AP Human Geography
Summer Assignment Directions and Parent Letter
Dear Students and Parents:
I am excited that you have decided to accept the challenge of taking an Advanced Placement class, which is a
university-level course taught in high school. I promise that you will strengthen your academic, intellectual,
observation, and discussion skills. I am revved up to teach this class again next year and I am dedicated to
providing a challenging and rewarding academic experience. Intrinsic in any AP course is an increased
workload and some time for “field study” and review outside of class. I will provide advanced notices for these
dates and times.
This course is a web enhanced course and consequently students will use email, the course website, and various
other computer programs such as Schoology to enhance their learning opportunities. This creates a very rich
academic environment where students will take tests online, participate in online discussions, and have the
capacity to communicate and learn outside of the traditional class time. The course website is located at
www.schoology.com and will be fully available after August 1st however, the summer assignment is already
loaded on the site, and there is other information that is being placed on it regularly, including the updated
course syllabus. Over the summer, I will begin to add assignments for each of our course unites. In order to
enroll, students should use the following access code to register: 5557R-VNKZC. Once they register, they
should be able to see the AP Human Geography files.
Part of entering an AP class is an assumption of a certain level of background knowledge and skills. With this in
mind, the course requires the completion of a summer assignment. Your summer assignment has two parts: a
book study and a series of maps that you need to complete. You must complete both parts of the assignment.
Both parts are due on the first day of classes. Please review and be prepared to an assessment during the first
two weeks of school relating to the map portion of your assignment. The assessment will be mastery based
which means you can take the assessment multiple times, but must attain 80% or above to pass. The assessment
will be primarily a matching/identifying assessment- do not worry about spelling for this assessment. Don’t
stress out about this, but do some review and familiarize yourself with the information in the summer
assignment. Think of this knowledge as the ABC’s and 1, 2, 3’s of geography. If you need a place to practice,
you can use: www.sheppardsoftware.com/Geography.htm. Additionally, I want to warn each of you that the
summer assignment has been designed to preclude the students leaving the assignment until the last few days of
summer break. So, begin now and do a little each day. You will finish with plenty of summer break remaining.
During my summer break, I am always available to help students via email and Schoology. Students and
parents, may feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Regardless of where I am in the summer, I
always have access to this email and schoology, I will almost always respond within 24 to 48 hours of receiving
your email. If you email please be specific about who you are and what exactly you need help with. I am
looking forward to meeting you in August!
Sincerely,
Charlene Brown
Part 1: Map Assignment (All 9th Graders taking World Geography and AP Human Geography)
Goal: To identify and label important locations and physical features throughout the world in order to make
pertinent spatial location connections.
Materials: Outline map and a list of important countries, cities, and physical features. You will also need a
pencil or pen, and colored pencils to assist in labeling and coloring the given features.
Directions: Using the list provided identify and label all physical features on the physical map and all locations
(countries and cities) on the political map. Additionally, create a map key that shows a symbol of your choice
for the following items: capitals, cities, oceans, rivers, mountain ranges, and deserts. Use color to differentiate
bodies of water (ocean, rivers, and lakes, etc), mountain ranges, deserts, etc. Please carefully select the colors
you use to reflect the natural landscape. Draw all features to scale.
Assignment Value: 100 Points
Due Date: All maps are due on the first day of class.
Directions:
1. I would suggest making some copies of your maps in case of a major goof-up (however, white-out can
be your friend as long as it’s not used extensively!) Feel free to make larger copies of your maps if you
want to.
2. Please take notice of the rubric included. This is how you will be graded!
3. This website: www.worldatlas.com/webimage/testmaps/maps.htm OR www.eduplace.com
4. Maps needed are: Americas – Europe – Africa – Asia – Australia
5. YOU WILL NEED TWO MAPS EACH of those listed
6. USE OUTLINE MAPS and make sure the map covers the whole page. On the left side of the webpage
you see the continents. Click on the continent and then scroll to the bottom of the page and clock on the
bottom left of the page to print a full page maps.
