AP Human Geography
Westfield High School
Teacher: Andrew Russell
E-mail: [email protected]
Room: 1450
Introduction to AP Human Geography
Advanced Placement Human Geography is a year-long course designed to provide students with a learning
experience equivalent to that obtained in a one-semester college course in human geography. Students enrolled
in this course will be reading from a college text as well as utilizing other college-level supplementary
materials. At the conclusion of the course, students should have a working knowledge of specific geographic
models and concepts and understand their application in a wide variety of situations throughout the world.
Overall, AP Human Geography is designed to develop each student’s ability to ask geographic questions;
analyze various landscapes; and draw conclusions based upon sound geographical data illustrated at different
scales ranging from local to global.
Goals
Topics studied in AP Human Geography follow five college-level goals that build on National Geography
Standards. On successful completion of the course, each student should be able to:
 Use and think about maps and spatial data. Geographers are concerned with ways in which
patterns on Earth’s surface reflect and influence both human and physical processes. As such, maps and
spatial data are fundamental to the course, and learning to use and think about them is critical to
geographic literacy. The goal is achieved when students learn to use maps and spatial data to pose and
solve problems.
 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.
 Recognize and interpret at different scales the relationships among patterns and
processes. Students should understand that the phenomena they are studying at one scale (e.g., local)
might well be influenced by developments at other scales (e.g., regional, national, or global).
 Define regions and evaluate the regionalization process. Geography is concerned not simply
with describing patterns, but analyzing how they came about and what they mean.
 Characterize and analyze changing interconnections among places. Students will study
ways in which events and processes operating in one place can influence those operating at other places.
AP Examination in Human Geography
The AP exam is given in early May of each year. The exam is scored on a 5-point scale:
AP Grade
5
4
3
2
1
Qualification
Extremely well qualified
Well qualified
Qualified
Possibly qualified
No recommendation
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Many colleges offer credit for taking the AP Human Geography exam if you earn a score of 3 or above.
However, each college has its own standards of accepting AP credit. The best way to find out about a college’s
policy is to look in that institution’s catalog or website.
The AP Human Geography exam contains two sections and lasts for 2 hours and 15 minutes. The first section
includes approximately 70-75 multiple-choice questions, which students are given 60 minutes to complete. In
the remaining 75 minutes, students will answer three free-response essay questions. Quiz and test questions
throughout the course will model the type of questions students might expect on the AP exam.
Course Units
Seven units will be taught over 13 chapters this year to help you prepare for the AP exam.
Unit I.
Geography: Its Nature and Perspectives
The first unit is an introduction to human geography and to the fields it is related to. It will emphasize concepts used
throughout the course such as location, space, place, scale, pattern, regionalization and globalization. Students learn how
to use and make maps, apply models and analyze data in order to solve key geographical questions.
Unit II. Population
This course will examine the distribution of human population at different scales (local, national, global). Explanations of
why population is concentrated in some places and not others center on understanding the process of fertility, mortality
and migration. Analysis of refugee flows, immigration, internal migration, and residential mobility allows a better
understanding of today’s world.
Unit III. Cultural Patterns and Processes
Major emphasis here rests with culture. We will learn how cultural groups are defined by language, religion, race,
ethnicity, gender, etc. A central concern is to comprehend how culture patterns are represented at a variety of geographic
scales from local to global. Diffusion is a key concept in understanding how cultural traits move to new locations.
Throughout the unit, we will study cultural differences at various scales and come to understand how culture is expressed
in landscapes and how landscapes in turn represent cultural identity.
Unit IV. Political Organization of Space
Students learn that political patterns reflect ideas about how Earth’s surface should be organized. The course gives
primary attention to the political geography of the modern “nation-state” or country. Students are introduced to the
different forces that shaped the evolution of our contemporary world political map. In addition, the course will focus on
political units above the state (NATO, European Union, etc.) as well as those below (electoral districts, municipal
boundaries, ethnic territories, etc.).
Unit V. Agricultural and Rural Land Use
This unit explores four basic themes: the origin and spread of agriculture; the characteristics of the world’s agricultural
regions; reasons why these regions function the way they do; and the impact of agricultural change on the environment.
Explanations for the location of agricultural activities are examined as well.
Unit VI. Industrialization and Economic Development
Students learn about the geographic elements of industrialization and development. Geographic models will be used to
help explain why the world is divided into a well-developed core and a less developed periphery. Contemporary issues
surrounding modern economic activities will also be addressed.
Unit VII. Cities and Urban Land Use
The course divides urban geography into two basic sections. The first is the study of systems of cities, focusing on where
cities are located and why they are there. Section two focuses on the form, internal structure, and landscapes of cities, and
emphasizes what cities are like as places to live and work. Finally, current trends in urban development will be examined.
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Five to ten percent of the AP exam will be taken from Unit I. Each of the other units will comprise
approximately thirteen to seventeen percent of the exam.
Materials
Textbooks
Rubenstein, James M. 8th edition, The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography, Upper
Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Education, Inc., 2005.
Kuby, Michael, John Harner, and Patricia Gober. 3rd edition, Human Geography in Action, New York: John
Wiley, Inc., 2004.
Recommended Supplies
 Review book
 Three-ring binder with paper
 Pens, pencils and highlighter
 Small box of colored pencils
Assignments
At the start of each of the seven units students will receive a detailed handout outlining all assigned work for
that particular unit. Each unit will include reading assignments from both the Rubenstein and Kuby texts, along
with activity assignments that accompany the Kuby text. Students are responsible for recording all due dates for
each reading and activity assignment.
