AP Human Geography Teacher's Guide

Human Geography

Teacher’s Guide

connect to college success

™

www.collegeboard.com

Paul T. Gray, Jr.

Russellville High School

Russellville, Arkansas

Gregory M. Sherwin

Adlai E. Stevenson High School

Lincolnshire, Illinois

Human Geography

Teacher’s Guide

Paul T. Gray, Jr.

Russellville High School

Russellville, Arkansas

Gregory M. Sherwin

Adlai E. Stevenson High School

Lincolnshire, Illinois

The College Board: Connecting Students to College

Success

The College Board is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to connect students

to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the association is composed of more than 5,000

schools, colleges, universities, and other educational organizations. Each year, the College Board serves

seven million students and their parents, 23,000 high schools, and 3,500 colleges through major programs

and services in college admissions, guidance, assessment, financial aid, enrollment, and teaching and

learning. Among its best-known programs are the SAT®, the PSAT/NMSQT®, and the Advanced Placement

Program® (AP®). The College Board is committed to the principles of excellence and equity, and that

commitment is embodied in all of its programs, services, activities, and concerns.

For further information, visit www.collegeboard.com.

Central, AP Vertical Teams, Pre-AP, SAT, and the acorn logo are registered trademarks of the College

Board. AP Potential and connect to college success are trademarks owned by the College Board. PSAT/

NMSQT is a registered trademark of the College Board and National Merit Scholarship Corporation. All

other products and services may be trademarks of their respective owners. Visit the College Board on the

Web: www.collegeboard.com.

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Contents

Welcome Letter from the College Board ............................................................ iv

Equity and Access .....................................................................................................vi

Participating in the AP Course Audit .................................................................. x

Preface ...........................................................................................................................xi

Chapter 1. About AP

Human Geography ................................................................ 1

Overview: Past, Present, Future ............................................................................................. 1

Course Description Essentials ................................................................................................ 2

Key Concepts and Skills ........................................................................................................... 4

Chapter 2. Advice for AP Human Geography Teachers ........................................ 11

Basic Start-Up Issues ............................................................................................................. 11

Teachers and Parents ............................................................................................................. 15

Relations with Other Teachers ............................................................................................. 16

Strategies and Suggestions ................................................................................................... 17

Chapter 3. Course Organization ...............................................................................23

Create Your Own Syllabus ..................................................................................................... 23

Sample Syllabus 1 ................................................................................................................... 27

Sample Syllabus 2 ................................................................................................................... 38

Sample Syllabus 3 ................................................................................................................... 51

Sample Syllabus 4 ................................................................................................................... 79

Chapter 4. The AP Exam in Human Geography ....................................................94

Exam Format ........................................................................................................................... 94

Exam Scoring .......................................................................................................................... 95

Taking the Exam ..................................................................................................................... 96

Preparing Students for the AP Exam ................................................................................... 97

After the Exam ...................................................................................................................... 101

AP Grade Reports ................................................................................................................. 101

Using the AP Instructional Planning Report .................................................................... 101

Chapter 5. Resources for Teachers ......................................................................... 102

How to Address Limited Resources ................................................................................... 102

Resources .............................................................................................................................. 103

Professional Development ................................................................................................... 108

Welcome Letter from the College Board

Dear AP® Teacher:

Whether you are a new AP teacher, using this AP Teacher’s Guide to assist in developing a syllabus for the

first AP course you will ever teach, or an experienced AP teacher simply wanting to compare the teaching

strategies you use with those employed by other expert AP teachers, we are confident you will find this

resource valuable. We urge you to make good use of the ideas, advice, classroom strategies, and sample

syllabi contained in this Teacher’s Guide.

You deserve tremendous credit for all that you do to fortify students for college success. The nurturing

environment in which you help your students master a college-level curriculum—a much better atmosphere

for one’s first exposure to college-level expectations than the often large classes in which many first-year

college courses are taught—seems to translate directly into lasting benefits as students head off to college.

An array of research studies, from the classic 1999 U.S. Department of Education study Answers in the

Tool Box to new research from the University of Texas and the University of California, demonstrate

that when students enter high school with equivalent academic abilities and socioeconomic status, those

who develop the content knowledge to demonstrate college-level mastery of an AP Exam (a grade of 3 or

higher) have much higher rates of college completion and have higher grades in college. The 2005 National

Center for Educational Accountability (NCEA) study shows that students who take AP have much higher

college graduation rates than students with the same academic abilities who do not have that valuable AP

experience in high school. Furthermore, a Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS,

formerly known as the Third International Mathematics and Science Study) found that even AP Calculus

students who score a 1 on the AP Exam are significantly outperforming other advanced mathematics

students in the United States, and they compare favorably to students from the top-performing nations in

an international assessment of mathematics achievement. (Visit AP Central® at apcentral.collegeboard.com

for details about these and other AP-related studies.)

For these reasons, the AP teacher plays a significant role in a student’s academic journey. Your AP

classroom may be the only taste of college rigor your students will have before they enter higher education.

It is important to note that such benefits cannot be demonstrated among AP courses that are AP courses in

name only, rather than in quality of content. For AP courses to meaningfully prepare students for college

success, courses must meet standards that enable students to replicate the content of the comparable college

class. Using this AP Teacher’s Guide is one of the keys to ensuring that your AP course is as good as (or

even better than) the course the student would otherwise be taking in college. While the AP Program

does not mandate the use of any one syllabus or textbook and emphasizes that AP teachers should be

granted the creativity and flexibility to develop their own curriculum, it is beneficial for AP teachers to

compare their syllabi not just to the course outline in the official AP Course Description and in chapter 3

of this guide, but also to the syllabi presented on AP Central, to ensure that each course labeled AP meets

the standards of a college-level course. Visit AP Central® at apcentral.collegeboard.com for details about

the AP Course Audit, course-specific Curricular Requirements, and how to submit your syllabus for AP

Course Audit authorization.

As the Advanced Placement Program® continues to experience tremendous growth in the twenty-first

century, it is heartening to see that in every U.S. state and the District of Columbia, a growing proportion

of high school graduates have earned at least one grade of 3 or higher on an AP Exam. In some states, more

than 20 percent of graduating seniors have accomplished this goal. The incredible efforts of AP teachers

are paying off, producing ever greater numbers of college-bound seniors who are prepared to succeed in

college. Please accept my admiration and congratulations for all that you are doing and achieving.

Sincerely,

Marcia Wilbur

Director, Curriculum and Content Development

Advanced Placement Program

Welcome Letter

Equity and Access

In the following section, the College Board describes its commitment to achieving equity in the AP

Program.

Why are equitable preparation and inclusion important?

Currently, 40 percent of students entering four-year colleges and universities and 63 percent of students at

two-year institutions require some remedial education. This is a significant concern because a student is

less likely to obtain a bachelor’s degree if he or she has taken one or more remedial courses.

Nationwide, secondary school educators are increasingly committed not just to helping students

complete high school but also to helping them develop the habits of mind necessary for managing the

rigors of college. As Educational Leadership reported in 2004:

The dramatic changes taking place in the U.S. economy jeopardize the economic future of students

who leave high school without the problem-solving and communication skills essential to success

in postsecondary education and in the growing number of high-paying jobs in the economy. To

back away from education reforms that help all students master these skills is to give up on the

commitment to equal opportunity for all.

Numerous research studies have shown that engaging a student in a rigorous high school curriculum such

as is found in AP courses is one of the best ways that educators can help that student persist and complete

a bachelor’s degree.

However, while 57 percent of the class of 2004 in U.S. public high schools enrolled in

higher education in fall 2004, only 13 percent had been boosted with a successful AP experience in high

school.

Although AP courses are not the only examples of rigorous curricula, there is still a significant

gap between students with college aspirations and students with adequate high school preparation to fulfill

those aspirations.

Strong correlations exist between AP success and college success.

Educators attest that this is partly

because AP enables students to receive a taste of college while still in an environment that provides more

support and resources for students than do typical college courses. Effective AP teachers work closely

with their students, giving them the opportunity to reason, analyze, and understand for themselves. As a

result, AP students frequently find themselves developing new confidence in their academic abilities and

discovering their previously unknown capacities for college studies and academic success.

1. Andrea Venezia, Michael W. Kirst, and Anthony L. Antonio. Betraying the College Dream: How Disconnected K–12 and Postsecondary

Education Systems Undermine Student Aspirations (Palo Alto, Calif.: The Bridge Project, 2003), 8.

2. Frank Levy and Richard J. Murnane, “Education and the Changing Job Market.” Educational Leadership 62 (2) (October 2004): 83.

3. In addition to studies from University of California–Berkeley and the National Center for Educational Accountability (2005), see the

classic study on the subject of rigor and college persistence: Clifford Adelman, Answers in the Tool Box: Academic Intensity, Attendance

Patterns, and Bachelor’s Degree Attainment (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, 1999).

4. Advanced Placement Report to the Nation (New York: College Board, 2005).

5. Wayne Camara, “College Persistence, Graduation, and Remediation,” College Board Research Notes (RN-19) (New York: College Board,

2003).

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Which students should be encouraged to register

for AP courses?

Any student willing and ready to do the work should be considered for an AP course. The College Board

actively endorses the principles set forth in the following Equity Policy Statement and encourages schools

to support this policy.

The College Board and the Advanced Placement Program encourage teachers, AP Coordinators,

and school administrators to make equitable access a guiding principle for their AP programs. The

College Board is committed to the principle that all students deserve an opportunity to participate in

rigorous and academically challenging courses and programs. All students who are willing to accept

the challenge of a rigorous academic curriculum should be considered for admission to AP courses.

The Board encourages the elimination of barriers that restrict access to AP courses for students from

ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in the AP

Program. Schools should make every effort to ensure that their AP classes reflect the diversity of their

student population.

The fundamental objective that schools should strive to accomplish is to create a stimulating AP

program that academically challenges students and has the same ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic

demographics as the overall student population in the school. African American and Native American

students are severely underrepresented in AP classrooms nationwide; Latino student participation has

increased tremendously, but in many AP courses Latino students remain underrepresented. To prevent a

willing, motivated student from having the opportunity to engage in AP courses is to deny that student the

possibility of a better future.

Knowing what we know about the impact a rigorous curriculum can have on a student’s future, it is

not enough for us simply to leave it to motivated students to seek out these courses. Instead, we must reach

out to students and encourage them to take on this challenge. With this in mind, there are two factors to

consider when counseling a student regarding an AP opportunity:

1. Student motivation

Many potentially successful AP students would never enroll if the decision were left to their own initiative.

They may not have peers who value rigorous academics, or they may have had prior academic experiences

that damaged their confidence or belief in their college potential. They may simply lack an understanding

of the benefits that such courses can offer them. Accordingly, it is essential that we not gauge a student’s

motivation to take AP until that student has had the opportunity to understand the advantages—not just

the challenges—of such course work.

Educators committed to equity provide all students in a school with an understanding of the benefits of

rigorous curricula. Such educators conduct student assemblies and/or presentations to parents that clearly

describe the advantages of taking an AP course and outline the work expected of students. Perhaps most

important, they have one-on-one conversations with the students in which advantages and expectations are

placed side by side. These educators realize that many students, lacking confidence in their abilities, will

be listening for any indication that they should not take an AP course. Accordingly, such educators, while

frankly describing the amount of homework to be anticipated, also offer words of encouragement and

support, assuring the students that if they are willing to do the work, they are wanted in the course.

The College Board has created a free online tool, AP Potential™, to help educators reach out to

students who previously might not have been considered for participation in an AP course. Drawing upon

data based on correlations between student performance on specific sections of the PSAT/NMSQT® and

Equity and Access

viii

performance on specific AP Exams, AP Potential generates rosters of students at your school who have

a strong likelihood of success in a particular AP course. Schools nationwide have successfully enrolled

many more students in AP than ever before by using these rosters to help students (and their parents)

see themselves as having potential to succeed in college-level studies. For more information, visit http://

appotential.collegeboard.com.

Actively recruiting students for AP and sustaining enrollment can also be enhanced by offering

incentives for both students and teachers. While the College Board does not formally endorse any one

incentive for boosting AP participation, we encourage school administrators to develop policies that will

best serve an overarching goal to expand participation and improve performance in AP courses. When

such incentives are implemented, educators should ensure that quality verification measures such as the AP

Exam are embedded in the program so that courses are rigorous enough to merit the added benefits.

Many schools offer the following incentives for students who enroll in AP:

• Extra weighting of AP course grades when determining class rank

• Full or partial payment of AP Exam fees

• On-site exam administration

Additionally, some schools offer the following incentives for teachers to reward them for their efforts to

include and support traditionally underserved students:

• Extra preparation periods

• Reduced class size

• Reduced duty periods

• Additional classroom funds

• Extra salary

2. Student preparation

Because AP courses should be the equivalent of courses taught in colleges and universities, it is important

that a student be prepared for such rigor. The types of preparation a student should have before entering

an AP course vary from course to course and are described in the official AP Course Description book for

each subject (available as a free download at apcentral.collegeboard.com).

Unfortunately, many schools have developed a set of gatekeeping or screening requirements that go far

beyond what is appropriate to ensure that an individual student has had sufficient preparation to succeed

in an AP course. Schools should make every effort to eliminate the gatekeeping process for AP enrollment.

Because research has not been able to establish meaningful correlations between gatekeeping devices and

actual success on an AP Exam, the College Board strongly discourages the use of the following factors as

thresholds or requirements for admission to an AP course:

• Grade point average

• Grade in a required prerequisite course

• Recommendation from a teacher

Equity and Access

• AP teacher’s discretion

• Standardized test scores

• Course-specific entrance exam or essay

Additionally, schools should be wary of the following concerns regarding the misuse of AP:

• Creating “Pre-AP courses” to establish a limited, exclusive track for access to AP

• Rushing to install AP courses without simultaneously implementing a plan to prepare students and

teachers in lower grades for the rigor of the program

How can I ensure that I am not watering down the quality

of my course as I admit more students?

Students in AP courses should take the AP Exam, which provides an external verification of the extent

to which college-level mastery of an AP course is taking place. While it is likely that the percentage

of students who receive a grade of 3 or higher may dip as more students take the exam, that is not an

indication that the quality of a course is being watered down. Instead of looking at percentages, educators

should be looking at raw numbers, since each number represents an individual student. If the raw number

of students receiving a grade of 3 or higher on the AP Exam is not decreasing as more students take the

exam, there is no indication that the quality of learning in your course has decreased as more students have

enrolled.

What are schools doing to expand access and improve

AP performance?

Districts and schools that successfully improve both participation and performance in AP have

implemented a multipronged approach to expanding an AP program. These schools offer AP as capstone

courses, providing professional development for AP teachers and additional incentives and support for

the teachers and students participating at this top level of the curriculum. The high standards of the AP

courses are used as anchors that influence the 6–12 curriculum from the “top down.” Simultaneously,

these educators are investing in the training of teachers in the pre-AP years and are building a vertically

articulated, sequential curriculum from middle school to high school that culminates in AP courses—a

broad pipeline that prepares students step-by-step for the rigors of AP so that they will have a fair shot at

success in an AP course once they reach that stage. An effective and demanding AP program necessitates

cooperation and communication between high schools and middle schools. Effective teaming among

members of all educational levels ensures rigorous standards for students across years and provides them

with the skills needed to succeed in AP. For more information about Pre-AP® professional development,

including workshops designed to facilitate the creation of AP Vertical Teams® of middle school and high

school teachers, visit AP Central.

Advanced Placement Program

The College Board

Equity and Access

Participating in the AP Course Audit

Overview

The AP Course Audit is a collaborative effort among secondary schools, colleges and universities, and the

College Board. For their part, schools deliver college-level instruction to students and complete and return

AP Course Audit materials. Colleges and universities work with the College Board to define elements

common to college courses in each AP subject, help develop materials to support AP teaching, and receive

a roster of schools and their authorized AP courses. The College Board fosters dialogue about the AP

Course Audit requirements and recommendations, and reviews syllabi.

Starting in the 2007-08 academic year, all schools wishing to label a course “AP” on student transcripts,

course listings, or any school publications must complete and return the subject-specific AP Course Audit

form, along with the course syllabus, for all sections of their AP courses. Approximately two months after

submitting AP Course Audit materials, schools will receive a legal agreement authorizing the use of the

“AP” trademark on qualifying courses. Colleges and universities will receive a roster of schools listing the

courses authorized to use the “AP” trademark at each school.

Purpose

College Board member schools at both the secondary and college levels requested an annual AP Course

Audit in order to provide teachers and administrators with clear guidelines on curricular and resource

requirements that must be in place for AP courses and to help colleges and universities better interpret

secondary school courses marked “AP” on students’ transcripts.

The AP Course Audit form identifies common, essential elements of effective college courses, including

subject matter and classroom resources such as college-level textbooks and laboratory equipment. Schools

and individual teachers will continue to develop their own curricula for AP courses they offer—the AP

Course Audit will simply ask them to indicate inclusion of these elements in their AP syllabi or describe

how their courses nonetheless deliver college-level course content.

AP Exam performance is not factored into the AP Course Audit. A program that audited only those

schools with seemingly unsatisfactory exam performance might cause some schools to limit access to

AP courses and exams. In addition, because AP Exams are taken and exam grades reported after college

admissions decisions are already made, AP course participation has become a relevant factor in the college

admissions process. On the AP Course Audit form, teachers and administrators attest that their course

includes elements commonly taught in effective college courses. Colleges and universities reviewing

students’ transcripts can thus be reasonably assured that courses labeled “AP” provide an appropriate level

and range of college-level course content, along with the classroom resources to best deliver that content.

For more information

You should discuss the AP Course Audit with your department head and principal. For more information,

including a timeline, frequently asked questions, and downloadable AP Course Audit forms, visit

apcentral.collegeboard.com/courseaudit.

Preface

What is AP Human Geography? Be prepared to answer that question again and again! AP Human

Geography was established through the efforts of a small, unique group of geographers whose vision was

ahead of their time and destined to influence generations to come. At first, those outside this close-knit

geography community struggled to understand AP Human Geography; but once teachers and students

began to explore the subject together, they came away with a new and exciting view of the world.

To truly understand the world today, it must be viewed within a spatial context. Yet, this perspective

is foreign to most high school students, especially those in North America. In the National Geographic-

Roper 2002 Global Geographic Literacy Survey, only 17 percent of Americans aged 18 to 24 could find

Afghanistan on a map. Only 13 percent could find Iraq or Iran on a map of the Middle East and Asia, and

only 14 percent could locate Israel (this survey can be found on the National Geographic Web site at www.

nationalgeographic.com/geosurvey). Obviously, this speaks volumes about the current state of geographic

education in North America. Our position, simply stated, is that although North Americans seem to have

skirted studying geography in the twentieth century, this behavior must change as we face increasing

globalization in the twenty-first century.

Today, with technology as a driving force, the world has become smaller—for example, North

America’s physical geography no longer presents a barrier to acts of war. The successes and failures of

North America are intertwined with those of the rest of the world, which makes AP Human Geography

an essential course for U.S. students. It helps them view the world from a spatial perspective. This spatial

context, or the where and why things occur, is at the core of the course.

Since its inception, the course has experienced tremendous growth, with teachers and administrators

listening intently to the tune of AP Human Geography. More than 14,000 students took the AP Human

Geography Exam in 2005 (a 35 percent increase over 2004), and that number promises to grow. We

hope that this Teacher’s Guide will foster its continued expansion by providing new teachers of AP

Human Geography with access to the resources they need for the course, and administrators with an

understanding of the course’s intent. Our goal is for new AP Human Geography teachers to be able to pick

up and thumb through this guide, find what they need, and get to work on their course. Features that may

be especially helpful include:

• The course’s goals and topics as stated in the AP Human Geography Course Description

• A discussion of the key concepts and skills in the Course Description

• Advice about creating a syllabus

• Syllabi developed by other human geography instructors

• Tips for preparing students for the AP Human Geography Exam

• Where to find more teacher resources

As you prepare your course, we encourage you to use the resources within this book, as well as those

offered by the College Board on the AP Human Geography Course Home Page on AP Central

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(apcentral.collegeboard.com/humangeo). Attend teachers’ workshops, join the electronic discussion group,

talk to your colleagues, and participate in the annual AP Reading. We look forward to meeting each and

every one of you!

Paul Gray Greg Sherwin

A Note from the Authors

Although we were not members of the founding AP Human Geography Development Committee, we both

quickly became involved in the course by attending College Board workshops and applying to become AP

Readers. As high school teachers, we found a network of geographers at both the high school and college

levels who were passionate about this course. With each successive meeting we gained knowledge, received

lesson plan ideas, and made professional connections with educators throughout North America. Teaching

this course has been the most enriching professional development of our careers. We have met some of the

brightest geographers in the country, who have shared their ideas and solicited ours. In turn, we have tried

to share our enthusiasm and experience with as many people as possible by speaking at workshops and

conferences throughout the country.

In addition to participating in every Reading, we are fortunate to have had many other enriching

experiences. We both joined the AP Human Geography Development Committee in 2003 and hold

leadership positions at the Readings. We believe that these experiences have helped us view the course and

exam from many different perspectives. In this book we share with you the insights we have gained over

the years, and our hope is that you, too, will catch the fever.

We are indebted to a number of people who directly and indirectly shared their wisdom, ideas, syllabi,

and experience for this publication. They provided us with direction, which is the essence of geography.

Specifically, we would like to thank Barbara Hildebrant of ETS for her guidance and patience.

We also thank the administrators at Russellville High School in Russellville, Arkansas, and Adlai E.

Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois, for their support and encouragement as we embraced this

opportunity to promote geographic education. At Russellville High School, Principal Wesley White and

Assistant Principal Margaret Robinson have been patient and accommodating at every point. At Stevenson

High School, Dr. Timothy Kanold, Superintendent; Mr. Dan Galloway, Principal; Ms. Janet Gonzalez;

Mr. Eric Twadell; and Mr. Chris Franken have all directly supported this opportunity for professional

growth. Both schools understand that the pursuit of educational excellence benefits greatly from

encouraging professional development.

Preface

Chapter 1

About AP

Human Geography

Overview: Past, Present, Future

Patricia Gober

Arizona State University

Chair, Development Committee

Geography’s name dates back 2,200 years to the Greek scientist Eratosthenes, who combined the words geo,

“the earth,” and graphein, “to write about,” to describe a field devoted to the study of the physical structure

of Earth’s surface and the human activities upon it. Greek, and later Roman, geographers measured Earth,

developed a grid of latitude and longitude, and described patterns of climate, landforms, vegetation, people,

and culture. Geography was also practiced by the ancient Chinese and later by Muslim scholars, who

sought to explore and describe the world in physical and human terms.

The founders of modern geography, Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) and Carl Ritter (1779–1859),

used the flood of new observations about the world generated by the Age of Exploration to produce

massive syntheses describing interconnections among phenomena grouped together in rich diversity on

the surface of Earth. Their work was followed by the Age of Specialization during the nineteenth century

when geography became an independent field of study in universities, first in Germany and then spreading

rapidly to France and other European countries as well as to the United States. The pioneer of American

geography is generally acknowledged to be William Morris Davis, who was appointed instructor of physical

geography at Harvard in 1878; he later founded the Association of American Geographers in 1904.

Geography as a scientific field and course of study waxed and waned in the United States with war,

demographic forces, changing social values, competition from cognate disciplines, and the strength and

orientation of the discipline itself. The number of geography bachelor’s degrees awarded at American

colleges and universities peaked around 1970 as the first wave of the baby boom generation graduated from

college, declining thereafter as students gravitated to fields like biology, geology, and business. At its nadir

in the late 1980s, geography produced only two-thirds of the number of majors it had at its earlier peak.

Geography reemerged as a field of study in higher education in the 1990s with the public’s growing

unease about the state of geographic illiteracy. In addition, public attention shifted to environmental and

international problems, and the discovery of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and other spatial

technologies provided geographers with highly marketable skills and a pipeline to jobs in the burgeoning

information economy. In the midst of geography’s renaissance in the United States, in 1996 the College

Board, a national not-for-profit membership association dedicated to facilitating the transition from high

school to college, added geography to its Advanced Placement Program (AP).

To prepare for the course and exam, state geographic alliances offered training for potential AP

Human Geography teachers. This was no small task, as several generations of Americans lacked the formal

training needed to teach geography. Historians and social studies teachers stepped up to be taught the fine

Chapter 1

points of college-level geography. This task was particularly challenging because most college instructors

stress geography’s spatial approach and eschew subject matter as an organizing principle for their courses.

Thus, the new cadre of AP Human Geography teachers had to grapple with both the new subject matter

and the idea of geography as a new way of organizing knowledge about the world.

Now, after five years of administering exams and nine years of preparing teachers for and

educating the field about AP Human Geography, we have a clearer picture of what this course means

for geography and of the challenges that lie ahead. AP Human Geography has increased the number of

students who arrive at colleges and universities with high-level geographic training. For the first time

in several generations, geographers report that incoming majors and incoming students know and can

use rudimentary geographic ideas like site versus situation, scale, region, world systems theory, and

the demographic transition. When asked on the 2003 AP Exam, almost 22 percent of the AP Human

Geography students said they had some interest in majoring in geography. If just half of the 22 percent

in the 2003 cohort become geography majors, the discipline will have 800 additional majors, not a trivial

number for a field that typically produces only 4,000 bachelor’s degrees annually.

AP Human Geography’s growth in popularity occurs at a time when government officials, the

scientific community, and the general public increasingly look to geography’s rich tradition of synthetic

studies and knowledge about Earth to address complex, global-scale, environmental, economic, and social

problems. Geography’s new information technologies foster the integration of knowledge about land

use change, urbanization, migration, the spread of disease, human-induced climate change, ecosystem

dynamics, biodiversity, and Earth surface processes. Americans are more aware than ever that their

country’s well-being is linked to global markets, international political developments, and far-flung

environmental issues. There is, in addition, unprecedented interest in building healthy and sustainable

neighborhoods and communities at the local level. This fundamental interest in places, from global to

local, dovetails nicely with geography’s long-standing expertise in exploring, describing, and understanding

Earth’s surface in both physical and human terms. The discipline’s ideas are at the core of America’s

increasingly interdisciplinary scientific enterprise, and its content and spatial perspective are vital to a well-

informed citizenry.

AP Human Geography faces serious challenges as we strive for wider implementation. Geography

is not taught at elite private colleges like Harvard; competition for student enrollment from community

colleges is strong; and many college geographers are not aware of the significance of the course or its exam.

However, AP Human Geography represents an opportunity for geography to rejoin the mainstream of

core university subjects and expand its role in American education. The course exposes the smartest and

most motivated students in the nation to geography, produces more prepared students entering university,

and generates new geography majors. AP Human Geography teachers gain professional development

opportunities, enroll in additional college courses, mix with fellow geographers at the annual summer AP

Reading during which the AP Exams are scored, and become the cheerleaders who will help the discipline

meet its future challenges.

Course Description Essentials

What is Human Geography?

Human geography is the study of where humans and their activities and institutions such as ethnic groups,

cities, and industries are located and why they are there. Human geographers also study the interactions of

humans with their environment and draw on some basic elements of physical geography.

Few people—the general public and students alike—think about their daily experiences in geographic

terms. That is not to say that the general public or our students do not know anything geographic;

About AP

Human Geography

it is simply that they may not recognize geography when they see it. For example, looking for and thinking

about cultural imprints on the landscape, such as how Hispanic markets or religious institutions affect

their environments, is geography. Locational questions like “Why is the interstate highway where it is?” or

“Why do most Indonesians practice Islam?” are geographic questions with geographic answers. These are

just two examples of how we can use the world around us in classroom lessons.

The AP Human Geography Course

Human Geography was officially introduced into the Advanced Placement Program in the fall of 2000.

The first exam was administered in May 2001, with 3,293 students from 309 high schools accepting the

challenge. AP Human Geography has experienced steady growth since 2001, with 14,139 students from

702 high schools taking the exam in 2005. This growth translates into great news for geography education.

The direction of the course is governed by the AP Human Geography Development Committee, which is

composed of three university professors, three high school teachers, a university professor who serves as the

Chief Reader, and an assessment specialist from ETS. This team also works together to design a rigorous,

comprehensive, and equitable exam.

A number of studies are conducted to ensure that the AP Human Geography course is current, the

exam is valid, and the scores are comparable to college-level grades. Periodically, the committee develops

and administers a curriculum survey that is sent to colleges and universities that include human geography

among their course offerings. The committee reviews the responses and makes revisions to the AP Human

Geography Course Description based on the results. A college comparability study is administered to a

sample of college classes in the initial year of a new AP Exam and again every five years. In this study, a

portion of the AP Exam is administered to college students enrolled in human geography courses. Their

scores are compared with AP scores, and score boundaries are set so that an AP score of 5, for example, is

equivalent to a college grade of A.

Introduction to the Course

The purpose of the AP course in Human Geography is to introduce students to the systematic study of

patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding, use, and alteration of Earth’s surface.

Students employ spatial concepts and landscape analysis to examine human social organization and its

environmental consequences. They also learn about the methods and tools geographers use in their science

and practice.

The particular topics studied in an AP Human Geography course should be considered in light of the

following five college-level goals that build on the National Geography Standards developed in 1994. On

successful completion of the course, the student should be able to:

• Use and think about maps and spatial data. Geography is fundamentally concerned with the ways

in which patterns on Earth’s surface reflect and influence physical and human processes. As such,

maps and spatial data are fundamental to the discipline, and learning to use and think about them

is critical to geographical literacy. The goal is achieved when students learn to use maps and spatial

data to pose and solve problems, and when they learn to think critically about what is revealed—and

what is hidden—in different maps and spatial arrays.

• Understand and interpret the implications of associations among phenomena in places. Geography

looks at the world from a spatial perspective—seeking to understand the changing spatial

organization and material character of Earth’s surface. One of the critical advantages of a spatial

perspective is the attention it focuses on how phenomena are related to one another in particular

places. Thus students should learn not just to recognize and interpret patterns but also 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 particular types of cultural landscapes.

• Recognize and interpret at different scales the relationships among patterns and processes.

Geographical analysis requires a sensitivity to scale—not just as a spatial category but also as a

framework for understanding how events and processes at different scales influence one another.

Thus, students should understand that the phenomena they are studying at one scale (e.g., local)

may well be influenced by developments at other scales (e.g., regional, national, or global). They

should then look at processes operating at multiple scales when seeking explanations of geographic

patterns and arrangements.

• Define regions and evaluate the regionalization process. Geography is concerned not simply with

describing patterns but also with analyzing how these patterns came about and what they mean.

Students should see regions as objects of analysis and exploration and should move beyond just

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. Thus, students should view places and patterns not in

isolation, but in terms of their spatial and functional relationship with other places and patterns.

Moreover, they should strive to be aware that those relationships are constantly changing, and they

should understand how and why change occurs.

The course outline was constructed by the inaugural Development Committee and is revised and

updated every two years by the current committee. These revisions and adjustments are made to reflect

changes in the field or to clarify concepts or topics. They also occur as a result of issues related to student

responses to questions on the AP Human Geography Exam. The topic outline, reproduced below, is a

breakdown of these content areas paired with the percentage of the AP Exam multiple-choice questions

that cover each area. Concerted efforts are made by the Development Committee to ensure that AP Human

Geography Exam questions reflect the topics covered in the topic outline.