7. For lines of Latitude and Longitude and “other”, use a world (continent borders only) map.
8. You will five 5 political maps when finished and six physical maps.
9. Be mindful that this assignment was not meant to be completed in a day (or at 2 AM the day before
school starts). You should work progressively on this throughout the summer.
10. Study these maps this summer. You will be tested on these locations throughout the year through
announced and unannounced quizzes.
11. Take this seriously, and look on the bright side, you can take pride in the fact that you are no longer on
the geographically deficient dark side! 
Political Maps Place Location List
The Americas Countries
United States
Cuba
Haiti
Dominican Republic
Puerto Rico
Mexico
El Salvador
Belize
French Guiana
Jamaica
Canada
Honduras
Nicaragua
Costa Rica
Panama
Brazil
Venezuela
Guyana
Suriname
Guatemala
Colombia
Ecuador
Peru
Bolivia
Paraguay
Uruguay
Argentina
Chile
Bahamas
Cities
New York City
Chicago
Atlanta
Seattle
Havanna
Mexico City
Sao Paulo
Houston
Washington D.C.
Los Angeles
Santiago (Chile)
Buenos Aires
Montevideo
Norfolk
Montreal
Quebec City
Toronto
Vancouver
Rio de Janerio
Caracas
Lima
Bogota
Europe Countries
France
Germany
Italy
Belgium
Netherlands
Luxembourg
United Kingdom
Ireland
Denmark
Greenland
Greece
Spain
Portugal
Austria
Finland
Sweden
Norway
Switzerland
Iceland
Cyprus
Poland
Czech Republic
Slovakia
Hungary
Romania
Bulgaria
Yuogslavia
Bonsia-Herzegovina
Croatia
Macedonia
Slovenia
Albania
Russia (European Side)
Estonia
Latvia
Lithuania
Belarus
Ukraine
Moldova
Cities
London
Edinburgh
Belfast
Dublin
Paris
Madrid
Gibraltar
Bucharest
Budapest
Naples
Belgrade
Rome
Geneva
Brussels
Amsterdam
Copenhagen
Stockholm
Oslo
Helsinki
Minsk
Prague
Zaghreb
Warsaw
Berlin
Lisbon
Vienna
Athens
Moscow
St. Petersburg
Kiev
Sofia
Africa Countries
Egypy
Libya
Tunisia
Algeria
Morocco
Ethiopia
Eritrea
Sudan
Congo (Dem. REpbulic)
Uganda
Kenya
Tanzania
Rwanda
Burundi
Congo (People’s
Republic)
Somalia
Mozambique
Madagascar
Senegal
Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory
Coast)
Mauritania
Central African Republic
Niger
Benin
Chad
Angola
Zimbabwe
Djibouti
Namibia
Nigeria
Ghana
Burkina Faso
Sierra Leone
Mali
Liberia
Guinea
Malawi
Cameroon
Gabon
Botswana
Lesotho
Swaziland
South Africa
Zambia
Western Sahara
Seychelles
Cape Verde
Guinea-Bissau
Togo
Gambia
Cities
Cairo
Khartoum
Johannesburg
Kinshasa
Lusaka
Mogadishu
Adibjan
Cape Town
Dakar
Lagos
Abuja
Casablanca
Rabat
Luanda
Brazzaville
Nairobi
Dar es Salaam
Addis Ababa
Algiers
Tripoli
Tunis
Conakry
Asia Countries
China
Taiwan
Japan
North Korea
South Korea
Indonesia
Malaysia
Singapore
Philippines
Armenia
Pakistan
Bangladesh
Sri Lanka
Israel
Yemen
Cambodia
Vietnam
Thailand
Myanmar (Burma)
Laos
India
Azerbaijan
Kazakhstan
Uzbekistan
Turkmenistan
Tajikistan
Kyrgyzstan
Afghanistan
Russia (Asian Side)
Mongolia
Jordan
Lebanon
Palestine
Maldives
East Timor
Turkey
Nepal
Bhutan
Georgia
Singapore
Iraq
Iran
Kuwait
United Arab Emirates
Syria
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Bahrain
Cities
Tokyo
Seoul
Pyongyang
Hong Kong/Macau
Beijing
Shanghai
