question similar to the ones used on the AP Exam that you will take in May.
3) a vocabulary exam by matching terms with their definitions.
Students who complete the reading assignments, take the time to answer the guided reading questions, and review notes & daily work should be well prepared for the exams.
QUIZZES: Questions are normally related to work completed during class the day before or on your reading assignments. Students who are on task during class and complete their own work usually do very well on daily quizzes. Students who miss a quiz will need to schedule a make-up time.
DAILY WORK: Each student should have a three 3 – ring notebook and/or folder with pockets. The middle section of the folder should consist of at least 100 pages of ruled notebook paper. You will keep all notes & information from class in this folder. Daily work is given to you to help you understand the material and prepare you for the exam at the end of the chapter. During the quarter, I will collect and grade work you have been assigned.
MID-TERM/FINAL: Students will be expected to take a comprehensive exam at the end of each semester.
Teacher’s Authority to Override Final Grade: A teacher may override the final grade if a student’s overall performance warrants it. Before the grade override is finalized, the teacher must notify the parent/guardian concerning the student’s performance if the override may result in a lower final grade. The teacher may issue a failing grade override based on the student’s overall performance only with the approval of the principal.
- This refers to the final grade of the grading period, or the final grade for the course.
Viewing of PG-13 Movie Release
Often appropriate PG-13 movies or sections of PG-13 movies can be utilized effectively to enrich classroom instruction and accomplish identified objectives. If you give permission for your child to view such materials, you do not have to do anything. (NOTE: NO “R” rated movies will ever be shown per Policy). If you do NOT wish to grant permission for your child to view any PG-13 movies identified by the teacher as effective in teaching the curriculum, please contact me via email at [email protected] or send in a note with your student.
EXTRA HELP
If you experience unusual difficulty in the assignments, either in general or consistently in a specific area, this is a signal to seek extra help. For best results, attend extra help sessions as needed, rather than only the day before a test or major assignment. Bring in homework to help locate troublesome areas. I am available before school, after school, or during lunch for tutoring. It is your responsibility to attend tutoring if you are having difficulty as I cannot force you to attend.