It is the AP Human Geography teacher’s responsibility to transform students’ daily thinking processes

into speculating, interpreting, and applying everyday experiences with preexisting knowledge through the

lens of geography. If the teacher helps students develop these thought processes, the geographic models,

theories, and concepts will naturally follow. Teachers who work closely with the Course Description will

have an easier time facilitating the development of student thought processes. Therefore, following the

topic outline is vitally important. It should also be noted that teachers should augment their instruction by

using a number of the human geography textbooks that are available in addition to their students’ assigned

classroom text. This practice ensures that students are exposed to the wide array of necessary content areas.

Key Concepts and Skills

The key concepts and skills for the AP Human Geography course are described in the seven content areas

discussed in the Course Description. In summary, these areas are:

1. Geography: Its Nature and Perspectives

2. Population

3. Cultural Patterns and Processes

Chapter 1

4. Political Organization of Space

5. Agricultural and Rural Land Use

6. Industrialization and Economic Development

7. Cities and Urban Land Use

Topics

Any teacher, and especially new AP Human Geography teachers, should spend a great deal of planning

time becoming familiar with the topics outlined in the Course Description. A fundamental piece of

the puzzle is how to think about geography. Geography sits at the junction of social science, physical

science, humanities, and technology. It is essential to look at the topic outline and see geography as a

way of thinking. For example, to think geographically, ask yourself, “Can I map it? What are the spatial

implications? How are places affected?” The following annotated list of the seven content areas in the

topic outline is intended to give new teachers ideas for ways to approach the teaching of these geographical

concepts and skills.

I. Geography: Its Nature and Perspectives

Although this section of the course is composed of introductory material and accounts for only 5 to

10 percent of the AP Exam, it can be challenging for AP Human Geography teachers because it contains

important geographic concepts: due to its definitional nature, the new geography teacher may have

difficulty presenting this material in a manner that students can easily grasp. However, the concepts

of location, space, place, scale, pattern, regionalization, and globalization are fundamental to the study

of geography, and this section of the course is compulsory. Subsequent sections will provide many

opportunities to apply these tools and concepts, thus reinforcing students’ understanding of them.

Students learn how to use and interpret maps and to understand the role of mental mapping.

II. Population

If a poll were taken among geography teachers, the population section would probably garner the course’s

“most popular” award. Many teachers feel particularly comfortable teaching population issues because

they cut across many disciplines. The population section allows students to revisit previous lessons

about slavery, migration, or environmental hazards, for example, but this time from a geographical

perspective. The process of migration can be demonstrated by using students’ own residential histories or

neighborhoods. The interconnections between population and other geographic topics enhance students’

understanding of today’s world. Web sites that offer teachers and students current population data provide

opportunities for students to map and/or graph population trends and issues.

III. Cultural Patterns and Processes

The geography of culture is rich with opportunities for students to explore the world on many different

scales, from local to global. Schools and communities that are ethnically, religiously, and linguistically

diverse offer many occasions for teaching about culture. There are many ways to make the cultural material

in the course come to life for students—teachers can identify for students examples of folk culture in the

local community, or use photographs to illustrate the homogeneity of the landscape caused by popular

culture. They can check signage and phone books for evidence of past migrations through the local area, or

they can visit local religious institutions. Teachers in a rural setting or a small town might want to partner

with a local arts organization or historical preservation group. The key is to use local cultural dynamics to

illustrate the concepts in the topic outline.

About AP

Human Geography

IV. Political Organization of Space

This unit allows teachers to discuss political forces that strengthen and weaken states as players on the

world stage. Teaching the political organization of space may provide some challenges for AP Human

Geography teachers because students may need to relearn the meanings of terms like nation and state.

Although colonialism, imperialism, gerrymandering, alliances, and devolution are all topics with which

students may have had some experience, those with a history background are often confused by the

differences between a nation, a state, and a nation-state, as used in geography. This part of the course

focuses on political units above, below, and beyond the state: regional alliances like the EU and NAFTA,

international cooperation, and local issues related to electoral districts, municipal boundaries, and ethnic

territories. The key to this unit mirrors that of all of the others: helping students understand these ideas

and concepts in a spatial context.

V. Agricultural and Rural Land Use

Most teachers have little or no training in teaching about agriculture, but with a bit of effort and some

creative field trips, teachers and students can become well acquainted with the geography of agriculture.

Agricultural models and movements come alive with local examples and good textbook resources. Of

course, the Web offers a great deal of information useful for instructional purposes. Where possible,

teachers should try to visit local industries that process agricultural products. They can cultivate fruitful

relationships with key people in these industries, which in turn will provide new opportunities to help

students connect models with the real world. Topics in this unit explore four basic themes: (1) the origin

and diffusion of agriculture, (2) its characteristics in different parts of the world, (3) rural land use

and settlement patterns associated with major agricultural systems, and (4) characteristics of modern

agribusiness. All of these themes emphasize concepts and models that help explain diffusion, agricultural

location (the von Thünen model), and culture.

VI. Industrialization and Economic Development

This section centers on the spatial aspects of economic systems and the geography of industrialization and

development. The concepts and models in this unit are more theoretical in nature and provide significant

challenges for students. Most high school students have a limited understanding of supply and demand, bid

rent, and other economic ideas. Students need to understand how models of economic development like

Rostow’s stages of economic growth and Wallerstein’s World Systems Theory help to explain why the world

is described as being divided into a well-developed core and a less-developed periphery. Teachers will need

to strive to connect such theories to the real world, using hands-on approaches that are essential to helping

students grasp this demanding material. This will provide them with the tools they need to understand

how models of economic development explain concepts of core and periphery, globalization, and the new

international division of labor. Students also study the impact of deindustrialization, the disaggregation of

production, and the rise of consumption and leisure activities.

VII. Cities and Urban Land Use

Students who live in an urbanized area obviously find the urban material easier to “see.” But students in

small towns can connect with urban models and concepts if their teacher downsizes the models to fit their

locale. For example, the teacher can talk about bid rent and the central business district (CBD) of a small

town. Students can compare the cost of land at the CBD and at the outskirts of town. Teachers should go

on a walking tour of their town or city with students. There are geographic treasures to find regardless of

size.

Chapter 1

The Topic Outline

The topic outline below is the skeleton around which each teacher fleshes out the course through the use

of textbooks, Web sites, journals, observations, and possibly fieldwork or class trips. Teachers should be

sure to note the percentage goals included in the topic outline for each of the seven content areas on the

multiple-choice section of the AP Exam. These percentages are approximate but provide guidance in

deciding how much class time to spend on each content area. Note that the topic outline is included as a

guide to topics in human geography and is not an exhaustive list of topics. The topics are updated every

two years.

Percentage Goals for Exam

Content Area (Multiple-Choice Section)

I. Geography: Its Nature and Perspectives 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 and GPS

F. Sources of geographical ideas and data: the field, census data

II. Population 13–17%

A. Geographical analysis of population

1. Density, distribution, and scale

2. Consequences 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 Model

3. Patterns of fertility, mortality, and health

4. Regional variations of demographic transitions

5. Effects of population policies

About AP

Human Geography

C. Population movement

1. Push and pull factors

2. Major voluntary and involuntary migrations at different scales

3. Migration selectivity

4. Short-term, local movements, and activity space

III. Cultural Patterns and Processes 13–17%

A. Concepts of culture

1. Traits

2. Diffusion

3. Acculturation

4. Cultural regions

B. Cultural differences

1. Language

2. Religion

3. Ethnicity

4. Gender

5. Popular and folk culture

C. Environmental impact of cultural attitudes and practices

D. Cultural landscapes and cultural identity

1. Values and preferences

2. Symbolic landscapes and sense of place

IV. Political Organization of Space 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

B. Evolution of the contemporary political pattern

1. The nation-state concept

2. Colonialism and imperialism

3. Federal and unitary states

C. Challenges to inherited political–territorial arrangements

1. Changing nature of sovereignty

2. Fragmentation, unification, alliance

3. Spatial relationships between political patterns and patterns of ethnicity, economy,

and environment

4. Electoral geography, including gerrymandering

Chapter 1

V. Agricultural and Rural Land Use 13–17%

A. Development and diffusion of agriculture

1. Neolithic Agricultural Revolution

2. Second Agricultural Revolution

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

D. Modern commercial agriculture

1. Third Agricultural Revolution

2. Green Revolution

3. Biotechnology

4. Spatial organization and diffusion of industrial agriculture

5. Future food supplies and environmental impacts of agriculture

VI. Industrialization and Economic Development 13–17%

A. Key concepts in industrialization and development

B. 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., land rent, comparative

costs of transportation), industrial location, economic development, and world systems

C. 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. Pollution, health, and quality of life

5. Industrialization, environmental change, and sustainability

6. Local development initiatives: government policies

VII. Cities and Urban Land Use 13–17%

A. Definitions of urbanism

B. Origin and evolution of cities

1. Historical patterns of urbanization

2. Rural–urban migration and urban growth

3. Global cities and megacities

4. Models of urban systems

About AP

Human Geography

C. Functional character of contemporary cities

1. Changing employment mix

2. Changing demographic and social structures

D. Built environment and social space

1. Comparative models of internal city structure

2. Transportation and infrastructure

3. Political organization of urban areas

4. Urban planning and design

5. Patterns of race, ethnicity, gender, and class

6. Uneven development, ghettoization, and gentrification

7. Impacts of suburbanization and edge cities

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Advice for AP Human

Geography Teachers

Every teacher knows that developing and teaching a new course can be a daunting task. Developing an

AP course presents several additional challenges, and AP Human Geography is no exception. However,

committed teachers can be successful in their efforts—and once begun, teachers will find that AP Human

Geography is a special course, one that students will sell to their younger peers because the course is simply

that good.

What makes AP Human Geography so different? Put simply, geographers view everything as

geography and geography as everything! Human geography covers diverse topics that are of interest to

most students. It delves into population, religion, urban development, agriculture, economics, politics,

disease, urban planning, and many other interesting topics that are studied through a geographic lens.

Teachers who take on the course often find that it is their most exciting and enthusiastic class. But

before getting started, several issues must be addressed to ensure success for both teachers and students.

Basic Start-Up Issues

Fitting AP Human Geography into the Curriculum

Unfortunately, most states do not require students to take any geography after the seventh grade. This

puts the prospective AP Human Geography teacher in the position of having to become an advocate and a

salesperson for the course. One of the teacher’s most difficult but vital tasks will be finding a place in the

school’s curriculum for the course.

Some teachers wedge AP Human Geography into the curriculum by demonstrating the course’s

value from a social sciences perspective. Others explain how this course fits into their school’s existing

requirements for graduation. In many cases, the course is taught as an elective. Although every teacher

knows it can be difficult to get students to sign up for new and unknown electives, selling this course as

an especially interesting elective is not the impossible task it might seem. In many schools in which it is

offered as an elective, AP Human Geography has become the most popular course in the social sciences

department. In fact, in some schools AP Human Geography outdraws AP U.S. History and AP World

History! AP Human Geography is a course that many students will want to take, given a couple of years of

successful recruiting and teaching.

Educate your school’s administrators and counselors about the value of geography in an ever-changing

and globalizing world. Geography becomes real and exciting through application and analysis. Real-world

applications allow teachers to show to administrators and parents, as well as students, that everything is

geography and geography is everything. Prospective AP Human Geography teachers can demonstrate

the linkages the course can provide to any social science curriculum as well as the possible community

resources that can be tapped for added context.

Most towns and all cities have a planning commission and a sewage treatment facility, the kinds of

places where concepts of urban geography come alive. Is there a museum, church, mosque, synagogue,

or Hispanic market in your area? If so, opportunities for applying the concepts of cultural geography are

readily available. Do students live in a farming area or near agricultural processing plants? Great! They can

apply the models and theories of agricultural geography to real cases. You get the idea. No matter where

one teaches, there are wonderful opportunities to apply geography. All it takes is some imagination to

demonstrate to administrators and parents that AP Human Geography is a special course and deserves a

seat at the curriculum table.

AP Human Geography is one of the most important courses students can take in their high school careers

because it prepares them to succeed in the real world. This course goes beyond rote memorization and forces

students to be analytical and evaluate problems that relate to themselves. Use your communities’ particular

issues to light the spark in your students. Push them to think spatially through maps, theories, and models.

This is a skill that employers are thirsting for. Teach the individual units but interweave them with discussions

of world issues. This course, by its nature, connects real-life issues with theories. Use outside resources

like the Internet and ﬁeld trips to reinforce key points. Keep time constraints in mind but know that students

are beneﬁting tremendously. Find the balance between teaching to the test and learning for learning’s sake.

Geography is the key to our future. Give your students the power to open the door.

—Kelly Swanson, Johnson Senior High School,

St. Paul, Minnesota

Any teacher who truly desires to have a successful AP Human Geography course must be an

enthusiastic recruiter. Recruitment can take several forms. You can design a colorful brochure that

details what the course offers in terms of content and skills. Aim the brochure at students and parents

or guardians, with students being the primary consumers. Another approach is to create, advertise,

and then present the course at an AP Social Sciences Parent Night. Coordinating this meeting with the

other teachers in your department will help you get started with course planning while learning valuable

information from your colleagues. The best outcome of an AP Parent Night is that parents get reliable

information about the rigors of AP work and the value of the AP Human Geography course. As a result,

you will establish important communication lines with parents. Working with your school counselors is yet

another way to ensure success with a new course. Often it is a counselor who suggests that a student take a

particular course. When counselors understand AP Human Geography and the benefits it offers, they can

direct students into the course.

A typical AP Human Geography student discussion group at Russellville High School in Russellville, Arkansas.

Chapter 2

If your school has few or no AP courses, you’ll first have to educate everyone about the AP Program.

To impart the necessary information about the AP Program in general and the AP Human Geography

course in particular, talk with students (and counselors) at feeder schools. The students coming to your

school may not know about the opportunities the AP Program offers. If they do not know about AP, they

certainly will not know about AP Human Geography. Just remember, it is the teacher’s enthusiasm and

determination that shapes the success of the AP Human Geography course.

Starting the Course

Teachers should be ready to address administrators’ and counselors’ concerns about beginning a course

that does not directly fit into the curriculum and therefore may have low enrollment. Many schools have

scheduling policies that do not allow a course to be taught with an enrollment of fewer than 10 students.

To get the course off the ground, then, it may be necessary to ask your administrators and/or counselors

for a three-year waiver of this policy. Explain to administrators that getting an AP Human Geography

course started takes more time than it does for other new AP courses, and that the teacher needs greater

flexibility in order to build up the course’s enrollment. For example, teachers and administrators should

not be discouraged if only five students sign up the first year the course is offered. For many schools, the

tipping point seems to be between the second and third years. If the teacher is willing to lay the proper

groundwork and be an enthusiastic recruiter, enrollment in the course will rise.

I obtained a waiver from my district’s Secondary Curriculum Coordinator to begin an AP Human Geography

course and teach it with fewer than 10 students for three years. The ﬁrst year I had 7 students sign up for the

course. The second year 9 students took the course. The third year 33 students took the course. Sixty-nine

students took the course the fourth year, and over 70 are signed up for the ﬁfth year.

—Paul Gray, Russellville High School,

Russellville, Arkansas

The AP Coordinator

The AP Coordinator takes primary responsibility for organizing and administering the AP program at a

given school. The Coordinator may be a full- or part-time administrator or counselor, or a faculty member

who is not teaching an AP course. The Coordinator agrees to maintain the security of exams when

managing the receipt, distribution, administration, and return of AP Exam materials as outlined by the

College Board and the AP Program. To avoid any perceived conflict of interest, an AP Coordinator cannot

be involved in the handling of any exam materials that an immediate family or household member may

take. Questions about exam fees and security, dates and deadlines, giving exams to students with special

needs, and exam-specific policies should be directed to your AP Coordinator.

One or Two Semesters?

The question of whether the course should be taught in one semester or two is best answered by the

response, “It depends.” Block scheduling, teacher training, previous geography offerings, the age of the

students, and state mandates are just some of the possible considerations the AP Human Geography

teacher must take into account before designing the course.

Advice for AP Human Geography Teachers

Teaching AP Human Geography on a block schedule requires a ﬂexible approach to creating the syllabus.

In theory, block scheduling allows teachers the time to develop more in-depth lesson plans. The 80-minute

periods are great—there is time for at least two separate activities during each day of teaching. This is critical

because each unit must be taught in approximately two to three weeks in order to meet the requirements of the

course.

The gap between the course’s end and the exam date is a reality that must be addressed so that students can

perform successfully on the exam. Unfortunately, the reality of block scheduling is that missing one class for

other school activities means the loss of more than one day of teaching. If the option is available, it is best to

teach the course in the ﬁrst semester, although extra sessions throughout the second semester will need to be

scheduled to build up to the AP Exam in May. If the course is scheduled for the second semester, over a month

of vital instructional time is lost because of the timing of the exam. In this case, the course must be carefully

planned to cover all of the material that is necessary for the exam.

—Kelly Swanson, Johnson Senior High School,

St. Paul, Minnesota

I am teaching AP Human Geography on a block schedule and ﬁnd that it works best when I divide the period

in half. In the ﬁrst half, I introduce the topic (e.g., Language) through lecture and discussion. During the second

half of the period, students complete an activity that reinforces the lecture topic. For example, I have two

activities for the language section: an in-class supplemental reading on languages followed by a discussion

period, and data collection, with the creation of a choropleth map depicting the word used for soda pop in

different regions of the United States. Splitting the class period in half seems to minimize “down time” that

a block schedule can engender. Any leftover time (usually ﬁve minutes or less) is given to students to begin

reading their homework assignment on the next topic.

—Summer Copeland, Lyman High School,

Longwood, Florida

Almost everyone agrees that the yearlong approach is preferable to a single-semester one, and more

advantageous overall. AP Human Geography is a challenging course with concepts that will be new to

most students. The more time that is available to present the material, the better it will be for both teachers

and students. Advantages to the yearlong approach to teaching AP Human Geography include more

available time to:

• introduce, explain, and have students master complex geographic models and concepts;

• include field trips, some hands-on projects, and possibly geographic research; and

• begin intensive review sessions for the AP Exam (teachers using a yearlong format will be able to

finish the course two to three weeks before the AP Exam in May).

A school may have a schedule, however, that permits only the one-semester format. Although many

veteran teachers will testify that the one-semester approach is extremely taxing even under the best

conditions, it can work under the following circumstances:

• the teacher has at least one degree in geography (or an extremely strong background in the

discipline);

• geography is mandated in the state at several levels, with AP Human Geography being the

culminating course;

Chapter 2

• the students are juniors and seniors (preferably only seniors) and/or highly motivated sophomores; or

• the schedule and/or administrators dictate that AP Human Geography must be taught in one

semester.

Let us assume that the fourth bullet point above is true. How can a beginning AP Human Geography

teacher successfully teach the course in one semester? First, be comforted by the fact that many veteran AP

Human Geography colleagues started the course under identical circumstances. Seek them out and glean

from them every available resource, technique, and piece of advice. Second, carefully read this Teacher’s

Guide and implement the strategies that appeal to you. Know that condensing a two-semester syllabus

into one semester is common practice, as is scheduling after-school, evening, or weekend AP Exam study

sessions in the spring. Third, make sure to get as much training as possible. Finally, remember that the

teacher is the most important factor in determining whether an AP Human Geography course will survive

its first few years. A teacher’s enthusiasm, determination, and willingness to be a “geo-evangelist” can make

up for deficits in other areas.

Teachers and Parents

Parents and guardians are the most valuable partners and resources for any AP teacher. Parents want to

provide the support that translates into success for their AP student. The key to a successful parent–teacher

partnership is information and communication. The normal communication channels of phone calls,

conferences, and notes are effective, but other methods can provide even more opportunities and benefits.

Automated Phone Messaging Systems

If your school has an automated phone system, find out how you can use this valuable tool. The AP Human

Geography teacher can set up a phone list for the course’s students and make one mass call to remind

them (and inform their parents) of upcoming exams, project due dates, and other major assignments. You

can also use this system to invite parents to an AP Parent Night to learn about other AP offerings in your

department.

E-mail Lists

E-mail lists work much the same way as the automated phone messaging system but with more

personalization options. E-mail also allows you to attach actual assignments to the messages so that parents

can see exactly what is expected.

AP Social Sciences Parent Night

An AP Social Sciences Parent Night, or a larger schoolwide AP Night, is an opportunity for teachers to

showcase AP courses and what they offer students. More importantly, they give parents a chance to learn

about the expectations, opportunities, and curriculum of all AP offerings in general and your course in

particular. Prospective students should be encouraged to attend with their parents. The most effective

parent nights have breakout sessions in which individual courses are highlighted.

What can the AP Human Geography teacher do to help ensure a successful AP Parent Night?

• Choose the best time to hold the event. Schedule the AP Parent Night with input from counselors

and administrators. They can provide guidance with course sign-up dates and other scheduled

activities. You might even be able to hold your AP Parent Night in conjunction with another well-

attended meeting.

Advice for AP Human Geography Teachers

• Advertise the event. You will want to advertise your event effectively. Design a flyer and be creative

about how it is disseminated. School bulletin boards are only one of many places to put your flyer.

Send it home with students who have already signed up for the course. Send it to the feeder schools

that will be sending freshmen to your high school the next year. Give it to the counselors at your

school and the feeder schools. Give it to students who did not sign up for an AP course but who you

know can do the work (you may be able to change their minds if you invite them personally to take

your course). Attach it to e-mail messages. There is no limit to the ways in which you can use a flyer

to advertise an AP Parent Night.

• Talk about the course. Bring your textbook, copies of your syllabus, and other related handouts to

AP Night. Use your breakout session to highlight the expectations, assignments, and demands of

the course. Be sure to demonstrate how relevant AP Human Geography is in today’s world and how

geography connects all the other social science disciplines. Allow time for questions from parents

because there will be many.

• Describe your summer assignment. If you give a summer assignment, the AP Parent Night

provides the perfect opportunity to explain it and its due dates to both students and parents. It also

gives students the chance to get a head start on the assignment.

• Discuss the school’s AP course policies. Use the AP Parent Night to detail school policies about

dropping an AP course during the summer. After all, summer assignments become the first grades

of the new school year. Schools have different policies on what happens to grades when students

drop an AP course during the summer and sign up for another level (e.g., honors, general, etc.) of

the same offering.

AP Forms or Contracts

Most teachers want to make sure students and parents or guardians understand the rigor of AP courses.

One way to give students and their parents the information they need is through a form or a contract. Here

are a few suggestions for developing one:

• Set the right tone. Design any form or contract with language and format that are positive and

encouraging—do not use the form or contract as a way to scare off undecided students. The basic

premise for every AP form or contract should be to promote open access.

• Explain the policies. Detail your school’s policies and expectations for all AP students. Specific

items can include attendance policies, grading scales, drop/add rules, honors graduation

requirements and behavior.

• Request signatures. Be sure parents or guardians read and sign the form or contract along with the

student. After all, they are key to the student’s success. The form or contract, when signed, creates a

partnership between the teacher, student, and the parent or guardian.

Relations with Other Teachers

In a perfect world every AP teacher would be able to partner with every other AP teacher. But, as teachers,

we know that school campuses may be spread out, schedules may conflict, and school cultures may be

challenging. And, because we teach different disciplines between departments and different courses within

departments, collaboration can be difficult and sometimes impossible. Nevertheless, the AP Human

Geography teacher can work effectively with AP teachers of other subjects in several ways.

Chapter 2

AP courses are all designed to deliver high-level content material using skills such as researching,

listening, writing, collaboration, and countless others. You can work with other AP teachers, as well as

school staff and instructors who do not teach AP courses, to promote this idea to students in every venue

in the school. Make sure that information about AP courses is readily available to students and their

parents. Collaborate with other AP teachers so that all of you are talking about these skills in every AP

classroom and at every AP Parent Night. If all AP students hear a common message from every AP teacher

in the school, that message will become the standard. As you become more familiar with your school’s

AP program and the AP Human Geography course, you will begin to see other commonalities among the

disciplines that can also be highlighted.

Instructors who are not teaching AP courses can also be a source for recruitment. Ask them to

recommend potential students for your course; and once word gets out, you’ll find that teachers from your

school and feeder schools come to you without being asked. Teachers and school staff understand that the

high-level skills that students learn in AP courses can make a difference in all the students’ courses and

provide a positive example to their fellow classmates.

If your school has an AP Social Sciences Vertical Team, be sure to get a seat at the table. AP Vertical

Teams allow teachers of the Pre-AP years to work with high school AP teachers. Here, teachers can align

their curriculum, devise a scope and sequence, and decide where skills should be taught, retaught, and

mastered. The most important aspect of Vertical Teams is the input AP teachers receive from teachers in

the lower grades. Your team’s support will help you recognize you’re not the only person invested in AP

students—these students are an amalgam of all their previous teachers and subjects. Vertical Teams bring

this out like nothing else.

Finally, every AP teacher, regardless of discipline or department, can talk about the importance and

benefits of taking the AP Exam. Of course, every AP teacher knows that the essential value of any AP

course is in the skills and knowledge the course offers, but taking the AP course also allows students

to experience a rigorous, college-level exam. The exam gives students feedback on how well they have

prepared, and it gives teachers valuable data that can help them determine areas of strength and weakness

in the syllabus. When discussing the importance of the AP Exam, give your students an analogy: Taking

an AP course and not taking the exam is like the football team practicing all year but playing no games.

Encourage all of your AP students to get in the game.

Strategies and Suggestions

It’s June. Ms. Jones (the eminent geography teacher in our district) has retired, and I’ve been

told I must teach AP Human Geography in August.

AP Human Geography will be offered as a new course in my district and I’m told in June that

I’ll be teaching the course in August.

It’s September and I’ll be teaching AP Human Geography next August. What should I do in

the next 11 months to get ready to teach this course?

The first two scenarios are not unusual, and the challenge is often compounded by the fact that most of the

teachers who are selected to teach their school’s AP Human Geography course have degrees in history and

Advice for AP Human Geography Teachers

political science, not geography. Being directed to teach the AP Human Geography course may create fear

and anxiety about the many unknowns. The good news is that you have been directed by your supervisor

to teach one of the most exciting courses in the AP Program. It will not take long for you (and your

students) to be rewarded by the rich curriculum of AP Human Geography.

If you have several months before you begin to teach the course, as in the third scenario above, you’ll

have the luxury of time for planning each step of your training and preparation. You can enroll in a

graduate course in geography, become active in your state’s geographic alliance, write specific lessons

plans, take a few field trips to find possible activities for your students, and so on. However, if you have

two months or less to prepare for the course, read on.

You have been told that you will begin teaching AP Human Geography starting in two months. Now

what? You are already ahead of the game because you are reading this book, which is directed to first-year

AP Human Geography teachers. Chapter 3 gives you a place to start planning. It contains syllabi submitted

by experienced AP Human Geography teachers; syllabi that have been used successfully in the classroom.

Select the syllabus that best fits your needs and teaching style, or meld parts of two or three of the syllabi

with your own ideas to form a more personalized syllabus.

Next, go to the AP Human Geography Course Home Page on AP Central at apcentral.collegboard.com/

humangeo. Here you will find a plethora of information about the course and exam, which will provide

you with further guidance. Also, refer to other publications for AP Human Geography, articles, teacher

resources, and Web sites that are suggested on AP Central and the course’s home page.

Since your school has directed you to teach the course, it may also be planning to send you to an

AP Human Geography Summer Institute or workshop (see the “Professional Development” section in

Chapter 5). If one of these opportunities is offered to you, make sure to attend. If you are not offered

training, talk to your supervisor about attending. A list of institutes is available on AP Central, at your

College Board Regional Office, in the National Council for Geographic Education’s Perspective newsletter,

or through your state’s geographic alliance.

Finally, subscribe to the AP Human Geography Electronic Discussion Group (EDG). There are

hundreds of teachers online who are happy to answer your general to very specific questions on all aspects

of preparing for and teaching the course. These teachers are always eager to help our newest members

become part of a growing and collegial community. (See below for more information about the EDG and

how to join.)

Choosing a Textbook

Currently, there are at least eight widely available textbooks that are suitable for the AP Human Geography

course (see chapter 5 for a list). Select one text to use with your students and then supplement it with

information from other textbooks. Studying different approaches to similar topics enriches your—and your

students’—understanding of the concepts.

One way to provide students with exposure to different texts is to purchase a classroom set of

textbooks. A classroom set lends itself to doing in-class activities. Be creative in funding these texts. Ask

local civic organizations or businesses to sponsor the purchase of one or more books and offer to place

their logo on the front of each. Be sure to publicize what the organization or business has done for your

classroom. You can also contact major publishing houses and ask for review copies for as many as they

will give. Another way to acquire other textbooks is to attend an AP Human Geography Summer Institute

or College Board workshop. Supplement your chosen text by lecturing on important topics found in texts

Chapter 2

other than that of your students. You might also use information from other texts to design computer

exercises or lesson strategies for your students. Present these in class, make them technology-centered

assignments, or assign them as projects or extended homework.

Summer Reading Assignments

I ﬁnd that having students read a book (their choice from a list provided) over the summer helps them get a

sense of what the AP Human Geography course is about before the course begins in the fall. Books range

from general geography guides such as The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Geography and Don’t Know Much about

Geography to the more in-depth studies of geographical ideas found in Guns, Germs, and Steel; Fast Food

Nation; Cod; and Longitudes and Attitudes, for instance. The complete list, rationale, and grading guidelines

for my summer reading assignment can be found on the AP Human Geography Course Home Page under the

Teaching Resource Materials heading.

—Kenneth Keller, Danbury High School,

Danbury, Connecticut

Summer reading assignments in AP courses tend to be the norm. However, there is a great deal of variation

among course offerings as to the nature of specific summer assignments. AP Human Geography is no

exception. Some teachers see no need for any summer assignment since AP Human Geography is a

three-hour course (as opposed to AP World History, which is a six-hour course). Other teachers see merit

in giving students a summer assignment. Since geography is not a required course in most states, any

introduction to human geography before the course starts will help students begin to think geographically.

Still others see a summer assignment as absolutely mandatory. This may be to maintain uniformity with

their school’s other AP offerings, or it may be simply a teacher’s desire to use high-level reading and

thinking as an introduction to the course. As usual, to read or not to read over the summer should come

down to a teacher’s comfort level and experience, and school policy.

As an alternative to a summer reading assignment (which is impractical for my students), I have modiﬁed an

activity created by Martha Sharma (see below). On the second or third day of the term, I assign the essay

“Sense of Place,” from Ten Geographic Ideas That Changed the World. I ask students to read the selection and

then write a paper in which they apply the key concepts to either a book they have read or a place they have

visited. Students who choose to write about a book must show how the author established a sense of place;

students who write about a place they have visited must describe how what they saw, heard, or experienced

on the trip aided in the identiﬁcation of the place. This exercise helps students think “geographically” and to

observe a familiar place, either in a book or a location, in a different way.

—Debra Lange, A&M Consolidated High School,

College Station, Texas

Sample Summer Reading Assignment

This summer reading assignment was created by Martha Sharma, a retired AP Human Geography teacher

from the National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C. Looking ahead to the fall, she asked the students

enrolled in her course to read an essay and one book from a list she gave them. The essay was assigned to

all students before reading the book; students could choose any book from the list to read.

Required Essay: The essay is “Sense of Place,” by Edward Relph. It can be found in Ten Geographic Ideas

That Changed the World, edited by Susan Hanson, a geography professor at Clark University in Worcester,

Massachusetts (New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1997).

