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Advanced Placement Human Geography
RidgeView High School
Dr. G. Michael Bates |
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Syllabus |
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| Course Description: |
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This course is presented to seniors enrolled in the Ridge View Scholars Academy. It is based on the curriculum established by the College Board for Advanced Placement Human Geography. Completion of this course indicates that students have completed the work equivalent to at least one semester of college-level preparation. |
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| Goals and Expectations: |
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The goals of the Advanced Placement Human Geography Program are to introduce students to the systematic study of “patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding, use and alteration of the Earth’s surface”*. Students will learn to apply “spatial concepts and landscape analysis” to study human organizational patterns and environmental interactions as they develop skills that will allow them to: |
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- “Use and think about maps and spatial data
- Understand and interpret the implications of associations among phenomena in places
- Recognize and interpret at different scales the relationships among patterns and processes
- Define regions and evaluate the regionalization process
- Characterize and analyze changing interconnections among places.”
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*Quoted passages are from the official Advanced Placement Human Geography Course Description published by the College Board, 2007. |
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| Text and Supplemental Reading: |
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James M. Rubenstein, The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography, Prentice Hall, 2002. |
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Michael Kuby, John Harner, and Patricia Gober, Human Geography in Action, John Wiley & Sons, 2007. |
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| Scope and Sequence: |
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I. Basic Concepts
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II. Population |
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III. Cultural Patterns and Processes |
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IV. Political Organization of Space |
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V. Agriculture and Rural Land Use |
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VI. Industrialization and Economic Development |
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VII. Cities and Urban Land Use |
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| Expectations: |
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As members of a community of scholars,
it is expected that all students conduct themselves in a manner that brings
credit to their community. Behavioral problems are not expected and will
not be tolerated. All students are expected to comply with, and will be
held strictly accountable to, the Richland District Two Academic Integrity
Policy. All students will be required to write and sign the Honor Code on
all major assignments. |
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| Grading Procedures: |
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Because this is an AP course, testing is far less frequent
than in many regular secondary courses. Students must learn how to handle
larger blocks of material in order to succeed on AP exams. Major tests will
only be given when an entire block of information has been covered, making
possible the kind of connective and interrelated questioning found on the
AP exams. More frequent quizzes based on the text and ancillary material
read or discussed in class will be given, but major tests will not necessarily
coincide with grade reporting dates used in the district. |
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All grades given to students will be recorded in their
Agenda Book, and each Friday students will be given five minutes to calculate
their current average based upon completed work and record that average
in their Agenda Book. All work receiving a grade of 77 or below will be
sent home for parent signature, and parents are asked to initial that grade
in the Agenda Book. |
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Interim grade reports are given to students
every three weeks. Interim grades represent grades received during the three-week
grading period for each interim. |
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Nine week grade reports reflect an average
of student work completed during nine weeks. It is a snapshot of student
performance based on the various weights of assignments, and not an average
of interim grades. |
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Students receive two cumulative semester grades
over the course of the year. The cumulative grade represents work on all
assignments completed over the entire semester. Because different grades
carry different weights, grades are not averaged. Below is a representation
of the relative weight given to each type of assignment. |
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Homework and Quizzes |
10% |
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Projects |
10% |
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Kuby |
30% |
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Tests |
30% |
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Exams |
20% |
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Because this course focuses on skills acquisition, more
weight is given to work produced after students have acquired those core
skills than to work produced while they are working on acquiring them. Below
is a representation of the relative weight given to each grading period. |
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First Semester |
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1st Nine Weeks |
30% |
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2nd Nine Weeks |
50% |
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Exam |
20% |
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Second Semester |
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3rd Nine Weeks |
40% |
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4th Nine Weeks |
40% |
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Exam |
20% |
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Year |
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1st Semester |
40% |
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2nd Semester |
60% |
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| A special note to parents: |
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Current assignments, course outlines and other valuable
information will be posted on the district Blackboard Academic Suite.com
website, . Please become familiar with this resource. Your student can show
you how to access and use Blackboard. |
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| Materials: |
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3 ring loose leaf notebook and paper (college ruled
or wide ruled) |
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Dividers (4 required) |
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Class Notes |
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Reading Notes |
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Kuby |
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Articles |
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Three-hole ruler to be kept in the notebook |
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Colored pencils |
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Pens: |
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Black (preferred, but not required) |
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Red |
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Yellow legal pad (8 ½ x 11, preferably pre-punched) |
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