Bangkok
Ankara
Amman
Yangon (Rangoon)
Kuala Lumpur
Jakarta
Manila
Dhaka (Dacca)
Karachi
Islamabad
Hanoi
Kabul
Novosibirsk
Riyadh
Baghdad
Bombay
Calcutta
New Delhi
Jerusalem
Tehran
Mecca
Australia & Oceania
Countries
Australia
Guam
Samoa
New Zealand
Papua New Guinea
Cities
Canberra
Sydney
Wellington
Auckland
Lines of Latitude &
longitude & “other”
North Pole
South Pole
Arctic Circle
Antarctic Circle
Tropic of Cancer
Tropic of Capricorn
Equator
Prime Meridian
International Date Line
Great Barrier Reef
Mountains
Andes
Alps
Atlas
Urals
Caucasus
Pyrenees
Tian Shan
Himalayas
Eastern Ghats
Western Ghats
Rocky Mountains
Cascades
Appalachian Mountains
Southern Alps
Great Rift Valley
Mt. Kilimanjaro
Deserts
Atacama
Sahara
Namib
Kalahari
Taklimakan
Gobi
Great Victorian Desert
Grasslands
Great Plains (US &
Canada)
Pampas
Kirghiz Steppe
Serengeti Plain
(Tanzania)
Bodies of Water/Water
Features
Great Lakes
Hudson Bay
Chesapeake Bay
Gulf of Mexico
Mississippi River
Caribbean Sea
Strait of Magellan
Colorado River
Arctic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
Pacific Ocean
Indian Ocean
Southern Ocean
Bering Straight
Panama Canal
Amazon River
Rio Grande
Baltic Sea
North Sea
Mediterranean Sea
St. Lawrence River
English Channel
Danube River
Black Sea
Adriatic Sea
Aegean Sea
Rhine River
Volga River
Seine River
Po River
Lake Baikal
Aral Sea
Red Sea
Dardanelles Strait
Bosporus Strait
Arabian Sea
Bay of Bengal
South China Sea
East China Sea
Yellow Sea
Caspian Sea
Persian (Arabian) Gulf
Sea of Japan
Tigris/Euphrates Rivers
Ganges River
Indus River
Yangtze River
Mekong River
Congo (Zaire) River
Lake Chad
Niger River
Lake Victoria
Suez Canal
Tasman Sea
Coral Sea
Timor Sea
Map Scores Rubric: The following rubric will be used to score your maps.
Category
LabelsAccuracy/Text size
Map- Legend/Key
Scale
Color Scheme
GraphicsPictures/Relevance
Attractiveness
Spelling and
Grammar
14 points
At least 100% to
90% of the items
are labeled and
located correctly
Legend is easy to
find and contains a
complete set of
symbols
All features on map
are drawn to scale
and the scale used
is clearly indicated
on the map.
Student always
uses color
appropriate for
features (e.g. blue
for water, black of
labels, etc.) on map
and text
All graphics and
pictures are
attractive (size and
colors), well
executed and
support the
theme/content of
the presentation
The map is
exceptionally
attractive in terms
of design, layout,
and neatness
There are no
grammatical/mech
anical mistakes on
the map
9 points
80-90% of the items
are labeled and
located correctly
6 points
79-70% of the items
are labeled and
located correctly
3 points
Less than 70% of the
items are labeled and
located correctly
Legend contains a
complete set of
symbols
Legend contains an
almost complete set
of symbols
Legend is absent or
lacks several symbols.
Most features on map
are drawn to scale
and the scale used is
clearly indicated on
the map.
Student usually uses
color appropriate for
features (e.g. blue for
water, black for labels,
etc.) on map.
Many features on the
map are NOT drawn
to scale even though a
scale is clearly
indicated on the map.