Advice for AP Human Geography Teachers

Free-Choice Book: One of the abiding themes in human geography is sense of place, the topic of the

required essay. To that end, the books in the following list evoke a strong sense of place, are rich in

description of place, and leave you with a strong sense of what that place is like in terms of both tangible

and intangible characteristics. You can fulfill this reading requirement with almost any type of book that

you enjoy reading: fiction, nonfiction, serious, humorous, even detective/mystery or science fiction. The

key is the author’s ability to create a rich picture of a place using words.

Nonfiction

Angus, Colin, and Ian Mulgrew, Amazon Extreme (Brazil)

Bryson, Bill, A Walk in the Woods (Appalachian Trail)

Crane, George, Bones of the Master (Mongolia)

Ehrlich, Gretel, This Cold Heaven (Greenland)

Elliot, Jason, An Unexpected Light (Afghanistan)

Gallmann, Kuki, I Dreamed of Africa (Kenya)

Heat-Moon, William Least, Blue Highways (United States)

Hessler, Peter, River Town (China)

Jenkins, Peter, Across China (China)

Lansing, Alfred, Endurance (Antarctica)

Larson, Erik, Isaac’s Storm (Galveston, Texas)

Lopez, Barry, Arctic Dreams (Canadian Far North)

Nzenza-Shand, Sekai, Songs to an African Sunset (Zimbabwe)

Taylor, Jeffrey, Facing the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Webster, Fred, and Marie S. Webster, The Road to El Cielo (Mexico)

Zeppa, Jamie, Beyond the Sky and the Earth (Bhutan)

Fiction

Cather, Willa, Death Comes for the Archbishop (New Mexico)

Grisham, John, A Painted House (United States)

Hillerman, Tony, any of his books set in New Mexico

L’Amour, Louis, Last of the Breed (Siberia)

LaPierre, Dominique, City of Joy (Calcutta)

Stewart, George, Earth Abides (United States)

Your Assignment: When we think about a place, any place, we visualize more than just location; we also

think about what that place contains—or what we think that place contains. Geographers refer to this

mental picture as sense of place. The essay “Sense of Place,” by Edward Relph, explores this idea in some

detail. For your free-choice summer reading, you selected a book that evokes a strong sense of place. Use

your understanding of sense of place as you complete this assignment:

Write a 500- to 750-word typed and double-spaced essay. The first paragraph should be a concise

synopsis of the book. Develop the rest of your essay around the following:

• How does the author create a sense of place?

• What spatial concepts does the author use to create a sense of place? (Refer to the basic concepts

handout.)

• Select two or three short quotes from the book that illustrate the sense of place painted by the author

(include parenthetical page references).

• How well does the author create a “well-defined geographical sense of place” as defined by Relph on

pages 212 and 222 in his essay?

Chapter 2

Field Trips

First and foremost, please understand that field trips are not necessary for your students to be successful on

the AP Human Geography Exam. The Development Committee does not ask questions that only students

who have had field trip experience can answer. Having said that, field trips can be a wonderful way to

make real the textbook’s concepts, models, and ideas.

Try to find field trip opportunities that play to your local resources and advantages. For example, if

your school is in an urban area, try to take a field trip from the central business district out to the suburbs.

This field trip can be done in reverse if your school is in a suburb. The urban models, development issues,

migration, “white flight,” ethnic issues, and other urban topics will come alive for your students. If you

teach in a rural or town setting, take a field trip to a farm or agricultural processing plant. Here your

students will see the geographic issues in their own back yard. Agribusiness, organic agriculture, and

Thünian patterns are just a few items for discussion on a field trip.

Of course, there are many other possible field trips. The key is to be creative and do your homework.

Many factories, such as poultry processors, will allow you to tour their facilities. Please note that a great

deal of planning can be required. For example, many large food processors are now under the protection of

the Homeland Security Act of 2002. These facilities will require paperwork, releases, and other documents

to be signed before you and your students enter. You will also need to prepare students for what they

will see on a field trip. Have them brainstorm about possible questions to ask. Field trips are much more

effective if students are thinking about the issues they are engaging in, rather than simply “looking out

the window” or walking about the city. Finally, make sure you scout out the field trip before you take your

students. This will provide you with a framework from which to teach the important issues you want your

students to learn from the experience.

Professional Development Opportunities

AP Human Geography Summer Institutes and Workshops

An AP Human Geography Summer Institute is highly recommended for new AP teachers. Institutes

are run by veteran AP Human Geography teachers who present the latest research and best practices in

teaching geography. Teachers of all levels of experience attend, and new teachers have the most to gain.

Here teachers learn tips for teaching the course as well as content material from experts who have already

taught it or from university professors in the field. AP Human Geography teachers can get additional

training at College Board–sponsored one- or two-day workshops. See the Professional Development section

of chapter 5 for more information on AP Summer Institutes and workshops.

Professional Organizations

Two organizations can provide support for the new AP Human Geography teacher: the National Council

for Geographic Education (NCGE) and the teacher’s state geographic alliance. NCGE is an organization

made up of K–12 teachers and college and university faculty. It has one main purpose: to advance

geographic education. In this organization, instructors work side by side to promote geography and

geographic education. It is this collegial activity from all levels of academia that makes NCGE truly special.

New AP Human Geography teachers should join NCGE to take advantage of the annual conference (and its

popular field trips); its Journal of Geography, Perspective newsletter, and other publications; and the many

networking opportunities among its membership. See chapter 5 for contact information.

Advice for AP Human Geography Teachers

Geographic Alliances

One of the best resources available to many AP Human Geography teachers is their state’s geographic

alliance. State alliances are the result of an initiative from the National Geographic Society and they are

active in each state with Summer Institutes, online discussion groups, publications, grants, workshops,

teacher training, travel opportunities, written lesson plans, and teacher consultants who can help

beginning teachers. In fact, many state alliances sponsor AP Human Geography Summer Institutes. Most

alliances are headquartered at a college or university in the state. Go to www.ngsednet.org to access the

individual home pages for each state’s alliance.

Regional Ofﬁces

The College Board’s Regional Offices offer a myriad of services and resources for AP teachers. Talking

to Regional Office personnel on the phone is a way to get clarification on issues, find information about

conferences, and locate resources and other materials. The most important service a Regional Office offers

new AP teachers is a list of upcoming AP Human Geography institutes and workshops. Your Regional

Office selects the presenters for and coordinates each of these high-quality events. It also helps teachers

become College Board workshop consultants. To find your Regional Office, see the list on the inside back

cover of this Teacher’s Guide.

AP Central (apcentral.collegeboard.com)

The College Board developed and maintains AP Central to support professional development for AP

teachers. AP Central provides teachers with a wealth of information and an online home for their course.

Here teachers can search for information about professional development opportunities, purchase

publications from the College Board store, send e-mail queries about the AP Program or the course to the

College Board, create a personalized page with links to the content that is most important to them, visit

the AP Human Geography Course Home Page for the most recent Course Description and up-to-date

information about the course, and subscribe to the AP Human Geography Electronic Discussion Group

(EDG) (see chapter 5).

The course home page on AP Central is where AP Human Geography teachers can find the most

recent AP Human Geography Course Description, teaching tips, sample syllabi and lesson plans, articles

related to the course, and teacher resources, as well as links to the AP Human Geography Discussion

Group (EDG) and the AP Human Geography Newsletter, information about the AP Exam, and sample

free-response questions and Scoring Guidelines. To get to the course home page from AP Central, go to

apcentral.collegeboard.com/humangeo. See chapter 5 for more about AP Central, including the EDGs.

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Course Organization

Create Your Own Syllabus

One of the most daunting questions for any new teacher involves pacing: How much time should I dedicate

to religion? How long should my unit on agriculture be? While experience may be the best teacher, that is

not very helpful for first-time teachers. Therefore, we will share the process we went through to create a

syllabus during our first year as AP Human Geography teachers and what we learned from the experience.

Since both of us were teaching the AP Human Geography course in its inaugural year, we were

really working from scratch. In creating a syllabus, we allowed two things to guide us. The first and most

important was the topic outline provided by the Development Committee in the AP Human Geography

Course Description. The outline includes the seven major units, the subtopics for each unit, and the

percentage of multiple-choice questions on the AP Exam that will address that topic. With our school

calendars in hand, we simply allowed the same percentage of teaching days as indicated in the topic outline

for each unit.

For testing purposes, we decided each unit would include one multiple-choice test and one free-

response question that would take two days to administer and review. Then we looked at our second guide,

the textbooks we had selected, and decided which chapters corresponded with each unit. If a chapter

appeared later in the textbook but was within an earlier unit, we had our students read it within the context

of the unit. This is where we allowed for some “fudge factoring,” changing the number of teaching days in

a unit where needed. We expanded or contracted the teaching days originally planned by looking at the

length and number of chapters relating to each topic.

What Did We Learn?

The benefit of any syllabus is that it keeps you on task. We sometimes found that, even if we had not

sufficiently covered a topic in class, we had to switch gears—the syllabus forced us to move on in order

to ensure that students had the opportunity to see the whole of human geography as opposed to just one

topic. By following the topic outline, we made sure students received the breadth and depth that the course

intended. While some students wished we had spent more time on a particular topic, they almost all agreed

that they felt better for having covered all of the units without rushing at the end.

As we taught, we consistently found that lessons and activities either worked well or failed. This is

part of the excitement of teaching a course for the first time; do not be discouraged by it. Spend a lot of

time evaluating and reevaluating activities and lessons. Even seek suggestions from students, asking them,

“What did you like about this unit? What didn’t you like?” This will help you refine your course.

Overall, our first-year experience led to two very important lessons. The first is that the students

entering our classes were ill-prepared to handle the concepts of geography. They lacked geographic

knowledge and understanding. Most of them had been trained in history and chronological thinking.

Chapter 3

Learning geography terms and spatial thinking was difficult for them. They therefore struggled in the

first unit. In speaking with other AP Human Geography teachers, we found they had similar experiences

with their students.

Based on this experience, we opted to increase the time spent on the first unit in order to lay a solid

geographic foundation for our students. Essentially, we went through the first unit and even the second

unit more slowly in the second year of teaching than we did during the first and then proceeded to pick

up the pace, or raise the bar, as the year continued and our students more readily grasped the underlying

concepts of the course. Other teachers choose to approach this problem by keeping the first unit shorter

and reinforcing the concepts in subsequent units.

In hindsight, we should have been able to predict the second obstacle—the lack of prior knowledge

or experience students will bring to any given unit. We teach at very different high schools: a suburban

school in Chicago and a rural school in Arkansas. Chicago-based students have a geographic advantage for

discussions pertaining to urban models (some of which are based on Chicago) or suburbanization. Living

in an urban environment, their life experiences afford them prior knowledge or connections to the urban

section of the curriculum. Hence, teaching them urban geography is easier because they “get it.” Students

in rural Arkansas have a geographic advantage in agricultural geography. They understand something

about poultry production before they enter the classroom; they know someone involved in agriculture and

therefore they have an easier time grasping the geographic concepts of agriculture.

We both changed our approaches in urban and agricultural geography based on our students’

experiences. Agricultural geography is going to be the most difficult unit for students in suburban settings.

Slowing the pace in this unit can improve their understanding. To that end, set the unit up as a challenge:

“This is going to be new material. This will be harder for you because you haven’t had to think about these

concepts before.” By acknowledging the hurdle, the teacher shows sympathy for the students as they strive

to overcome it.

While experience may be the best teacher, there are ways to prepare for the first year. Hopefully,

teachers can try to predict where students might have prior knowledge and where they will be lacking,

adjusting the syllabus accordingly. Using the topic outline and the textbook as guides for preparing the

syllabus will enhance your chances for a successful year.

Four Sample Syllabi

The following syllabi possess solid pedagogical approaches that will be useful to any teacher. The real

strength of this set of syllabi is that it contains such varied approaches that one of the syllabi will probably

fit your teaching style and you will be able to use it with only minor modifications to pattern your initial

course. Alternately, you can pick and choose different parts from some or all of the syllabi to form your

own syllabus. However you decide to proceed, you’ll have these exemplary syllabi with which to work.

AP Human Geography teacher Paul Gray and his students discuss population pyramids at Russellville High School

in Russellville, Arkansas.

Course Organization

• Syllabus 1 is a university syllabus written by a professor who teaches in Texas. It demonstrates what

is expected in an introductory human geography course for college students. It is important to

remember that you, the AP Human Geography teacher, are not teaching a college-like course; you

are teaching a college-level course. It is therefore very important that you pay close attention to this

university syllabus regarding its content, a benchmark to which you should aspire.

• Syllabus 2 is a high school syllabus written by an AP Human Geography teacher in South Carolina.

This syllabus will appeal to the teacher who prefers to have every day of the week well planned out.

It has unit planners that show how lessons, lectures, activities, and so on can be put into a calendar

format. The pedagogical techniques it offers are strong, and teacher-ready activities are included

along with a handy resource list.

• Syllabus 3 is a high school syllabus written by a teacher of AP Human Geography in Connecticut.

This syllabus will appeal especially to teachers who enjoy providing many activities, though the

quantity may be overwhelming for a new AP Human Geography teacher. It will help new teachers

guide students through reading books, doing activities, and watching video clips, while tying the

activities back to the textbook and the course outline.

• Syllabus 4 is a high school syllabus written by a teacher in Utah who teaches the AP Human

Geography course. This syllabus will appeal to teachers who are comfortable with the “big picture”

approach and who have lots of their own creative ideas. It is highly innovative in nature and lends

itself to the AP Human Geography teacher who wants to cover the material in a unique way. One

of its main themes is teaching through the case-study approach. Like the other three syllabi, it uses

student activities and strong pedagogy.

Chapter 3

Important note: The AP

Course Audit

The syllabi included in this Teacher’s Guide were developed prior to the initiation of the AP Course Audit

and the identification of the current Curricular Requirements. These syllabi contain rich resources and

will be useful in generating ideas for your AP course. In addition to providing detailed course planners, the

syllabi contain descriptions of classroom activities and assignments, along with helpful teaching strategies.

However, they should not necessarily be used in their entirety as models that would be authorized under

the guidelines of the AP Course Audit. To view the current AP Curricular Requirements and examples of

syllabi that have been developed since the launch of the AP Course Audit and therefore meet all of the AP

Human Geography Curricular Requirements, please see AP Central.

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/courseaudit/resources

Course Organization

Sample Syllabus 1

Sarah Witham Bednarz

Texas A&M University

College Station, Texas

School Location and Environment: Texas A&M University is located in a low-density urban setting in

southeast Texas, roughly the same distance from Houston and Austin (120 miles) and Dallas/Fort Worth

and San Antonio (180 miles). The Department of Geography is part of the College of Geosciences, along

with the Departments of Atmospheric Sciences, Geology and Geophysics, and Oceanography.

Type: Texas A&M is a large Research I, land-, sea-, and space-grant university.

Total Enrollment: Texas A&M enrolls approximately 44,000 students across 10 colleges.

Ethnic Diversity: Minorities make up 14 percent of the student body. Seeking a more diverse student body

is a key campus issue in a state that is 32 percent Hispanic/Latino and 12 percent African American.

Personal Philosophy

As a child and adolescent, I traveled widely in the United States and lived abroad. I was always acutely

interested in the places I visited and wanted to know more about them. While studying in New Zealand, I

took my first formal geography course. I knew immediately that I had found the discipline that suited my

natural curiosity about people, places, and environments. I majored in geography in college and, after a

career turn, received an MAT in geography the next year (1974). I have been teaching geography (picking

up a Ph.D. along the way) at the middle school, high school, and university levels ever since because I

believe, passionately, that geography is a vital subject that can help people become knowledgeable world

citizens.

Geography for Life: National Geography Standards 1994 cites four reasons why geography is needed in

the school curriculum: (1) the existential reason (humans need to understand the nature of their home);

(2) the ethical reason (knowing geography can help people to protect their home); (3) the intellectual

reason (humans are curious about and interested in Earth and its inhabitants); and (4) the practical reason

(survival in a highly interconnected world requires knowledge of that world and the skills to solve its

problems). These reasons fuel my enthusiasm for teaching geography.

Philosophy of the Department

The Department of Geography at Texas A&M is housed in the College of Geosciences. The department

is committed to providing its undergraduate students with the spatial analytical skills they need to

understand both physical and human systems.

Class Proﬁle

Introduction to Human Geography (GEOG 201) is an introductory course that fulfills a social science

requirement in the university’s core curriculum. It is part of the degree plan for interdisciplinary education

(students preparing for a career in elementary and middle school education), international studies,

environmental studies, and geography. In addition, it attracts a broad range of students from a variety of

majors seeking a social science course. Each semester about 450 students take the Introduction to Human

Geography course. The typical class size ranges from 150 to 180 students, but it can be much larger.

Chapter 3

Since relatively few students enter university declaring geography as their major, this course (along with

the introductory physical geography course, Earth System Science) is considered a key tool for recruiting

majors. I have taught this course on a regular basis since 1989.

The course section(s) I teach are typically 1 hour and 15 minutes long on a Tuesday/Thursday schedule.

A semester at Texas A&M is 14 weeks long, producing about 35 hours of class time. I schedule two tests,

one during a class meeting time about midsemester and one final exam at the end of the semester. While

the final exam is not comprehensive, I remind students that they should not forget the material they

learned for the first exam.

Course Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for Introduction to Human Geography.

Course Overview

The purpose of Introduction to Human Geography is to provide students with an understanding of the

spatial and ecological perspectives and key skills of geography in the context of human systems. An

overarching theme throughout the semester is the formation and development of the world system. This is

used to explain patterns and processes of change in different world regions. While it takes about five class

periods to complete, I begin the course with an introduction to thinking like a geographer.

The goal is for students to begin to use the fundamental perspectives (spatial and ecological), themes

(location, place, human–environment interaction, movement, and regions), and concepts (perception,

change, pattern/association, systems, and scale) of geography to study the human systems of culture

(including religion and language), politics, economics, and population. The class mantra becomes Patterns?

Processes? Interrelationships?

The key ideas discussed in each topical unit can be found below in the section “Introduction to Human

Geography Topics.” Despite the fact that population is the second chapter of almost all human geography

texts, I find that covering it later in the course facilitates both student’s synthesis of what they have

learned about culture, economics, and politics and their generalizations about patterns and processes of

development and competition for scarce resources.

I think it is important to teach this course as a narrative, as a story. One key story line is that geography

offers a unique perspective and set of problem-solving skills that can help students better understand

the world. Since September 11, 2001, I have chosen to spend several class periods helping students to

understand the world from the perspective of the development of the world system and its implications

on a range of human systems, in part to explore with students the tensions that contributed to 9/11. As

a result, in the last several years we have not managed to address the last two topics, urbanization and

human–environment interaction, in any depth.

The textbook for the course is the third edition of Places and Regions in Global Context: Human

Geography, by Paul L. Knox and Sallie A. Marston. I have created a Web site to support the course:

geog.tamu.edu/sarah/humangeog/humangeog.html. The site consists of eight main pages:

• Syllabus

• Assignment Schedule

• Activities in Human Geography (an explanation and helpful hints for each activity)

Course Organization

• Update, Class News, Reminders (a place for me to communicate on a weekly basis with students)

• Tests and Study Questions

• Course Topics (objectives for each topic, outline notes, and links to additional resources)

• Geography for Life (a list of the 18 standards)

• Grades (grades are posted using a student-generated personal identification number)

Course Planner

Date Topic Text Readings

Activities

Assigned Deadlines

1/20 What Is Geography? Chapter 1 Activity 1

Activity 3

2/3 Cultural Geography Chapter 2, pp. 42–57;

Chapter 4, pp. 131-54;

Chapter 5; Chapter 6

Activity 2 Activity 1 due Thursday, 2/12, at the

beginning of class

2/17 Cultural Geography:

Language

Activity 2

(cont.)

2/24 Cultural Geography:

Religion

Chapter 5, pp. 183-89;

Chapter 6, pp. 229-31

Activity 2

(cont.)

Activity 2 due Thursday, 2/26

Exam 1 on Thursday, 3/4, on all

material covered to this date,

workbook activities, and all assigned

readings. Bring Scantron (MARS

Standards Grey).

3/23 Political Geography Chapter 9; Chapter 12 Activity 4

3/30 Economic Geography Chapter 2, pp. 57–83;

Chapter 7; Chapter 8

Activity 5 Activity 4 due Thursday, 4/1, at the

beginning of class

4/13 Population Geography Chapter 3 Activity 6

March/

April

Migration (self-study)

available online at

geog.tamu.edu/sarah/

humangeog/migration8.html

Activities 5 and 6 due Thursday,

4/15, at the beginning of class

4/20 Urban Geography Chapter 10;

Chapter 11

Activity 7 Activity 3 due Thursday, 4/22, at the

beginning of class

4/27 Human Impact on the

Environment

Chapter 4, pp. 154-73 Activity 7 due Thursday, 4/29, at the

beginning of class

Exam 2 on Wednesday, 5/12,

1:00–3:00 p.m., on all material

covered since last test, workbook

activities, and all assigned readings

Introduction to Human Geography Topics

What follow are brief descriptions of the topics discussed in the Introduction to Human Geography course.

I provide this to students to help them study for exams, asking them, “Are you familiar with each concept/

generalization?”

Chapter 3

Unit 1. What Is Geography?

Definitions of geography as 2 perspectives (spatial and ecological), 5 themes (location, place, human–

environment interaction, movement, and regions), 5 amplifiers (pattern, perspective, scale, change, and

systems), and 18 national standards. Developing a sense of where. Issues of scale: understanding the world

from the local scale to the global. Developing a fluency in considering issues and problems at a variety of

scales—local to global, core to periphery.

Unit 2. Cultural Geography

Definitions of culture: mentifacts, sociofacts, artifacts; institutions, beliefs, technology, language.

Collectivist versus individualist cultures: distribution, characteristics. Using these definitions of culture to

explain world culture patterns, including variations in gender roles. Culture change: independent invention

and diffusion. Diffusion of culture traits. Acculturation, assimilation, syncretism. Cultural convergence

and interdependence with improved global communication and transportation networks. Globalization

and impact on traditional societies. Culture regions: local to global scale.

Unit 3. Cultural Geography: Language

Taxonomy of languages. Distribution of languages worldwide. Language as a clue to cultural diffusion and

interchange: Africa. Toponyms. Language as a clue to culture: structure, vocabulary, social status, gender

differences. Multilingualism in the United States and other nations. Causes of multilingualism. Lingua

franca and pidgin. Language, territoriality, and identity.

Unit 4. Cultural Geography: Religion

Types of religions: universal, ethnic, animist. Distribution, origin, and diffusion of specific religions.

Effects of religion on patterns of life (daily schedule, food preferences, role of women, importance of

education, work ethic and business practices, political conflicts, etc.). Cultural landscapes produced by

specific religions, including burial practices, attitudes toward the environment, calendar.

Unit 5. Political Geography

Evolution of the modern state. Nation versus state versus nation-state. Centripetal and centrifugal forces

in modern nations: the rise of supranationalism, nationalism, regionalism. Political systems at a variety of

scales: local to global. Characteristics of states: shape, size, location of capital, core versus periphery. Types

of boundaries and boundary disputes. Analysis of current world crises using the above concepts.

Unit 6. Economic Geography

The world system(s) of making a living: subsistence, market, planned. World distribution of economic

systems. Agriculture: variations among systems in different world regions. Von Thünen theory of

agricultural location. Location of economic activities in each system. World economic systems:

specialization, comparative advantage, interdependence, trade, movement of capital to peripheral regions.

Characteristics of core and peripheral world. Sustainability.

Unit 7. Population Geography

Basic concepts of population: distribution, density, growth rate, interpreting population pyramids.

Historical patterns in population growth: the J curve and the S curve. Demographic transition: will it

predict future patterns of population growth? Factors that affect population growth in the developing

world: the cycle of doom. Gender roles and world population growth.

Unit 8. Migration

Migration as an enduring theme of human history: migrations in ancient times, the historical past, and the

present. Migration at a variety of scales: local, regional, and international. Types of migrations. Patterns of

Course Organization

migration: step migration, chain migration, channeled migration. Role of distance decay and information

flow in migration patterns. Barriers to migration; inducements to migration. How is the decision to

migrate made? Push and pull factors, voluntary and involuntary migration. Rules of migration: who, what,

when, and why.

Unit 9. Urban Geography

What is a city?: functions and purposes. Land value and urban growth in the United States. Systems

of cities and central place theory: threshold and range. World patterns in urban growth: links between

economic development and urbanization. World urban morphology: diversity in the United States, Europe,

South America, Africa, and Asia. The primate city versus rank size rule. Social areas in North American

cities.

Unit 10. Human Impact on the Environment

Interaction of human systems and physical systems. Ways humans adapt to, modify, and use the

environment. Issues of pollution, resource use and management in the core, semiperipheral and peripheral

regions of the world. Perceptions of natural hazards at a variety of scales. Cultural reactions to hazards:

planning for disaster in Japan versus Southern California. Variations in world patterns of technology and

consequent effects on environment. Global solutions to global problems: climate change, ozone depletion,

land degradation.

Teaching Strategies

This is a large lecture course, and as such, the teaching strategies I use focus on giving students

opportunities to “think-pair-share” in class, to write mini-essays of 50 words or so reacting to provocative

statements, and to do short role-play simulations. The goal in each class is to include one break from

the monotony of lecture. Examples of the types of things students do during a class period include the

following:

• Present students with five maps showing the distribution of economic activities (flour milling, steel

manufacturing, vegetable canning, copper smelting, textiles) and challenge them to match the map

to the activity and explain their spatial reasoning (thinking spatially).

• Give students five minutes to list aspects of culture that originated in another culture but are

commonly used in the United States, and aspects of U.S. culture used commonly by people in other

cultures; students share their lists with the whole group (cultures change through diffusion and

innovation).

• Present students with a series of choropleth maps showing the consumption of wine, beer, vodka,

and other spirits in Europe. Students analyze the patterns, match the beverage type to the map, and

discuss patterns and processes.

• Show the National Geographic video Cultures: A Tapestry of Life and have students write a mini-

essay in response.

• Collect class data on residential preference (“If you could live anywhere but Texas, where would it

be?”), asking the class to speculate and then create a quick and dirty map, which is then compared

to the preferences of college students at UCLA, Penn State, and the University of Toronto.

• Hand out different sections of that day’s newspaper and ask students to analyze them for geographic

issues. Students report by “region” of the classroom: What is the issue? How is it geographic?

Chapter 3

You get the idea—anything to involve students actively in some brief, hands-on fashion. I also spend

time at the beginning of the semester discussing study strategies that are appropriate for geography. For

example, I suggest they:

• pay special attention to the maps and illustrations when reading the text;

• “spatialize” concepts by sketching maps to remember ideas in context;

• practice active listening in class; and

• review the notes from each class, using good reading strategies (e.g., asking and answering questions

about the material, summarizing it in their own words, explaining concepts to friends, and drawing

concept maps linking ideas).

I reinforce these ideas as needed throughout the semester.

To deliver instruction and to structure class time (and keep me on track), I use a blend of overhead

transparencies that project each lecture’s outline in large-point font along with illustrations, graphs, maps,

and other supplemental visuals. I also use PowerPoint presentations of slides I have taken to illustrate

key concepts at several points during the semester. To discuss place and landscape, I use a series of slides

I took on two trips to Korea. To examine political change, traditional culture, and development in a

semiperipheral country, I use slides I took in South Africa. When we discuss the relationship among

landscape, culture, and religion, I use slides taken in distinct regions of the world. When studying political

conflicts and transnational border issues, I use slides I took in Lebanon, Mexico, and Korea. I think the

judicious use of illustrations is effective, and students enjoy the glimpse into my life and travels.

Student Evaluation

Students are evaluated on their performance on two multiple-choice tests (60 percent of a student’s total

grade for the course) and the seven activities collected at intervals throughout the semester (40 percent

of the total grade). At the end of the semester I assign grades following a normal distribution: about 12

to 15 percent As and Ds, and approximately 30 to 35 percent Bs and Cs. Typically I curve a little at the

A–B line to get a high enough percentage of As; the rest of the population has always distributed normally.

Class size prevents me from using free-response questions.

Teacher Resources

General Resources

Geography Education Standards Project. Geography for Life: National Geography Standards 1994.

Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Research and Exploration, 1994.

Haggett, Peter. Geography: A Global Synthesis. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2001.

Knox, Paul L., and Sallie A. Marston. Places and Regions in Global Context: Human Geography. 3rd ed.

Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2003.

Multimedia

ARGWorld: Activities and Resources for the Geography of the World. N.p.: Holt, Rinehart and Winston,

1998. CD-ROM.

Used in quick, five-minute vignettes to illustrate key concepts like site and situation, population

density, and so on. Available for purchase from the publisher’s Web site, go.hrw.com/hrw.nd/

hrw_catalog/ (click on Social Studies, then on Geography).

Course Organization

Cultures: A Tapestry of Life. N.p.: National Geographic Society, n.d. Video.

Used to drive home discussion of culture along with a mini-essay and other activities as time allows.

Available for purchase from the Audiovisual Division of the National Geographic Society, 1145

17th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20036-4688; 202 775-7803.

The Power of Place: Geography for the 21st Century series. N.p.: Annenberg/CPB, 1996. Video.

Individual vignettes are shown to illustrate a point (e.g., an episode showing the nature of

manufacturing work in China). Available for purchase from the publisher’s Web site, www.learner.

org/resources/series180.html#program_descriptions; or call 800 228-8030 or 802 862-8881.

World Population: A Graphic Simulation of the History of Human Population Growth. Washington, D.C.:

Population Connection, n.d. Video.

Used to illustrate population growth patterns. Available in video or DVD for purchase from the

organization’s Web site, www.populationeducation.org/pages/0,productdetail,productdetail,00.

ecs?contentid=175; or call 800 767-1956 or 202 332-2200.

Internet Resources Used in Activities

Human Development Reports

The data is used in Activity 5. Available at hdr.undp.org/.

International Data Base (IDB)

The data is used in Activity 6. Available at www.census.gov/ipc/www/idbnew.html.

National Agricultural Statistics Service Census of Agriculture

Has both 1997 and 2002 statistics. Used for distribution maps and in discussing economic geography.

Available at www.nass.usda.gov/Census_of_Agriculture/index.asp.

U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Resident Population

Used for Activity 1. Available at www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/respop.html.

Current Resources

I read two daily newspapers and a news magazine to keep up to date. As sources of maps, graphs, and

charts, I highly recommend the Economist (www.economist.com) and the New York Times (www.nytimes.

com). In addition, I read the local newspaper and the Houston Chronicle to be able to give students

examples that bridge global and local issues.

Professional Journals

As a college-level geography professor—and that is what you are when you are teaching AP Human

Geography—you should join the Association of American Geographers (www.aag.org) and peruse

their two journals regularly, the Professional Geographer and the Annals of the Association of American

Geographers. In addition, the National Council for Geographic Education (www.ncge.org) is a significant

resource. Their premier publication is the Journal of Geography. I also find Geography, a publication of

the United Kingdom’s Geographical Association (www.geography.org.uk/index.asp), especially useful for

background on key topics. For example, the April 2001 issue had a superb article that critiqued urban

land use models (Pacione, M. “Models of Urban Land Use Structure in Cities of the Developed World.”

Geography 86, no. 2 [2001]: 97–119).

Chapter 3

Professional Development

There are numerous forms of professional development that are appropriate for AP Human Geography

teachers, including the formal AP Summer Institutes organized by the College Board. Reading journals

and understanding current research in human geography is a second form of professional development.