In addition, supplementary readings and special projects conducted both in and outside class will require using
materials other than the two required texts. Supplementary materials include:
 Goode’s World Atlas (classroom set)
 Printed newspaper articles
 Teacher-constructed PowerPoints and transparencies
 Video/DVD
 Key Internet sites
o Prentice Hall site including an online study guide for students (www.prenhall.com/rubenstein)
o CIA Factbook (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html)
o Population Reference Bureau (www.prb.org)
o U.S. Bureau of the Census (www.census.gov)
o U.S. Committee on Refugees (www.refugees.org)
o Local Cedar Rapids housing information (www.cedar-rapids-assessor.org/pmc/)
o Statistics on various religions (www.adherents.com)
o United Nations (www.un.org)
o Mapping (http://maps.google.com/
Evaluation
All coursework is assigned a point value. Final tests are administered during the WHS examination period at
the end of each trimester, and are worth 20% of the overall term grade.
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Grades are weighted using the following distribution: Tests (60%), Quizzes (25%), Homework (10%) Summer
Work (5%) – 1st tri only 2nd & 3rd Trimesters Homework is (15%)
Expect to be evaluated in some manner (either tests or quizzes) almost every week. All tests and quizzes are
designed to give each student rigorous practice in preparation for the AP exam in May. Each exam will contain
both objective and essay items.
Course Outline (by unit) – Multiple Chapters will cover most units
Unit I. Geography: Its Nature and Perspectives
Unit Length
Approximately 8 days
Major Themes of the Unit
 Tools geographers use to practice their craft.
 How geographers view the world, both past and present.
 How geographers determine where things are located and why they are there.
 Why each point on earth is unique.
 Geographic use of scale, from global to local.
Unit II. Population
Unit Length
Approximately 24
Major Themes of the Unit
 Where the world’s population is distributed.
 Factors that determine population change.
 Why population increases at different rates in different countries.
 Global population growth.
 Why people migrate and the obstacles they face.
Unit III. Cultural Patterns and Processes
Unit Length
Approximately 36 days(Winter break)
Major Themes of the Unit
 How geographers define culture.
 Folk and popular culture patterns.
 How geographers describe the spatial distribution of language and religion across the landscape.
 How ethnicity and gender impact cultural traditions.
Unit IV. Political Organization of Space
Unit Length
Approximately 24 days.
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Major Themes of the Unit
 Defining and tracing the historical development of the state concept.
 How territorial boundaries cause problems among states.
 Existence of centripetal and centrifugal forces within states.
 Why states cooperate with each other.
 How the lack of communication between nations and states can lead to acts of terrorism.
Unit V. Agriculture and Rural Land Use
Unit Length
Approximately 18 days.
Major Themes of the Unit
 Origin and diffusion of agriculture and its impact on global development.
 How geographers classify agricultural regions.
 Where agricultural regions are located in LDCs and MDCs.
 Economic issues faced by commercial and subsistence farmers.
 How modern commercial agriculture impacts the world.
Unit VI. Industrialization and Economic Development
Unit Length
Approximately 18 days.
Major Themes of the Unit
 How geographers classify economic activity.
 Origin and diffusion of the Industrial Revolution.
 Where major industrial regions are located.
 Why industries select certain locations in order to maximize profits.
 Why industries face problems in the global economy.
 How the service industry impacts industrialized nations.
 Why economic development varies among nations.
Unit VII. Cities and Urban Land Use
Unit Length
Approximately 18 days
Major Themes of the Unit
 Where cities originated and how they evolved
 How geographers classify and define urban settlement patterns.
 Where people are distributed within urban areas.
 Distinctive problems faced by inner city residents and suburban dwellers.
 How urban residents utilize world resources.
Expectations
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1.
You must exercise patience, especially during the first unit or two of this course. Many of you have
never taken an advanced placement course before. You may be surprised as to the degree of difficulty found on
most tests and assignments. Readings from our texts and other sources will often take more time than you are
accustomed to. You may find that your grade may be lower than in the past. In addition, on most assignments
and tests you must learn to apply your learning to new situations and problems. There will be a period of
adjustment for almost everyone. Remember, we are working at the college level.
2.
Reading all assignments and completing all assigned questions/activities is paramount to your success in
this course. Not every idea from your text or supplemental reading will be discussed in class. Often lectures
and other class activities will contain new information to assist you in understanding basic geographical
concepts.
3.
Virtually all textbook-reading assignments will take place outside of class. It will be necessary for you
to allocate an hour or more each night to complete assigned work.
4.
Note taking is a must. Students are expected to take notes on all lectures presented during the class
period. In addition, chapter assignments are required for each chapter in the textbook.
5.
Your performance will be evaluated through tests, quizzes, homework, writing assignments, in-class
activities, and computer assignments. You and your parents can log-on to Power School to view your most
current grade.
6.
Success in school is often directly linked to attendance. To be successful in this course, excellent
attendance is necessary. With the exception of a medical emergency, it is not wise to schedule any type of
appointment during this class period. However, in the event that you are absent, it is your responsibility to find
out what is missing and make it up immediately. Again remember, this is a college level course requiring real
dedication and commitment on your part.
7.
Any assignment that is turned in late will receive a 50% reduction in the score.
8.
It is the student’s responsibility to both record and know when all assignments are due.
9.
As a courtesy to others, please turn off and refrain from using all electronic devices during each class
period.
10.
If you experience problems with this course, please come and see me ASAP. My email and desk phone
number are list on the first page of the syllabus, and they can be found on the WHS website.
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