Student sometimes
uses color appropriate
for features (e.g. blue
for water, black of
labels, etc.) on map
Many features of the
map are drawn NOT
to scale AND/OR there
is no scale marker on
the map
Student does not use
color appropriately.
A few graphics or
pictures are not
attractive or well
executed but all
support the
theme/content of the
presentation
All graphics and
pictures are attractive
but a few do not seem
to support the
theme/content of the
presentation
Several graphics or
pictures are
unattractive or poorly
executed AND detract
from the content of
the presentation
The map is attractive
in terms of design,
layout, and neatness.
The map is acceptably
attractive though it
may be a bit messy.
The map is
distractingly messy or
very poorly designed.
It is not attractive.
There are 1-2
grammatical/mechani
cal mistakes on the
map.
There are 3-4
grammatical/mechani
cal mistakes on the
map.
There are more than 4
grammatical/mechani
cal mistakes on the
map.
Part 2: Book Study (AP Human Geography ONLY)
Book Review/Analysis Writing
Pick any one of the books on the list provided below. Read the book and then complete all parts of this guide. This
assignment should be typed in MLA format. Each of the books is designed to deepen your understanding of the world
and make connections to your own background information. The assignment should help you gain a sense of
understanding of locations and places and why these places are important and interconnected. Many of the books are
available at public libraries or can be purchased online or at bookstores. You may read in any format, including Kindle
and iBooks
Part II – Summary
Summarize the thesis or central point of the author in your own words. In other words, what does the author believe
and what do they want to demonstrate to their readers? Identify three specific examples from three different chapters
of the book that clearly support this thesis. Use specific examples from the text that the author uses to make his or her
point, Be careful, however. This is not your opinion. I want to know what the author believes, so you must your
argument with evidence. Hint: the thesis is usually found in the first and last chapters of the text.
Part II – Dialectic Journal – passages from text/describe and connect
Pick five significant passages from the text that resonate (“evoke emotion”) or that you can use to make connections to
your current knowledge. Attempt to identify quotes that relate to the following concepts:
 Sense of place – describes what is it like in a certain location (physical and/or cultural)
 Geographic Patterns – What are the geographic patterns that exist in the world or region being discussed?
 Why There? – Why are the patterns or processes being discussed in the book occurring in the locations being
described?
 Impacts/Effects – What are the impacts and effects of the patterns and processes being discussed in the book?
Part III – Reaction Paper (4 typed pages, double spaced, 12 font, MLA Format)
Do you agree or disagree with the author’s thesis? Explain why and support with details. In this case, I do want your
opinion, but you must support it with details and examples.
Part IV – Mapping
Create an original map that accurately portrays two or more of the following:
⃞
The author’s thesis (main point or generalization)
⃞
The author’s perspective of the world (or region)
⃞
The author’s main points in a specific chapter
⃞
Key locations and places that are discussed in the text- create symbols to indicate the importance to the book.
⃞
Map the data that relates to the text – i.e., overall health of the US states, countries with the most internet
connections – just explain how the data relates to the book and why you are mapping the information.
⃞
You can use a world, regional, or national map to show your information. Your map needs clear, clean designs
that include several types of data and information. Maps should include a title, a legend with symbols and colors
you use, and a compass rose. Different cartographic (map-making) techniques you might use to show spatial
patterns across the surface of the earth include:
o Different colors to show percentages or rations (ex. Percent literate, unemployed, etc.) – light to dark
shades of the same color or warm vs. cool colors.
o Different width arrows to show movement patterns (ideas, migration, trade, etc.) – wider arrows
indicate larger amounts or quantities.
o Symbols to show differences and similarities between countries or regions (ex. Religious symbols,
different dollar signs to show Gross Domestic Product, etc.)
⃞
o Other cartographic techniques you observe from other maps.