The annual meetings of the National Council for Geographic Education feature special sessions primarily

focused on pedagogy for AP Human Geography teachers. The annual meetings of the Association of

American Geographers provide AP Human Geography teachers with information and a chance to meet

the authors of textbooks, but the meetings do not offer much specific assistance in teaching an AP Human

Geography course.

Student Activities

An important part of the course is the development of geography skills. Students learn by doing, so I make

my students do a little geography. The seven activities they complete during the semester are designed to

compliment the topics being discussed in class and to provide them with practice in the application of

geography’s perspectives. The activities are graded according to a scoring guideline. Before students hand

in each activity they are encouraged to bring a draft version for review during office hours to help ensure a

good grade. Less than a quarter of the students in any semester take advantage of this service.

Activity 3 is a special activity that requires students to write a brief paper applying their understanding

of geography to an interview of an international student. It is assigned on the first day of class, and

throughout the semester I encourage students to identify an international student, think about questions

to ask, and so on. The assignment is due near the end of the semester to allow students to develop some

experience in human geography. The criteria I use for grading are included with the activity.

Students purchase a course packet including all seven of the activities. The activities are also posted

as .pdf files on the course Web site (geog.tamu.edu/sarah/humangeog/humangeog.html). AP Human

Geography teachers are invited to download and adapt these activities for their own use.

Activity 1

Students produce a map showing states with above and below population density and another map with

five categories of population density. They then answer a series of questions to interpret the maps. The

activity is introduced in this manner:

Introduction

There are several objectives to this activity. You will

1. think geographically (the spatial perspective),

2. produce and interpret two maps, and

3. review the locations of the states of the United States (which you already know—that is why it is

called a review!!).

In class we discussed two key ideas: (1) that geographers “see the world in spatial terms” and

(2) that the scale of analysis (one category versus four; local scale, state scale, national scale) determines the

patterns and relationships we can observe. We also discussed the tools geographers use to see patterns and

to understand why things are where they are. One of the most important tools is the map. As you produce

the maps for this activity, remember that you are not “just coloring maps,” you are organizing spatial

information into categories in order to better analyze it and draw conclusions.

Course Organization

Activity 2

Students use an almanac (or Internet-based almanacs) to find information about each of the 25 most

populous nations in the world according to U.S. government sources. Based on the evidence of the number

of ethnic groups, religions, and languages spoken in a country, students decide if it is uni- or multicultural

and justify their response. The activity is introduced in this manner:

Introduction

One culture or many—unicultural or multicultural? That is an important issue to consider when viewing

different nations of the world. As we discuss culture, language, and religion, this activity should provide

you with an opportunity to look at the 25 most populous nations in the world and observe whether they

are unicultural or multicultural.

Activity 3

Texas A&M is host to a large population of students from all over the world. One of the best ways (other

than travel) to develop a global perspective is to get to know peers from other nations. The activity is

introduced in this manner:

Procedure

Seek out a TAMU student from another country and interview/become acquainted with that student. View

this individual as a resource. Be sure that the person you select to interview is a native of another country,

not an American who lives overseas. If you have any doubt, speak to me.

From your research/discussions with this student you should produce a working document, no longer

than three pages, that reflects the application of geography to an understanding of a different culture. Try

to make the interview personally relevant by asking some questions about things that may be of special

interest to you.

Your grade will be based on two things:

1. meaningful contact and sharing of ideas with an often untapped resource on

this campus—our

international students, and

2. how well you can

apply the geographic concepts and generalizations we have learned to

understanding a different culture and way of life.

Scoring Guideline

A (27–30 points)—Thorough and complete analysis of the interviewee’s culture using geography terms and

concepts; use of many key vocabulary terms; rich and detailed application of the geographic perspective

(spatial and environmental/ecological); source appendix; very well-written, clear, no punctuation errors.

B (24–26 points)—Some analysis of the interviewee’s culture using geography terms and concepts;

several key vocabulary terms used; application of the geographic perspective (spatial and environmental/

ecological); source appendix; well-written, clear, only one or two punctuation/spelling errors.

C (21–23 points)—A partial analysis of the interviewee’s culture using geography terms and concepts; a

few or no specific vocabulary terms used; some concepts used; incomplete application of the geographic

perspective (spatial and environmental/ecological) and some misunderstandings of concepts; source

appendix; unclear and uncertain quality of writing.

Chapter 3

Activity 4

Students use a map of an idealized nation, along with Web research and class notes, to answer a series of

questions exploring geopolitical relationships and situations. The activity is introduced in this manner:

Introduction

A number of problems can arise from the intersection of geography and politics. Use the map of the

idealized nation of Bednarzia to begin to understand some of the situations in the world today that present

challenges to peace at a variety of scales, local to global. Answer each question marked with [graphic

showing a hand writing with a pencil] by typing an answer on a separate sheet of paper. The Hints section

on the course Web site (geog.tamu.edu/sarah/humangeog/activities.html#Anchor22538) provides links to

help you answer the questions.

Activity 5

Students use data collected by the United Nations to calculate the Human Development Index for a

selection of countries by averaging the index for life expectancy, education, and GDP. They then map the

values of each country using a set category and analyze the map by answering a series of questions. The

activity is introduced in this manner:

Introduction

The Human Development Index (HDI) prepared by the United Nations is acknowledged to be a good

quality-of-life indicator in today’s world context. The index takes into account education (adult literacy

and school enrollment), life expectancy (a surrogate for various health data), and economic well-being

(gross domestic product per capita, or GDP) to determine a measure of “standard of living.” Raw data are

converted into an index to make them comparable, then averaged to produce an overall index, the HDI.

The HDI ranges between 0 and 1.

Activity 6

Students construct a population pyramid and analyze it by answering these questions:

1. Analyze the pyramid and describe the structure of this country’s population now and in the next

few decades.

2. Discuss the implications of this population pyramid:

• What is the population of this country going to be like in the future? Young? Old? Balanced?

Growing or stagnate?

• What kinds of goods and services will the people need?

• Is it a growing market or a declining market? (see pages 100–101 in the textbook).

The activity is introduced in this manner:

Introduction

A population pyramid is a graphic way to show the age/gender composition and structure of a population.

The structure describes the relative number of people at different ages by gender. Population pyramids

are used to provide a visual impression of the age and sex (gender) composition of a country’s population

and to show trends. The shape of a population pyramid is a result of migration, births, and deaths. It also

reflects historical, socioeconomic, and political events like the baby boom that followed World War II.

Course Organization

Activity 7

Students calculate the percent increase in population from 1980 to 2000 for each of 25 urban

agglomerations using this formula:

Percent Change = [(Population 2000 − Population 1980) / Population 1980] × 100

Next, they rank the urban agglomerations from highest to lowest based on percent change in

population and classify the agglomerations into one of four categories based on maps of the level of

economic development in the nation in which they are found and on the level of human development.

Once students have completed these tasks, they answer the question, “What conclusions do you draw

about the expected rate of growth of these urban agglomerations and the level of economic and human

development of these nations? Explain your conclusions here.”

Chapter 3

Sample Syllabus 2

Cheryl Jenkins Guy

Spring Valley High School

Columbia, South Carolina

School Proﬁle

School Location and Environment: Spring Valley High School is a public, suburban high school located

in northeast Columbia, South Carolina. Columbia is the state capital and home of the University of

South Carolina and several smaller colleges. Fort Jackson, a basic training facility for the U.S. Army, is

located nearby. Many Spring Valley students have parents who work for the government and the local

universities. The school also experiences a high turnover of students whose parents are stationed at Fort

Jackson. These students are transient, but this is a bonus for teaching geography because so many of them

have lived in other states and even other countries and can share their experiences with the class.

Grades: 9–12

Type: Public high school and district magnet school for math and science

Total Enrollment: 1,906 students

Ethnic Diversity: African Americans comprise 46.98 percent of the student population. Asian Americans,

Hispanics/Latinos, and other minority groups have expanded recently and currently make up 7.28 percent

of the student population.

College Record: After graduation, 66 percent of the students go on to four-year colleges or universities,

25 percent enroll in two-year colleges, and 3 percent enter the military.

Personal Philosophy

I want students to look at the world differently after studying AP Human Geography. I want them to see

things and patterns they might not have previously noticed. I want them to ask questions such as why and

why there.

Class Proﬁle

Spring Valley offers two sections of AP Human Geography each year. The classes typically have between

20 and 30 students in each section. The course meets every day of the school year for 45 minutes (or

39 minutes on Wednesdays due to a late-start schedule for students). The school year begins in early

August and ends before Memorial Day.

Course Overview

The course is structured according to the course outline found in the AP Human Geography Course

Description published by the College Board. There are seven units of study. At the beginning of each unit,

students receive a unit calendar that indicates the lecture topics or activities for each day, the reading

assignments, the quiz dates, and other information about the unit.

The primary textbook for the course is the seventh edition of The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction

to Human Geography by James M. Rubenstein. Students also use the third edition of Human Geography

Course Organization

in Action by Michael Kuby, John Harner, and Patricia Gober. A class set of these books, as well as the

seventh edition of Human Geography: Culture, Society, and Space by H. J. de Blij and Alexander B. Murphy,

is available for students to take home. I use additional textbooks to prepare my lectures (see “Teacher

Resources” below).

Course Planner

Topic

Multiple-Choice

Coverage on the

AP Exam Readings Time

I. Geography:

Its Nature and

Perspectives

5–10% Rubenstein, Ch. 1

Kuby, Ch. 1, 3

de Blij, Ch. 1

4 weeks

II. Population

13–17% Rubenstein, Ch. 2–3

Kuby, Ch. 4–5

de Blij, Ch. 4–7

5 weeks

III. Cultural Patterns

and Processes

13–17% Rubenstein, Ch. 4–7

Kuby, Ch. 2

de Blij, Ch. 2–3, 8–13, 29, 31–32

6 weeks

IV. Political

Organization of

Space

13–17% Rubenstein, Ch. 8

Kuby, Ch. 12–13

de Blij, Ch. 14–17

5 weeks*

(2 weeks before Winter Break,

3 weeks after)

Semester Exam Includes Units

I–III

December (the week before

Winter Break)

V. Agricultural and

Rural Land Use

13–17% Rubenstein, Ch. 10, 14 (Key Issue 3)

Kuby, Ch. 8

de Blij, Ch. 18–20, 30

4 weeks

VI. Industrialization

and Economic

Development

13–17% Rubenstein, Ch. 9, 11, 14 (Key Issues

1 and 2)

Kuby, Ch. 6–7, 14

de Blij, Ch. 24–27, 33–35

4 weeks

VII. Cities and Urban

Land Use

13–17% Rubenstein, Ch. 12–13

Kuby, Ch. 9–11

de Blij, Ch. 21–23, 28

4 weeks

Exam Review 2 weeks

Chapter 3

Unit Calendars

Unit I. Geography: Its Nature and Perspectives

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Week

Welcome,

introduction to the

course

Review syllabus

HW: Syllabus

signed by parents

Definitions of

geography, why

geography matters

HW: Read

Rubenstein,

Ch. 1: “Thinking

Geographically”

Historical

development of

geography

Four traditions of

geography

HW: Read Pattison

article, “The Four

Traditions of

Teaching” (from

Annual Editions:

Geography)

Reading Quiz on

Ch. 1

Review four

traditions

Week

Five themes of

geography

Video: Geography:

A Voyage of

Discovery

Defining locations

(survey systems,

latitude-longitude)

Begin township

and range exercise

(ARGUS, Activity

FX)—complete for

homework (due on

Friday)

Place names

(toponomy)

Video: Power of

Place series, #1:

“One Earth, Many

Scales”

Township and

range exercise due

Introduction to

map making

HW: Read

“Map Scale and

Projections”

(from Rubenstein,

Appendix,

pp. 488-93)

Week

Map making

continued

HW: Map analysis

essay (due next

week)

Kuby, Ch. 1:

“True Maps, False

Impressions:

Making,

Manipulating, and

Interpreting Maps”

(computer lab)

Complete Kuby,

Ch. 1

Discuss Kuby lab

and review map

design

Answer questions

about maps for

analysis essay

Introduction to

GIS

Practice free-

response question

(20 minutes)

Week

Map analysis essay

due

Mapping Our

World, Module 1:

“ArcView: The

Basics” (computer

lab)

Complete Mapping

Our World,

Module 1

Work on unit

review note cards

Unit review; tips

on answering free-

response questions

Unit I Free-

Response Test

(2 questions,

45 minutes)

Unit I Multiple-

Choice Test

(50 questions)

Note cards due

Course Organization

Unit II. Population

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Week

Return Unit I tests

and debrief

Population map

assignment (finish

for homework)

Turn in population

maps

Demography

vocabulary

HW: Read

Rubenstein, Ch. 2:

“Population”

Video: World

Population: A

Graphic Simulation

Malthus on

overpopulation

Demographic

transition model

Reading Quiz on

Ch. 2

Graph population

pyramids

Week

Video: Human

Geography:

People, Places,

and Change series,

#6: “Population

Transition in Italy”

Population

pyramids due

Kuby, Ch. 5:

“One Billion

and Counting:

The Hidden

Momentum

of Population

Growth in India”

(computer lab)

Complete Kuby,

Ch. 5

HW: Read

Mitchell article,

“Before the Next

Doubling” (from

Annual Editions:

Geography)

Pro- and

antinatalist

government

policies

The baby boom

Week

Mapping Our

World, Module 4:

“Generation Gaps”

(computer lab)

Complete Mapping

Our World,

Module 4

Spatial patterns of

health and disease

HW: Read

Rubenstein, Ch. 3:

“Migration”

Video: Power of

Place series, #21:

“Population

Geography”

Reasons to

migrate; voluntary

and involuntary

migrations

Week

Global migration

patterns; obstacles

to migration

Migrations within

a country

Reading Quiz on

Ch. 3

Kuby, Ch. 4:

“Newton’s First

Law of Migration:

The Gravity

Model”

Complete Kuby,

Ch. 4

Short-term, local

movements, and

activity space

Population and

natural hazards

Week

Mapping Our

World, Module 4:

“Regional Case

Study: Growing

Pains” (computer

lab)

Complete Mapping

Our World,

Module 4

Work on unit

review note cards

Review Unit II Unit II Free-

Response Test

Unit II Multiple-

Choice Test

Note cards due

Chapter 3

Unit III. Cultural Patterns and Processes

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Week

Return Unit II

tests and debrief

Virtual field trip

to Amish country

(from Human

Geography:

Culture, Society,

and Space

AP Student

Companion)

(computer lab)

Concepts of

culture

Review diffusion

HW: Read

Rubenstein, Ch. 4:

“Folk and Popular

Culture”

Folk and popular

culture

Kuby, Ch. 2:

“Layers of

Tradition: Culture

Regions at

Different Scales”

Complete Activity

1 in computer lab

Complete Kuby,

Ch. 2 (provide

postcard set to use

in class)

Week

Video: A Hot Dog

Program

Finish video and

discuss

Assign essay

on U.S. culture

regions

Reading Quiz on

Ch. 4

Globalization of

popular culture

Essay due

Housing styles

Assign

architectural styles

for project

Research

architecture styles

in Media Center

(presentations next

week)

Week

Language

definitions; origin

and diffusion of

English language

HW: Read

Rubenstein, Ch. 5:

“Language”

Video: In Search of

the First Language

Distribution

of language

families; official

languages and

multilingualism

Architecture

presentations

Architecture

presentations

Week

Reading Quiz on

Ch. 5

Overview of

religions and their

distribution

HW: Read

Rubenstein, Ch. 6:

“Religion”

Judaism Christianity Islam Hinduism,

Buddhism

Week

Confucianism,

Taoism, Shintoism,

and other religions

Field study to

houses of worship

Field study

debriefing

Essay assignment

Reading Quiz on

Ch. 6

Conflict over

Jerusalem

Ethnicity and race

HW: Read

Rubenstein, Ch. 7,

(Key Issue 1)

Week

Video: Power

of Place series,

#25: “Ethnic

Fragmentation in

Canada”

Gender issues

Work on note

cards

Review Unit III Unit III Free-

Response Test

Unit III Multiple-

Choice Test

Note cards due

Course Organization

Unit IV. Political Organization of Space

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Week

Return Unit III

tests and debrief

Introduction to

political geography

HW: Read

Rubenstein, Ch. 7:

“Ethnicity”

Nationalities and

nation-states

Video: Power of

Place series, #2:

“Boundaries and

Borderlands”

Kuby, Ch. 13:

“The Rise of

Nationalism

and the Fall

of Yugoslavia:

Nations, States,

and Nation-States”

Complete Kuby,

Ch. 13

Reading Quiz on

Ch. 7

Defining states

HW: Read

Rubenstein,

Ch. 8: “Political

Geography”

Week

Territorial

morphology

Video: Power of

Place series, #3:

“Supranationalism

and Devolution”

Boundaries and

the law of the sea

Mapping Our

World Module 5:

“Crossing the Line”

(computer lab)

Complete Mapping

Our World,

Module 5

Reading Quiz on

Ch. 8

Assign political

issues research

project (due in

January)

Exam Week

End of Semester I

Review Units I–III

(May show

additional videos

from Power of

Place series,

depending on

schedule)

Winter Break

begins

Week

State political

organization;

centripetal and

centrifugal forces

(review)

Research projects

(Media Center)

Research projects

(Media Center)

Kuby, Ch. 12: “Do

Orange and Green

Clash? Residential

Segregation in

Northern Ireland”

(computer lab)

Complete Kuby,

Ch. 12

Prepare project

handouts

Week

Political,

economic,

and military

cooperation

Political

issues project

presentations

Political

issues project

presentations

Political

issues project

presentations

Political

issues project

presentations

Week

Internal

organization of

states

Electoral

geography

Work on note

cards

Unit IV Review Unit IV Free-

Response Test

Unit IV Multiple-

Choice Test

Note cards due

Chapter 3

Unit V. Agricultural and Rural Land Use

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Week

Return Unit IV

tests and debrief

Farming facts

HW: Read

Rubenstein, Ch. 10:

“Agriculture”

Agricultural

revolutions

(origins, 2nd Rev.

and Green Rev.)

Whittlesey’s

agricultural

regions—

interpreting

regions activity

Atlas activity

U.S. agricultural

production regions

Kuby, Ch. 8: “Food

for Thought: The

Globalization

of Agriculture”

(computer lab)

Activity 1 and

Activity 2 for

homework over

weekend (visit

grocery store)

Week

Reading Quiz on

Ch. 10

Complete Kuby,

Ch. 8

Activity 3

(computer lab)

The dark side

of the Green

Revolution

Rice: the global

crop (present

as an example

for agricultural

products study)

Video: Power of

Place series, #16:

“Rural and Urban

Contrasts”

Assign agricultural

products for study

Media Center for

research

Week

von Thünen’s

model

Industrialized

agriculture

(agribusiness);

poultry

Agricultural

products project

presentations

Agricultural

products project

presentations

Agricultural

products project

presentations

Week

Rural settlement

systems

Regional primary

activities (ARGUS,

Activity K)

Work on note

cards

Review Unit V Unit V Free-

Response Test

Unit V Multiple-

Choice Test

Note cards due

Unit VI. Industrialization and Economic Development

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Week

Return Unit V tests

and debrief

Classification of

economic activities

HW: Read

Rubenstein, Ch. 9:

“Development”

Measures of

development

Use Internet

to collect data

for chart of five

countries (from

Human Geography:

Culture, Society,

and Space AP

Student Companion)

Review measures

of development

Human

development

index

Kuby, Ch. 7: “Rags

and Riches: The

Dimensions of

Development”

Reading Quiz on

Ch. 9

Complete Kuby,

Ch. 7

Week

Strategies for

development

Rostow’s model

Core-periphery

distinction

HW: Read

Rubenstein, Ch. 11:

“Industry”

The Industrial

Revolution;

distribution

of industrial

production

ARGUS, Activity

L— “Locating

Heavy Industry”

Site and situation

factors; Weber’s

Industrial

Location Theory

Course Organization

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Week

Reading Quiz on

Ch. 11

Video: Power of

Place series, #18:

“Oil and Water”

HW: Read

Rubenstein, Ch. 14

(Key Issues 1 and 2)

Should a developing

country have free

trade? (Activity

from Focus:

International

Economics)

Kuby, Ch. 6:

“Help Wanted:

The Changing

Geography of

Jobs”

Foreign exchange

rates (Activity

from Focus:

International

Economics)

Reading Quiz on

Ch. 14

Kuby, Ch. 14:

“Preserving the

Planet: Human

Impact on

Environmental

Systems”

Week

Complete Kuby,

Ch. 14

Video: Power of

Place series, #15:

“Global Interaction”

Work on note cards

Review Unit VI Unit VI Free-

Response Test

Unit VI Multiple-

Choice Test

Note cards due

Unit VII. Cities and Urban Land Use

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Week

Return Unit VI

tests and debrief

Types of services

HW: Read

Rubenstein, Ch. 12:

“Services”

Origin and

evolution of cities

Christaller’s

Central Place

Theory

Kuby, Ch. 9: “Take

Me Out to the Ball

Game: Market

Areas and the

Urban Hierarchy”

Complete Kuby,

Ch. 9

Reading Quiz on

Ch. 12

Week

American urban

system (Borchert)

HW: Read

Rubenstein, Ch. 13:

“Urban Patterns”

Models of urban

structure

Suburbanization

and edge cities

Video: Power of

Place series, #24:

“Cityscapes,

Suburban Sprawl”

Built environment

and social space

Week

Models outside of

North America

Video: Power of

Place series, #11:

“A Challenge for

Two Old Cities”

Reading Quiz on

Chapter 13

Field study

preparation

Field study in the

Congaree Vista

(downtown)

Field study debrief

Week

Mapping Our

World, Module 6:

“Live, Work, and

Play” (computer

lab)

Complete Mapping

Our World,

Module 6

Work on note

cards

Review Unit VII Unit VII Free-

Response Test

Unit VII Multiple-

Choice Test

Note cards due

Teaching Strategies

Attending a summer institute or training workshop before beginning the course is an invaluable

experience. To prepare for teaching the course, I also organized a series of seven notebooks for each of the

seven units of study. In each notebook, I included:

• a unit description and outline from the AP Human Geography Course Description;

• a copy of an article from the special issue of Journal of Geography 99, no. 3/4 (May–August 2000);

Chapter 3

• lecture outlines;

• test questions from various review books and teacher’s guides;

• maps, diagrams, and graphics of models for use on an overhead projector;

• labs and other activities and answer keys; and

• articles and other resources.

My course features a mixture of lecture, instructional video, and student activities (e.g., Human

Geography in Action labs and ArcView projects from Mapping Our World). Students use a Blackboard

class Web site to take reading quizzes, communicate with classmates and me, and find class information.

The Blackboard, which is an integrated, schoolwide software system, features a discussion board, links to

external Web sites (which I select), class lecture notes, and assignments.

I use two types of writing assignments in the class. Since free-response questions compose 50 percent

of the AP Exam, all unit tests include free-response questions. Students also practice writing free-responses

from time to time throughout the year. These responses are graded using a scoring guideline in the same

manner as the AP Exam is scored. I use a second type of writing assignment, analytical essays, periodically

during the year. These essays, which are organized around a thesis statement and usually contain at least

five paragraphs, help students develop their analytical writing skills. Most of the students will enroll in

the AP U.S. History course the following year, so this work helps them prepare for a different type of free-

response question.

Lab Component

Students have access to a computer lab where they complete the Human Geography in Action lab activities

and use ArcView GIS software for Mapping Our World modules. The lab has Internet access for research

and for use of the Blackboard Web site.

Student Evaluation

Each unit of study includes reading quizzes for chapters in the text, several daily grades like labs or other

activities, one major paper or project, and the unit test. I use the Blackboard assessment manager to write

the reading quizzes. Each quiz consists of 10 challenging multiple-choice items that require careful reading

of the chapter in preparation for the quiz. The reading quizzes are worth 20 points each; labs and activities

are worth 30 points each. At the conclusion of each unit of study, students are required to create note cards

for studying vocabulary, models, and famous people. The completion of note cards is worth 15 points.

Major grades like projects, papers, or unit tests are worth 100 points. The unit test has the same format as

the AP Exam.

On the first day of a unit test, students complete two free-response questions in the 45-minute class

period. They write their responses in college blue books that I purchase from a local university bookstore.

The questions are scored using a scoring guideline that is similar to those used at the AP Reading. Each

question is worth 6 to 12 points, and the students’ test grade is calculated as a percentage of points earned.

The free-response portion counts as a 100-points grade. On the second day of the unit test, students answer

50 multiple-choice questions (5 choices), which also count as a 100-points grade. Grades are reported

quarterly and are based on the percentage of total points earned out of the total points possible. Students

take a semester exam in December before the winter break.

Course Organization

Teacher Resources

Allen, John L. Student Atlas of World Politics. 5th ed. Guilford, Conn.: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin, 2002.

ARGUS: Activities and Readings in the Geography of the United States. Washington, D.C.: Association of

American Geographers, 1999.

Davidson, Fiona, et al., eds. Teaching Political Geography. The Pathways in Geography series, no. 19.

Indiana, Penn.: National Council for Geographic Education, 1998.

de Blij, H. J., and Alexander B. Murphy. Human Geography: Culture, Society, and Space. 7th ed. New York:

John Wiley, 2003.

Fellmann, Jerome D., Arthur Getis, and Judith Getis. Human Geography: Landscapes of Human Activities.

6th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2001.

Gabrys-Alexson, Randy. Advanced Placement Student Companion. New York: John Wiley, 2003.

Accompanies the seventh edition of Human Geography: Culture, Society, and Space, by H. J. de Blij

and Alexander B. Murphy.

Geography: A Voyage of Discovery. N.p.: National Geographic Society, 1987. Video.

Glassner, Martin Ira, and Chuck Fahrer. Political Geography. 3rd ed. New York: John Wiley, 2004.

A Hot Dog Program. N.p.: PBS Home Video, 1996. Video.

Human Geography: People, Places, and Change series. Produced by the BBC. N.p.: Annenberg/CPB, 1996.

Video.

In Search of the First Language. N.p.: NOVA, 1994. Video.

Jackson, Robert. Annual Editions: Global Issues. 20th ed. Dubuque, Iowa: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin, 2005.

Jordan-Bychkov, Terry G., and Mona Domosh. The Human Mosaic: A Thematic Introduction to Cultural

Geography. 9th ed. New York: W. H. Freeman, 2003.

Knox, Paul L., and Sallie A. Marston. Places and Regions in Global Context: Human Geography. 3rd ed.

Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2004.

Kuby, Michael, John Harner, and Patricia Gober. Human Geography in Action. 3rd ed. New York:

John Wiley, 2004.

Lynch, Gerald J., Michael W. Watts, and Donald Wentworth. Focus: International Economics. New York:

National Council on Economic Education, 1998.

Malone, Lyn, Anita M. Palmer, and Christine L. Voigt. Mapping Our World: GIS Lessons for Educators.

Redlands, Calif.: ESRI Press, 2002.

Marran, James. Advanced Placement Student Companion. New York: John Wiley, 2000.

Accompanies the sixth edition of Human Geography: Culture, Society, and Space, by H. J. de Blij and

Alexander B. Murphy.

Chapter 3

Nunley, Robert E., George W. Ulbrick, and Bernard O. Williams. Study Guide. Upper Saddle River, N.J.:

Pearson Education, 2003.

Accompanies the seventh edition of The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography,

by H. J. de Blij and Alexander B. Murphy.

Pitzl, Gerald, ed. Annual Editions: Geography. 19th ed. Guilford, Conn.: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin, 2004.

The Power of Place: Geography for the 21st Century series. N.p.: Annenberg/CPB, 2003. Video.

Rubenstein, James M. The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography. 7th ed. Upper Saddle

River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2002.

World Population: A Graphic Simulation of the History of Human Population Growth. Washington, D.C.:

Population Connection, 2000. Video.

Student Activities

Unit I. Map Analysis Essay

Students select a map from a newspaper, magazine, the Internet, or another source (the map or a photocopy

of it must be turned in with the essay). Students examine the map carefully and think about the choices the

cartographer made. They must consider the map’s projection, colors, symbols, data classification, scale, and

overall design. In a five-paragraph essay, they must evaluate (stressing both advantages and limitations) the

map’s usefulness.

Unit II. Population Map Assignment

Students read Rubenstein, Chapter 2, Key Issue 1: “Where Is the World’s Population Distributed?” On the

world outline map that has been provided, they color each of the five population-concentration regions a

different color and identify. On the back of the map or on a separate page, students write a bulleted list of

facts about each region (taken from the reading). Using a pencil, they lightly shade the areas on the map

that are sparsely populated. Students use the vocabulary word ecumene in a sentence to describe the work

they just completed. They then use their own words (or graphics) to describe the three types of population

densities (arithmetic, physiological, and agricultural). (This assignment comes from Jerry Clem of Lower

Richland High School in Columbia, South Carolina.)

Unit III. A Hot Dog Program and Essay

Students watch the video A Hot Dog Program in class. The video focuses on the different ways hot dogs are

prepared and served in different regions of the United States. After the video we have a discussion about

other regional differences students have experienced (foods, customs, speech patterns, etc.). Many of the

students in the class have moved to South Carolina from other parts of the country, so this is usually a very

interesting conversation. For example, we have learned that the tooth fairy operates differently in some

communities; in some parts of the country, children leave a glass of water beside the bed for the fairy to dip

her wings in, turning the water blue!

Students select one category of regional differences and write an essay about the differences. They

are asked to speculate about the origins of the differences. Topics students have described include pizza

toppings, terms used for carbonated beverages, Christmas (or other holiday) customs, and sports and

hobbies.

Course Organization

Unit III (or Unit VII). Architecture Project

Students are assigned a style of residential architecture to research. They make a five-minute oral

presentation to the class (using PowerPoint, the overhead projector, or ELMO visual presenter) that must

include:

• a photograph or drawing of a classic example of the style,

• a list of distinguishing features (they use the picture to point these out),

• background history (e.g., when and where the style originated and diffused), and

• if possible, a photograph and the address of a local example.

Unit III. Houses of Worship Field Study

After selecting a date, I contact several local houses of worship to arrange for the students to visit.

I speak with the minister, rabbi, or other leader to schedule a time and discuss the purpose of the visit.

We typically go to five different houses of worship in a single day (e.g., Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic,

Protestant, Jewish synagogue, Hindu temple, and Muslim mosque), spending 45 to 60 minutes at each

location. I charter a bus from a local tour company and arrange for lunch at a local restaurant that can

accommodate our large group. I map the route and provide an itinerary for the bus driver as well as for the

students and parents. Usually a number of parents volunteer to accompany us on the trip, and I make the

necessary arrangements with the school (e.g., field trip permission forms, attendance lists).

After the trip, students write an essay based on the following question: How does the cultural

landscape of a house of worship reflect the beliefs and practices of a particular religion?

• Option 1: Analyze a single house of worship and how it relates to religious beliefs and practices. Cite

specific examples of material culture found and how they are reflective of that religion.

• Option 2: Compare or contrast two houses of worship and show with specific examples how

their similarities/differences are evident in the landscape and are reflective of their similarities/

differences in belief.

Extra Credit: Students make a list of all the religious structures/houses of worship (other than those we

visit) that are visible from the bus windows as we travel. This activity keeps them busy observing the

landscape as we go from one house of worship to the next. Many students comment after the trip that they

were previously unaware of how many houses of worship we have in our community.

