World Geography Syllabus



World Geography Syllabus

2011-2012

Welcome to World Geography!

Course Title: World Geography

Course Description:

In the study of world geography, students utilize physical and cultural perspectives to examine people, places, and environments at local, regional, national, and international levels. Students describe the influence of geography on the events of the past and present with emphasis on contemporary issues. A significant portion of the course centers around the physical processes that shape patterns in the physical environment; the characteristics of major landforms, climates, and ecosystems and interrelationships; the political, economic, and social processes that shape cultural patterns of regions; types and patterns of settlement; the distribution of movement of world population; relationships among people, places, and environments; and the concept of religion. Students analyze how location affects economic activities in different economic systems. Students identify the processes that influence the world’s political divisions and they analyze how different points of view affect the development of public policies. Students compare how components of culture shape the regional characteristics and analyze the impact of technology and human modifications on the physical environment. Students use problem-solving and decision-making skills to ask and answer geographic questions.

The use of a variety of rich primary and secondary source materials such as contemporary and historic maps of various types, satellite-produced images, photographs, graphs, diagrams, and power point presentations will all be utilized throughout the year.

In short, the study of world geography uses an examination of past and modern societies as the basis for learning and mastering specific concepts of culture, government, economics, religion, and language.

Course Goal: To gain a working knowledge of our physical environment and its impact on our history and lifestyles, thus allowing us to better understand the nature of the world and the events that take place in it.

Course Objectives:

Students will:

• Demonstrate a knowledge of location, physical geography, and cultural geography of different regions around the world

• Analyze the importance of human environmental interaction and its impact on current events

• Demonstrate knowledge of varied concepts within geography and how each are interrelated

• Develop skills in the use of primary and secondary sources to acquire and process geographic information

Course Materials:

• 5 Subject Spiral Notebook

• Pen and Pencil

• Glue

• The desire to learn!

PLEASE NOTE!

Supplies must be brought with you everyday to class. As a student at Socorro HS you must act like a student and come to class prepared.

You MAY NOT borrow materials from your classmates nor the teacher.

The majority of the assignments will take place in the spiral notebook. Therefore, it is essential to bring your notebook to every single class session.

Grading Policy:

Homework: 15%

Daily Grades: 35%

Tests and Major Projects: 25%

Final Exam: 25%

Grades may be viewed online at all times. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the student to be aware of their grade and should they have any concerns address the issue as soon as possible.

Grade Scale:

100 – 90% A

89 – 80% B

79-75% C

74-70% D

69-0% F

Unit Plans:

At the beginning of each Unit, the student will receive a copy of a Unit Plan Outline. All outlines contain essential concepts and vocabulary that the student will be responsible for mastering at the end of the Unit. These concepts and vocabulary will all be quizzed and tested.

Assignments and Homework:

Homework must be turned in at the start of the class. In-Class assignments must be turned in at the end of class period. All assignments will be graded and returned to students. Students MUST keep all assignments returned to them in their spiral notebook.

Late Assignments:

Student will have 5 days after an assignment is due to make arrangements with the teacher to complete missing assignment or improve his/her grade. After the 5 days the student will lose opportunity and the assignment will remain a ‘zero’.

Should the student accumulate two zeros within a grading period the student will be referred to ‘No Zero Zone’. No Zero Zone is an SHS initiative to ensure the success of our students. NZZ takes place every Friday from 4-6pm. If a student is referred they will not be able to leave school until their assignments are complete and the NZZ assigned teacher releases students. NZZ may also be utilized upon teacher discretion on individual performance.

Quizzes:

Students will not be given advance notice for quizzes. Expect to receive quizzes on a regular basis. Student will be allowed to use notes on all quizzes. Quizzes will be comprised of map work, matching, multiple choice, fill-in-the blank, interpretive exercises, short answer and essay questions. If a student misses a quiz due to being absent, he/she must make-up that quiz the following class. If it is not made up the following class or when scheduled by me, students will receive a zero for that quiz.

Cheating:

Cheating is not accepted. Zeros will be given to all students participating in cheating, copying and/or plagiarizing. If a student is caught giving answers they too will receive zeros.

(These zeros may not be made up in any way shape or form)

Attendance and Tardiness:

Attendance is crucial to the success in this course. Should a student be absent they have until the next class session to make arrangements with the teacher to make-up work. It is the responsibility of the student to make arrangements.

Socorro High School has a strict tardiness policy. Any student tardy will not be allowed into class and be required to obtain a “lock-out slip” from either a Security officer or an Administrator. You must immediately return to class once lock-out slip has been filled out. Accumulation of lock-out slips will result in after school detention until 6pm.

Electronic Devices:

Cell phones, IPods, MP3s, and any other electronic device will not be allowed in my class. Student will only receive one warning. If student does not store electronic device teacher will confiscate device.

Having an electronic device out in class puts you at risk to losing your personal property. Once an item has been stolen it is difficult to find and the school is not responsible for lost property.

Most importantly it interferes with classroom instruction!!

Tutoring:

Should you need any additional help with assignments or tutoring please make arrangements with me so that you may not fall behind on content. After school tutoring is available as long as arrangements are made in advance.

Freshmen Center:

Homework will be given everyday. At times homework assignments may require the use of a computer, internet and textbook. All of these resources can be found on campus at the SHS Freshmen Center. The center is open Monday through Friday from 7am to 6pm. The lab is open periodically on Saturdays. Please make the necessary arrangements so that you may complete your assignments on time.

Please note, activity buses are available as well and depart from campus at 6pm. Please contact front office for more information.

I encourage you to be the best student that you can be. You will reap the rewards of all your hard work. Social Studies is an amazing topic that will help you develop yourself not only as a student but as an individual. I look forward to a great year!

[pic]

Student Name:__________________________________ ID# ____________________

Student Signature:_______________________________

Parent/Guardian Name: __________________________________

Parent/Guardian Phone Number:___________________________________

Parent/Guardian Email: ________________________________

Parent/Guardian Signature: _____________________________

Signature indicates syllabus has been read and understood by both the student and parent. At the end of the day it is the student’s responsibility to adhere to the syllabus. Teacher reserves the right to modify syllabus throughout the year.

** Syllabus must be placed in Spiral Notebook**

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download