Locating outline maps: these sites have loads of maps that can be downloaded and printed.
o http://www.eduplace.com/ss/map/index.html
o https://geography.byu.edu/pages/resources/outlinemaps.aspx
Book Choices:
 10 Geographic Ideas That Changed the World by Susan Hanse
 A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah*
 A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide by Samantha Power*
 A Voyage Long and Strange: On the Trail of Vikings, Conquistadors, Lost Colonies, and Other Adventurers in Early
America by Tony Horwitz*
 An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage
 Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt*
 Asia’s Cauldron: The South China Sea and the End of a Stable Pacific by Robert Kaplan*
 Baghdad without a Map and Other Midadventures in Arabia by Tony Horwitz
 Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World by Dan Koeppel*
 Belfast Diary: War as a Way of Life by John Conroy
 City of Joy by Dominique Lapierre
 Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky*
 Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond*
 Confucius Lives Next Door: What Living in the East Teachers Us About Living in the West by T.R. Reid
 Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist’s Guide to Global Warming by Bjorn Lomborg*
 Crossing Over: A Mexican Family on the Migrant Train by Anna Kendall
 Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton*
 Drawing the Line: Tales of Maps and Cartocontrovery by Mark Monmonier
 Dreams of Joy by Lisa See*
 Factory Girls: From Village to City in Changing China by Leslie T. Chang*
 Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser*
 Food Inc.: A Participant Guide: How Industrial Food is Making Us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer – And What You Can
Do About It edited by Karl Weber *
 Freakonomics: A Rouge Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven Levitt*
 Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash by Elizabeth Royte
 Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America’s Manmade Landscape by James Kunstler
 God Grew Tired of Us by Jon Bul Dau and Michael Sweeney
 Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond*
 Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl
WuDunn*
 Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution and How It Can Renew America by Thomas
Friedman*
 How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization by Franklin Foer
 How to Lie With Maps by Mark Monmonmier
 How to Run the World: Charting a Course to the Next Renaissance by Parag Khanna
 Hungry Ghosts: Mao’s Secret Famine by Jasper Becker
 I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai*
 Light at the Edge of the World: A Journey through the Realm of Vanishing Culture by Wade Davis
 Longitudes and Attitudes by Thomas Friedman*
 Mao’s Last Dancer by Li Cunxin*
 Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks by Ken Jennings*
 Men of Salt: Crossing the Sahara on the Caravan of White Gold by Michael Benanav*
 Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, the Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy
Kidder*
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No God but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam by Reza Aslan*
Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan*
Opening the Borders: Solving the Mexico/U.S. Immigration Problem for Our Sake and Mexico’s by Larry Blasko
Pearl of China by Anchee Min*
Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky*
Ship Breaker by Paolo Baciqalupi*
Sold by Patricia McCormick*
States of Mind by Brad Herzog*
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kamkwamba and Bryan
Mealer*
The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis*
The Future of Freedom: Illberal Democracy at Home and Abroad by Fareed Zakaria*
The Future of Power by Joseph Nye
The Great Inversion and the Future of the American City by Alan Ehrenhal
The Hot Zone by Richard Preston*
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros *
The Last Speakers by K. David Harrison*
The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization by Thomas Friedman*
The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community by Mary Pipher
The New Geography of Jobs by Enrico Moretti
The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050 by Joel Kotkin*
The Power of Place: Geography, Destiny, and Globalization’s Rough History by Harm de Blij
The Red Scarf Girl by Ji-li Jiang*
The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate by
Robert D. Kaplan*
The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World by Wade Davis
The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor by David Landes*
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe*
Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Journey to Promote Peace One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson*
Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier and Happier by
Edward Glaeser*
Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time by Jeff Speck*
We Just Want to Live Here: A Palestinian Teenager, an Israeli Teenager – An Unlikely Frienship by Amal Rifa’l and
Odelia Ainbinder
Where Am I Eating? An Adventure Through the Global Food Economy by Kelsey Timmerman*
Where am I Wearing: A Global Tour to the Countries, Factories, and People that Make Our Clothes by Kelsey
Timmerman
Who Owns History? Rethinking the Past in a Changing World by Eric Foner
Notes: Books marked with an * can be checked out from the Lake Country Library System. Some of them are also
available digitally from them. Books that are in bold are some of my favorites!
All summer assignments are due on Friday
August 12, 2016.