Unit IV. Political Issues Project

Students select a current political issue (e.g., war, civil conflict, border dispute, independence movement) to

research. Teaching Political Geography is an excellent resource for project topic ideas. Each student makes

an oral presentation to the class, using appropriate maps and providing classmates with copies of a one-

page summary handout.

Unit V. Agricultural Products Project

Students research a specific agricultural product, crop, or animal. They present their findings to the class

in an oral presentation that includes:

• the history of the domestication and diffusion of the plant or animal,

• the growth cycle and climatic considerations,

Chapter 3

• a world (or appropriate region) map that shows production areas and flows to consumption areas,

and

• a discussion on the utilization (e.g., food or industrial raw materials?) and cultural considerations

(e.g., taboos? areas of preference?).

Unit VII. Field Study in the Congaree Vista

Students take a field walk in downtown Columbia. They walk approximately six blocks on Gervais Street,

mapping the distribution of restaurants, art galleries, clothing stores, or vacancies. A written guide is

provided that describes the history of selected buildings as well as their interesting architectural features.

Students respond to a series of questions on the handout. These questions include:

• What is your first impression of the street?

• Is the “Vista” an appropriate name for this area? What is being viewed in the distance?

• Do you feel safe during our walking tour? Are there unsafe places or times in the Vista?

• Do you see any evidence of “gendered space” in the Visa? If so, give an example.

• Do you see any evidence of racial patterns in the Vista? If so, describe.

• Do you see homeless people? Where would you look for them?

• Can you identify any buildings where the facades have been altered?

• What industry is located in the Vista?

• A palimpsest is a “shadow” of history left on the landscape. How is the palimpsest concept illustrated

in the Vista?

• Is there any evidence of an agglomeration of similar businesses in the Vista?

• Can the Vista be made more pedestrian friendly and bicycle friendly? How?

• What is absent in the Vista? What should be added?

• How does the McDonald’s on the corner differ from most others? Why was it built this way?

• What are your reflections at the end of our walking tour?

Course Organization

Sample Syllabus 3

Kenneth H. Keller

Danbury High School

Danbury, Connecticut

School Proﬁle

School Location and Environment: Danbury High School is located in a suburban, residential

neighborhood atop a hill that overlooks most of the city. The school is approximately two-and-a-half miles

from I-84, the east–west highway that connects Scranton, Pennsylvania, to the Connecticut–Massachusetts

border. The city of Danbury has a population of approximately 80,000 residents. It is home to Western

Connecticut State University, one of the four branches of the Connecticut State University system.

Danbury High School is the second largest high school in the state. Many of the students come from

homes in which English is not the dominant spoken language. Therefore, the school offers a wide variety of

ESL programs in many different subject areas. Walking through the halls of the school, it is possible to hear

over 50 different languages and associated dialects being spoken by the students. Likewise, many of the

students will be the first in their family to go on to college. The school’s culture and classes are definitely

enriched by the diverse student population and the experiences they bring to their education.

The school operates 12 fully networked computer labs with 25 machines in each. The newly renovated

library/media center houses two complete labs. In addition, there is a computer in every classroom in the

building. In total, there are in excess of 650 computers for student use. Danbury High School also offers

a large number of AP courses in a wide variety of curricular areas. For example, in the Social Studies

Department, AP courses are offered in Human Geography, Government and Politics, European History,

Micro and Macro Economics, Psychology, and U.S. History.

Grades: 9–12

Type: Public high school

Total Enrollment: 2,850 students

Ethnic Diversity: Hispanics/Latinos compose 21 percent of the student population; African Americans,

9.9 percent; Asian Americans, 8.9 percent; and Native Americans, 0.01 percent.

College Record: Approximately 84 percent of the graduating seniors go on to attend college.

Personal Philosophy

“Geography is in everything and everything is in geography.” This is what I say to my students on the first

day I see them at the beginning of the school year. I believe that this course is the most relevant to real-life

course students have the opportunity to enroll in during their career at Danbury High School. By taking

this course, students get a clearer sense of how humans use this space we call Earth and why the events

they see and hear on the news and observe around them every day turn out the way they do.

The course curriculum’s design, along with the format of the AP Exam, allows me to interconnect the

many different content area subjects such as culture, demographics, land use, and economics. The design of

the course allows me to give my students an exciting and engaging look at spatial diffusion and the imprint

Chapter 3

of human activities on our environment. Likewise, the opportunities this course offers with regard to using

state-of-the-art technology and the Internet—along with discussion, debate, and field studies—are above

and beyond what other AP courses can provide.

It has been my experience that once students see how powerful this course is and how passionate you

are about teaching it, they will feel the same way, leading to an exciting year of learning. Obviously, with

the added benefit of scoring well on the AP Exam and gaining the advantages that AP credit can offer

students in their post–high school experience, schools and students alike should be encouraged to embrace

this course.

Class Proﬁle

The year this syllabus was taught, I had two periods of AP Human Geography with 15 students in the first

class and 17 students in the second. Class time was allocated for students to work on labs that came from

the third edition of Human Geography in Action textbook, lab book (referred to as HGIA in this syllabus),

and CD-ROM. There were some labs for which students needed Internet access.

For some HGIA activities, students were required to finish on their own time. This could be done

because the school has a site license for HGIA to be accessed from our computer labs, and I have five copies

of the lab software that students can sign out to use on their home computers. Early in the school year

I gave students a list of all the Web sites that would be used throughout the year in labs that required

Internet access. This gave them ease of access from computers outside of the school.

Course Overview

This is an active-learning course with plenty of opportunities for discussion, which I encourage students to

take a full part in. The discussions are geographic and spatial in nature, and students are expected to read

the textbook and take notes. They apply the knowledge they gain by creating their own maps, looking at

case studies, participating in field studies, and engaging in outside research projects.

The curriculum for AP Human Geography consists of material from seven interrelated units of study.

For each unit that is covered, students receive an outline that includes information on the key concepts,

terms, and skills that they will be required to know and develop. They also receive a list of required

readings from their text and other resources. Students are required to complete journal writing prompts/

case studies from each unit and to answer the questions from the AP student companion that comes with

their text.

Each unit consists of homework assignments, quizzes, debates and discussions, and computer labs. At

the end of each unit, students take a test that follows the format of the AP Exam given in May. This end-

of-unit exam includes multiple-choice questions as well as a free-response question(s). (Some quizzes also

include free-response questions.) Students are provided with a separate handout that explains the criteria

the Readers who score the AP Exam use to evaluate the free-response questions.

The primary text for this course is the seventh edition of Human Geography: Culture, Society, and

Space, by H. J. de Blij and Alexander B. Murphy. The student companion for this text is also used.

Course Organization

Course Planner

The unit sequencing for the course is as follows:

• Nature and Perspectives

• Population

• Culture

• Agriculture and Rural Land Use

• Political Organization of Space

• Urban Land Use

• Economics and Industrialization

Taking into account our mercurial Northeast weather, this weekly schedule may need adjustment.

As the teacher of an AP course, one has to continually find creative ways to make sure all of the pertinent

material is covered. It should always be the AP teachers’ most important goal to ensure that their students

are as well prepared for the AP Exam and its inherent comprehensiveness as possible.

Readings from a variety of sources are assigned throughout the course. Their titles appear in the

Course Planner, and full citations for most can be found in the Teacher Resources section below.

Unit 1—Nature & Perspectives

Week #1

Discuss Course Outline and procedures. Review geography trivia. Give nongraded map quiz. Discuss

reading of ancillary texts/student companion. Discuss use of ARGUS software. Give out text reading

list. Discuss outside books read for summer work. HW: Read Laura Hebert’s article “Do Maps Create or

Represent Reality?”

Week #2

Introduce The Power of Place video series: “One Earth, Many Scales” (#1) and “Boundaries and

Borderlands” (#2). HW: Answer questions from the videos. Introduce Human Geography in Action (HGIA)

computer lab software program. In Lab Book, #1: “True Maps, False Impressions: Making, Manipulating,

and Interpreting Maps.” Make notes on time zones and map scale.

Week #3

Discuss transparencies of different styles of maps. Talk about mental (perceptual) maps. Students create

and share their own personal mental maps (this assignment, lesson 1, is described in more detail below).

Students find maps in the media and answer questions related to their perceived effectiveness. ARGUS,

Activity U: “Designing Maps to Persuade.” Give vocabulary quiz on terms from Chapter 1 in de Blij.

Week #4

ARGUS, Activity S: “Site and Situation.” Students work in groups on an activity that looks at why people

might migrate from one area of the world to another. Vocabulary quiz on terms from Chapter 3 in de Blij.

Students work in groups on an activity to determine how regions are created. Specifically, the activity looks

at the evolution of the regions of Canada. Unit 1 exam.

Chapter 3

Unit 2—Population

Week #5

Show video: World in the Balance. After watching this video, students compare the implications of

population growth in developed versus less-developed states. Make notes on the concept of doubling time.

Hand out physical and population density maps of Japan. Discuss competition for land in Metro Tokyo

and the impact mountainous areas have on population and economic growth. HW: ARGUS, Activity E:

“Interpreting Population Pyramids.”

Week #6

HGIA. In Lab Book, #5: “One Billion and Counting: The Hidden Momentum of Population Growth

in India.” Vocabulary quiz on chapters 4 and 5 in de Blij and a free-response question on analyzing

population pyramids. Hold computer lab using the U.S. Census Bureau’s Web site. Students analyze U.S.

and foreign population pyramids: What do they tell you about population concerns in our country, present

and future? (This assignment, Lesson 2, is described in more detail below.)

Week #7

To coincide with my attendance at the NCGE annual meeting (three class days). Show video and give

questions from The Power of Place series, “Oil and Water” (#18, on Egypt and Oman). Show video and

give questions from The Power of Place series, “Population Geography”(#21, on Mexico and Guatemala).

After watching these programs, students will have a clear sense of the important relationship between

demographics, land use, and economic development. ARGUS, Activity AX: “Population Proportional Map

Making.” Give vocabulary quiz on chapter 6 from de Blij and chapters 2 and 3 from Rubenstein.

Week #8

Students read John Pomfret’s article “China Losing ‘War’ on Births.” Discuss China’s “One Child Rule.”

Offer computer lab on population growth and female literacy, using the Internet. Students create a

scattergram to show the correlation between literacy and total fertility rates (this assignment, Lesson 3, is

described in more detail below). Lecture on the demographic transition model. HW: Students answer the

free-response question from the 2000, 2001 AP Human Geography Course Description from the inaugural

year of the course; it is discussed in class the next day. Make notes on voluntary migration (relate back to

video questions on Mexico and Guatemala). Discuss refugees: Who are they? Where do they come from?

Discuss Proposition 187 and similar laws.

Week #9

Give vocabulary quiz on Chapter 2 from Knox related to world systems and the concept of globalization.

HGIA. In Lab Book, #4: “Newton’s First Law of Migration: The Gravity Model.” Do reading on gravity

model and make notes on Reilly’s law of gravitation related to economic location. Make notes on

Malthusian, neo-Malthusian, and Bosserup theory. Prepare for class debate on the topic “Is the World

Overpopulated?” Hand out debate grading guidelines, rules, and so on. Allot two days of class time for

debate preparation.

Week #10

Give vocabulary quiz on chapters 7 and 34 from de Blij. Allot two to three class days to the class debate on

whether or not the world is overpopulated. On the third or fourth day, judges announce the winner and

their rationale for their decision. Debrief with students. Give population unit exam.

At this point in the course I introduce the Danbury Planning Commission Report, an assignment that

students have until Spring Break (mid-April) to complete (this assignment, Lesson 4, is described in detail

below). Students who cannot attend a Planning Commission meeting (meetings are held on the first and

third Wednesdays of each month) are given an alternate assignment.

Course Organization

Unit 3—Culture

Week #11

Introduce field study project: “How to Become a Windshield Geographer.” Students receive an assignment

overview and see a sample of what a good presentation might look like. Introduce surprise culture

comparison (toilets of the world!). HW and class discussion: Peter Menzel’s article “What’s for Dinner?”

Students analyze and evaluate the cultural differences seen in an activity taken from Peter Menzel’s book

Material World: A Global Family Portrait and from associated 12 posters. Through this activity and related

questions, students compare the mentifacts, artifacts, and sociofacts from various places around the world.

Make notes on subtypes of culture and on pop versus folk culture.

Week #12

Give vocabulary quiz on chapters 2, 8, 9, and 10 from de Blij and chapters 4 and 5 from Rubenstein.

Administer free-response question asking students to define mentifacts, artifacts, and sociofacts and to give

examples of each from different parts of the world. Discuss popular, pop, and folk culture and examples.

Make notes on styles of music and different house types, and on the different types of diffusion and

examples. Show video segment from The Gods Must Be Crazy (to show stimulus diffusion; approximately

the first 30 minutes, from the beginning to the point where the tribesman leaves his family to return the

Coke bottle to its owner). Offer computer lab: “What’s in a Name?” Using various Web sites, students work

on nine different activities related to various aspects of cultures around the world.

At this point in our school calendar there is a four-and-a-half-day break to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Week #13

Show language video: Star Trek: The Next Generation (Episode 102). This video shows the relationship

of the importance of language to one’s culture and respective understanding. Discuss Star Trek episode

and related questions that students answered. Have groups give PowerPoint presentations of “How to Be a

Windshield Geographer.” Show video from The Power of Place series: “Ethnic Fragmentation in Canada”

(#25, on Vancouver and Montreal). Discuss video.

Week #14

Give computer lab: Internet activity using the Global Connections Web site. Students answer questions

related to a comparison of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Show video from The Power of Place: “Sacred

Space, Secular States?” (#17, on Jerusalem and Turkey). Discuss video. Vocabulary quiz on chapters 11, 12,

and 13 from de Blij, chapters 6 and 7 from Rubenstein, and chapters 5 and 6 from Knox. Introduce the

concept of medical geography.

Week #15

Work on computer lab. HGIA. In Lab Book, #3: “Tracking the AIDS Epidemic in the United States:

Diffusion through Space and Time.” Analyze gender roles. Introduce activity related to students’ roles as

men and women, based on a typical 24 hours. Discuss single female households and a “woman’s place” in

society. Give Unit 3 exam. Show video: A Hot Dog Program (this video is a great, fun way to show students

how the cultural landscape of a place is shaped by what people eat on a day-to-day basis). Discuss whether

or not Danbury has eating establishments similar to those seen in the video.

Winter Break falls at this point in our school calendar. Students are required to read the first 28 pages

of Dominique Lapierre’s book City of Joy over the break. We discuss what they have read after we come

back from vacation.

Chapter 3

Unit 4—Agriculture and Rural Land Use

Week #16

Introduce Unit 4. Students come up with a list of their favorite foods and answer the following questions:

Where are they produced? How do these foods reach the consumer? What factors influence our production

and consumption of food? HGIA. In Lab Book, #8: “Food for Thought: The Globalization of Agriculture.”

Give examples from local, national, and global scales. Make notes on the importance of corn production.

Students do an agricultural analysis using Goode’s Atlas.

Week #17

Discuss City of Joy. Give vocabulary quiz on chapters 18, 19, and 20 from de Blij, chapter 10 from

Rubenstein, and chapter 8 from Knox. Students read excerpts from Eric Schlosser’s book Fast Food Nation.

Discuss the impact of the globalization of fast food. Discuss the significance of obesity in America. Give

notes on and discuss food supply flow chart in chapter 8 (page 350) in Knox. What are the elements that go

into the agricultural process of seed to consumer?

Week #18

Give notes and introduce group activity related to von Thünen’s isolated state, economic, and locational

rent. Discuss and give examples of what a commodity chain is. Discuss the impact of the three agricultural

revolutions throughout history. Using the Internet, have students compare the process of producing rice—

specifically, the process in Indonesia vs. the process in California.

Week #19

Show video and give questions from The Power of Place: “Small Farms, Big Cities” (#12, on Japan and

Tokyo). Using the Internet, have students research Green Revolution and biotechnology, including cross

breeding, genetically engineered crops, and U.S. agricultural policy and its impact on the rest of the world.

Students complete this activity on the Green Revolution and biotechnology by answering the free-response

question related to this topic taken from the 2001 AP Human Geography Exam. Their response to this

question counts toward their midterm exam grade. Midterms are held during Week #20.

Week #20

Midterm Exams. Each exam period is two hours long. The first exam period is from 7:20 a.m. to 9:20 a.m.

The second exam period is from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Students are dismissed at 11:30 a.m. all week.

Because the timing of the midterm exam falls at a point in the course where a unit exam would be called

for, a large percentage of the midterm includes questions related to agriculture and rural land use. The

midterm is created to model the format of the AP Exam. Students answer 75 multiple-choice questions

and three free-response questions selected from a list of 10, allowing them to answer questions from the

first four units with which they may feel more comfortable. The free-response questions are taken from

previous AP Exams and from those I have written myself.

Unit 5—Political Organization of Space

Week #21

Assign HGIA. In Lab Book, introduce #13: “The Rise of Nationalism and the Fall of Yugoslavia: Nations,

States, and Nation-States.” This lab is a paper lab and is due on the day of the unit exam. Students receive

handouts of the reading and associated questions related to theories of geopolitics. This is discussed later

in the unit. Discuss what boundary changes students think will take place in the next 10 years. Make notes

of key terms related to the nature and significance of political boundaries. Give out notes and worksheet

related to the concepts of centrifugal and centripetal forces. HW: Answer related questions. Discuss and

give examples.

Course Organization

Week #22

Computer lab: Use the Internet to explore “How Is Citizenship Assigned?” Give notes on and discuss

international conflict over shared natural resources, focusing on international bodies of fresh water.

Discuss the future of the nation-state in the twenty-first century. Give vocabulary quiz on chapter 14 from

de Blij and chapter 8 from Rubenstein. Administer free-response question taken from the 2001 AP Exam.

Introduce Goode’s Atlas activity. Look at examples of state morphology. Analyze impacts.

Week #23

Discuss concepts of shatter belts, irredentism, and chokepoints, having students look at current and past

examples. Students take their first of four political geography quizzes that require them to locate countries

and know their capital cities. Give countries and capitals quiz on Europe. Discuss compulsory voting,

formation of election districts, and gerrymandering. ARGUS, Activity F: Land division—based on cultural

and land division systems—Westward migration.

Week #24

Give countries and capitals quiz on Africa and Southwest Asia. Read and discuss Rome BC versus Rome

AD article. This article, which appeared in the Guardian (9/18/02), takes a look at whether or not modern-

day American civilization can be compared to that of ancient Rome. Students write about whether that

comparison is valid. Give class time to work on research project on the topic “How Long Should We Stay in

Iraq? Political and Electoral Impact.”

Week #25

Give countries and capitals quiz on Asia. Discuss status of research project. Highlight breakdown of

political map of Europe from World War I to the present. Discuss future historical significance of Congress

of Vienna and Berlin Conference of 1884-85. Discuss role of United Nations, League of Nations, and

their perceived effectiveness throughout history. Give vocabulary quiz on chapters 15, 16, and 17 from de

Blij and chapter 9 from Knox. Show video from Frontline: “Arab and Jew in the Promised Land.” Assign

analysis of video for extra credit.

Week #26

Discuss video related to Arab/Israeli conflict. Have students present research projects; engage class

discussion on findings. Danbury News-Times is invited to do a story based on this class discussion. Give

countries and capitals quiz on the Americas. Discuss geopolitics readings and questions. Analyze how

geopolitics could be addressed as a free-response question on the AP Exam. Give Unit 5 exam.

Unit 6—Urban Land Use

Week #27

Show Robert Crumb slides: students analyze slides made from a poster of a 1970s comic strip depicting

the evolution of the American city. Give introductory notes on why we should study cities. Introduce

urbanization, relating it to the topics of site and situation and why students think Danbury is located where

it is. Make notes and show transparencies on what the functions of cities are. Students go through the

process of answering questions in the book Places Rated Almanac to determine where they would rather

live and to discover how their findings relate to their personal preferences and previous mindset.

Week #28

Discuss importance of Greece and Rome to city building. Give notes on the rates of growth in urbanization

and the percent of the world’s population that is urban. Give notes and examples of primate cities and the

rank size rule. Students answer the 2003 AP Exam free-response question that is related to Argentina and

Chapter 3

Germany and show how the topics just covered could be used as part of a proper response. Show video and

associated questions from the We Built This City series. Students compare the evolution of the three cities

featured in the series: New York, London, and Paris.

Week #29

Give notes, show transparencies, and lead discussion related to Central Place Theory. Students look at a

Lights of North America map and discuss application and validity of theory. Students discuss the general

patterns and flaws related to Central Place Theory and then answer a free-response question related to this

theory that could be on the AP Exam. Computer Lab. HGIA. In Lab Book, #9: “Take Me Out to the Ball

Game: Market Areas and Urban Hierarchy.” Give vocabulary quiz on all de Blij chapters that are related to

urban land use.

Week #30

Introduce computer lab from HGIA, Lab Book, #10: “Reading the Urban Landscape: Census Data and

Field Observation.” Lead walking tour of Danbury. Make notes related to urban models and how they

are exhibited in different areas from around the world. Show video from The Power of Place: “Cityscapes,

Suburban Sprawl” (#24, on Boston and Chicago). Discuss significance of King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

Discuss and give notes on urban sprawl: What is urban sprawl? Why were suburbs created? Are they really

preferable to so-called urban living?

Week #31

Read and discuss the articles about urban sprawl: “Home from Nowhere” and “Car-Less in New York.”

Give vocabulary quiz on all chapters from Rubenstein and Knox related to urban land use. Make notes

on accessibility, bid-rent, urban structure model. Give notes and introduce maps on planning and zoning

regulations and purpose. Pay specific attention to local regulations. Give Unit 6 exam.

Unit 7—Economics and Industrialization

Week #32

Students receive handouts and related instructions for take-home quizzes and exams. Discuss when

AP Exam reviews will occur. I typically hold three Saturday morning reviews. During school, hold review

sessions during the week of the administration of the Connecticut Academic Performance Test. After-

school reviews begin two to two-and-a-half weeks before the exam for two to three days a week and,

based on student comfort level and my after-school schedule and responsibilities, continue until the day

before the exam. Review sessions are held in the evening if there is enough interest. Assign The U.S. Role

in a Changing World reading and lead discussion related to U.S. impact on global economy. Concentrate

on NAFTA, maquiladoras, and the EU. Give notes on developmental principles; haves and have-nots;

Rostow’s stages of development. Introduce Goode’s Atlas group activity related to levels of development

(this assignment, Lesson 5, is described in detail below). Take-home exam is due on de Blij chapters and

chapter 9 in Rubenstein.

At this point in the school calendar, students have a week off for Spring Break.

Week #33

Give notes and examples related to David Ricardo and comparative and absolute advantage. Give notes

on economic and industrialization models. Discuss Weber’s Least Cost Theory and location of industry,

Wallerstein’s world systems/core and Periphery, and Reilly’s Law of Retail Gravitation. Explore the impact

of growth on China and India, including analysis of current articles from National Geographic and the New

York Times. Show video from The Power of Place: “The Booming Maritime Edge” (#10, on Guangdong and

Course Organization

Taiwan). Give notes on “Where in the World is Wal-Mart?” (Frontline episode) and on the changing labor

force in the United States. Highlight the impact of tourism on the environment and economy of an area.

Students go through the process of answering the related free-response question from the 2003 AP Exam.

Take-home exam is due on de Blij chapters, chapter 11 from Rubenstein, and chapter 7 from Knox.

Weeks #34 and #35

Conduct in-class AP Exam Review.

Wednesday, May 5

AP Exam—Morning Session!

Monday, May 10

Begin Independent Study (this assignment, Lesson 6, is described in detail below).

Monday, May 24

Take field trip: walking tour of New York City.

After the AP Exam

After students have taken the AP Exam and, depending on how long your school year lasts (in Danbury we

are typically in school until June 15), teachers can do a number of different activities with their students.

As part of my efforts to replicate a typical university course for my students, I have them work on an

independent study program, which I have found to be very effective. This two-pronged assignment is

described in detail below, along with specific instructions that ask students to write a three-page review of

a book taken from a list I provide. Students must also complete a PowerPoint presentation. If you have more

or less time than I do after the exam, you can easily modify this assignment to fit your needs.

Teaching Strategies

Class Initiation

As an initiation to each class, I have found that a brief, five- to seven-minute discussion on a current event

topic that has some geographic relevance is a very effective way to allow students to experience my course

mantra of “geography is everything and everything is geography.” For example, I use articles from National

Geographic or Smithsonian magazines for discussion. Likewise, I encourage students to read the New York

Times and watch CNN, MSNBC, PBS, and FOX News, because I bring in topics from those sources as well.

As the year goes on, students find their own sources for discussion, such as these resources’ Web sites or

other publications and news programs. Finally, local sources of news like our daily newspaper also create

avenues for discussion.

Examples of topics I have used for class initiations range anywhere from discussing a 60 Minutes

segment on a Muslim comic from the United Kingdom who does her stand-up routine dressed in a

traditional hijab, to a local story in the Danbury News Times about the changing of zoning laws to account

for the city’s influx of immigrants and the associated illegal housing that has sprung up, to an article in

the May 2004 issue of National Geographic that deals with the evolution of the city of Hanoi over the last

100 years due to the imprints made on the city by the Vietnamese, French colonialism, and American

forces during the Vietnam War.

Chapter 3

Field Trips

During my four years of teaching AP Human Geography, I have taken students on two field trips per

year. One trip is a field study, where students go on a walking tour of Danbury. On this walk, the students

examine two distinct areas, the CBD and a mixed use/residential area, where zoning laws have had a major

effect on their use over the last 40 years. The other trip is a post-AP Exam excursion to New York City,

where students are asked to study land use and the infrastructure related to the evolution of New York City,

a Tier 1 world city.

Lecture versus Student Presentations

Regarding the breakdown of lecture versus student presentations in the AP Human Geography classroom,

I feel that even though this is an introductory-level university course, the amount of lecture time should

be limited in favor of activities that will engage students in a continual analysis of spatial relationships.

Therefore, I lecture and/or have students take notes approximately 35 percent of the time; the rest of the

class time is reserved for computer labs, discussions, debates, videos, field studies, and group work.

With regard to group work, I have found this method to be very effective with my students.

Specifically, atlases like The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World, The Penguin Atlas of Food, and Goode’s

Atlas (which every AP Human Geography classroom should have) can be great resources for the creation of

group and collaborative learning activities. In one activity, I ask students to use Goode’s Atlas and both of

the Penguin atlases to determine the level of development of 12 selected countries.

AP Exam Preparation

To help prepare my students for the AP Exam, almost every quiz assessment and exam that I give them

has some form of free-response question presented in the same format as those on the AP Exam. Likewise,

unit exams are comprehensive in nature, meaning they include not only questions from the section of the

course we have most recently covered but also questions from earlier parts of the course.

With regard to how much time I allot for review before the AP Exam, it is important when planning

my units that I take into consideration the constant reality of New England weather and the loss of class

time to snow days. I try to allow for at least two weeks of review time after factoring in the loss of five to

six school days due to inclement winter weather. The year this syllabus was taught I stayed mostly on track,

while the year before I lucked out because the AP Exam was scheduled as the last exam on the last day of

testing, giving us extra time. So even though there were many more snow days the year this syllabus was

taught, I still had approximately two weeks of in-class review time after finishing formal lessons on content.

Before going into review mode, I ask my students to outline the major vocabulary terms from each

unit along with all the models and theories we have covered throughout the year so that we can specifically

address these points during review sessions. Review sessions are typically held after school and on Saturday

mornings from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. If students specifically request it, review sessions can also be held

in the evening. I have found over the four years of teaching this course that by the time students get to 48

hours before the exam, they are ready and tend to lack focus during the final review sessions. At that point,

one might consider having the remaining review sessions after school for those students who really want

it and keeping the class atmosphere a bit less formal. Obviously, this decision must be made by individual

teachers based on their own class dynamics.

Lab Component

If at all possible, the use of technology in the AP Human Geography classroom is highly recommended.

It is clear from the activities described in this syllabus that I include many varied uses of technology in my

Course Organization

classroom. Typically, the juniors and seniors who enroll in AP Human Geography at Danbury High School

have a great deal of technological skill before they enter the class—they have a high comfort level with

Microsoft’s PowerPoint, Word, and Excel, and other widely used programs. My school’s state-of-the-art

computer network allows students to access their teachers’ Web sites and save work to designated folders,

making the students and teachers’ academic life much less stressful.

Computer lab time is set up in relation to how the HGIA and Internet labs fall in the weekly

breakdown of the course. Based on how the labs work in my school and their popularity with other

teachers, I typically have to sign up for lab time approximately one month in advance. With regard to the

relative number of computer labs in relation to classroom-centered labs, 65 percent of my course’s labs

originate in the computer lab and 35 percent originate in the classroom. That said, students’ access to the

HGIA software as well as to Internet sites may make this percentage fluctuate over time. Students usually

work on in-class labs in groups of three to four, whereas labs completed using HGIA and the Internet are

done individually.

Due to time constraints, the completion of HGIA and labs related to the use of the Internet can

sometimes become problematic. Therefore, I have obtained a site license for the HGIA software that allows

our technology department to include a link to the program that can be accessed when each of my students

logs onto our computer network, which can be done outside of class. I have also purchased five copies of

the HGIA lab book and its accompanying CD-ROM, which students can use at home. With regard to lab

assignments that use the Internet, at the beginning of the year students receive a list of all the Web sites

they will be accessing throughout the course.

Student Evaluation

Grades are calculated on a percentage system:

Class participation in discussions, debates, in-class

assignments, being prepared for class 7%

Computer labs 11%

Quizzes and AP student companion questions 25%

Journals (free-response writing) 17%

Exams and projects 40%

The format of unit tests and the midterm exam is modeled on the AP Human Geography Exam.

Students are given a maximum of 20 minutes to answer the one free-response question required on the

exam when it is taken during a 45-minute class period. They are typically given more than one free-

response question from which to choose. During a normal 45-minute class period, students can begin the

multiple-choice section of the exam (usually 50 to 60 questions) as soon as they are done with the free-

response question. For the midterm exam, they are given one hour to answer 75 multiple-choice questions

and one hour to answer 3 free-response questions. For all exams, the multiple-choice and free-response

questions are both weighted at 50 percent, which mimics the scoring process of the AP Exam. Finally,

whenever students are asked to answer a free-response question, they are required to turn in an outline

before they sit for the quiz or exam. In this way students grow used to creating an outline before beginning

to write their answer. This is a practice that I hope will be automatic by the time they take the AP Exam in

May.

Chapter 3

Teacher Resources

Textbooks

de Blij, H. J., and Alexander B. Murphy. Human Geography: Culture, Society, and Space. 7th ed. New York:

John Wiley, 2003.

Make sure students use the associated AP student companion.

My students read chapters or sections in the following textbooks, depending on the material covered.

Fellmann, Jerome D., Arthur Getis, and Judith Getis. Human Geography. 7th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill,

2003.

Jordan-Bychkov, Terry G., and Mona Domosh. The Human Mosaic: A Thematic Introduction to Cultural

Geography. 9th ed. New York: W. H. Freeman, 2003.

Knox, Paul L., and Sallie A. Marston. Places and Regions in Global Context: Human Geography. 3rd ed.

Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2004.

Rubenstein, James M. The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography. 8th ed. Upper Saddle

River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2004.

Supplemental Textbooks and Lab Books

Kuby, Michael, John Harner, and Patricia Gober. Human Geography in Action. 3rd ed. New York: John

Wiley, 2004. Book and CD-ROM.

