AP Human Geography Syllabus Course Overview This year s ninth grade CORE class will receive credit for taking AP Human Geography as part of their 9 th grade schedule. Students who would like to take the AP Human Geography exam must take the after school AP Human Geography supplemental course to help them prepare for the AP exam in May. In the supplemental course we will be focusing on material specifically for the AP exam, while making connections to the CORE 9 curriculum. The supplemental course will meet every Thursday after school from 3:15-4:45 in E10. Students opting to take the AP exam and supplemental course must maintain a 90% attendance rate or they will be dropped from the course. The course focuses on the distribution, processes, and effects of human populations on the planet. It will emphasize the use of spatial concepts and landscape analysis to examine human organization of space. In other words, we will look at the why of where. Units of study are based on the seven topics listed in the AP Human Geography Course Description. The units are: the nature and perspectives on geography, population, cultural patterns and processes, political organization of space, agricultural and rural land use, industrialization and economic development, and cities and urban land use. 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 spatial concepts and landscape analysis to examine human social organization and its environmental consequences. To recognize and interpret spatial relationships at different scales ranging from the local to the global. To understand how to use and interpret maps, data sets, and geographic models. Course Materials Main Text: (Needs to be purchased) Sawyer, Christian. AP Human Geography: Are You Serious About Getting a 5?. New York: Research & Education Association, Inc., 2012.
Requirements Students need to purchase the course reading AP Human Geography: Are You Serious About Getting a 5? by Christian Sawyer. The book can be purchased at bookstores or online for approximately $15-20. In addition, students need to maintain a 90% attendance rate to the after school supplemental course meetings which take place every Thursday from 3:15-4:45 in E10. About the AP Exam The AP Human Geography Exam is scheduled for early May each year. It covers the seven major topics listed in the Course Overview above. The AP exam is broken down into two sections described below. Each section is worth 50% of the overall AP exam grade. AP exam grades range between one (lowest) and five (highest). A grade of three or higher is considered passing. Section 1: Multiple-Choice Students have 60 minutes to answer 75 multiple-choice questions. Four questions will come from unit 1 (Geography: Its Nature and Perspectives). Ten to twelve questions will come each of the remaining units. Section 2: Free-Response Questions (FRQs) Students have 75 minutes to answer three free-response questions. Students are recommended to take five minutes to prepare each response and twenty minutes to write each response. The FRQs are not essays. Students should not include an introduction or conclusion. Instead, they should go straight to answering the question. Students should label each part of their answer (e.g. A, B, C) and skip lines in between parts. This will be explained further in class. Assignments Students will be given two types of assignments primarily. First, students will read parts of AP Human Geography: Are You Serious About Getting a 5? on a weekly basis (listed in the next section). Second, students will create flash cards on the vocabulary list given on weekly basis. The descriptions of key vocabulary and concepts must be written in the students own words. These flash cards will be very helpful for the AP exam. 2
AP Human Geography Curriculum Outline Unit I. Geography: Its Nature and Perspectives Multiple-Choice Coverage on the AP Exam Quick Glance Required Reading Duration 5-10% Sawyer Ch. 1-2 4 weeks II. Population 13-17% Sawyer Ch. 3 5 weeks III. Cultural Patterns and Processes IV. Political Organization of Space V. Agricultural and Rural Land Use VI. Industrialization and Economic Development VII. Cities and Urban Land Use 13-17% Sawyer Ch. 4 6 weeks 13-17% Sawyer Ch. 5 5 weeks 13-17% Sawyer Ch. 6 4 weeks 13-17% Sawyer Ch. 7 4 weeks 13-17% Sawyer Ch. 8 4 weeks Detailed Overview I. Geography: Its Nature and Perspectives (Weeks 1-4) Week 1 (August 16): Introduction to AP Human Geography No reading due Week 2 (August 23): Overview Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 1 Excelling on the AP Human Geography Exam Week 3 (August 30): Geographical Concepts and the Geographical Perspective Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 2 Geography: Its Nature and Perspectives pages 15-26 Week 4 (September 6): Maps Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 2 Geography: Its Nature and Perspectives pages 27-35 3
II. Population (Weeks 5-9) Week 5 (September 13): Geographical Analysis of Population Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 3 Population pages 55-66 Week 6 (September 20): Population Growth and Decline Over Time and Space Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 3 Population pages 66-72 Week 7 (September 27): Population Growth and Decline Over Time and Space Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 3 Population pages 72-78 Week 8 (October 4): Population Movement Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 3 Population pages 78-83 Week 9 (October 11): Population Movement Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 3 Population pages 84-88 III. Cultural Patterns and Processes (Weeks 10-15) Week 10 (October 18): The Concepts of Culture Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 4 Cultural Patterns and Processes pages 113-118 Week 11 (October 25): The Concepts of Culture Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 4 Cultural Patterns and Processes pages 118-123 Week 12 (November 1): Religion Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 4 Cultural Patterns and Processes pages 123-136 Week 13 (November 8): Language Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 4 Cultural Patterns and Processes pages 136-142 4
Week 14 (November 15): Ethnicity, Race, and Gender Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 4 Cultural Patterns and Processes pages 142-147 Week 15 (November 29): Review Complete Chapter 4 Free Response Question IV. Political Organization of Space (Weeks 16-20) Week 16 (December 6): Territorial Dimensions of Politics Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 5 Political Organization of Space pages 171-177 Week 17 (January 10): Territorial Dimensions of Politics Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 5 Political Organization of Space pages 177-180 Week 18 (January 17): Evolution of the Contemporary Political Pattern Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 5 Political Organization of Space pages 181-187 Week 19 (January 24): Challenges to Inherited Political Territorial Arrangements Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 5 Political Organization of Space pages 187-190 Week 20 (January 31): Supranationalism Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 5 Political Organization of Space pages 190-201 V. Agricultural and Rural Land Use (Weeks 21-24) Week 21 (February 7): Development and Diffusion of Agriculture Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 6 Agricultural and Rural Land Use pages 225-229 5
Week 22 (February 14): Major Agricultural Production Regions Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 6 Agricultural and Rural Land Use pages 229-236 Week 23 (February 21): Rural Land Use and Settlement Patterns Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 6 Agricultural and Rural Land Use pages 236-240 Week 24 (February 28): Modern Commercial Agriculture Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 6 Agricultural and Rural Land Use pages 241-251 VI. Industrialization and Economic Development (Weeks 25-28) Week 25 (March 7): Growth of Industrialization Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 7 Industrialization and Economic Development pages 273-278 Week 26 (March 14): Diffusion of Industrialization Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 7 Industrialization and Economic Development pages 278-281 Week 27 (March 21): Contemporary Patterns of Industrialization and Development Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 7 Industrialization and Economic Development pages 281-288 Week 28 (April 4): Globalization Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 7 Industrialization and Economic Development pages 288-297 VII. Cities and Urban Land Use (Weeks 29-32) Week 29 (April 11): Defining Urbanism Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 8 Cities and Urban Land Use pages 321-330 6
Week 30 (April 18): Urban Systems Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 8 Cities and Urban Land Use pages 330-338 Week 31 (April 25): Functional Character of Contemporary Cities Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 8 Cities and Urban Land Use pages 338-346 Week 32 (May 2): Urban Sprawl Reading due: Sawyer, Chapter 8 Cities and Urban Land Use pages 346-351 VIII. Review for AP Exam (Weeks 33-34) 7