AP Human Geography Syllabus
Mr. Swearingen’s Class
[email protected]
817-232-7112 ext. 7166
Purpose
The purpose of the AP Human Geography course 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. AP Human Geography reflects the content of a typical one semester introductory
college course but will be offered as a two semester course beginning with the 2013-2014 school year.
Pre-AP U.S. history middle school students and students who plan to take AP World History, AP
U.S. History, AP Government, AP Economics, or AP Psychology are strongly encouraged to take
AP Human Geography their freshman year.
Textbooks:
Rubenstein, James M. 10th edition, The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography,
Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Education, Inc., 2011.
Wood, Ethel, 2
nd
Edition, AP Human Geography Study: A Study Guide, Reading, PA: Woodyard Publications, 2009
Goals: On successful completion of the course, students should have developed skills that enable them to:
 Use and think about maps and spatial data.
Students are guided to use maps and spatial data to pose
and solve problems, and 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.
 Recognize and interpret at different scales the relationships among patterns and
processes.
Students are guided to 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 look at
processes operating at multiple scales when seeking explanations of geographic patterns and arrangements.
 Define regions and evaluate the regionalization process.
Students are guided to see regions as objects of analysis and exploration and move beyond simply locating and
describing regions to considering how and why they come into being and what they reveal about the changing
character of the world in which we live.
 Characterize and analyze changing interconnections among places.
Students are guided to view places and patterns not in isolation but in terms of their spatial and functional
relationship with other places and patterns, to understand that those relationships are constantly changing, and how
and why change occurs.
 Be successful in upper level AP social studies courses.
AP Human Geography provides students the opportunity to take a challenging course at a pace much slower than
typical AP courses to:
1. Foster development of the analytical and study skills and habits they will need in college;
2. Bolster their academic self-confidence that they can meet college requirements;
3. Motivate them to attempt more challenging courses;
4. Provide the opportunity for college credits and/or placement at
Assignments (30% of six weeks grade):
Students will be assigned reading from textbooks and articles. Students will read and take notes for use studying for
later assessments. Since the course covers so much material, students will have the responsibility to prepare
themselves before class with basic information so that they can be taught the concepts and connections which make
up Human Geography.
Assessment (70% of six weeks grade):
Assessments include tests, projects, and writing assignments. Students will be assessed according to assignments,
and rarely material may appear on assessments which is covered in assigned reading, but not explicitly in class.
AP Human Geography – Course Overview
Subject
Proportion of AP Test
Geography: Its Nature and
Perspectives
Population
5 – 10%
Approximate Dates
August 25- September 12
13 – 17%
September 22 – October 17
Cultural Patterns and
Processes
Political Organization of Space
13 – 17%
October 21 – November 21
13 – 17%
December 1 – January 9
Semester Exam
January 12-16
Agricultural and Rural Land Use 13 – 17%
January 20 – February 13
Industrialization and Economic
Development
Cities and
Urban Land Use
AP EXAM REVIEW
AP EXAM
SEMESTER EXAM
13 – 17%
February 17 – March 27
13 – 17%
March 30 – May 1
May 4 - May 14
May 15
June 2 – 4
Extra Help
Tutoring will be available Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday in the afternoons from 4:30pm-5:30pm. Tutoring is also
available during 4th lunch.
Extra Credit
Extra credit will be offered at the beginning of each six weeks grading period. There will be a book or chapters of a book
to read and an assignment to complete. Students will need to plan ahead in order to receive credit.
Student’s Name: ____________________________________
Parent Signature: ____________________________________