Pearce, Margaret W. Exploring Human Geography with Maps. New York: W. H. Freeman, 2003.

Videos

Frontline series. PBS. Various years.

Titles in this series can be found at www.pbs.org.

The Gods Must Be Crazy. CBS/FOX Video, 1990. Video.

A Hot Dog Program. PBS Home Video, 1996.

For more information about this video, go to www.pbs.org.

The Power of Place: Geography for the 21st Century series. Annenberg/CPB, 2003.

For more information about this 26-video series and its accompanying teacher’s guide, go to www.

learner.org.

Star Trek: The Next Generation. Episode 102. Darmok, 1987. Video.

We Built This City series. Discovery Channel, 2003.

For more information about this series on New York, London, and Paris, go to www.discovery.com.

“World in the Balance,” shown on NOVA. PBS, 2004.

For more information about this video, go to www.pbs.org.

Course Organization

Atlases

Goodall, Brian. The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography. New York: Penguin Books, 1987.

Hudson, John C., ed. Goode’s World Atlas. 20th ed. N.p.: Rand McNally, 2000.

This atlas is a must for any teacher of AP Human Geography.

Millstone, Erik, and Tim Lang. The Penguin Atlas of Food: Who Eats What, Where, and Why? New York:

Penguin Books, 2003.

Seager, Joni. The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World. 3rd ed. New York: Penguin Books, 2003.

Software

ARGUS: Activities and Readings and the Geography of the United States. Washington, D.C.: Association of

American Geographers, 1999. Book and CD-ROM.

Books and Journals

Alagona, Peter S., and Meredith Marsh. How to Prepare for the AP Exam in Human Geography. Hauppauge,

N.Y.: Barron’s, 2003.

Be very careful when using this resource. While the multiple-choice questions and unit reviews are

definitely appropriate, the strategies for answering the free-response questions on the AP Human

Geography Exam are not in line with what the Readers look for when they score the AP Exam.

American Geographical Society. FOCUS on Geography. Published quarterly.

Becker, Jasper. “China’s Growing Pains: More Money, More Stuff, More Problems, Any Solutions?”

National Geographic 205, no. 3 (March 2004): 68–95.

Brunn, Stanley D., Jack F. Williams, and Donald J. Zeigler, eds. Cities of the World: World Regional Urban

Development. 3rd ed. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003.

Clemmons, Joan, and Tom L. McKnight. Teacher’s Guide: AP Human Geography. New York: College

Entrance Examination Board, 1999.

Crumb, Robert. “A Short History of America.” Reprint. Amherst, Mass.: Denis Kitchen, 1991. Poster

This is available from the publisher’s Web site, deniskitchen.com (click on Go Shopping in Our Store,

then click on the Posters & Signs button and scroll down).

Davis, Kenneth C. Don’t Know Much about Geography: Everything You Need to Know about the World but

Never Learned. New York: William Morrow, 1992.

Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. New York: W. W. Norton, 1999.

This book is one of the choices on my summer reading list.

Foner, Eric. Who Owns History? Rethinking the Past in a Changing World. New York: Hill & Wang, 2002.

Friedman, Thomas L. The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization. Rev. ed. New York:

Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2000.

Friedman, Thomas L. Longitudes and Attitudes: The World in the Age of Terrorism. New York: Anchor

Books, 2003.

Chapter 3

Garreau, Joel. Edge City: Life on the New Frontier. New York: Doubleday, 1991.

Hanson, Susan, ed. Ten Geographic Ideas That Changed the World. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University

Press, 1997.

This is a very good book, but it is also very difficult to find because it is currently out of print.

Heatwole, Charles A. “Car-Less in New York.” American Association of Geography annual meeting

publication (Fall 2001).

Hebert, Laura. “Do Maps Create or Represent Reality?” Geography. geography.about.com/library/misc/

ucmaps.htm.

To find this article, type its title in the search box. It will appear about halfway down on the page that

comes up.

Herzog, Brad. States of Mind: A Search for Faith, Hope, Inspiration, Harmony, Unity, Friendship, Love,

Pride, Wisdom, Honor, Comfort, Joy, Bliss, Freedom, Justice, Glory, Triumph, and Truth or Consequences

in America. Winston-Salem, N.C.: John F. Blair, 1999.

“Home from Nowhere.” The Atlantic Monthly 278, no. 3 (September 1992): 43–66.

Jackson, Kenneth T. Crabgrass Frontier. The Suburbanization of the United States. New York: Oxford

University Press, 1985.

Kunstler, James Howard. The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Fall of America’s Man-Made Landscape.

New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993.

Lamb, David. “Hanoi.” National Geographic 205, no. 5 (May 2004): 80–97.

Lapierre, Dominique. City of Joy. New York: Warner Books, 1992.

Lockwood, Catherine, ed. Focus on Human Geography. Jacksonville, Ala.: National Council for Geographic

Education, 2004.

Menzel, Peter. Material World: A Global Family Portrait. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1994.

Menzel, Peter. “What’s for Dinner?” Smithsonian (January 2002): 70–75.

Monmonier, Mark. How to Lie with Maps. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991.

National Council for Geographic Education. The Journal of Geography 99, no. 2/3 (May–August 2000).

On a consistent basis teachers can find information in this journal that can be used in the AP Human

Geography classroom. This special issue provides a good, broad overview of the different units of

study covered in the AP Human Geography course. It is a must read for any new teacher of the

course.

Places Rated Almanac: Your Guide to Finding the Best Places to Live in America. Chicago: Rand McNally.

Published annually.

Pomfret, John. “China Losing ‘War’ on Births: Uneven Enforcement Undermines One-Child Policy.”

Washington Post Foreign Service, May 3, 2000, A01. www.unlv.edu/faculty/jewett/China_losing_

population_war.html.

Course Organization

Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001.

Sherer, Thomas E., Jr. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Geography. New York: Alpha Books, 1997.

The U.S. Role in a Changing World. 2nd ed. The Choices Program series. Providence, R.I.: Choices for the

21st Century Education Program, Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University, 2004.

Zakaria, Fareed. The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad. New York: W. W.

Norton, 2003.

Professional Organizations

Being a member of the following professional organizations has had a significant positive influence on my

teaching of AP Human Geography. Membership in these organizations provides professional development

opportunities for AP Human Geography teachers. It is extremely valuable to network with members of the

AP Human Geography Development Committee and other AP Human Geography teachers.

The Connecticut Geographic Alliance (CGA). www.ctgeoalliance.org.

National Council for Geographic Education. www.ncge.org.

Every AP Human Geography teacher should become a member of this organization. NCGE is

committed to helping AP Human Geography teachers become as proficient as possible at teaching the

course.

Web Sites

About Geography

www.geography.about.com/

American Cities Atlas Project

http://130.166.124.2/library.html

The Amish and Plain People

www.800padutch.com/amish.shtml

Amsterdam

www.bmz.amsterdam.nl/adam/index_e.html

AP Central

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com

The Aral Sea: Interactive Map

http://visearth.ucsd.edu/VisE_Int/aralsea/aral_ismap.html

Ask Asia

www.askasia.org/teachers/lessons/

Australian Idiom and Slang

http://cooperfamily.ourfamily.com/idiom.htm

Chapter 3

Brit-Speak

http://esl.about.com/library/vocabulary/blbritam.htm?once=true&terms=british-american

CIA. The World Factbook

http://cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html

This URL will take you to the most current World Factbook. Teachers can also access prior editions

of the World Factbook for use in an activity in which students analyze/correlate the changes in data

and impact over time (e.g., the correlation between TFR and the literacy rates of women throughout

the world).

Cities and Agglomerations

www.citypopulation.de/cities.html

Citizenship Requirements

www.dss.mil

Classical Geopolitics

www.nwc.navy.mil/press/Review/1999/autumn/art3-a99.htm

Comparative Religions

www.ias.berkeley.edu/orias/slideshow/Slide.htm

Countries A to Z

www.atlapedia.com/online/country_index.htm

Cultural Landscapes around the World

www.greatmirror.com

Demographic Transition Model

www.uwmc.uwc.edu/geography/Demotrans/demtran.htm

European Union

http://europa.eu.int/index_en.htm

German Names

www-lib.iupui.edu/kade/nameword/apend-a.html

Global Connections

www.pbs.org/wghb/globalconnections

Global Connections: The Middle East (Judaism, Christianity, Islam)

www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/mideast/index.html

Greatest Cities (a searchable site)

www.greatestcities.com/

Green Revolution

www.chs.edu.sg/~nancy/GreenQ_files/frame.htm

Course Organization

Las Vegas

www.nmhu.edu/region/lvhist.htm

www.nevadaindex.com/3lvhistory.htm

http://lasvegas.about.com/od/factshistory/

Madrid: History

www.eurotravelling.net/spain/madrid/madrid_history.htm

MapQuest

www.mapquest.com

Moscow

http://sunsite.cs.msu.su/moscow/history.html

Multilingual Newspaper Translator

www.humanitas-international.org/newstran/index.html

This is a really good site for looking at foreign newspapers that can then be translated into English.

Museum of the City of New York

www.mcny.org/

National Center for Health Statistics

www.cdc.gov/nchs/

National Geographic

www.nationalgeographic.com/

New York City: The Five Points Site (urban archaeology)

http://r2.gsa.gov/fivept/fphome.htm

New York City: Immigration

www.cis.yale.edu/amstud/inforev/riis/title.html

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

www.nato.int/

Population and Demography

http://demography.anu.edu.au/VirtualLibrary/CensusData.html

Population Reference Bureau

www.prb.org

Pop vs. Soda

www.popvssoda.com/

Post-Green Revolution

www.icrisat.org

Slanguage

www.slanguage.com

Chapter 3

Time and Its Impact on Culture

www.nelson-atkins.org/art/PastExhibitions/tempusfugit/default.htm

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division (world population, world

urbanization)

www.un.org/esa/population/unpop.htm

UN Development Programme. Human Development Reports

http://hdr.undp.org/reports/default.cfm

UN FAO. Food and Agriculture Organization

www.fao.org

UN High Commission for Refugees (statistics)

www.unhcr.org

University of Michigan Documents Center. Statistical Resources on the Web: Foreign Government Data

Sources

www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/stforeig.html

University of Virginia. Cultural Maps (in American Studies)

http://xroads.Virginia.edu/~MAP/map_hp.html

Urban Studies

http://library.gc.cuny.edu/RESEARCH/urban.asp

U.S. Census Bureau. American FactFinder

http://factfinder.census.gov

I have made great use of this site when having students compile an analysis of the cultural landscape

of our local area.

U.S. Census Bureau. County and City Data Book

www.census.gov/statab/www/ccdb.html

U.S. Census Bureau. Foreign Trade Statistics

www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/

U.S. Census Bureau. International Data Base (IDB)

www.census.gov/ipc/www/idbnew.html

Students use this site to create and analyze population pyramids on American and international

levels. They develop hypotheses about the impact of population growth on both current and future

cultural, political, and economic concerns based on the data they find on this site.

U.S. Department of Agriculture. Major World Crop Areas and Climatic Profiles

www.usda.gov/oce/weather/pubs/other/MWCACP/

U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2002 Census of Agriculture

www.nass.usda.gov/Census_of_Agriculture/index.asp

U.S. Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics

www.bls.gov

Course Organization

U.S. State Department

www.state.gov

World Bank. Data & Statistics

www.worldbank.org/data

World Census Information

www.cyndislist.com/census2.htm

Student Activities

Lesson 1: Mental Map of Danbury

Your goal is to get some sense of what is where in your head regarding where you live.

On a piece of paper no larger than a poster board and no smaller than an 8.5 × 11 sheet of plain white

paper, draw your mental map of the Danbury area. Please make sure you include the Danbury Fair Mall,

your home address, and Danbury High School. Show as much detail as you can and remember to make

the map accurate in terms of what is important to you (e.g., the places you eat, work, walk, recreate, etc.).

Leave off things that are not important. Finally, make sure you include your own made-up symbols for

Landmarks (prominent points of interest), Pathways (streets, routes to . . .), Districts (downtown, WCSU),

Nodes (meeting places, centers where streets or pathways cross), and Edges (obvious breaks or boundaries

between areas).

I don’t want a road map, so don’t even look at one! Just draw what you know in your head.

When your map is complete, answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper:

1. Of the features you drew on your map, which do you personally consider to be the most

important? Why?

2. Are there blank areas on your map? If so, why? What do you guess are in these empty spaces?

3. How long have you lived in the Danbury area? How has this affected your mental map?

4. Do you have a car, a bicycle? Has this affected your mental map?

5. Take a look at a street (cartographic) map of the Danbury area. A good source of online city maps

is the MapQuest Web site (be aware that at times it can download a bit slowly). When you get

there:

• Click on the orange globe labeled Maps

• Find a street map by city

• Type in Danbury for the city and CT for the state

• Zoom in on the map until you get a street map of Danbury

6. How does your mental map compare to the street map? Consider differences in detail, distances,

directions, and so on.

7. What do the differences between the way you think of the Danbury area and the way it actually is

on a street (cartographic) map imply?

Chapter 3

Note for Teachers: When students are done drawing their maps and compiling their information,

I have them share their maps with the other students in the class. I ask them to determine whether or

not they could find their way around Danbury based on their fellow students’ maps. I also ask them to

determine what aspects of the cultural landscape can be observed from looking at each other’s maps. We

have a final discussion about the significance of the mapmaker with regard to the perspective one gets

from looking at a map. I am then able to introduce such topics as propaganda maps and perceptual and

vernacular regions, as well as different types of maps and the messages they are trying to send. This lesson

can be adapted to your own locality.

Lesson 2: Using the U.S. Census Bureau to Analyze Population Pyramids

Analyzing U.S. Population Pyramids: 1950–2050

Based on your knowledge of population pyramids, please analyze the U.S. pyramids and discuss what you

feel the implications and consequences to the country are based on your analysis and observation of the

data.

Impacts on:

• Families:

• Health Care:

• Elderly:

• Education:

• Social Services:

• Employment/Income:

Analyzing Census Data

Go to the U.S. Census Bureau’s International Data Base at www.census.gov/ipc/www/idbnew.html and click

on Population Pyramids. Pick one country whose population/age structure you would like to analyze over a

period of three years. For example, if you choose Sri Lanka, you would then need to look at a minimum of

three different years. Once you have found the information for those three years, print out your pyramids

and answer the same question for your chosen country as you did for the U.S. pyramids. The Web site will

allow you to look at these pyramids in different formats. Please feel free to choose whichever format is to

your liking. Helpful hint: When choosing years on the Web site, if you hold down the control key you can

see more than one pyramid.

Note for Teachers: Before having students go through this activity, they need to have a good

understanding of what a population pyramid represents (age and sex), how they can put one together,

and the geographic idea of dependency ratio. By going through the process of analyzing population

pyramids, students are able to interrelate knowledge from various units of the course, such as (but not

only) demographics, public policy and its ramifications on traditional culture, the status of women, levels

of development, and current and future impact of population growth on society. This interconnectedness

of geographical concepts is something AP Human Geography teachers should be consistently instilling in

their students—it is something that will definitely be addressed on the AP Exam.

Lesson 3: Population Growth and Female Literacy, 1993–2003

What follows is a lesson I have found to be very successful. It allows students to use the Internet to correlate

the relationship between literacy rates and total fertility rates throughout the world. This lesson also

provides students with a good example of the theme of interconnectedness of geographic themes that runs

through this course.

Course Organization

Collecting the Data

1. Rank the regions of the world of mostly underdeveloped and developing states (countries) that you

have found have seen their fertility rates decrease the most.

2. Select

one region for which to collect 2002 data.

3. Create a database with the following information for the states/countries of that region. Pick a

minimum of five countries for your region. Find information from the CIA’s 2002 World Factbook

on the Internet (www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/docs/gallery.html) or on my Intranet site

by clicking on World Factbook 2002. For 1992 data, please go to www.umsl.edu/services/govdocs/

wofact93/index.html.

(Round data off to one [1] decimal point)

State/Country 1992 2002 1992 2002 1992 2002

Total

Fertility

Total

Fertility

Female

Literacy

Female

Literacy

Male

Literacy

Per Capita

Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate GDP

Note for Teachers: Students are to use graph paper to create a scatter gram (plot) based on the 1992

fertility rates and female literacy. To determine if there is a relationship between two variables, data points

are displayed in a graph called scatter grams (plots). Scatter grams are two sets of data plotted as ordered

pairs in a coordinate plane to model real-life data. Through a scatter gram a correlation is determined as

positive, negative, or none at all. Predictions can also be made through scatter grams by using a best-fit

line. A best-fit line is a line that is drawn passing close to most of the data points. A best-fit line determines

whether the correlation is strong or weak.

To help students understand the idea of correlation and the associated use of scatter grams, teachers

will probably want to go through a sample activity with their students. A good sample activity is the

correlation between teenage motherhood and infant mortality rate activity, which can be found in ARGUS,

Activity T: “Domestic Tranquility, Correlating Map Patterns.” The concept handout that is reprinted on the

next page from the ARGUS software program can also be used to bring forth the idea of correlation to your

students.

Chapter 3

CONCEPT PAGE T1 – THE IDEA OF CORRELATION

There are several ways to see if maps have similar patterns. The easiest is by visual comparison—just look at

the maps and judge their similarity. This method has three problems. First, people may not all see the same

relationships. Second, a map maker can manipulate symbols to increase or decrease apparent similarity.

Third, accuracy seems to decline as map patterns get more complex.

Another way to compare maps is by graphic correlation. This method works with maps that use

quantitative symbols such as dots, isolines, graduated symbols, or choropleth shading. The procedure has

five steps:

Sample the maps. Find between 30 and 60 sample points or areas. Mark their locations on each map.

You could use a dot grid, as in Activity D. Or for maps of the United States, you can use the states.

Tabulate the values. Determine the value for each sample area on each map.

Set up the graph axes. Inspect your data and find the largest and smallest value for each variable.

Then choose some convenient values to label the major lines of the graph. Pick intervals so that the

values for every sub-area on the maps fit on the graph, and yet the graph can “spread” sub-areas

out for visual analysis. For example, suppose the elevation lines on the graph below were labeled

from 0 to 10,000 feet. The dots would all be packed in a small part of the graph, which would make

it hard to see relationships between variables.

Plot the values. Put a dot on the graph to show the value of each sub-area on both maps. For

example, the A on the graph below represents a location with 4700 feet of elevation and 320 houses

per square mile. When you have plotted the dots, count them to verify that you have graphed every

sub-area.

Interpret the graph. A line of dots stretching upwards to the right indicates a strong positive

correlation between the map patterns. A positive correlation means only that a high value

on one map is associated with a high value on the other (corn and hogs, for example). A line

sloping downward from left to right indicates a negative correlation—high values on one map are

associated with low values on the other (e.g., this example of elevation and population density).

Loose bands of dots indicate weak relationships. Finally, a random scatter of dots all over the graph

shows there is no relationship between the map patterns.

Elevation in feet

Houses per square mile

400

300

200

100

4000 5000 6000 7000 8000

weak,

positive

zero

correlation

strong,

negative

ARGUS: Activities and Readings in the Geography of the United States (Washington, D.C.: Association of American Geographers,

1999), T-7. Permission granted by Association of American Geographers, Washington, D.C.

Course Organization

Graphing the Data

1. Plot the 1992 points, using a symbol for 1992. After you have plotted the 1992 points, neatly write

the name of the country next to the point.

2. Plot the points for 2002, using a different symbol. Draw a neat arrow from the 1992 point for the

country to the 2002 point, showing the change; or draw two different colored lines that evenly

divide the points for both years. Choose the method you think is the most visually effective.

3. Create a title for your new scatter gram and develop a key, identifying your two different point

symbols for 1992 and 2002.

4. For what region did you collect data?

5. What was the average fertility rate for your region in 1992?

6. What was the average fertility rate for your region in 2002?

7. What was the change in the average fertility rate for your region from 1992 to 2002?

8. Mexico’s fertility rate dropped from 3.3 in 1992 to 2.6 in 2002. Were there any countries in your

region where the fertility rate declined as much as Mexico’s? If so, which countries?

9. Did any of the countries you collected data for increase in population? If so, which countries?

10. What patterns do you see in your data and the scatter gram you created?

11. Which data and patterns from the scatter gram surprised you?

12. How would you assess population growth in the region you researched? Is population growth

increasing or declining? Is your region in trouble? Why or why not?

13. In which countries of the region were females educated at a much lower rate than males?

14. In the countries with low levels of female literacy, do you think that was caused by the country

being too poor to educate girls or by something else? If so, what?

15. Based on your scatter gram, do you feel there still continues to be a relationship between female

literacy and population growth (fertility rates)? Explain.

Lesson 4: Planning Commission Observation Report

Please stay for at least the first hour of the meeting. From your observations of the Danbury Planning

Commission’s meeting, complete the following tasks.

1 Set the scene (e.g., How many people are on the commission? How is the room set up? How well is

the meeting attended?).

2. What do you think the purpose of this commission is?

3. Briefly describe the expectations you had before the meeting about what you were going to

observe.

4. Were you correct in your assumptions or was the meeting much different than you had

anticipated? Explain. (Answer this one after you have left.)

5. Pick one of the topics on the agenda and discuss the comments being brought forth by proponents

and detractors. Which side do you agree with based on their arguments and your own personal

knowledge? Give examples to support your argument.

Chapter 3

6. Finally, if you could make a suggestion to Danbury’s Planning Commission on any aspect of

urban planning or any specific concern related to the future growth of Danbury, what would that

suggestion be? (e.g., adding another mall, widening Route 37, keeping fast food restaurants out of

certain neighborhoods). Please give rational and logical reasons to support your point of view.

Alternate Observation Report Assignment

Pick one of the following areas of Danbury, go on a walking tour, and look at the planning and zoning

maps.

• Main Street

• Federal Road

• Newtown Road

• South Street

• Mill Plain Road

• Padanarum Road

Answer the following questions:

1. What do you think the neighborhood looked like 100 years ago?

2. Ask at least three storeowners why they have located their business there and if their original plan

for success has panned out. If their answer is yes, briefly summarize their plan. If no, ask them

why and tell me if you agree with their analysis.

3. What impact do you think the building of I-84 had on this neighborhood?

4. What impact do you think the building of the mall had on this neighborhood?

5. Do you think the neighborhood, as currently planned out, is being used to its utmost potential?

Likewise, are there any other neighborhoods in Danbury that need to be looked at with regard to

urban development of some sort? Please elaborate as to which neighborhoods and what you would

change.

6. Finally, if you could make a suggestion to Danbury’s Planning Commission on any aspect of

urban planning or any specific concern related to the future growth of Danbury, what would that

suggestion be? Examples of suggestions could include adding another mall, more parks and ball

fields, another golf course, more Dunkin Donuts; widening Route 37; keeping fast food restaurants

out of certain neighborhoods; zoning more residential areas or more commercial areas; and so on.

Please give rational and logical reasons to support your point of view.

Lesson 5: Goode’s Atlas Activity—Have and Have Nots

Take a look at the maps in Goode’s Atlas on pages 30 through 65 and the maps in the Penguin Atlas of Food.

Concentrate on the following countries:

• Democratic Republic of the Congo

• Mexico

• Nepal

• Brazil

Course Organization

• Ethiopia

• United States of America

• Egypt

• Japan

• Bolivia

• Australia

• Sweden

• China

Come up with three variables and associated data for each country that allow you to determine

whether or not you think the country is currently underdeveloped (3), developed (4), or developing (5).

Some of the variables you can zero in on to help you make a call on these countries are:

• Literacy rates

• Per capita GDP

• Population per physician

• Life expectancy

• Calorie supply

• Energy production versus energy consumption

• Rate of natural increase

• Percent urban

• Economic alliances

• Steel production

• Concentrations of manufacturing

• Exports and imports

Lesson 6: Post-AP Exam Independent Study

Final Exam Requirements: You need to complete the following two assignments as your final exam

responsibility: a PowerPoint presentation and a book review.

PowerPoint Presentation

You may do this part of your independent study in groups of two or as individuals. As of May 10, the media

center will be signed out for you during Periods 1 and 6. I will be there to make sure you are there during

class time. Please save your completed PowerPoint to a CD-ROM or send it to me as an e-mail attachment.

Your presentation can be related to any aspect of geography. It must have:

• at least 10 slides, with at least 7 of them having some form of graphic and/or image and some form

of text description;

• a one-page typed and double-spaced explanation of why you picked this topic (i.e., what is the topic’s

personal relevance?); and

Chapter 3

• a one-page typed and double-spaced explanation of the topic’s geographic relevance (e.g., why would

it be helpful for either a person who is not knowledgeable in geography, or someone who is, to view

this presentation?).

Presentation Due Date: No later than June 7.

Book Review

From the attached list, choose one book that you have not read. Please let me know which book you have

chosen, because I want only one person reviewing each book. Review the book based on the following

questions:

• What do you feel are the major points of view of this book? List and explain. Make sure you touch

on at least three main ideas. (one page typed and double-spaced)

• What is the significance of this book as it relates to geographical concepts and themes? (1 page typed

and double-spaced)

• Do you feel this book would be a worthwhile read for somebody else? Why or why not? Please give

examples from the book to support your reasoning. (one page typed and double-spaced)

Many of these books can be found in the school’s library as well as at the Danbury Public Library. If

there is a book not on this list that you feel includes some form of geographic relevance, please let me know

and we will determine if it is appropriate for this assignment.

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor Books, 1994.

Ambrose, Stephen E. Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the

American West. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.

Becker, Jasper. Hungry Ghosts: Mao’s Secret Famine. New York: Henry Holt, 1998.

Brown, Dee. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West. 30th anniversary ed.

New York: Henry Holt, 2001.

Carter, Jimmy. Talking Peace: A Vision for the Next Generation. New York: Penguin Books, 1993.

Cather, Willa. O Pioneers! New York: Barnes & Noble Classics, 2003.

Also published in 2002 by Vintage Books.

Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Old Saybrook, Conn.: Tantor Media, 2002.

Conroy, Pat. The Water Is Wide. New York: Bantam Books, 1987.

Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. New York: W. W. Norton, 1999.

Frazier, Charles. Cold Mountain. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1997.

Friedman, Thomas L. The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization. Rev. ed. New York:

Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2000.

Course Organization

Friedman, Thomas L. Longitudes and Attitudes: The World in the Age of Terrorism. New York: Anchor

Books, 2003.

Garreau, Joel. Edge City: Life on the New Frontier. New York: Anchor Books, 1992.

Garrett, Laurie. The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance. New York: Farrar,

Straus, Giroux, 1994.

Giardina, Denise. Storming Heaven. New York: W. W. Norton, 1987.

Gordon, Sheila. Waiting for the Rain. N.p.: Laurel Leaf, 1996.

Hamner, Earl. The Homecoming. Cutchogue, N.Y.: Buccaneer Books, 2000.

Hamner, Earl. Spencer’s Mountain. Cutchogue, N.Y.: Buccaneer Books, 1995.

Heat Moon, William Least. Blue Highways: A Journey into America. Boston: Little, Brown, 1982.

Herzog, Brad. States of Mind: A Search for Faith, Hope, Inspiration, Harmony, Unity, Friendship, Love,

Pride, Wisdom, Honor, Comfort, Joy, Bliss, Freedom, Justice, Glory, Triumph, and Truth or Consequences

in America. Winston-Salem, N.C.: John F. Blair, 1999.

Hugo, Victor. Les Miserables. New York: Pocket Books, 1998.

Jackson, Kenneth T. Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States. New York: Oxford

University Press, 1985.

Jenkins, Peter. Across China. N.p.: Scott Foresman, 1988.

Jenkins, Peter, and Barbara Jenkins. The Walk West: A Walk Across America 2. New York: William

Morrow, 1981.

Joubert, Elsa. Poppie Nongena. New York: Henry Holt, 1987.

Kuntsler, James Howard. The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Fall of America’s Man-Made Landscape.

New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993.

Kuralt, Charles. On the Road with Charles Kuralt. New York: Fawcett Books, 1995.

Laird, Elizabeth. Kiss the Dust. London: Puffin Books, 1994.

Lapierre, Dominique. City of Joy. New York: Warner Books, 1992.

Leopold, Aldo. Sand County Almanac. New York: Ballantine Books, 1986.

Lord, Bette Bao. Spring Moon. New York: HarperTorch, 1990.

Markandaya, Kamala. Nectar in a Sieve. New York: Signet Classic, 2002.

Marshall, Catherine. Christy. New York: Avon Books, 1976.

Chapter 3

Marshall, James Vance. Walkabout. N.p.: Sundance, 1984.

Muir, John. My First Summer in the Sierra. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998.

Ngor, Haing. Cambodian Odyssey. New York: Macmillan, 1987.

Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Signet Classic, 1990.

Paton, Alan. Cry, the Beloved Country: A Story of Comfort in Desolation. New York: Scribners, 1948, 2003.

Pillai, Thakazhi. Chemmeen. Columbia, Mo.: South Asia Books, 1999.

Renault, Mary. The Persian Boy. New York: Vintage Books, 1988.

Rolvaag, Ole Edvart. Giants of the Earth: A Saga of the Prairie. N.p.: Perennial Classics, 1999.

Rolvaag, Ole Edvart. Peder Victorious: A Tale of the Pioneers Twenty Years Later. Lincoln, Neb.: University

of Nebraska Press, 1982.

Rolvaag, Ole Edvart, and Trygve M. Ager. Their Fathers’ God. Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska Press,

1983.

Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001.

Scott, Willard, and Daniel Paisner. America Is My Neighborhood. Thorndike, Me.: Thorndike Press, 1988.

Singh, Khushwant. Train to Pakistan. N.p.: Grove Press, 1961. Reissued in 1990.

Sobel, Dava. Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His

Time. New York: Walker, 1995.

Steinbeck, John. Grapes of Wrath. N.p.: Arrow, 1990.

Steinbeck, John. Travels with Charley: In Search of America. New York: Penguin Books, 1980.

Stilgoe, John R. Outside Lies Magic: Regaining History and Awareness in Everyday Places. New York:

Walker, 1998.

Theroux, Paul. The Old Patagonian Express: By Train through the Americas. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,

1997.

Theroux, Paul. Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train through China. New York: Putnam’s, 1988.

Thom, James Alexander. Follow the River. New York: Ballantine Books, 1986.

Thom, James Alexander. From Sea to Shining Sea. New York: Ballantine Books, 1986.

Uris, Leon. Exodus. New York: Bantam Books, 1983.

Uris, Leon. The Haj. New York: Bantam Books, 1985.

Book Review Due Date: No later than June 7.

Course Organization

Sample Syllabus 4

Christopher Hall

Woods Cross High School

Woods Cross, Utah

School Proﬁle

School Location and Environment: Woods Cross High School is located in a northern suburb of Salt

Lake City, Utah. It is the smallest of seven high schools in an academically competitive district. The school

district’s boundaries run from the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains to the Great Salt Lake, encompassing

several very affluent neighborhoods and some areas of poverty. Most students, however, come from

middle-class homes.

Students register for eight classes and attend four of them on alternating days for 90-minute periods.

Woods Cross prides itself on offering a wide variety of AP courses despite the relatively small size of the

school; the social studies department offers seven AP options. Many AP courses are offered for only one

period, however, in order to accommodate a rich curriculum with a small faculty. Social studies courses

are very popular at the school and it is not uncommon for seniors to register for two or three AP courses,

all in the social studies department, during their senior year. Furthermore, a policy of open enrollment

and a commitment to smaller class sizes in AP courses has resulted in an increasing number of students

who have not been honor students in the past registering for AP courses. Our pedagogy increasingly moves

toward better serving those students who arrive in class with less experience and fewer skills.

Grades: 10–12

Type: Public high school

Total Enrollment: 1,253 students

Ethnic Diversity: The student population is 7 percent minority, primarily Hispanic/Latino and Pacific

Islander.

College Record: Seventy-five percent of the students go on to college.

Personal Philosophy

The majority of students will never become professional geographers, and so it is vital for the geography

teacher to give them a geographic perspective that will serve them throughout their diverse lives. The

most important thing is to help students learn to appreciate and enjoy the landscape and to work toward

improving and preserving the landscapes they appreciate. I believe that newspapers and news magazines

can and should be a geography teacher’s most important resources because they are what students will

likely spend their lives reading and analyzing. I try to teach my students to find the geography that is

present in their reading and to enjoy interpreting it. Finally, I hope to encourage the proliferation of

mapped material by helping students to see how much more powerfully some data can speak when it is

presented spatially rather than merely as text or in a graph.

Class Proﬁle

Woods Cross offers only one section of AP Human Geography each year, with an average enrollment

of about 18 students. Classes meet every other day for 90 minutes (on an A/B block schedule). It should

Chapter 3

be noted that Davis School District requires a full year of geography, usually taught as a world regional

geography course in the ninth grade, for graduation. Consequently, all students attending Woods Cross

have some background in geographic education when they register for high school.

Course Overview

AP Human Geography is a yearlong course that focuses on the distribution, processes, and effects of

human populations on the planet. Units of study include population, migration, culture, language,

religion, ethnicity, political geography, economic development, industry, agriculture, and urban geography.

Emphasis is placed on geographic models and their applications. Case studies from around the globe are

compared to the situation in both the United States and Utah. CD-ROM and Internet activities are used to

explore certain topics.

Course Objectives

• To introduce students to the systematic study of patterns and processes that have shaped human

understanding, use, and alteration of Earth’s surface

• To learn about and employ the methods of geographers, especially including observation,

mapmaking, data gathering and reporting, and technical writing

• To employ spatial concepts, geographic vocabulary, and landscape interpretation to a variety of

locations and situations around the globe and in local areas: Bountiful City, Davis County, and the

state of Utah

• To develop a geographic perspective with which to view the landscape and understand current

events

Texts and Study Materials

Hudson, John C. Goode’s World Atlas. 20th ed. N.p.: Rand McNally, 1999.

Kuby, Michael, John Harner, and Patricia Gober. Human Geography in Action. 1st ed. New York:

John Wiley, 1998.

The Power of Place: Geography for the 21st Century series. N.p.: Annenberg/CPB Project, 1996. Video.

The programs in this series are used for the video case studies. Annenberg/CPB renamed some of

these programs in their updated 2003 version of the series. However, teachers who use the 2003

version should have no trouble converting the programs named in this syllabus to the updated series.

Rubenstein, James M. The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography. 7

ed. Upper Saddle

River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2003.

Course Planner

Weeks 1–3: The Nature of Geography

Reading Assignments

• Rubenstein, Chapter 1: “Thinking Geographically”

• Kuby, Chapter 1: “True Maps, False Impressions”

• Rubenstein, Appendix, pp. 488-93

Course Organization

Unit Objectives and Activities

1. Define geography, human geography; explain the meaning of the spatial perspective.

2. Explain how geographers classify each of the following and provide examples of each:

a) distributions

b) locations

c) regions

3. Identify how each of the following plays a role in mapmaking:

a) simplification

b) categorization

c) symbolization

d) induction

4. Identify types of scale and projections used in mapmaking; identify advantages and disadvantages

of different projections.

5. List different types (models) of diffusion and provide examples/illustrations of each in the real

world.

6. Distinguish between different types of maps and mapped information (e.g., dot distribution,

choropleth, etc.) and provide explanations of strengths and weaknesses of each.

Weeks 4–6: Population

Reading Assignment

• Rubenstein, Chapter 2: “Population”

• Kuby, Chapter 7: “The Hidden Momentum of Population Growth”

Unit Objectives and Activities

1. Map major and emerging population concentrations and describe demographic characteristics

of each.

2. Consider the concepts of ecumene and non-ecumene and consider:

a) Why do most people live where they do?

b) For what reasons have humans historically avoided certain areas?

c) Where do nonexamples of each exist? Why?

3. Calculate arithmetic, agricultural, and physiological densities and describe the strengths and

weaknesses of each for demographic analysis.

4. Explain the elements of a population pyramid and distinguish between characteristic shapes.

5. Explain the demographic transition model:

a) What are its components?

b) Which countries does it describe in each phase?

c) Why might it not predict the future for developing countries today?

6. Give examples of pro- and antinatalist policies and their effects in example countries.

7. Define key demographic terms and identify regions in which high and low extreme examples of

each can be found.

Chapter 3

8. Concerning natural hazards, do the following:

a) list various types of natural hazards and disasters

b) map the areas most affected by them

c) compare with the map of population distribution

d) hypothesize the degree of danger in various regions

e) discuss methods that are taken to adapt to these dangers

Video Case Study

• Program 18-1, “Egypt: Population Overload”

Weeks 7–9: Movement

Reading Assignments

• Rubenstein, Chapter 3: “Migration”

• Kuby, Chapter 4: “Newton’s First Law of Migration”

Unit Objectives and Activities

1. Distinguish between and give characteristics of the following types of human movement:

a) circulation and migration

b) forced and voluntary migration

c) push and pull factors

2. Discuss the contributions of Ravenstein to the study of human movement and migration.

3. Use the gravity model to predict migration and evaluate its efficiency and usefulness.

4. Map specific examples of historic and contemporary forced migrations, explaining push and pull

factors associated with each.

5. Characterize a refugee and refugee populations.

6. Discuss the migration history of the United States through the following:

a) immigration history

b) immigration policy

c) historic and contemporary streams of migration

d) internal migration patterns

7. Explain how distance decay, intervening obstacles, and migration selectivity factors affect

migration and circulation patterns.

8. Correlate migration patterns to the demographic transition model.

Video Case Studies

• Program 14-1, “Mexico: Motive to Migrate”

• Program 19-1, “Ivory Coast: The Legacy of Colonialism”

Weeks 10–11: Culture

Reading Assignments

• Rubenstein, Chapter 4: “Folk and Popular Culture”

• Kuby, Chapter 2: “Cactus, Cowboys, and Coyotes: The Southwest Culture Region”

Course Organization

Unit Objectives and Activities

1. Define culture and cultural geography.

2. Compare and contrast the following aspects of folk and popular culture:

a) origins

b) methods of diffusion

c) culture regions

3. Examine specific examples of folk culture and regions.

4. Examine examples of specific popular cultural traits and discuss their diffusion.

5. Discuss ways in which cultural traits are affected by and affect the natural environment.

6. Discuss the role of racism and ethnocentrism in the understanding of the cultural landscape.

Video Case Study

• Program 26-1, “Indonesia: Tourist Invasion”

Weeks 12–13: Geography of Language

Reading Assignment

• Rubenstein, Chapter 5: “Language”

Unit Objectives and Activities

1. Discuss the importance and role of language as an element of culture.

2. Explain how languages are classified and related.

3. Map the distribution of major language families worldwide.

4. Show the division of Europe into the following language groups and give specific examples from

major groups:

a) Germanic

b) Slavic

c) Romance

5. Describe the following characteristics of English:

a) origin and historical development

b) worldwide diffusion

c) spatial variation

d) role in cultural convergence

6. Explain the how, why, and where of language change.

7. Discuss the regional and local variety in language using the following terms:

a) slang

b) isogloss

c) accent

8. Explain how toponyms are derived and classified and give various examples.

Chapter 3

Video Case Study

• Program 10-1, “Quebec: An Island of French”

Weeks 14–16: Geography of Religion

Reading Assignment

• Rubenstein, Chapter 6: “Religion”

Unit Objectives and Activities

1. Identify the following characteristics of all major religions:

a) point of origin

b) method of diffusion

c) current distribution

d) landscape expression

2. Map the religious regions of the United States.

3. Discuss the major branches, their origins, and their current distributions for the following

religions:

a) Christianity

b) Islam

c) Buddhism

4. Distinguish between ethnic and universalizing religions:

a) holy sites

b) holy days

c) methods of diffusion

5. Describe ways in which the environment influences religion and ways in which religions affect the

natural environment.

6. Discuss various specific religious conflicts around the world in terms of the following:

a) religion versus politics

b) religion versus religion—interfaith conflicts

c) religion versus religion—intrafaith conflicts

Video Case Study

• Program 17-1, “Jerusalem, Sacred Space Under Siege”

Weeks 17–19: Ethnicity, Gender, and Geography

Reading Assignment

• Rubenstein, Chapter 7: “Ethnicity”

Unit Objectives and Activities

1. Describe the distribution of major ethnicities within the United States:

a) identify states/regions in which they are clustered

b) identify regions in which they are mostly absent

c) provide reasons for the present distribution

Course Organization

2. Examine case studies of ethnic conflicts from different regions.

3. Consider ways in which gender-related issues are expressed spatially, particularly:

a) economic roles and activity

b) health and reproduction

c) level of education

4. Discuss various nation-state configurations and illustrate them with examples:

a) nation-state

b) part-nation state

c) multinational state

d) stateless nation

Video Case Studies

• Program 9-1, “Boston: Ethnic Mosaic”

• Program 7-1, “Dagestan: Russia’s Southern Challenge”

• Program 20-2, “South Africa: This Is My Land”

Weeks 20–22: Political Geography

Reading Assignment

• Rubenstein, Chapter 8: “Political Geography”

Unit Objectives and Activities

Explain the concept of state by:

a) identifying necessary qualifications and characteristics

b) listing examples of states in various regions

c) describing quasi-states

2. Describe the problems of multinational states and stateless nations.

3. List advantages and disadvantages of different types of boundaries and provide real-world

examples:

a) natural/physical boundaries

b) cultural boundaries

c) geometric boundaries

4. List advantages and disadvantages of different shapes of states and provide examples.

5. Discuss the concepts of imperialism and colonialism and illustrate some of their consequences on

the contemporary political map.

6. Define irredentism and devolution and illustrate with examples.

7. Summarize the history of the United Nations and identify issues of current importance

regarding it.

Video Case Studies

• Program 25-1, “Laos: Isolated Heart”

• Program 3-2, “Slovakia: New Sovereignty”

Chapter 3

Weeks 23–25: Economic Development

Reading Assignments

• Rubenstein, Chapter 9: “Development”

• Kuby, Chapter 8: “From Rags to Riches: The Dimensions of Development”

Unit Objectives and Activities

1. Use examples of human welfare indicators to distinguish between relatively developed and less

developed countries.

2. Use examples of economic indicators to classify countries as less developed or relatively developed.

3. Draw the Brandt line on a world or regional map.

4. Compare and contrast different theories and models of economic development and the relationship

between less developed and relatively developed countries.

5. Provide examples of the different sectors of a country’s economy and explain the economic

relationship between them.

Video Case Study

• Program 18-2, “Oman: Looking Beyond Oil”

Weeks 26–28: Geography of Agriculture—Primary Economic Activities

Reading Assignments

• Rubenstein, Chapter 10: “Agriculture”

• Rubenstein, Chapter 14: “Key Issue 3”

Unit Objectives and Activities

1. Explain how agriculture originated and identify its various hearths.

2. Describe the evolution of agricultural practices from their first use until today.

a) Neolithic Revolution

b) Second Agricultural Revolution

c) Green Revolution and biotechnology

3. Consider how each of the following correlates with specific agricultural regions:

a) climate

b) terrain

c) culture

d) situation with regard to world markets

4. Describe and apply the von Thünen model to both small- and large-scale situations.

5. Identify the predominant agricultural practices associated with various regions of the world.

6. Use agricultural practice to differentiate between less developed and relatively developed countries.

7. Compare and contrast different types of rural landscapes and settlements:

a) linear villages

b) cluster villages

c) dispersed settlements

Course Organization

Video Case Studies

• Program 25-2, “Vietnam: Fertile Dreams”

• Program 16-2, “Chile: Pacific Rim Player”

• Program 12-1, “Northern Japan: Protecting the Harvest”

• Program 21-2, “Dikhatpura: Help through Irrigation”

Weeks 29–31: Geography of Industry—Secondary Economic Activities

Reading Assignments

• Rubenstein, Chapter 11: “Industry”

• Rubenstein, Chapter 14: “Key Issue 1”

• Rubenstein, Chapter 14: “Key Issue 2”

• Kuby, Chapter 6: “Help Wanted”

Unit Objectives and Activities

Explain the Industrial Revolution by:

a) describing its origin

b) describing its diffusion and current pattern of industrial regions

2. Map regional manufacturing zones in each continent and identify the following for each:

a) origin and resources

b) current strengths and/or problems

3. Compare and contrast preindustrial, industrial, and postindustrial life and landscape.

4. Describe how site and situation factors influence the location of manufacturing and give examples.

5. Discuss the problems created by or associated with industrialization in:

a) developed countries

b) developing countries

6. Make graphic models that describe the inputs and connections of various industries.

Video Case Studies

• Program 8-2, “Bratsk: The Legacy of Central Planning”

• Program 11-2, “U.S. Midwest: Spatial Innovations”

• Program 23-1, “Shanghai: Awakening the Giant”

Weeks 32–34: Urban Geography—Tertiary Economic Activities

Reading Assignments

• Rubenstein, Chapter 12: “Services”

• Rubenstein, Chapter 13: “Urban Patterns”

Chapter 3

Unit Objectives and Activities

1. Contrast European and North American cities:

a) Central business districts

b) Suburbs and suburban growth

2. Compare and contrast elements of the following urban models:

a) concentric zone

b) sector

c) multiple-nuclei

d) galactic city/edge cities

3. Describe the move of retail and industry to the suburbs.

4. Explain the growth of suburbs in terms of social, transportation, and economic changes.

5. Differentiate between three models of North American cities.

6. Compare and contrast spatial characteristics of cities in the following regions:

a) Latin America

b) Africa

c) Southeast Asia

7. List and evaluate the problems of the inner city.

8. Explain and illustrate important models dealing with the urban hierarchy:

a) central-place theory

b) rank-size rule and primate cities

Video Case Studies

• Program 16-1, “Sao Paulo: The Outer Rim”

• Program 9-2, “Chicago: Farming on the Edge”

• Program 12-2, “Tokyo: Anatomy of a Mega-City”

Weeks 35–36: Review

I review for the AP Exam by providing students with a copy of the Course Outline from the AP Human

Geography Course Description and asking them to define, illustrate, or comment on each item.

Teaching Strategies

I have structured my class around four main activities: (1) discussion of key terms and concepts,

(2) examination of case studies, (3) practice of key geographical skills, and (4) practice of written expression

via free-response questions. A typical day includes at least three of these activities (examples are given

below). For instance, a 90-minute period might consist of 30 minutes of classroom discussion focused on

new concepts covered in the previous reading assignment, 30 minutes of presentation of illustrative case

studies (video, teacher presentation, or readings from newspaper/magazine), and 30 minutes of practice

writing an answer to a free-response question and reviewing a scoring guideline that might be used to

grade it. The fourth main activity is the one I use most commonly—practice of key geographical skills.

Nearly every day I ask students to examine a map(s) or graphed or textual information and respond to it

using concepts like scale, region, location and place, or association and interconnection.

Course Organization

Homework in the form of a reading assignment and study guide is assigned daily. Video case studies

always include a pre-viewing focus activity and a debriefing activity. Class discussions (lectures) are

always accompanied by listening guides. For the reading of articles from newspapers or journals, I require

students to fill in a generic reader-response form or annotate a map.

Student Evaluation

Students’ grades are based on the completion of assignments and study guides (40 percent), organized

notebooks (10 percent), and exams (50 percent). Half of the exam grade is for multiple-choice questions and

the other half for free-response questions. Grades are assigned as indicated here:

B+ 87–89% C+ 74–79% D+ 57–59%

A 93–100% B 83–86% C 67–73% D 53–56%

A– 90–92% B– 80–82% C– 60–66% D– 50–52%

Teacher Resources

While The Cultural Landscape and Human Geography in Action are the primary textbooks for this course,

I often refer to other popular human geography textbooks for supplementary information and/or ideas.

I also use the 20th edition of Goode’s World Atlas.

I believe, however, that some of the best material for illustrating concepts and ideas can come from

newspapers. I subscribe to our local (county) newspaper, one of the major papers in Salt Lake City, and

the New York Times. I try to use examples from the local, state, and national levels whenever I can. I have

found that the New York Times is especially good at providing mapped and graphed information of interest

to geographers. Additionally, most of our in-class readings are taken from the Economist, a magazine that

is even organized by region! I value the articles because they are current, relevant, fairly easily understood

by students, and brief.

The best series of videos I have found is The Power of Place. Although organized for a world regional

course, the videos do a wonderful job of presenting case studies that illustrate concepts we deal with in

AP Human Geography. Students enjoy them and remember them better when they are accompanied by a

discussion or activity conducted in class.

I have little time (or need) to venture beyond these three major resources—newspapers, the Economist,

and The Power of Place video series. Still, the following Web sites are ones I use to find and make maps that

illustrate concepts; the sites also give students a chance to explore and learn from the information available

there.

• U.S. Census Bureau

www.census.gov/

• Digital Atlas of the United States

http://130.166.124.2/USpage1.html

• 1997 Agricultural Atlas of the United States

www.nass.usda.gov/census/census97/atlas97/

• nationalatlas.gov

www.nationalatlas.gov/

Chapter 3

Student Activities

Essential Skills Activity: Associations Among Phenomena

Required Resource

The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography, 7th ed.

• The map on page 285 is a choropleth map of the world depicting the percent of the labor force

engaged in agriculture.

• The map on page 318 is a choropleth map of the world depicting tractors per hectare.

• The map on page 291 is a choropleth map of the world depicting caloric intake.

Objective

Students will identify differences between

less developed and more developed countries

in terms of agricultural production and food

consumption.

Conducting the Activity

Ask students to consider three maps in their

textbook, read the captions, and respond to

questions about them. Sometimes I simply write

the prompt on the board, sometimes I use a

data projector connected to the computer, and

sometimes I hand it out on a sheet of paper.

Allow students time to work. Sometimes I ask

them to work in groups, other times alone. I

have found that varying the way the information

is presented to them and whether or not they

work in groups or alone adds an element of

variety to the class. Discuss the answers to the

questions together.

Essential Skills Activity: Interconnections

Required Resource

The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography, 7th ed.

• The map on page 27 illustrates the concept of space-time compression by contrasting the time it

took Columbus, Lindbergh, the Titanic, and the Apollo spacecraft to cross the Atlantic.

• The map on page 28 illustrates the network of Delta Airlines, which has a hub in Salt Lake City.

Objective

Students will practice the skill of characterizing and analyzing the changing interconnections among places

(see I.D.5 of the topic outline in the Course Description) and illustrate with a relevant example.

Associations Among Phenomena: Farmers and

Productivity

The maps on pages 285, 291, and 318 depict

information about farmers, food production, and

food consumption.

• How are the types of information portrayed in

the maps on pages 285 and 318 related? How

is development a part of understanding the

relationship between them?

• Describe the inverse relationship between the

information portrayed on the maps on pages 285

and 291. What does this say about the efficiency

of farmers in various regions?

• Can these maps be used to mark the boundary

between commercial and subsistence agriculture?

Course Organization

Conducting the Activity

Ask students to consider two maps in their

textbook, read the captions, and respond to

questions about them. Sometimes I simply

write the prompt on the board, sometimes

I use a data projector connected to the

computer, and sometimes I hand it out on a

sheet of paper. Allow students time to work.

Sometimes I ask them to work in groups,

other times alone. I have found that varying

the way the information is presented to them

and whether or not they work in groups

or alone adds an element of variety to the

class. Discuss the answers to the questions

together.

Cartographic Generalization: Subjectivity in Maps and Mapped Data

Required Resources

• Goode’s World Atlas, 20th ed.

• Several maps of the same place (e.g., satellite, transportation, land use)

• Human Geography in Action, 1st ed.

Objective

Students will understand how cartographers make important decisions when mapping information that

results from a series of forced generalizations. Maps that are good at showing one thing may do a poor job

of showing something else. No map is able to accurately portray everything about a place.

Activity

Assign students to read the section “Cartographic Communication” in Goode’s World Atlas (pages vi–viii).

They should be instructed to carefully define the terms simplification, classification, symbolization, and

induction. (I have students do this as homework the night before I conduct the activity.)

Begin a class discussion in which you define the term subjective and contrast it with the concept of

objectivity. Remind students that most people assume that maps and mapped data are objective, that they

have no point of view. Ask if they have held this belief in the past.

Continue your discussion by defining and illustrating, with actual maps, the concept of cartographic

generalization using the terms students defined from their reading. I use a simple map of land use in

Hong Kong contrasted with a satellite image of the region, but you can use any region for which you can

find suitable maps. Students are able to easily understand how the cartographer made decisions in terms of

what to show and how to show it as you review the terms together while viewing and discussing the maps.

As an assessment, I show a transportation map of Hong Kong and ask students to specifically identify what

the cartographer has done in each case (e.g., simplification, classification).

Conclusion/Extension

To conclude and/or extend the activity, have students complete Part II (Thematic Maps) of Chapter 1

(“True Maps, False Impressions”) in Human Geography in Action.

Changing Interconnections: Salt Lake City, Utah

The map on page 27 illustrates regions that become

connected over time.

• How does the drawing demonstrate a growing

connectedness? How has this connectedness

continued to grow?

• Consider the map that shows Salt Lake City on

page 28. Describe its connectedness today and

contrast it with that of 100 years ago and then 150

and 200 years ago.

• What changes has connectedness brought to Salt

Lake City?

Chapter 3

Folk and Popular Culture: Indonesia

Required Resource

Program 26-1, “Indonesia: Tourist Invasion” from video #26 in The Power of Place video series

Objective

Use this activity to help students understand the “battle” that is occurring across the world, but especially

in less developed countries, between folk and popular culture. At the conclusion of the video, students

should be able to illustrate the differences between the two and propose some ways in which each plays an

important role in a society. Additionally, students should be able to propose ways in which the two might

peacefully coexist.

Before Viewing the Video

Take a few minutes to locate Indonesia on a world map. Discuss its relative location, climate, and main

cultural characteristics. Let students share what they know, or the impressions they have, of the country.

Tell the class that as they watch the video, they should note any specific examples that they see of folk and

popular culture.

After Viewing the Video

Debrief by having students share responses. My experience is that they will have plenty. Then ask questions

to help them focus on the conflict between the two types of culture. Some suggestions include:

• Which type of culture, folk or popular, is growing the fastest?

• What explanation can you offer for this growth?

• What efforts are being made with regard to the other type of culture?

• What were the positive and negative effects of the expansion of one type of culture as the other

contracts?

• To what degree is a similar situation present in more developed countries like the United States?

Assessing the Activity

Use a free-response question that asks students to deal with the terms cultural convergence, folk culture, and

popular culture. They should be able to discuss the terms and describe current issues surrounding them.

You may ask students to illustrate with specific examples.

A Changing Economic Structure: Oman

Required Resource

Program 18-2, “Oman: Looking Beyond Oil” from video #18 in The Power of Place video series

Objective

This activity demonstrates to students a success story with structural change in a country’s economy.

Students should understand why and how the Omani government is actively promoting a move away from

dependence upon petroleum export. The activity gives students a chance to practice identifying which

economic activities are primary, secondary, and tertiary.

Before Viewing the Video

Students need to have a good understanding of the difference between primary, secondary, and tertiary

economic activities. Let students know that they will see examples of all three during the course of the

video and that they should make mental notes of them.

Course Organization

After Viewing the Video

Distribute information on the economy of Oman, as shown in the chart below. Ask students to identify

the sector of the economy (primary, secondary, or tertiary) illustrated by each activity on the chart. They

should then determine a total for each category in each year.

Consider together:

• What has happened with each sector?

• What is your prediction for each sector in the year 2020?

• What examples from the video illustrate the changes seen in the chart?

Assessing the Activity

Students should be asked to assess the value of structural change theory as a method of economic

development. You might ask them what measures a country must take in order to develop using this

method. Furthermore, students could hypothesize a list of potential obstacles and solutions.

The Sectoral Relative Shares to Gross Domestic Product (%)

1993=100

Sector? Activity % of GDP 1995 % of GDP 2000

Oil 33.5 25.9

Gas 1.5 5.0

Agriculture 3.0 3.5

Fishing 1.1 1.0

Mining & Quarrying 0.6 0.6

Manufacturing 5.4 6.8

Electricity & Water 1.7 4.3

Building Construction 3.2 6.9

Trade & Tourism 14.1 17.8

Transportation 7.0 8.6

Banks, Insurance & Finance 7.9 4.3

Private Services 8.3 3.2

Public Services 13.9 12.6

TOTAL GDP 100.0 100.0

Source: “Oman Business Information.” Oman Information Center.

Chapter 4

The AP Exam

in Human Geography

Exam Format

The AP Human Geography Exam, which is administered annually in May, consists of a 60-minute

multiple-choice section with 75 questions and a 75-minute free-response section with three questions.

There is no Document-Based Question (DBQ) on the AP Human Geography Exam. The multiple-choice

section accounts for 50 percent of the final exam grade and the free-response section accounts for the other

50 percent. The two sections complement each other and measure a wide range of geographic knowledge

and skills. The exam is designed to allow students to show their understanding of geographic concepts

at a level that is sufficient to allow them to bypass introductory-level geography courses at the college or

university of their choice.

The exam is created by the AP Human Geography Development Committee, which consists of

three experienced high school geography teachers and four college or university professors who have

experience with an introduction to human geography course at the college level. One of the professors

serves as the Chief Reader for the committee. The Development Committee solicits, creates, edits, and

organizes questions for the exam using as its guide the course outline in the AP Human Geography Course

Description (see chapter 1 above).

• Section I: Multiple-Choice Questions. These measure a student’s ability across all topics in the

course outline. The questions are reliable, cover various levels of difficulty, and allow for comparison

of the ability level of students from the current year with those from previous years. Multiple-

choice questions are created by Development Committee members and outside item writers who

teach human geography at colleges and universities. All potential questions are reviewed, revised,

and approved by the committee; ETS content experts perform preliminary reviews to ensure that

the questions have been worded clearly and concisely. Questions that receive preliminary approval

at committee meetings are field tested in college and university classrooms. The performance of

the questions is then statistically evaluated. The Development Committee reviews the results and

approves the questions. At that point, multiple-choice questions can be considered for inclusion on

an AP Human Geography Exam.

• Section II: Free-Response Questions. These are generated entirely by the Development Committee,

which reviews and revises each question at all stages of its development to ensure that it is of the

highest quality possible. Questions are field tested in college and university classrooms before the

committee selects an appropriate combination for a specific exam.

Each AP Human Geography Exam is the result of the stages of development that have just been

described, a process that together spans two or more years. For more information, see the AP Human

Geography Released Exam, which can be ordered from AP Central.

Exam Scoring

The multiple-choice questions are scored by computer, and a correction factor is used to compensate

for random guessing (one-fourth of a point is subtracted for each incorrect answer). The free-response

questions are scored by a team of high school AP Human Geography teachers and college and university

geography professors who come together every June for what is known as the AP Reading. Every effort is

made to ensure that each year this team is as diverse as possible, with a good balance of gender, ethnicity,

experience, geography, and institution size and type. The team is divided into Readers, Table Leaders, and

Question Leaders. Readers are assigned to one question, though they should be familiar with all of the

exam questions; Table Leaders are assigned to one group of Readers who are scoring responses to the same

question; and Question Leaders monitor the scoring of one question on the exam.

During the development of an AP Exam, the Chief Reader works with the committee to determine the

number of points each question will be worth and how those points are distributed within the question.

After the exam has been administered, the Chief Reader, the Question Leaders, and the Table Leaders

meet a few days before the Reading begins to create preliminary scoring guidelines for each question.

This involves reading some student responses to get an idea of how students are performing that year and

identify any general problems. Then the Table Leaders read student responses for their assigned questions,

which helps them refine the criteria in the guidelines until they are ready to be given to the Readers.

When the Readers arrive and before they begin scoring the exams, they are trained to consistently

apply the Scoring Guidelines. They are also advised on how to avoid certain types of biases such as

students’ penmanship and the halo effect (carrying over one’s opinion of the previously read student

response to the response one is now reading). Throughout the Reading, measures are taken to maintain

the Readers’ consistency and fairness in scoring. These include assigning the same student response to

several Readers to score, periodically having each Reader score a response that another Reader has already

scored, and obscuring other Readers’ scores for the responses. Every day the Table Leaders receive printouts

that track their Readers’ scoring, which also helps to maintain consistency. If a Reader has a hard time

determining where on the Scoring Guidelines a student response falls, the Reader confers with the others

in the group and with the Table Leader.

At no time during the Reading do the Readers have access to the name, gender, school, or geographic

region of the students whose responses they are scoring. Readers also cannot see students’ responses to

the other questions on the exam. This tactic of having each question scored by a different Reader means a

student’s final score is the product of the evaluation of a variety of Readers.

Readers give students points for correct answers instead of subtracting points for incorrect answers.

ETS statisticians weigh, convert, and combine the Readers’ scores for the free-response section with the

score for the multiple-choice section (50 percent for each section) and then derive a composite score for

each student. After meeting with College Board representatives and ETS statisticians and assessment

specialists to determine the cut points, the Chief Reader converts the composite scores to the five-point

scale on which the AP grades are reported:

5 Extremely well qualified

4 Well qualified

3 Qualified

2 Possibly qualified

1 No recommendation

The AP Exam in Human Geography

The Chief Reader also compares the current year’s grades with statistical information from previous

years. This helps keep the level of mastery represented by reported grades constant from one year to

the next.

At the end of the Reading, all of the participants gather to debrief. They discuss the exam and compare

it to exams from previous years. You can read their observations, along with the Chief Reader’s statistical

analysis of student performance for that year, in the Chief Reader’s annual report “Student Performance

Q&A,” which is posted on AP Central. For more information about how the AP Exam is scored and how

the Readers’ scores are converted to AP grades, see the AP Human Geography Released Exam.

As explained in the Released Exam, AP grades are intended to allow participating colleges and

universities to award college credit, advanced placement, or both to qualified students. In general, an AP

grade of 3 or higher indicates sufficient mastery of course content to allow placement in a succeeding

college course, or credit for and exemption from a college course comparable to the AP course. Credit and

placement policies are determined by each college or university, however, and students should be urged to

contact their colleges directly to ask for specific advanced placement policies in writing.

Taking the Exam

You should encourage all of your students to take the AP Exam. Your school’s basketball team learns

techniques and concepts, and it practices all year. All of this is done in preparation for playing games. So

why would AP Human Geography students learn concepts, skills, and content all year long and then not

take the exam? Students who take the course and exam learn to prepare for and take a college-level exam.

They also receive feedback with their scores, a college-level evaluation while they are still in high school.

This measuring stick can help students plot their future and set goals. In addition, students may receive

advanced placement or college credit, or both, if they earn a grade of 4 or 5 on the exam. In some cases,

students can receive credit for a grade of 3, though individual colleges and universities make the final

determination.

One of my greatest teaching experiences was when a student thanked me for encouraging her to take the

course and exam. She stated that she had never worked as hard as she did in my class or taken such a difﬁcult

test. Even though her score was on the low side, she believed that both the course and the exam prepared her

for what to expect in college.

—Greg Sherwin, Adlai E. Stevenson High School,

Lincolnshire, Illinois

AP Human Geography teachers get a great deal of information from the report they receive on their

students’ exam results. From the composite scores, teachers can immediately ascertain their teaching

strengths and get a sense of the effectiveness of their teaching methods. Conversely, areas in which students

did not perform well are also apparent. If students do not take the exam, their teachers cannot receive this

informative statistical feedback.

One of the most frequently asked questions concerns the most appropriate year for a student to take

AP Human Geography and the AP Human Geography Exam. The answer is that students from freshman

through senior years and across the socioeconomic spectrum can and have successfully taken the exam.

Some schools require every student in the AP Human Geography course to take the exam, while others

strongly encourage but do not require students to take it. Some schools feel that seniors have the depth of

knowledge and understanding from other courses to help them perform well on the exam, while others

Chapter 4

believe seniors who have already been accepted to college “check out” during the second semester. At some

schools it is believed that AP Human Geography is a great introduction to AP courses for first-years and

sophomores, while at other schools first-years and sophomores are considered too young to take college-

level courses. The best advice is to know the expectations of your students, school, and community.

Due to the global importance of the AP Human Geography course, each school administrator should

find a way to place this course somewhere in the high school curriculum. Just as important, each school

should find a way to encourage all AP Human Geography students to take the AP Exam. And since most

AP Human Geography classes are taught over the course of a year (as opposed to a semester in college),

there is great potential to create a challenging, yet nurturing, environment.

Preparing Students for the AP Exam

One of the surest ways to prepare students for the AP Exam is to cover all of the material that is outlined in

the seven units of the course outline. While teachers differ regarding when during the course to teach each

unit, a general rule of thumb is to create a calendar at the beginning of the year that devotes an appropriate

amount of time to each unit. The syllabi in chapter 3 provide teachers with several different ways to get

through the material in a school year.

One of the most important phases of AP Human Geography is the review before the exam. Ideally, teachers

should give themselves at least one month prior to the exam to review the seven units with their students.

An effective way to assess the scope and depth of what should be covered in a review is to measure student

comprehension of the material. Teachers know that classes are not the same from year to year; therefore, the

review process should ﬁt the needs of the current class.

Have students take the 2001 AP Human Geography Exam (the 75-minute multiple-choice section only; review

for the free-response section may be given closer to the exam date) and then analyze their results. Exam

analysis for the review may be done in two ways. First, perform an item analysis to assess how many correct

and incorrect answers were given to each question. This will give you speciﬁc information about what students

may or may not know. Second, assess student knowledge by grouping the questions for each topic (population,

urban, etc.). Grouping the questions by topic will give you a clearer picture of which topics need to be covered

more closely. For example, if a majority of the students miss urban geography questions but seem to score well

on population geography, then you should spend more time reviewing urban geography and less on the latter.

—Dan Berry, University High School,

Morgantown, West Virginia

A great strategy for preparing students to take the AP Exam is to simulate the exam when assessing

students in class. Try to give students multiple-choice and free-response questions as often as possible when

testing them (teachers should give a minimum of seven tests corresponding to the seven units of the course

outline). A good resource to use for this activity is the AP Human Geography Released Exam book, which

includes a complete exam, Scoring Guidelines for each question, sample student essays, and a commentary

that explains why each essay earned the score it did. Free-response questions, Scoring Guidelines, sample

responses, and commentaries for exams administered over the past five years are also available on AP

Central. Examining these Released Exams with your students helps them see how the questions are worded

and what the Scoring Guidelines reward. Released Exams also help new AP teachers write free-response

questions that are similar in style to those their students will see on the AP Exam.

There are two ways to simulate the AP Exam in the classroom setting. The first method is to devote 20

to 25 minutes for multiple-choice questions and then 20 to 25 minutes for a free-response question within

one class period. This method teaches students how to quickly make the transition from one section of the

The AP Exam in Human Geography

exam to the other. Another method is to give students multiple-choice questions during a 50-minute period

(plan for around 70 questions because students will have less time in a class period to answer than they

will during the AP Exam); the next day allow 25 minutes for them to answer the free-response question

and 25 minutes for you to review the multiple-choice answers with them. The second method may be

preferable because it allows the teacher to ask more multiple-choice questions, thereby giving students more

experience with the variety of questions they can expect on the exam.

The problem with both methods is that neither simulates the exam perfectly. Students need to be given

at least one attempt at answering multiple free-response questions during one sitting. Yet having to grade

two to three free-response questions creates a lot of work for the teacher. Consider doing this once or twice

a year, possibly during the final exam. Another strategy is to give students two questions near the end

of the year and let them self-grade their responses as you go through the scoring guidelines. Or consider

not grading them at all and just go through the Scoring Guidelines with them. Generally speaking, if it

is before the AP Exam and students want to do well, they will do their best regardless of whether you are

grading their answers or not.

Finally, students struggle more with the free-response section than the multiple-choice section mainly

because it is new to them and they have not been properly prepared to answer these questions in a concise

and timely manner. Here are some further suggestions for preparing students for both sections of the exam.

The Multiple-Choice Section

• Read the question slowly. Every word in the stem is important. Skipping one word could change the

question’s intent and meaning completely. Underlining or circling key words may be helpful.

• Eliminate bad choices. Read through all of the answers and cross off the ones that are sure to be

incorrect. Remind students to go through all of the choices before determining an answer.

• To guess or not to guess. Scoring on the multiple-choice section of the AP Exam is probably

different than it is in the classroom. So prepare students to understand how the exam is scored and

how to approach questions they do not understand. Answering a question correctly gives students

one point. If students answer a question incorrectly, they lose one-fourth of a point. Leaving the

question blank results in no points gained or lost. If students have eliminated two or three of the

choices, then it is a good idea for them to try to answer the question; statistically speaking, they have

a better chance of getting the answer correct.

• Skipping questions. Sometimes students are stumped by a question or know that if they had some

extra time they could work through the correct response. One suggestion is to teach students to skip

the question, marking it with a dash or a circle and returning to it after answering the rest of the

questions.

• Think critically, think geographically. This is an AP Human Geography Exam. The questions test

students’ knowledge of geography. Teach students to apply geographic concepts when answering

questions, to ask, “What is the geographic reasoning behind this question?” At the beginning of the

school year, this is very difficult for students to do; but as they start to understand the concepts, they

will start to think more critically, more geographically.

• No. 2 pencil. Make sure your students have several number two pencils for the exam. Try to get

them in the habit of remembering to do this for your exams during the year.

Chapter 4

The Free-Response Section

When preparing students for the free-response section of the exam, tell them to forget everything they

have learned in other AP courses or in other classes about free-response questions. Every AP subject has

a different way of scoring this section of the exam. For AP Human Geography, the main focus is simply

for students to be able to answer the question correctly. Students perform better on the exam when they

understand the task they are asked to perform, the number of steps required in the answer, the region or

concept they are writing about, and the difference between identify, describe, and explain.

• This is not an essay. Many teachers are under the false impression that students must write an

introduction, body, and conclusion. This is not true! There is no need to restate the question. There

is no need for an introduction. Teach students to read the question and to proceed directly to

answering all of its parts.

• Teach students the exam’s multiple-step format. Most free-response questions are in a multiple-

step format with parts (a), (b), (c), and so on. When students are attempting to answer part (a), have

them write A in the exam booklet and proceed to answer the question. When students have moved

on to part (b), tell them to follow the same procedure. To make it easy for the AP Readers, skipping

a line in between parts is acceptable. Some students have also been taught to reserve one page in

the exam booklet for one part of a question. Again, this is an acceptable strategy so long as students

have clearly marked which question and part they are answering.

• Read completely and prepare before writing. Many teenagers like to rush into writing without

thinking things through completely. This tendency toward haste is only exacerbated when the

pressure of time is added to the equation. Teaching students how to approach the question without

rushing will be one of your most difficult but important lessons when preparing them for the exam.

• In the beginning of the year, take a question from an old AP Exam and dissect it word by word

and section by section, searching solely for the meaning of the question. This process takes one

to two class periods but teaches students to look critically at the free-response questions and not to

rush through them in their haste to begin writing their answer.

• Read all three questions first. There are teachers who do not follow this strategy, but it is wise to

teach students to take 15 minutes to read through each of the questions, underline the key words,

and prepare a basic outline or jot down main ideas for each question. By spending time in the

beginning with all of the questions, they will be able to transition more easily as they finish writing

one question and begin another. Also, if they run out of time, they can at least jot down their notes

from the beginning. Finally, this prepares them to think about the question on which they may need

to spend more time. Some questions have visual prompts: maps, charts, or photographs.

• Underline key words. As students are dissecting a question, ask them to identify the most

important word(s) in the question. Teach them to be alert for the following words and phrases:

• Numbers: “Identify THREE things”

• Geographic Regions: “In SOUTHEAST ASIA”

• Action Verbs: “Briefly IDENTIFY” or “DESCRIBE using two examples”

• Use black or blue ink. In order to make it easier for the Readers to score the exam, blue or black ink

is preferred. Nontraditional colors and pencils are sometimes difficult on the Readers’ eyes. Remind

your students that they want the Readers to be able to easily read their responses, and their goal

should be to facilitate that. Students should remember to bring several pens to the exam.

The AP Exam in Human Geography

100

• Write legibly. Again, students need to try to make it as easy as possible for Readers to read their

responses. While students understandably feel pressured due to the time constraints, it is always

good to remind them to make sure their writing is clear and legible. “If I can’t read it, I can’t grade

it” is the warning I give my students.

They have to write?!

When I ﬁrst realized that 50 percent of the AP Human Geography Exam grade came from the written portion I

almost passed out. However, I found several great tricks to help prepare my students. First, I had them do timed

writing every week (I only had them for a semester). It reinforced the material and helped them learn how to

budget their time when writing. My students did all of their writing in a small spiral notebook, which they then

used at the end of the semester as a study aid.

But, you say, I don’t have time to grade all of that! Have your students grade many of their own timed writings

using the Scoring Guidelines. AP Central has the past free-response questions with their Scoring Guidelines and

examples that you can print out for your students to read. Having students work with the Scoring Guidelines

helps in several ways: they see the connections between concepts and units, they see the type of writing that

is desired, and they see how AP Readers score answers to the free-response questions.

—Julie Meek, Plano East Senior High School,

Plano, Texas

Scheduling Exam Preparation

The best advice in terms of scheduling preparation time for the AP Exam is to plan ahead. Spend the last

seven days before the exam reviewing each unit in class. Give students summary handouts on each unit

and assign them to study groups. Have each group read the handout the night before class. When students

come into class the next day, give each group a set of questions from the unit. As a class, go over only those

questions that confuse the entire class.

In addition to this, schedule two to three Saturday review sessions. During the first review session,

have students take the multiple-choice section of the 2001 AP Exam. After they have completed the exam,

go through every single question with them. During the next Saturday session, put students into groups

and instruct them to create lists of all the major topics in a unit using all of their material from the course.

After working for 15 minutes on a unit, students hand their paper to the next group. The next group

reviews the previous group’s list and then adds to it. By the end of the session, every group has worked

on each unit. Make photocopies of the lists to distribute to all the students. For the final review session,

have students answer two to three free-response questions from the 2001 released exam. After they have

answered the questions, go through the Scoring Guidelines as a group and have them self-grade their

responses.

Throughout this whole process, review with students the responses and Scoring Guidelines from

previous AP Exams, along with the statistics on student performance—this can be reassuring to those

students who have very high expectations for themselves. Teach students to be prepared and calm when

they get a question that is difficult. Prepare them to think through difficult questions and to answer as best

as they can.

Chapter 4

101

After the Exam

Depending on your school calendar, you may have up to three or four weeks of school left after the AP

Exam. Many teachers have different strategies for continuing their students’ learning experience after the

exam. Some of the activities teachers can do include the following:

• Show a movie with a geographic or cultural focus.

• Create a project where students share food from different cultures.

• Get classroom sets of newspapers so students can find and discuss all the geography stories.

• Go on a geography field trip.

• Bring in guest speakers to talk about geography topics.

• Have students research specific countries and create Web pages with specific geographic data.

• Have students trace their family geographic history.

Again, teachers should make sure that they are in line with school and community expectations. Try to

reward students for their hard work after the exam while at the same time enriching their knowledge and

continuing their learning experience.

Russellville High School students in Russellville, Arkansas, use the computer to evaluate population pyramids.

AP Grade Reports

AP grades are reported to students, their schools, and their designated colleges in July. Each school

automatically receives an AP Grade Report for each student, a cumulative roster of all students, rosters of

all students by exam, an AP Scholar roster for any qualifying students, and a AP Instructional Planning

Report. (Note: Data for students testing late with an alternate form of the exam are not included in this

report.) For a fee, schools may also request their students’ free-response booklets.

Using the AP Instructional Planning Report

Schools receive the AP Instructional Planning Report for each of their AP classes in September. The

report compares your students’ performance on specific topics in the AP Exam to the performance of

students worldwide on those same topics, helping you target areas for increased attention and focus in the

curriculum. To get the most out of the report, please read the interpretive information on the document.

It explains how the data, when used correctly, can provide valuable information for instructional and

curricular assessment as well as for planning and development.

The AP Exam in Human Geography

102

Chapter 5

Resources for Teachers

How is the first-time AP Human Geography teacher to find the best resources to aid in teaching the

course? Feverishly search through a variety of media? Search only one type of medium? Either of these

methods will result in an overwhelming number of resources that must be sorted through in an effort to

find the best. Frequently such a search ends in frustration, with valuable time lost.

This chapter is designed to help new teachers locate resources with greater ease and efficiency.

However, it by no means is meant to be the only source for course materials. There are likely many sources

that are applicable to a specific region, for example, that do not translate well on a country or international

scale. Regional sources are extremely valuable to the course, and we suggest that you make every attempt to

find ways to apply geographic concepts on a scale that students can appreciate and where they have already

developed a sense of place.

In addition to the resources named in this chapter, a number are listed in each of the syllabi found

in chapter 3. We have tried to limit overlap with the syllabi while maximizing the number of resources

available to AP Human Geography teachers and identified in this chapter. A wealth of resources is also

listed and reviewed on AP Central in the Teachers’ Resources section. We strongly encourage you to refer

to that source frequently.

How to Address Limited Resources

Teachers in small schools or schools with limited budgets, resources, and/or enrollments can manage to

find appropriate materials for their courses through several sources. One important source is the Small

Schools EDG (electronic discussion group) on AP Central. We encourage all teachers in small schools to

join this discussion group. (A link to the EDGs can be found on the Human Geography Home Page.) It is

also advantageous to participate in AP teacher professional development opportunities like AP Summer

Institutes and workshops as well as fall and spring workshops, which are discussed in the “Professional

Development” section below.

I found a great book a few years ago called Using Internet Primary Sources to Teach Critical Thinking Skills in

Geography, by Martha B. Sharma and Gary S. Elbow (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2000). You can buy it

at most local bookstores or order it from Amazon.com for about $45 new or $15 used. This book is outstanding

because it uses common and reliable Web sites to aid in teaching critical thinking in the classroom. The

lessons cover all areas of the National Standards of Geography and incorporate work with Web sites, including

census data, immigration data, environmental issues, human rights issues, and map collections. There are 75

lessons and each lesson has several parts. These parts can include answering analysis questions, identifying

consequences, making predictions, making comparisons, and creating charts. The book even provides help on

how to evaluate Web sites. It is full of lessons that work, and has become one of my favorite resources!

—Amy Moncrief, Allen Independent School District,

Allen, Texas

103

A huge benefit to all teachers is participation in the AP Reading. Each summer, high school AP Human

Geography teachers and college and university geography professors gather at the Reading site to score

the free-response section of the exam. This is probably one of the best professional development activities

you can attend. While at the Reading, there is continuing interaction between college professors and other

high school teachers. Readers gain insight into the questions and how they are scored, and they take away

teaching hints from fellow teachers.

Readers on break during the 2004 AP Reading at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina.

Readers spend eight hours each day (with several breaks and time for lunch) scoring AP Exams. In

the evenings they enjoy informal social activities and formal professional development events. At a recent

Reading the chair of the Development Committee presented a formal lecture about teaching AP Human

Geography through activities found in a mainstream textbook that was available free of charge to each

participant in the program.

Music can give your students an enjoyable opportunity to explore cultural geography. Begin in a simple way:

listen to songs about an area and analyze their lyrics to ﬁnd information about the culture. Numerous popular

songs are readily and inexpensively available (e.g., Will Smith’s “Miami” and Toto’s “Africa”). Have students

research the information in the song to determine if it is fact or perception. Discuss with them what can be

learned from the song. Next, have them add the songs to your reference list. To continue the exercise, have

your students ﬁnd local traditional music. Research and discuss the instruments, beats, and language. Have

students integrate geographic ideas into the discussion. Interesting research on topics like cultural diffusion,

use of natural resources, globalization, centrality, time-distance decay, and cultural hearths can grow from this

topic. As a teacher, you can use music as a short introduction to a geographical concept or as weeks’ worth of

research for student projects.

—Neel Durbin, Dyersburg High School,

Dyersburg, Tennessee

Resources

Although references were as up-to-date as possible at the time of publication, contact information

occasionally changes and some materials become unavailable.

Please note that the inclusion of particular publications, films, videos, CD-ROMS, Web sites, or other

media in this book does not constitute an endorsement by the College Board, ETS, or the AP Human

Geography Development Committee.

Resources for Teachers

104

Textbooks

de Blij, H. J., and Alexander B. Murphy. Human Geography: Culture, Society, and Space. 7th ed. New York:

John Wiley, 2003.

Fellmann, Jerome D., Arthur Getis, and Judith Getis. Human Geography: Landscapes of Human Activities.

8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005.

Jordan-Bychkov, Terry G., and Mona Domosh. The Human Mosaic: A Thematic Introduction to Cultural

Geography. 9th ed. New York: W. H. Freeman, 2003.

Knox, Paul L., and Sallie A. Marston. Places and Regions in Global Context: Human Geography. 3rd ed.

Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2004.

Kuby, Michael, John Harner, and Patricia Gober. Human Geography in Action. 3rd ed. New York: John

Wiley, 2004.

Norton, William. Human Geography. 5th ed. Don Mills, Ont.: Oxford University Press, 2004.

Pearce, Margaret W. Exploring Human Geography with Maps. New York: W. H. Freeman, 2003.

Rubenstein, James M. The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography. 8th ed. Upper Saddle

River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2004.

Supplementary Textbooks and Readers

Abler, Ronald F., Melvin G. Marcus, and Judy M. Olson, eds. Geography’s Inner Worlds: Pervasive Themes

in Contemporary American Geography. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1992.

Brunn, Stanley D., Jack F. Williams, and Donald J. Zeigler, eds. Cities of the World: World Regional Urban

Development. 3rd ed. Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield, 2003.

Davidson, Fiona, et al., eds. Teaching Political Geography. The Pathways in Geography series, 19. Indiana,

Penn.: National Council for Geographic Education, 1998.

Dorling, Daniel, and David Fairbairn. Mapping: Ways of Representing the World. N.p.: Longman, 1997.

Gersmehl, Philip J. Why Not Here?: Teaching Geography to a New Standard. Indiana, Penn.: National

Council for Geographic Education, 1996.

Goodall, Brian. The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography. New York: Penguin Books, 1987.

Hoggart, Keith, Anna Davies, and Loretta Lees. Researching Human Geography. New York: Oxford

University Press USA, 2002.

Johnston, R. J., et al., eds. The Dictionary of Human Geography. 4th ed. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell

Publishers, 2000.

Malone, Lyn, Anita M. Palmer, and Christine L. Voigt. Mapping Our World: GIS Lessons for Educators.

Redlands, Calif.: ESRI Press, 2002.

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Mayhew, Susan. A Dictionary of Geography. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.

Merriam-Webster’s Geographical Dictionary. 3rd ed. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1997.

Pitzl, Gerald R., ed. Annual Editions: Geography 04/05. 19th ed. N.p.: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin, 2003.

Slater, Frances. Learning Through Geography. Pathways in Geography series, 7. Indiana, Penn.: National

Council for Geographic Education, 1993.

Atlases

Hudson, John C., ed. Goode’s World Atlas. 20th ed. N.p.: Rand McNally, 2000.

Exam Review Guides

Alagona, Peter S., and Meredith Marsh. Barron’s How to Prepare for the AP Exam in Human Geography.

Hauppauge, N.Y.: Barron’s, 2003.

Professional Journals and Periodicals

Annals of the Association of American Geographers. Association of American Geographers. Published

quarterly.

FOCUS on Geography. American Geographical Society. Published quarterly.

Journal of Geography. National Council for Geographic Education.

Journal of Geography. Special AP Issue 99, no. 3/4 (May–August 2000).

The Professional Geographer. Association of American Geographers. Published quarterly.

Software

ArcView 8.x. Redlands, Calif.: ESRI Press, n.d.

For more information, go to www.esri.com/software/arcgis/arcview/.

MapViewer 5. Golden, Colo.: Golden Software, 2002.

For more information, go to www.goldensoftware.com/faq/mapviewer5-faq.shtml.

Web Sites

Activities in Human Geography

geog.tamu.edu/sarah/humangeog/activities.html

American FactFinder

factfinder.census.gov

AP Central

apcentral.collegeboard.com

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ARCLessons

www.esri.com/arclessons

Bureau of Labor Statistics

www.bls.gov

CAIN Web Service (Conflict Archive on the Internet)

cain.ulst.ac.uk/

Census of Agriculture (2002)

www.nass.usda.gov/census_of_agriculture/index.asp

Cultural Maps in American Studies

xroads.virginia.edu/~MAP/map_hp.html

Dale Lightfoot’s Cultural Landscapes from Around the World

www.geog.okstate.edu/users/lightfoot/lfoot.htm

The Degree Confluence Project

www.confluence.org/

Demographic Data Viewer

plue.sedac.ciesin.org/plue/ddviewer/ddvJava30/index.html

The Electronic Map Library

130.166.124.2/library.html

Europa: Gateway to the European Union

europa.eu.int/index_en.htm

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

www.fao.org

Foreign Government Data Sources

www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/stforeig.html

Human Development Reports

hdr.undp.org/reports/default.cfm

International Data Base (IDB) - US Census Bureau

www.census.gov/ipc/www/idbnew.html

Kidon Media-Link

www.kidon.com/media-link/

Largest Religious Communities

www.adherents.com/largecom/

Major World Crop Areas and Climatic Profiles, Online Version

www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome

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NationalAtlas.gov

www.nationalatlas.gov

Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection

www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/

Places OnLine

www.placesonline.org

Population Reference Bureau

www.prb.org

Portals to the World: Links to Electronic Resources from Around the World

www.loc.gov/rr/international/portals.html

The Scout Report

scout.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/scout-report

Teaching Geography

www.learner.org/resources/series161.html

TerraFly

www.terrafly.com

UN High Commission for Refugees

www.unhcr.org

UN Population Division

www.un.org/esa/population/unpop.htm

U.S. Census Bureau: Foreign Trade Statistics

www.census.gov/foreign-trade/index.html

The World Bank Group: Data & Statistics

www.worldbank.org/data/

The World Factbook (This is current as of Mar 2006)

cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html

Professional Organizations

American Geographical Society (AGS)

120 Wall Street, Suite 100

New York, NY 10005-3904

212 422-5456

E-mail: AGS@amergeog.org

Web: www.amergeog.org

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Association of American Geographers (AAG)

1710 16

Street NW

Washington, DC 20009-3198

202 234-1450

E-mail: annals@aag.org

Web: www.aag.org

National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE)

Jackson State University

206A Martin Hall

Jacksonville, AL 36265-1602

256 782-5293

E-mail: ncge@jsucc.jus.edu

Web: www.ncge.org

Professional Development

In the following section, the College Board outlines its professional development opportunities in support

of AP educators.

The teachers, administrators, and AP Coordinators involved in the AP Program compose a dedicated,

engaged, vibrant community of educational professionals. Welcome!

We invite you to become an active participant in the community. The College Board offers a variety

of professional development opportunities designed to educate, support, and invigorate both new and

experienced AP teachers and educational professionals. These year-round offerings range from half-day

workshops to intensive weeklong summer institutes, from the AP Annual Conference to AP Central, and

from participation in an AP Reading to Development Committee membership.

Workshops and Summer Institutes

At the heart of the College Board’s professional development offerings are workshops and summer

institutes. Participating in an AP workshop is generally one of the first steps to becoming a successful AP

teacher. Workshops range in length from half-day to weeklong events and are focused on all 37 AP courses

and a range of supplemental topics. Workshop consultants are innovative, successful, and experienced

AP teachers; teachers trained in developmental skills and strategies; college faculty members; and other

qualified educational professionals who have been trained and endorsed by the College Board. For new

and experienced teachers, these course-specific training opportunities encompass all aspects of AP course

content, organization, evaluation, and methodology. For administrators, counselors, and AP Coordinators,

workshops address critical issues faced in introducing, developing, supporting, and expanding AP

programs in secondary schools. They also serve as a forum for exchanging ideas about AP.

While the AP Program does not have a set of formal requirements that teachers must satisfy prior to

teaching an AP course, the College Board suggests that AP teachers have considerable experience and an

advanced degree in the discipline before undertaking an AP course.

AP Summer Institutes provide teachers with in-depth training in AP courses and teaching strategies.

Participants engage in at least 30 hours of training led by College Board-endorsed consultants and receive

printed materials, including excerpts from AP Course Descriptions, AP Exam information, and other

course-specific teaching resources. Many locations offer guest speakers, field trips, and other hands-on

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activities. Each institute is managed individually by staff at the sponsoring institution under the guidelines

provided by the College Board.

Participants in College Board professional development workshops and summer institutes are eligible

for continuing education units (CEUs). The College Board is authorized by the International Association

for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) to offer CEUs. IACET is an internationally recognized

organization that provides standards and authorization for continuing education and training.

Workshop and institute offerings for the AP Human Georaphy teacher (or potential teacher) range

from introductory to topic-specific events and include offerings tailored to teachers in the middle and early

high school years. To learn more about scheduled workshops and summer institutes near you, visit the

Institutes & Workshops area on AP Central: apcentral.collegeboard.com/events.

Online Events

The College Board offers a wide variety of online events, which are presented by College Board-endorsed

consultants and recognized subject-matter experts to participants via a Web-based, real-time interface.

Online events range from one hour to several days and are interactive, allowing for exchanges between the

presenter and participants and between participants. Like face-to-face workshops, online events vary in

focus from introductory themes to specific topics, and many offer CEUs for participants. For a complete

list of upcoming and archived online events, visit apcentral.collegeboard.com/onlineevents.

Archives of many past online events are also available for free or for a small fee. Archived events can be

viewed on your computer at your convenience.

AP Central

AP Central is the College Board’s online home for AP professionals. The site offers a wealth of resources,

including Course Descriptions, sample syllabi, exam questions, a vast database of teaching resource

reviews, lesson plans, course-specific feature articles, and much more. Bookmark the information on AP

Central about AP Human Geography: apcentral.collegeboard.com/humangeo.

AP Program information is also available on the site, including exam calendars, fee and fee reduction

policies, student performance data, participation forms, research reports, college and university AP grade

acceptance policies, and more.

AP professionals are encouraged to contribute to the resources on AP Central by submitting articles or

lesson plans for publication and by adding comments to Teacher’s Resources reviews.

Electronic Discussion Groups

The AP electronic discussion groups (EDGs) were created to provide a moderated forum for the exchange

of ideas, insights, and practices among AP teachers, AP Coordinators, consultants, AP Exam Readers,

administrators, and college faculty. EDGs are Web-based threaded discussion groups focused on specific

AP courses or roles, giving participants the ability to post and respond to questions online to be viewed by

other members of the EDG. To join an EDG, visit apcentral.collegeboard.com/community/edg.

AP Annual Conference

The AP Annual Conference (APAC) is a gathering of the AP community, including teachers, secondary

school administrators, and college faculty. The APAC is the only national conference that focuses on

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providing complete strategies for middle and high school teachers and administrators involved in the AP

Program. The 2007 conference will be held July 11 to 15 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Conference events include

presentations by each course’s Development Committee, course- and topic-specific sessions, guest speakers,

and pre- and postconference workshops for new and experienced teachers. To learn more about this year’s

event, please visit www.collegeboard.com/apac.

AP professionals are encouraged to lead workshops and presentations at the conference. Proposals are

due in the fall of each year prior to the event (visit AP Central for specific deadlines and requirements).

Professional Opportunities

College Board Consultants and Contributors

Experienced AP teachers and educational professionals share their techniques, best practices, materials,

and expertise with other educators by serving as College Board consultants and contributors. They may

lead workshops and summer institutes, sharing their proven techniques and best practices with new and

experienced AP teachers, AP Coordinators, and administrators. They may also contribute to AP course

and exam development (writing exam questions or serving on a Development Committee) or evaluate AP

Exams at the annual AP Reading. Consultants and contributors may be teachers, postsecondary faculty,

counselors, administrators, and retired educators. They receive an honorarium for their work and are

reimbursed for expenses.

To learn more about becoming a workshop consultant, visit apcentral.collegeboard.com/consultant.

AP Exam Readers

High school and college faculty members from around the world gather in the United States each

June to evaluate and score the free-response sections of the AP Exams at the annual AP Reading. AP

Exam Readers are led by a Chief Reader, a college professor who has the responsibility of ensuring that

students receive grades that accurately reflect college-level achievement. Readers describe the experience

as providing unparalleled insight into the exam evaluation process and as an opportunity for intensive

collegial exchange between high school and college faculty. (More than 8,500 Readers participated in

the 2006 Reading.) High school Readers receive certificates awarding professional development hours

and CEUs for their participation in the AP Reading. To apply to become an AP Reader, go to apcentral.

collegeboard.com/readers.

Development Committee Members

The dedicated members of each course’s Development Committee play a critical role in the preparation

of the Course Description and exam. They represent a diverse spectrum of knowledge and points of view

in their fields and, as a group, are the authority when it comes to making subject-matter decisions in the

exam-construction process. The AP Development Committees represent a unique collaboration between

high school and college educators.

AP Grants

The College Board offers a suite of competitive grants that provide financial and technical assistance to

schools and teachers interested in expanding access to AP. The suite consists of three grant programs:

College Board AP Fellows, College Board Pre-AP Fellows, and the AP Start-Up Grant, totaling over

$600,000 in annual support for professional development and classroom resources. The programs provide

stipends for teachers and schools that want to start an AP program or expand their current program.

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Schools and teachers that serve minority and/or low income students who have been traditionally

underrepresented in AP courses are given preference. To learn more, visit apcentral.collegeboard.com/

apgrants.

Our Commitment to Professional Development

The College Board is committed to supporting and educating AP teachers, AP Coordinators, and

administrators. We encourage you to attend professional development events and workshops to expand

your knowledge of and familiarity with the AP course(s) you teach or that your school offers, and then

to share that knowledge with other members of the AP community. In addition, we recommend that

you join professional associations, attend meetings, and read journals to help support your involvement

in the community of educational professionals in your discipline. By working with other educational

professionals, you will strengthen that community and increase the variety of teaching resources you use.

Your work in the classroom and your contributions to professional development help the AP Program

continue to grow, providing students worldwide with the opportunity to engage in college-level learning

while still in high school.

Resources for Teachers